Led Zeppelin -- Complete: Intermediate Guitar Includes Super Tab Notation

There are several different editions of "Led Zeppelin Complete". I own the one with the white cover and blue clouds, which is basically a "piano/vocal" edition, so that's the version that I'm reviewing here. I bought it back in '89 when there seemed to be no other Led Zeppelin music books in the stores. The book covers all the songs from the first 5 albums, minus the cover tunes (Lemon Song, You Shook Me, Bring It On Home, I Can't Quit You Baby). Hardly "complete", but a lot. All piano/vocal books of rock bands are essentially what are known as "fake books": they show the vocal melody, the chord progressions, and most of the music transcribed for piano, with the bass staff usually following what the bass guitar is doing, and the treble staff usually following what the guitar is doing. Little fills and solos are invariably left out. So for what it is -- a general transcription book -- the book does its job. I would NOT recommend this book if you're a guitarist or bass player looking for transcribed parts. Again, this is essentally a fake book for piano. I'm sure there are other Led Zeppelin books better suited to your needs. Not to say that the book is _useless_ to guitarists. Under the chord names of each song are those handy guitar chord diagrams (the ones that look like a little grid, with dots for the figer positions). And on songs where Jimmy Page used alternate tunings, these exact tunings are described, with the chord diagrams redrawn appropriately. The book has other information, but it's laid out for only certain tracks and in strange ways. There are some notes from band members on how they play certain parts. But this is only for a song or two. The entire lead guitar part to "Since I've Been Loving You" is transcribed, but in a strange version of tablature (written as a series of fractions, where the top number is the fret and the bottom number indicates which string -- very weird!) The Houses of the Holy album is mistitled "Led Zeppelin V". The songs are grouped by album, but the order within each group doesn't match the order as heard on the album nor even alphabetical order. Fortunately there's the table of contents. I'm a bass player, and the book has been somewhat helpful to me for reference over the years. I also first learned how to play barre chords on a 6-string guitar by looking at the diagrams in this book. Besides currently playing bass in a band that does some Zep covers, I also sing back-up vocals and additionally picked up the mandolin. So I dug up this book from my shelves, and just seeing layout of the chord changes and their transcriptions, along with the lyrics, was exactly what I needed.

Led Zeppelin Complete contains forty songs from the first five albums *written* (book's emphasis) by Led Zeppelin. These include songs ranging from "Dazed and Confused" to "The Song Remains the Same." (And, of course, includes "Stairway to Heaven." :-)Some of the songs have unusual tuning (e.g., Hats off to (Roy) Harper) and this is indicated. However, I'm not sure I agree how the chords match up with the music. For example, in Ramble On, the illustration shows E as 0-2-2-1-0-0, though the notation (and the music) clearly intend x-x-x-3-4-3. Perhaps this is an automation error.Stairway to Heaven is presented very well, including showing the complex ("ooh, it makes me wonder...") strumming of D-sus4 -> D -> Am7, both in notation and tablature. <p>Overall, a worthy addition for the guitar aficionado. However, it'd be nice to see the follow-on with songs from their other records, especially: Kashmir, All of my Love, Hey Hey What Can I do and the bonus tracks.

This book has to be the EASIEST to understand and read. It gives you guitar tabs, lyrics, and sheet music. Even notes from Jimmy Page are given. I think that anyone who loves Led Zeppelin as much as I do, ought to buy this and keep as a collectible. It's great for beginners ( In my own opinion )

I usualy despise reading, but because I had to do a non-fiction book report in English and I love Led Zeppelin I chose to do this book. I really enjoyed in and I couldn't put it down!