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Led Zeppelin by Led Zeppelin
Page, Plant and Jones have collaborated with Reel Art Press to publish the first illustrated book celebrating 50 years since Led Zeppelin formed Led Zeppelin by Led Zeppelin is the first and only official illustrated book ever to be produced in full collaboration with the members of the band. Celebrating 50 years since their formation, this definitive 400-page volume charts the group's unparalleled musical career from the very first performance in a tiny club, to their performance at London's O2 Arena, when 20 million fans broke the world record for highest demand for tickets for a single concert. The book features over 300 photographs―many seen here for the first time―of Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and John Bonham from photographers around the world, and photographs from the band members' personal collections. The band are seen on and off stage, in candid moments and in the recording studio. Accompanying the photographs is rare and unseen artwork from the Led Zeppelin archives, and fascinating documents and images from the Atlantic Records vaults.
400 pages, Hardcover
Published October 9, 2018
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Led Zeppelin
270 books34 followersLed Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist and keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. The band's heavy, guitar-driven sound, rooted in blues and psychedelia on their early albums, has earned them recognition as one of the progenitors of heavy metal, though their unique style drew from a wide variety of influences, including folk music.
After changing their name from the New Yardbirds, Led Zeppelin signed a deal with Atlantic Records that afforded them considerable artistic freedom. Although the group was initially unpopular with critics, they achieved significant commercial success with albums such as Led Zeppelin (1969), Led Zeppelin II (1969), Led Zeppelin III (1970), Led Zeppelin IV (1971), Houses of the Holy (1973), and Physical Graffiti (1975). Their fourth album, which features the track "Stairway to Heaven", is among the most popular and influential works in rock music, and it helped to secure the group's popularity.
After changing their name from the New Yardbirds, Led Zeppelin signed a deal with Atlantic Records that afforded them considerable artistic freedom. Although the group was initially unpopular with critics, they achieved significant commercial success with albums such as Led Zeppelin (1969), Led Zeppelin II (1969), Led Zeppelin III (1970), Led Zeppelin IV (1971), Houses of the Holy (1973), and Physical Graffiti (1975). Their fourth album, which features the track "Stairway to Heaven", is among the most popular and influential works in rock music, and it helped to secure the group's popularity.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
January 23, 2022
My greedy little hands finally got a hold of this book and now I'm in a magical trance.
It is very very wonderful.
It is very very wonderful.
January 26, 2020
A picture is worth a thousand words. Such an illuminating work of photography and album art. For fans of the band, I highly recommend this. Spend some time in the annotations at the end, too. A lot of gems about how they experienced their fame, and tidbits about recordings like the Bombay session or Pod, which I didn't know anything about previously.
October 14, 2018
This is a glorious photo book which chronicles the life of the greatest rock n roll band in all its glory. Many of the pictures have been published before, but it’s great to see them all together. It’s almost worth 5 stars ...
But I have two gripes with it: it is just a picture book. The text contributed by the band members is minimal. This was a great opportunity to chronicle Led Zep’s reign. To me it is a crying shame they did not. And given that this is an official release, why is the fourth album called Led Zeppelin IV, when any serious fan knows it was untitled.
But I have two gripes with it: it is just a picture book. The text contributed by the band members is minimal. This was a great opportunity to chronicle Led Zep’s reign. To me it is a crying shame they did not. And given that this is an official release, why is the fourth album called Led Zeppelin IV, when any serious fan knows it was untitled.
May 31, 2022
A magnificent book, comprised of gorgeous photos of the band doing their thing in the studio, and kicking ass on stage. Some fantastic quotes 'n' anecdotes in the book too. So good to read the accompanying notes & memories from the actual members of Led Zeppelin.
October 12, 2018
After coming together almost by accident the four members of what was to become Led Zeppelin rehearsed in a small room below a record shop in London's Gerrard St. The plan was to honour a series of gigs that were booked for the Yardbirds in Scandinavia. The first official gig together was in Denmark on 7 September 1968.
To celebrate the 50 year milestone of their beginning Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and John Paul Jones have collaborated to create a 400 page masterpiece tracing the history and the success story that Led Zeppelin became. Its the first and only official illustrated book by the band. And they have spared nothing to make it a wonderful commemoration.
The 400 plus page chronologically portray the 50 years that Led Zeppelin has been at the forefront of the rock music genre. There are literally hundreds of exclusive and carefully curated images and artworks personally selected by the trio.
Page, Plant and Jones have also written their own exclusive annotations so you get to live the life of Led Zeppelin through their eyes and through the images only they have access to, including material from the Atlantic Records archives.
