The Definitive 1000 Songs Of All Time 1955 to 2005: Number 577

Number 577

Led Zeppelin

"All of My Love"

(1979)
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Genre:Rock

You are all probably thinking, i could write the Definitive 1000 songs on 1979 alone huh? Pierre from Perilous Pierre hit a point upon regarding the next entry "Brian Hyland" and was wondering if another certain 60s hit was going to be included. Now i promise you all, that the 50s & 60s true classics are indeed featured. The reason it might seem a bit thin so far in the countdown is that they are probably more higher up the order of merit. Yes, that is the case.
By the by, this particular song by Led Zeppelin is one of my personal favourites and not once did Robert Plant have to scream into the microphone, although that's not necessarily a bad thing - no one had a better set of pipes than this man. Not even a Scotsman!

Art by SteveHarradine

Somewhere between Presence and In Through the Out Door, disco, punk, and new wave had overtaken rock & roll, and Led Zeppelin chose to tentatively embrace these pop revolutions, adding synthesizers to the mix and emphasizing John Bonham's inherent way with a groove. The album's opening number, "In the Evening," with its stomping rhythms and heavy, staggered riffs, suggests that Zeppelin haven't deviated from their course, but by the time the rolling shuffle of "South Bound Suarez" kicks into gear, it's apparent that they've regained their sense of humor. After "South Bound Suarez," the group tries a variety of styles, whether it's an overdriven homage to Bakersfield county called "Hot Dog," the layered, Latin-tinged percussion and pianos of "Fool in the Rain," or the slickly seductive ballad "All My Love." "Carouselambra," a lurching, self-consciously ambitious synth-driven number, and the slow blues "I'm Gonna Crawl" aren't quite as impressive as the rest of the album, but the record was a graceful way to close to Zeppelin's career, even if it wasn't intended as the final chapter. ~ [Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide]

The End of Zep

Art by damnengine

On September 24, 1980, John Bonham was picked up by Led Zeppelin assistant Rex King to attend rehearsals at Bray Studios for the upcoming tour of the United States, the band's first since 1977. During the journey Bonham had asked to stop for breakfast, where he downed four quadruple vodkas (roughly sixteen shots (2/3 pint(~8dl) of vodka), with a ham roll. After taking a bite of the ham roll he said to his assistant, "Breakfast." He continued to drink heavily when he arrived at the studio. A halt was called to the rehearsals late in the evening and the band retired to Page's house — The Old Mill House in Clewer, Windsor. After midnight, Bonham had fallen asleep and was taken to bed and placed on his side. Benji LeFevre (who had replaced Richard Cole as Led Zeppelin's tour manager) and John Paul Jones found him dead the next morning. Bonham was 32 years old.

Art by galean

The cause of death was asphyxiation from vomit. A subsequent autopsy found no other drugs in Bonham's body. The alcoholism that had plagued the drummer since his earliest days with the band ultimately led to his death. John Bonham was cremated on October 10, 1980, at Rushock, Worcestershire parish church.

Despite rumours that Cozy Powell, Carmine Appice, Barriemore Barlow, Simon Kirke, or Bev Bevan would join the group as his replacement, the remaining members decided to disband Led Zeppelin after Bonham's death. They issued a press statement on December 4, 1980 confirming that the band would not continue without Bonham. "We wish it to be known that the loss of our dear friend and the deep sense of undivided harmony felt by ourselves and our manager, have led us to decide that we could not continue as we were." [Source:Wiki]

About The Song itself

Art by damnengine

"All My Love" is the penultimate song on English rock band Led Zeppelin's 1979 album, In Through The Out Door. Written by Robert Plant and John Paul Jones, it features a guitar synthesizer solo by Page. Plant wrote the song as a tribute to his son, Karac, who died from a stomach infection in 1977 at the age of five. Plant did the vocals all in one take, and the song changes key on the last chorus.

A studio outtake of an extended "All My Love" exists, timed at 7:02 minutes. It has a complete ending, with Plant extending the last verse. This version has been made available on a number of Led Zeppelin bootleg recordings.

"All My Love" is one of only two Led Zeppelin songs which Jimmy Page had no part in writing (the other being "South Bound Saurez", also from In Through The Out Door). In an interview he gave to Guitar World magazine in 1998, Page stated that he and John Bonham "...both felt that In Through the Out Door was a little soft. I wasn't really keen on "All My Love". I was a little worried about the chorus. I could just imagine people doing the wave and all of that. And I thought, that's not us. That's not us. In it's place it was fine, but I wouldn't have wanted to pursue that direction in the future." [Source:Wiki]

For more Led Zeppelin see Number 957
For Robert Plant see Number 845
For Brian Hyland see Number 578

What does Rolling Stone think about Led Zeppelin?
Hearing John Bonham play the drums is the aural equivalent of watching Clint Eastwood club eight bad guys over the head with a two-by-four while driving a derailed locomotive through their hideout. Either you are horrified by all that blood on the floor, or you wish you could do it yourself. No one's ever going to accuse Bonham of subtlety, but everyone should give him credit for consistency. Even on Led Zeppelin's worst effort (Houses of the Holy), he flails with so much exuberance that I find myself hoping that thugs from strange foreign countries will attack me on the street so I can play "Moby Dick" on their strange foreign heads.
Sadly, Bonham's exuberance on In through the Out Door is matched only by Robert Plant's appetite for inanity. Never a power as a lyric writer, Plant has followed a simple pattern in his singing: when Jimmy Page gave him great guitar riffs to phrase around, Plant was great. When Page didn't, Plant wasn't. On their masterpiece, "Dazed and Confused," for example, Plant made the same old misogyny sound like profound insight, while Page thundered through his orchestral guitar rumble.
Side two consists of three of the least effective songs the band has ever recorded. "Carouselambra," the opener, is built on an extremely lame keyboard riff and clocks in at an absurd 10:28. Repetition to weave a hypnotic effect has always been part of the Zeppelin sound, but what they are repeating here is not worth the effort. "All My Love" and "I'm Gonna Crawl," both slow and incorporating synthesized violins, let the record peter out instead of climax. Side one qualifies as occasionally interesting — particularly the heavy-metal square dance, "Hot Dog," and Bonham driving a locomotive through the mariachi (I think) beat in the middle of "Fool in the Rain"—but the only cut I'll return to with any enthusiasm is "In the Evening."
I thought Van Halen was going to be the next Led Zeppelin until they succumbed to the law of diminishing returns on their second album. Now — with Page's creativity apparently failing and no one able to compensate — even Led Zeppelin is not Led Zeppelin. I wonder who wants the throne bad enough to take it. (RS 302)

Rolling Stone Top 500 Songs ranked this song at Number (Whoa.. did you not read our review?) and the Album ranked at Number (Oh please, it sounded like a get well card)

This song has a crowbarred rating of 72.7 out of 108 pts