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  • Led Zeppelin

  • The Biography
  • Written by: Bob Spitz
  • Narrated by: Rob Shapiro
  • Length: 21 hrs and 34 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (42 ratings)

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Led Zeppelin

Written by: Bob Spitz
Narrated by: Rob Shapiro
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Publisher's Summary

From the author of the definitive New York Times best-selling history of the Beatles comes the authoritative account of the group many call the greatest rock band of all time, arguably the most successful, and certainly one of the most notorious.

Rock star. Whatever that term means to you, chances are it owes a debt to Led Zeppelin. No one before or since has lived the dream quite like Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones, and John Bonham. In Led Zeppelin, Bob Spitz takes their full measure, separating the myth from the reality with his trademark connoisseurship and storytelling flair.

From the opening notes of their first album, the band announced itself as something different, a collision of grand artistic ambition and brute primal force, of English folk music and African American blues. That record sold more than 10 million copies, and it was just the beginning; Led Zeppelin's albums have sold more than 300 million certified copies worldwide, and the dust has never settled.

The band is notoriously guarded, and previous books provided more heat than light. But Spitz's authority is undeniable and irresistible. His feel for the atmosphere, the context - the music, the business, the recording studios, the touring life, the whole ecosystem of popular music - is unparalleled. His account of the melding of Page and Jones, the virtuosic London sophisticates, with Plant and Bonham, the wild men from the Midlands, in a scene dominated by the Beatles and the Stones but changing fast, is in itself a revelation. Spitz takes the music seriously and brings the band's artistic journey to full and vivid life.

The music, however, is only part of the legend: Led Zeppelin is also the story of how the '60s became the '70s, of how playing clubs became playing stadiums, of how innocence became decadence. Led Zeppelin wasn't the first rock band to let loose on the road, but as with everything else, they took it to an entirely new level. Not all the legends are true, but in Spitz's careful accounting, what is true is astonishing and sometimes disturbing.

Led Zeppelin gave no quarter, and neither has Bob Spitz. Led Zeppelin is the full and honest reckoning the band has long awaited and richly deserves.

©2021 Bob Spitz (P)2021 Penguin Audio
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What the critics say

"A gossipy, readable account.” - New Yorker

“In this authoritative, unsparing history of the biggest rock group of the 1970s, Spitz delivers inside details and analysis with his well-known gift for storytelling.” - People

“★★★½ out of four . . . The good, the bad and the ugly coexist in the Led Zeppelin story, and Spitz knows well enough to report and tell it all.” - USA Today

What listeners say about Led Zeppelin

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  • Overall
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Wow

Zep was my band growing up. Some very disheartening stuff here.

Never meet your idols…

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Epic

A truly amazing tale mixed with wild rock n roll highs, immense wealth and success and enough debauchery and ultimately tragedy to make your head spin. It makes Mötley Crüe look like little school girls. Wow what a read!

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

good but could have been better

I learned alot but I feel like the author wraps up the story too fast. Once the story gets to the late 70s the pace speeds up and before you know it, it's over. should have gone into more detail on In through the out door and coda and the band mates and the managers
relationships going forward. could have been 2 hours longer at least. 4/5

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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In depth ,chaos

For someone who knows nothing about Zeppelin this is a bit dark a dwells quite a bit in the chaos that surrounded Zeppelin in the 70s .
Having read “Hammer Of The Gods” and a few other Zeppelin biographies this one stands up pretty good especially in the early days of pre Zeppelin and New Yardbirds era … the hungrier years … before all the drugs and success hurt the band .
It’s the same story told 50 different ways ,by onlookers and employees.I’ll say this Zeppelin set the standard for chaos and debauchery Motley Crüe have nothing on these guys !!!!!!Rip Led Zeppelin.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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The good, the bad and the ugly

Well written biography of the band, covering their genius, indulgences and pitfalls. A tad lengthy, yet engaging.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Wowzer

This is one good biography on Led Zeppelin, Very detailed. Warts and all presentations. Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Bonham and John Paul Jones assistants and people that worked in their organization and themselves have been interviewed for this book,

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Love the music but not sure about the group

This tale is a real descent into inferno about men with talent but who lost their compass for many years. I still love the songs but I am not sure I respect the group after this very well read book.

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Just wow!

Some of the content is disturbing but appreciated that no stone was left unturned. I certainly have a different opinion on Robert Plant, in a good way.
If you’re a fan of Led Zeppelin, you would enjoy this book.

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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Horrific sexualized violence along with a hey, we’re just boys being boys justification

This book should be deleted. It is about 30 years out of date. #metoo. A product of its time.

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    1 out of 5 stars
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First Audible Book with Bugs?

The past few days I've had error message after error message when I try to play this file. I feel very ripped off.

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