For any fan of Led Zeppelin this is an essential record of the band, for rock fans in general its also a stunning book to trace the life of a foursome who had no peers during their tour of duty 1968 through to 1980 when the death of drummer John Bonham signalled the end of Led Zeppelin. The band has since performed occasionally usually with Bonham's son Jason at the drum stool.
To celebrate the 50 year milestone of their beginning Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and John Paul Jones have collaborated to create a 400 page masterpiece tracing the history and the success story that Led Zeppelin became. Its the first and only official illustrated book by the band. And they have spared nothing to make it a wonderful commemoration.
The 400 plus page chronologically portray the 50 years that Led Zeppelin has been at the forefront of the rock music genre. There are literally hundreds of exclusive and carefully curated images and artworks personally selected by the trio.
Page, Plant and Jones have also written their own exclusive annotations so you get to live the life of Led Zeppelin through their eyes and through the images only they have access to, including material from the Atlantic Records archives.
For any fan of Led Zeppelin this is an essential record of the band, for rock fans in general its also a stunning book to trace the life of a foursome who had no peers during their tour of duty 1968 through to 1980 when the death of drummer John Bonham signalled the end of Led Zeppelin. The band has since performed occasionally usually with Bonham's son Jason at the drum stool.
October 11, 2018
As a Zeppelin fan for the 47 years this is such a treat. Thank you.
December 25, 2018
Gorgeous book but I wish it been more than just that. I enjoyed looking over them but would have liked to read more personal accounts by the guys about their history as a band.
December 31, 2018
A lot of redundant concert snaps with all too little input from the band members.
October 10, 2018
A Photographic Gift from the Band to its Fans ...
To fully appreciate this book, it is best to look at it for what it really is ... a visual tribute of Led Zeppelin by the surviving members. For fans, it will satisfy a craving of getting something new and official from the band. For others, this book is nothing more than an oversized picture book that won’t garner much excitement.
As a huge fan of the band, the book scratches an itch for me. I own numerous Led Zeppelin books and this simply was a “must have” for the Led Zeppelin section of my library. This 400 page volume is a beautiful, yet simple, presentation. The dark gray/black cloth cover has “Led Zeppelin” (in it’s Zeppelinesqe font) and the band members’ four runic symbols embossed in gold ... elegant and mysterious. The pages of the book are matted, not glossy.
The book is basically a pictorial 50 year anniversary of the band. Chronologically presented, hundreds of photos capture Led Zeppelin from its inception to the 2007 reunion concert. While there are several familiar photos, the bulk of the pictures presented appear to be never-before-seen photos of the band both on and off-stage. The focus on the book is the music, so there is no “personal fluff” offered until the very end of the book where the individual members contribute personal thoughts on the band and its music. What some may find frustrating is the actual lack of text offered; photo captions are limited to “date and location” descriptions and even the large pictures covering two pages have no caption at all. Again, the presentation is simple, yet straightforward ... pictures really do speak volumes.
One thing about this book that I really liked was how all the album covers were created. We finally get to see the original photo of the Red Baron’s squadron of pilots that was used for the Led Zeppelin II album cover and the Brownstone used for Physical Graffiti (including the album sleeve photos that appear in the building windows). Another quality the book offers is that the pictures really capture the sheer power and electricity exhibited by this band on stage ... THE musical leviathans of their day.
The book really is a treasure-trove of photos and should qualify as a “must have” for hardcore Zep fans. Sadly, this volume almost seems to represent a “cleaning out the vault” effort by the remaining band members ... one last gift to the fans.
To fully appreciate this book, it is best to look at it for what it really is ... a visual tribute of Led Zeppelin by the surviving members. For fans, it will satisfy a craving of getting something new and official from the band. For others, this book is nothing more than an oversized picture book that won’t garner much excitement.
As a huge fan of the band, the book scratches an itch for me. I own numerous Led Zeppelin books and this simply was a “must have” for the Led Zeppelin section of my library. This 400 page volume is a beautiful, yet simple, presentation. The dark gray/black cloth cover has “Led Zeppelin” (in it’s Zeppelinesqe font) and the band members’ four runic symbols embossed in gold ... elegant and mysterious. The pages of the book are matted, not glossy.
