Experiencing Led Zeppelin

Gregg Akkerman is a performer, educator, and writer. He served for over a decade as professor of music at the University of South Carolina Upstate before returning to private life in southern California as a working musician and music instructor. He is the author of the biography The Last Balladeer: The Johnny Hartman Story and is editor of Listener's Companion series from Rowman & Littlefield.

Akkerman delivers an excellent look at Led Zeppelin’s music, focusing on each of the band’s nine studio albums between 1968 and 1979, with a song-by-song analysis—with some examples from live concerts—that proves how well the music 'has weathered the passing of the decades.' It helps that Akkerman is a self-professed 'fan but not a Led Zeppelin fanatic.' This allows him to effectively articulate which songs stand out. . . .[E]ach page reveals some new aspect of Zeppelin’s legacy sound—even in 'Stairway to Heaven,' as Akkerman looks at the harmonic importance of the song’s A-minor key. Even the most hardcore Zeppelin critic will listen again when the song is played on the radio for the millionth time.

• AcknowledgmentsTimelineIntroduction: Time to Change the Road You’re OnChapter 1: Beggars and ThievesChapter 2: Rambling OnChapter 3: Sex and VikingsChapter 4: One Song to Bind Them AllChapter 5: The Confounded BridgeChapter 6: Twice As NiceChapter 7: Feeling the PresenceChapter 8: Turn the PageChapter 9: LeftoversChapter 10: New Keys for Old SingersEpilogueSelected ListeningSelected ReadingsIndexAbout the Author