When Giants Walked the Earth: A Biography of Led Zeppelin

Reading the final chapter in this biography I was in tears. And wondering how Mick Wall could make me feel like that for a totally indulged band of men, who have apparently spent their adult lives doing exactly what they want, without the constraints of (lack of) money or sense of responsibility.

Mick Wall has done his meticulous research: reading the books, articles, watching the footage and even having access to the principle players & their retinues. He’s great at describing the music & chronologically telling what happened. Though the insertion of second person narration jarred to begin with, I got used to it.

And yes, I found it sad if it’s true that Page has spent the largest part of his life trying to resurrect a band and a show more time that he was in control of that has gone. That Jason is unwilling to escape his father’s shadow - a family man who morphed into an aggressive thug with drink & drugs; and Robert, proud of his charismatic part in the band, but spending the rest of his life, roaming where the fancy took him, wanting to free himself from the impossible shackle of being the once 21 year old Rock God.

An amazing story told page-turningly well. show less

The author shows a deep fascination with the band and its members and an innate understanding of the mythology around them. The book is interspersed with "POV" narratives of the members, all from before the band was even thought of. Clever idea and worked well at first.

I always enjoyed the music of Led Zeppelin, and now I know the story of the band members and their manager. Fairly typical story of a band's rise to prominence, and everything that comes with it -- sex, drugs and destroying hotel rooms. One exception for Zeppelin is that they led the way in the hard rock genre. Probably good that the band only lasted until 1980, as it gives them more mystic. Better to quit young than to fade away as a has-been!

Subject matter is fascinating, the stories are great but the writing leaves a lot to be desired.
If this had been a biography of any other band there is no way I would have continued beyond the first chapter.
However, the structure of the book encourages listening to the albums in turn as each album's background is discussed. So as a multimedia experience this was very good but as a standalone publication less so.

I am a Led Zeppelin fan. I am not a fan of this book. I listened to it on CD, and the shifts from third to first person were dizzying and insanely hard to follow. The breathless authorial style didn't work for me. The Crowley/occult/Satanism speculation bored my pants off and caused me to actually yell at the CD player. Which maybe just means I'm possessed.

Yes it was long... It was gripping too. Went into the whole Crowley business a bit too much, but damn it was a good read. I'd read it again :)

It was amazing to read the rise and fall of the rock band. I didn't feel we ever truly get under the skin of why they were so good. I wanted more detail about the creative process and less about the Crowley influence