When Giants Walked the Earth
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Review
A document of a bygone age... they summed up the best and worst of rock culture in the 1970s (Robert Sandall TIMES )
an exemplary rock biography (CATHOLIC HERALD )
Well illustrated and utterly compelling (HUDDERSFIELD DAILY EXAMINER )
an exemplary rock biography (CATHOLIC HERALD )
Well illustrated and utterly compelling (HUDDERSFIELD DAILY EXAMINER )
Review
'So this is the big one: a fat, juicy biography of the biggest band ever...Mick Wall, the veteran rock journalist, lays it all bare in a book that can only be described as definitive.' DAILY TELEGRAPH 'As well as being the most complete account yet of a great British rock band, When Giants Walked the Earth is, as its name implies, a document of a bygone age...Wall has done his subject proud.' SUNDAY TIMES 'It deftly strikes the balance between lofty authority and finding a way to get inside the heads of its subjects' GUARDIAN 'This fantastic account of Led Zeppelin's wild and decadent heyday is as detailed and definitive as music biographies get.' LONDON LITE 'The definitive account of rock legends Led Zeppelin' DAILY RECORD 'A fascinating and diligently reseached account of rock'n'roll excess.' YORKSHIRE EVENING POST 'The definitive book about Led Zeppelin... Mick Wall has done a fine job here and certainly knows his stuff.' BIRMINGHAM POST 'That Wall can add so much fresh details to the Led Zep story is in itself an extraordinary achievements. That he manages to humanise these planet-striding giants while doing so puts this book into the "definitive" category.' CLASSIC ROCK MAGAZINE 'We've read about the booze, drugs, devil worship and deviant sex... Mick Wall delves a loot deeper into the dark stuff' IRISH TIMES
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This book is just fantastic. It really does tell the whole story of the behemoth that was Led Zeppelin. The reviews aren't kidding when they say that this is THE definitive Zep biography. I haven't read any of the other bio's, like Hammer of the Gods, but after reading When Giants Walked the Earth I don't want to.
My only criticism is that at some points the italic "in the mind of" sections can be a bit confusing because you don't instantly know who Wall is impersonating.
Overall, this is a must-read. I think I'll be rereading it in a year or two.
My only criticism is that at some points the italic "in the mind of" sections can be a bit confusing because you don't instantly know who Wall is impersonating.
Overall, this is a must-read. I think I'll be rereading it in a year or two.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Out of the three Zeppelin biographies that I have read, this is by far the best. Diligently researched, and well written it keeps you wanting to return to the albums (always a sign of a good music book) with each record being examined in great detail, which led to me purchasing Moby Grape's "Grape Jam" (1967) Grape Jam] album after discovering that the roots to Zep's "Since I've Been Loving You" lay with Grape.
I also enjoyed the somewhat controversial `flashback' sequences. They add to the story, but without interrupting the flow, and also saves the reader from having to plough through acres of pre-Zep history at the beginning. Using this method, Wall is able to bring the five (LZ plus manager Peter Grant) protagonists together very quickly and thus get on with the main story. His research on Jimmy Page's fascination with the occult and Aleister Crowley is also excellent, devoting as he does an entire chapter to this subject. This is important stuff in understanding the band from "Led Zeppelin IV" (1971) onwards, and I've never come across such in-depth knowledge of Crowley in a Zeppelin book before.
Another standout section is Wall's revelations about the 1979 Knebworth gigs. Far from being the triumphs that they are made out to be, Wall reveals the horrendous mess and disasters that dogged these two concerts from the start. Led Zeppelin should of got the message there - you're time is up!
Unfortunately things do unravel slightly in the final two chapters; Wall seems obsessed with the idea of a Led Zeppelin reunion almost to the extent of everything else, and the various 80's, 90's and 00's album releases are dealt with in a rather offhand manner.
There is no explanation about why the "Remasters" (1990) Led Zeppelin Box Set Vol.1 box set had to happen, and apart from one brief mention early on, the highly acclaimed "BBC Sessions" (1997) [[ASIN:B000002JEV BBC Sessions album is ignored altogether!
Even the excellent double DVD (2003) [[ASIN:B00008PX8P Led Zeppelin: DVD (2DVD) [2003] is given short shrift; very strange since Wall penned the liner notes for this set.
Finally whilst Robert Plant's award of the CBE in 2008 for services to music is covered, there is no mention of Jimmy Page's OBE in 2005 for his long time charity work helping to improve the lives of Brazil's impoverished street children. I know that Page likes to keep this work out of the media spotlight, but it does seem extraordinary to not mention it at all.
