Stairway To Heaven - The Debate Rumbles On

Two years ago I wrote about the similarity between Led Zeppelin's 'Stairway to Heaven' and the instrumental 'Taurus' which featured on the first album by US west coast band, Spirit.

Here is my original post from May 2014.

I now see that recent reports state that a US judge has decreed that a jury must decide and a trial has been scheduled for 10th May. Here is what The Guardian had to say on the subject.

As I said two years ago, Led Zeppelin may lose money and the estate of the late Randy California may gain, but at the end of the day, the only real winners in this whole sad affair are the lawyers. I mean they have been raking it in for at least two years now and I have a feeling the matter will not be resolved any time soon.

Meanwhile, sitting quietly on the sidelines is Michael Chapman, who also claims that Zeppelin ripped off his song 'Kodak Ghosts'.  

Personally I think he is wise to stay out of it.

The Best Album Re-Releases of 2014

The fairy-lit and decorated tree stands in the living room and supermarkets are beginning to clear their shelves to make room for Easter eggs which means it must be time to look back at the best albums of 2014. Beginning as usual with the best re-releases and box sets.

The most excitement this year seems to have been generated by the release of Bob Dylan's Bootleg Series Volume 11. In other words 'The Basement Tapes'. Understandable I guess when one considers the significance of those recordings. Without those informal sessions I doubt there would have been any 'Music From Big Pink' nor any of the genre which we now call 'Americana'. So, pretty important then. But what of the actual musical content of the set itself?

Well to satisfy the Dylan fans, it simply had to be a complete release of all the tracks available including alternate takes, demos and false starts. But therein lies the problem for me because the truth is that most of that stuff is not very good. Nevertheless it is an historic document and most of those who were prepared to fork out about £100 appear to have been well pleased. Personally I have found it more enjoyable to create a playlist of my favourite pieces, and let's be honest, there are some truly great songs there, but each to his own.

Other box sets this year have included the Small Faces excellent 'Here Comes The Nice' which I wrote about here. Of course this release has been made even more poignant by the recent death of Ian McLagan. 


Also Led Zeppelin have released remastered and expanded versions of their first five albums, Wilco have released a collection of rarities entitled 'Alpha Mike Foxtrot' and Crosby Stills Nash & Young have also brought us a 4 CD set of live recordings from their 1974 stadium tour. Another fine box set came from the occasionally overlooked Mike Bloomfield. 'From His Head To His Heart To His Hands' is a mixed bag of material from throughout Bloomfield's career including a dozen previously unreleased tracks. It has all been nicely compiled by his friend and frequent collaborator, Al Kooper. 

All very nice indeed.

However I suspect that they will all pale into insignificance when I eventually get to hear Volume 2 of 'The Rise and Fall of Paramount Records'. I have repeatedly been drawn back to the wonders of Volume 1 which was released last year, and the second volume covering the period 1928 to 1932 promises to be even more wonderful, featuring the recordings of Charley Patton and my own personal favourites, Geeshie Wiley and Elvie Thomas. I can't wait to hear it in it's entirety (800 tracks)

I'm now turning my attention to the best of the new releases of 2014. Check back soon to see if you agree with my selections.

Stairway to Heaven - A Rip Off Or Not?

About a year ago I posted comments about a Michael Chapman gig I attended at which he claimed that Led Zeppelin ripped off his guitar part from 'Kodak Ghosts' and used it to open their own 'Stairway To Heaven'. It's a nice story and while Chapman may harbour some resentment about the amount of cash Zeppelin made from that song (over £300m to date), he appeared pretty relaxed about the whole thing.

On the other hand US lawyers acting on behalf of the late Spirit guitarist Randy California, are seeking a writing credit claiming that the opening guitar part of 'Stairway To Heaven' was actually taken from the song 'Taurus' which was written by California in 1968. They are consequently seeking compensation for copyright infringement.

All rather sad really and I suspect that besides Led Zeppelin, the only ones who will wind up rich will be the lawyers themselves. 

Personally I can see similarities in all three songs, yet all three are also very different. I like them all so have posted links to each of them below.

You can then make up your own minds.

STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN

TAURUS

KODAK GHOSTS

Michael Chapman live at Porters, Tynemouth

Without running the risk of being sued, I believe it is safe to say that Led Zeppelin liberally nicked songs and arrangements from a range of other artists and called them their own. A prime example is 'Whole Lotta Love' which almost certainly began life as 'You Need Love' written by Willie Dixon and recorded in 1962 by Muddy Waters. Then there is the instrumental 'Black Mountain Side' which pretty much copies the Bert Jansch arrangement of the traditional 'Blackwaterside'.

But what has all this to do with Michael Chapman who played last night at Porters Cafe/Bar in Tynemouth Metro Station? Well it would appear that the Zep boys 'borrowed' the chord sequence from his own 'Kodak Ghosts' for their classic 'Stairway to Heaven'. Or so Chapman now believes. Give them both a listen and I'll leave you to be the judge(s).

This was just one of the many anecdotes related by Chapman in between songs from various stages of his career. In case you are unaware of it, his career spans the 1960's to date and in that time he has made over 30 albums. His songs have also been covered by people like Lucinda Williams ('That Time Of Night') and more recently, Kurt Vile ('Just Another Story'). Last night's set was broadly split between songs delivered in that distinctive husky growl and some superbly performed guitar instrumentals.

The venue is a very small cafe that originally served as the waiting room for the Victorian railway station in the coastal resort of Tynemouth. It is now tucked away in a corner of what has become Tynemouth Metro Station, and serves as a cafe during the day, with occasional small gigs such as this one on certain evenings. This is the third time I have seen Chapman play at this venue in as many years and he never fails to deliver a fine performance. The only down side last night was that only 16 of us turned out to see him play. Could this possibly be due to the lack of advertising I wonder?

The small turnout put me in mind of one of Chapman's comments last time he played there. He asked what was the difference between a rock guitarist and a jazz guitarist. The answer - a rock guitarist plays three chords to hundreds of people and a jazz guitarist.......
Well, I'm sure you know the rest.