One of the best live albums ever.PERIOD.!

This album is absolutly amazing! I'am only 18 years old and this

great band was way before my time and I think that there is no other hard rock band ever like Led Zeppelin. This album is full

of great rare live recordings from the BBC Station. Songs like

"Stairway to Heaven", "Whole Lotta Love","Dazed and Confuzed" and jaw dropping set of "Black Dog". "Going to California" is my favorite song on this album. It captures the acoustic side of Led Zeppelin. You should definitly buy this album now! Its

definitly worth it.

Unique Capture of one of the Greatest Bands of all time

The Led Zeppelin BBC Sessions are a priceless addition anyone who is even remotely a fan of the great band. Copies of official Led Zeppelin live performances are extremely hard to come by (the only others really are 'Song Remains the Same' and 'How the West was Won') and so this double CD is a timeless capture of the band in their early years. What makes this compilation more than just a collection of live radio broadcast performances is the fact that it also captures Led Zeppelin in their transition period (I'm referring more here to the second CD which has the early 1971 sessions) and includes a very much unrefined, early but certainly enthralling version of 'Stairway to Heaven'. The other CD has performances from 3 recording sessions in 1969 with much of the bands early stuff (i.e. Led Zep I and some of II tracks) as well as 3 tracks which do not feature on any of Zeppelin's studio albums. These tracks, 'That Girl She Got Long Black Wavy Hair', 'Travelling Riverside Blues' and 'Somethin' Else' make great extra additions to any Led Zep fan's song collection. What we basically see with the Sessions, the first CD in particular, is the essence of early Zeppelin at its rawest and freshest. The band show great perfection in a number of ways with these radio performances whilst at the same time giving a great deal of improvisation which works really well.



Most of the songs which were recorded live at the BBC appeared on John Peel's 'Top Gear' a few days after they were performed in each case - there are a few exceptions, 'Since I've Been Lovin You', 'Black Dog' and 'Thank You' from the '71 sessions were remarkably not transmitted, a bit of a loss really but still they're here now on this unique CD!



CD 1 contains lots of the hard rocking early stuff and they play it live in style. There are 3 great renditions of 'Communication Breakdown' and the 10 minute version of 'You Shook Me' is a real treat. I personally enjoy the second CD more than the first. 'The Immigrant Song' and 'Heartbreaker' start the whole thing off in emphatic style before Led Zep do a classy performance of what I would rate as their greatest blues track, 'Since I've Been Loving You'. An early, pre Zep IV release of Black Dog follows this - an interesting listen - the start fooled me at first as they begin this version with the 'Out On the Tiles' riff! The 5th track, an 18 minute version of 'Dazed and Confused' is what Zeppelin live is all about - a brilliant performance of one of their best ever tracks. Jimmy Page's guitar playing here is sensational with some brillaint experimentation, coupled with some fast, killer lines blending in with this - Led Zeppelin were truly one of the masters of that great 70's art of drawing out a track whilst live as long as possible whilst still keeping that suspense and imagination. In context, the following track, the early version of Stairway to Heaven is mindblowing. Not only is it a great performance of the track but how weird must it have been for the audience to be one of the first to hear what was to become one of the great rock anthems of all time! Led Zep follow this up in style with some of their acoustic stuff with folk ballad 'Thats the Way' and 'Going To California', a track which is one of the most inspirational acoustic tracks of all time. The band round off with a 'Whole Lotta Love' medley with some blues covers incorporated within and then a finale in the shape of 'Thank You' which, in my opinion outstrips the version on the Led Zep II studio album.



All this leaves me to say is that with the BBC Sessions you are witnessing a timeless capture of perhaps the most influential rock band of all time. Led Zeppelin are performing at their best here and this double CD should be just as important as the studio albums in any Zeppelin collection.

Zep At Their Best

BBC Sessions was one of my first introductions to the music of Led Zeppelin, and classic rock / blues-rock in general. It got me completely hooked, for good reason. This double live album rocks like nothing else; it is without a doubt the most energetic and musically on-target live material that I have ever heard, period. The band's hunger and talent is tangible on every track.



Disc 1: Focuses on the early material. Some songs have multiple versions, all of which are different in interesting ways. "Traveling Riverside Blues" (not released on a studio album) is a terrific change-of-pace, and "What Is and What Should Never Be" is performed to great effect. All of the tracks are quite strong.



Disc 2: Contains music from LZ I, II, III and IV. This may be my favorite single disc in the world. "Immigrant Song" and "Heartbreaker" start things off, and are performed with almost unbelievable energy. In my opinion, they are both far superior to the studio versions. "Since I've Been Loving You" follows, and it's terrific. Then we get a blazing "Black Dog" and a lengthy, improv-heavy "Dazed and Confused". The next song is a killer version of "Stairway to Heaven" - it is the first performance of that song, and it is done brilliantly, even better than in the studio. The rest of the songs are terrific, especially the blues medley, which showcases LZ's complete mastery of that genre. You have to hear it to believe it.



BBC Sessions should be in every Led Zeppelin enthusiast's collection, but it can also serve as a great introduction to what is, in my opinion, the greatest rock 'n' roll band of all time. No other live album yet recorded is this good, and there are damn few studio albums that can match it. It's worth ten times the price.