Despite these few errors this book remains well worth perusing.
I also enjoyed the somewhat controversial `flashback' sequences. They add to the story, but without interrupting the flow, and also saves the reader from having to plough through acres of pre-Zep history at the beginning. Using this method, Wall is able to bring the five (LZ plus manager Peter Grant) protagonists together very quickly and thus get on with the main story. His research on Jimmy Page's fascination with the occult and Aleister Crowley is also excellent, devoting as he does an entire chapter to this subject. This is important stuff in understanding the band from "Led Zeppelin IV" (1971) onwards, and I've never come across such in-depth knowledge of Crowley in a Zeppelin book before.
Another standout section is Wall's revelations about the 1979 Knebworth gigs. Far from being the triumphs that they are made out to be, Wall reveals the horrendous mess and disasters that dogged these two concerts from the start. Led Zeppelin should of got the message there - you're time is up!
Unfortunately things do unravel slightly in the final two chapters; Wall seems obsessed with the idea of a Led Zeppelin reunion almost to the extent of everything else, and the various 80's, 90's and 00's album releases are dealt with in a rather offhand manner.
There is no explanation about why the "Remasters" (1990) Led Zeppelin Box Set Vol.1 box set had to happen, and apart from one brief mention early on, the highly acclaimed "BBC Sessions" (1997) [[ASIN:B000002JEV BBC Sessions album is ignored altogether!
Even the excellent double DVD (2003) [[ASIN:B00008PX8P Led Zeppelin: DVD (2DVD) [2003] is given short shrift; very strange since Wall penned the liner notes for this set.
Finally whilst Robert Plant's award of the CBE in 2008 for services to music is covered, there is no mention of Jimmy Page's OBE in 2005 for his long time charity work helping to improve the lives of Brazil's impoverished street children. I know that Page likes to keep this work out of the media spotlight, but it does seem extraordinary to not mention it at all.
Despite these few errors this book remains well worth perusing.
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I only started reading this because I bought it for my husband for Xmas but once I started I couldn't put it down. I used to read music books when I was younger but stopped when I realised they were nearly always fan books. This isn't like that. It's obvious Mick Wall knows his stuff and has spoken to everyone including the band but he doesn't pull any punches. I don't know if the band will like it but they should because it's not only a great book about them but just a great book anyway. Utterly brilliant.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
When Giants walked the earth Leads the way
I have always loved music from the beatles to 70's super groups to punk rock to 80's new romantics but I have always hated heavy rock especially Led Zeppelin!!. Read more
Published 12 days ago by Kevin
I am a traveler of both time and space
I was a bit reluctant to come to this book as having read classic rock magazine for years i have always found Mr Wall to be biased for Jimmy Page and blame Robert Plant for not... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Gary Mckenzie
Great Read
I'm not a huge fan but like most people of a certain age I own Led Zep 4 (the one with Stairway) and bought the book to find out about the many myths that surround the band. Read more
Published 1 month ago by AndrewH
tea for one
What actually happened? What struck me first was that I could trust the author. This is no one sided piece of hero worship, it's Led Zeppelin in all their horrible inglorious ways:... Read more
Published 1 month ago by half dead o flynn
Unauthorised and Unconvincing
I am halfway through this book and it is a great source of disappointment for me. The "thoughts" of Robert Plant and John Bonham just do not ring true for me. Read more
Published 13 months ago by B. J. du Cille
The best Led Zeppelin biography available but...
Whilst this is certainly the best, most complete and well-balanced, biography of Led Zeppelin currently available, the competition is really not great. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Ant Man Bee
Hmmmmmm
Another bio of Led Zeppelin has a mountain to climb to add any significant value to the already massive volume of material on undoubtedly the greatest rock band of all time, and... Read more
Published 22 months ago by N. DAVIES
Good, a bit IV Form, but no Ian MacDonald this....
What this book does convey is the absolutely massive impact Zeppelin achieved very early, and very quickly, in the US. Read more
Published on 24 May 2010 by Mikeonfreeserve
The secretly authorised biography of Led Zeppelin
Nobody could say Jimmy Page had an obvious narcissistic streak could they? I mean he could have taken a leaf out of Jeff Beck's book and named The New Yardbirds after himself. Read more
Published on 11 May 2010 by J. A. Harvey
Hammer of the who?
Forget about Hammer Of The Gods, this is the only Zeppelin biography worthy of the title. Lucidly yet playfully written, excellently sourced and uniquely formatted, this book... Read more
Published on 21 April 2010 by Charlie Seisay-heald
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