Led Zeppelin "Bring it on Home"

"Bring It On Home" is one of those great songs that only Zeppheads know about. You almost never hear it on the radio but if you were to play it to a non-Zeppster, a civilian, they would know instantly that it was Led Zeppelin. The supercharged electric guitar and blistering drums that highlight the "middle section" are a dead giveaway. This is the classic, legendary Zeppelin sound.

I could never figure out if it was Robert Plant singing at the beginning. I used to think it wasn't, then I listened with headphones and thought it was, until it gets into the "watch this train roll down the track" part. Plant changes his voice in "The Crunge" but can he mask it this much? Would he? No other musician is credited...so it must be him!

What's cool about "Bring It On Home" is that it starts out like an old, lost blues record from the 1930's. Listen to the original, scratchy vinyl version from 1969 and you'll be transported to another musical dimension, where black dudes strummed acoustic guitar while blowing blues harp, all while sitting on the porch of some old shack down south, swatting mosquitoes and drinking lemonade.

All of a sudden - BANG! - it's Wave 2 of the British Invasion. The live version is pretty rocking, and they use the main riff as the intro the "Black Dog" on The Song Remains the Same - which is a perfect lead in to the Zepp IV hit. It's that classic Zeppelin technique - start off slow and quiet and then hit you over the head with an iron hammer, and kick you in the backside with a steal boot. They played it at their induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith, and I believe Neil Young was also on stage - no doubt that one got noisy and was basically a big mess but the guest musicians either knew the song or learned it right there. It's another one of those great Zeppelin guitar riffs that made Led Zeppelin II such a great album.

And the ending - oh what a beautiful ending. After three minutes of pure hard rock - next to "Whole Lotta Love" this is arguably the hardest song on the album - the energy dies and we suddenly find ourselves back at the Mississippi Delta, sitting by a swamp playing blues on blues guitar.

"Bring It On Home"...The capstone of one of the greatest rock and roll albums of all time.