The book is basically a pictorial 50 year anniversary of the band. Chronologically presented, hundreds of photos capture Led Zeppelin from its inception to the 2007 reunion concert. While there are several familiar photos, the bulk of the pictures presented appear to be never-before-seen photos of the band both on and off-stage. The focus on the book is the music, so there is no “personal fluff” offered until the very end of the book where the individual members contribute personal thoughts on the band and its music. What some may find frustrating is the actual lack of text offered; photo captions are limited to “date and location” descriptions and even the large pictures covering two pages have no caption at all. Again, the presentation is simple, yet straightforward ... pictures really do speak volumes.
One thing about this book that I really liked was how all the album covers were created. We finally get to see the original photo of the Red Baron’s squadron of pilots that was used for the Led Zeppelin II album cover and the Brownstone used for Physical Graffiti (including the album sleeve photos that appear in the building windows). Another quality the book offers is that the pictures really capture the sheer power and electricity exhibited by this band on stage ... THE musical leviathans of their day.
The book really is a treasure-trove of photos and should qualify as a “must have” for hardcore Zep fans. Sadly, this volume almost seems to represent a “cleaning out the vault” effort by the remaining band members ... one last gift to the fans.
January 19, 2021
This is a photo essay. There is not much text. That said, it has great photographs. There are comments from the band's surviving members at the end of the book. These recall different stories from the band's history. The anecdotes are charming and they do capture what the band were going through. I enjoyed it. Oh, also it weight like 10 pounds, so it will make your legs go numb if you read it on your lap.
June 22, 2020
A wonderful gift to their true fans, this mostly picture-book will be appreciated by the faithful. It includes photos of their most significant gigs, record-breakers, legendary bootlegged shows. Captions for the photos are found at the end of the book.
September 2, 2020
An amazing graphic novel detailing the career the best band of all time, Led Zeppelin. From their eponymous debut album to their final album as a group, the pictures and stories in this book are a must read for any Zepp fan!
February 27, 2024
Im assuming Hammer of the Gods is probably better and about a 1000x more accurate to the diabolical nature of these satan worshipping, H.P. Lovecraft admiring, Tolkien reading, Mud-shark loving titans but this was a darn good read
October 23, 2018
Waited for this book to be released for over 6 months. A great book by my favorite band. Would have loved more actual writing, though.
February 18, 2019
Tough to give an unbiased view on the best band ever but to be fair, the photos did most of the talking. But the annotations were terrific.
July 19, 2019
Amazing photographic collection of the best rock band ever, and the design is beautiful. Though I’d have liked more text/annotations by the members. Still, a must for any die-hard Zeppelin fan.
December 24, 2020
A five-star work for the greatest, most monumental rock band of all time. Nothing more need be said.
February 15, 2022
Led Zeppelin Photos 4/4 - 5/5
June 10, 2022
A Christmas gift from Renee.
August 21, 2022
Very nice! Pictures and history of Led Zeppelin.
September 8, 2022
I need money to book
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 30, 2020
Ongoing annotations would have been nice.
November 21, 2021
Terrific book about a great band.
May 18, 2019
Rock band photographers take note, it would be nice to know what song was playing when the photograph was recorded. All the pictures contained herein are annotated with the place they were taken. The "contact sheet" pictures are fascinating. The blurry pictures while artistic leave something to be desired. The entire compilation is organized sequentially. I wonder just how long it took to put this book together because it's so comprehensive. Before completing my first pass, I wish I had known about all the band's comments that were placed at the back of the book. Their presence made the photographic journey much more pleasurable. RIP John Bonham.
December 27, 2021
Those not already completist super-fans are unlikely to ever consider purchasing this book, so it may not be much use writing a review. Presented gorgeously as it is, solidarity is felt with many other reviewers on the point that a bit more in the way of reading material would have certainly increased satisfaction, not to mention intrinsic value. Although surely priced well out of range of a young music fan new to Zeppelin's tale, having not already read most of the available literature about or by the band would probably increase the book's personal value. A well worn tale it is however, so a further retelling to the choir seemed to have required some significant insights to the canon, which it is difficult to say this provides. As some undemanding eye candy for the end of year holiday season it certainly worked. It most likely serves best as a flagship entry to one's already sizeable Led Zeppelin collection, or a fantastic coffee table book for the casually browsing visitor kept waiting. All of the surviving members presented it proudly upon release in a now rare show of solidarity, one may surmise pleased by how good they looked when they was fab, and quite possibly by how well most of those looks hold up today. Though the hedonism of the 1970's has slowly but surely fallen out of vogue in rock music, if not other genres, Zeppelin's look and sound remain a well-referenced template.
March 13, 2020
Beautiful book, but I would've liked more captions.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews