Led Zeppelin: The Complete Guide to Their Music

For anyone who has a modest size Zeppelin collection of live recordings this book is a must, It has an incredible breakdown of hundreds of shows including track lists and commentary on the play quality as well as remarks on Robert Plants witty commentary between songs. I found myself going back and listening too many of my bootlegs to see how the author's opinion of concerts compared to mine. It was also nice because it helped straighten out some of the songs from the compellation discs I have, correcting the perpetrators generally incorrect slip-sheet's and liner notes. Fans today have the distinct ability that people like me did not have in the past where you can go online and download a show to see if you like them. If you are `old school' and still hunt out Led Zeppelin CD's of perhaps illegally recorded concerts and sold without the bands permission, this book is an absolute must have. I still use it as a cross reference for online research. The one and only complaint that could be leveled against this book is its format. I think the original format (size of the book) was better than the updated reprint, but my eyes are not yet bad enough to deduct a star for the fine print. Even if you are not a collector of rare Led Zeppelin recordings this book will at least be interesting and entertaining if you are a fan of the band. Good luck and enjoy.

as an avid fan of led zeppelin, i treasure this book. dave lewis has put both tremendous time and effort to create an exhausting encyclopedia of led zeppelin concerts throughout their history. the concerts are broken down chronologically, by tour. listed are the dates, locations, venues and songlists (in order) with plenty of interesting tidbits of information regarding each show (when available). lewis offers a synopsis of each tour and details changes in songlists, equipment ... and even attire. my favorite part is the listing of the songs within songs (the changing melodies w/in marathon songs like "dazed and confused" and "whole lotta love"). if that isn't enough, there are several informative articles that detail specific topics from the construction of "stairway to heaven", john paul jones' mellotron to zep's touring plane, the "starship" (it even has a cutaway diagram of the interior). if you are a serious collector of led zeppelin's live music and want a definitive resource, i heavily recommend this book. if you just plain enjoy the band and its music, this book will provide you plenty of entertainment. for serious fans, i'd also recommend dave lewis' other zeppeling books: "Celebration" and "Celebration II" ... nothing i've found encompasses the band, it's music and history like these books.

As a collector of live Zeppelin recordings, this book is an indespensible tool and companion to the "archive." Well-written, detailed, and compact, it's a MUST HAVE book for any Zeppelin collector.

This book is written as a series of concert reviews but it is much more. The author describes events leading up to the concerts and, in some cases, explains why certain concerts were more important to the band's development than others. I find the ability to follow a particular song's progress from introduction to regular part of the band's set one of the most interesting aspects of this book. If you are interested in the evolution of Led Zeppelin's live set, you will likely enjoy this book. If you're looking for a band biography, you'll probably be happier with "Hammer of the Gods" by Stephen Davis or "Stairway to Heaven - Led Zeppelin - Uncensored" by Richard Cole with Richard Trubo more than this book.

I find this book to be very interesting and so full of information, I think of it as an encyclopedia for all that is Zeppelin. It's a great addition to my collection..