Dazed and Confused (Led Zeppelin song)
"Dazed and Confused" is a song arranged and rewritten by Led Zeppelin, based on lyrics by Jake Holmes, his tune also called "Dazed and Confused". Led Zeppelin's "Dazed and Confused" was considered significantly different from the Holmes' song that the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) assigned it the unique serial registration of 340128276,[1] with it's copyright lodged by the newly created publisher Superhype Music in 1968. Led Zeppelin's "Dazed and Confused" has since been widely covered and was an early performance highlight for the group.
Album version
Engineered and mixed by Glyn Johns at Olympic Studios in October, 1968, "Dazed and Confused" was included as a key track on Led Zeppelin's eponymous 1969 début album, Led Zeppelin. The final album version was just the second of two takes the group recorded, with only the violin bow section overdubbed.[2] Opening with a measured slow-tempo rhythm accentuated by John Paul Jones' descending bass line, it builds to a climactic menacing performance, initiated by John Bonham's intense drumming and Jimmy Page's rapid fire guitar solo. "[3] A song very much influenced by the psychedelic period, with Robert Plant's manic blues-inflected pleading and Page's use of bowed guitar imbuing a sense of emotional foreboding. "[4] Page's main instrument for the recording was a 1958 Fender Telecaster with Supro amplification, a Vox wah pedal modified by Roger Mayer, and the ambience on the solo was achieved using EMT plate reverb.[5] His rapid-fire solo adapted from an earlier recording he appeared on called "Think About It", which was a b-side on The Yardbirds final studio output. Page would later use his bowing technique on a number of other tracks, most notably "How Many More Times", "LA Drone" and "In the Light".[6] Unreleased recordings of Lucifer Rising soundtrack also contained extensive use of bowing.
| “ | I just wanted the guitar to sound different.[7] | ” |
Live performances
Concert performances of "Dazed and Confused" gradually extended the improvised solos up to 45 minutes in duration, by 1975. The bowed and guitar solo sections in total would encompass up to 15 minutes alone. Progressively the bowed guitar solo was given room for extended free-form improvisation, which included a krypton laser light show in the latter half of the 1970s, to add to the theatrical spectacle.[8] Further instrumental flourishes were added between the verses after 1972, punctuating the lyrical mannerisms of Plant. "Dazed and Confused" was briefly dropped at the start of 1975 after Page suffered a dislocation with his ring finger, and the song was temporarily replaced with "How Many More Times" in the set. The song has been performed on every tour, until 1975's series of Earl Court shows, at which time it was rested for a revamped set for the 1977 American tour, with only snippets played within a song medley of "Achilles Last Stand".[9] Page played it on his solo appearances and it was performed once again with Led Zeppelin at the O2 Arena for the Ahmet Ertegün Tribute Concert, on December 10, 2007.
"Dazed and Confused" has appeared on countless bootleg recordings. The only official live releases has been the 1976 concert film The Song Remains the Same features a version from 1973, with Page's fantasy sequence of The Hermit as Father Time being played out on the face of a Scottish mountain. The compilation DVD, Led Zeppelin and the BBC Sessions album also contain various live versions of "Dazed and Confused".
Song incorporation
The improvisational nature of the live version of "Dazed and Confused" allowed for other Led Zeppelin material and favourite covers to be eased into the composition. "The Crunge" and "Walter's Walk" were added by 1972, and these can be heard on the live album How the West was Won. During the Japan tour of 1972, anything was fair game and within the next 12 months, Plant would also sing lyrics from either Scott McKenzie's "San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)", Joni Mitchell's "Woodstock" or even rarer The Eagles "Take It Easy" during the song's evolution.[10] Gustav Holst's "Mars, the Bringer of War" from "The Planets" suite would also be incorporated into part of the bowed guitar solo.
Cultural influences
Film director Richard Linklater used the title of the song for the basis of his 1993 theatrical release Dazed and Confused, based on the lives of high school students in 1976. The film soundtrack however did not utilise the song, despite pleas from Linklater to members of the band. Page agreed after some hesitation but Plant declined. The director had planned to use it for the opening credits of the film, which eventually went to Aerosmith's "Sweet Emotions". Linklater retained the title as the script described his, and his friends', high school experiences in the 1970s.[11]
The long running animated series The Simpsons, the episode entitled "The Front" (Season 4, Episode 19) featured an Itchy & Scratchy sketch called "Dazed and Contused", a pun on the song. "Dazed and Contused"'s storyline revolved around Itchy & Scratchy telling kids to say no to drugs after their standard splatterfest.
- ↑ http://www.ascap.com
- ↑ Benson, Joe (1995). Uncle Joe's Record Guide: Hard Rock: Volume 1, Revised Edition. London: J Benson Unlimited, p. 12. ISBN 0-943031-14-1.
- ↑ Welch, Chris (2001). The Stories Behind Every Song: Led Zeppelin: Dazed and Confused, Revised Edition. New York: Thunder's Mouth Press Press, p. 23. ISBN 1-56025-188-3.
- ↑ Williamson, Nigel (2007). The Rough Guide to Led Zeppelin, 1st Edition. London: Rough Guides, p. 218. ISBN 1-84353-841-7.
- ↑ Jimmy Page interview in "Hammer of the Gods" , Guitar World (October 1993) Vol. 14 No. 2
- ↑ Fast, Susan (2001). In the Houses of the Holy: Led Zeppelin and the Power of Rock Music, 1st Edition. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 30. ISBN 0-19-511756-5.
- ↑ Jimmy Page
- ↑ Steve Waksman, "Rock Guitar from the 1950s to the 1970s" in Coelho, Victor (ed.) The Cambridge Companion to the Guitar, 1st Edition, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003, p. 119, ISBN 0-521-80192-3
- ↑ Dave Lewis (1994), The Complete Guide to the Music of Led Zeppelin, Omnibus Press, ISBN 0-7119-3528-9.
- ↑ Lewis, Dave (2001). Led Zeppelin: A Celebration, Revised Edition. London: Omnibus Press, p. 54. ISBN 0-7119-9651-2.
- ↑ >Linklater, Richard and Montogomery, Denise (eds.) (1993). Dazed and Confused: Inspired by the Screenplay by Richard Linklater, 1st Edition. New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-09466-3.