Jerry Cantrell’s favourite Led Zeppelin song: “Completely unique and slightly out of control and raw”
The spooky song that “stands out” for Alice in Chains’ lead guitarist comes straight out of Led Zeppelin’s self-titled debut album.
The tormented lyrics and dark feeling embody Jerry Cantrell’s beloved heavy Zep rhythms, and he told MusicRadar last year, “they’re one of my favourite bands and greatest influences.”
“All you gotta do is listen, man!” said Cantrell. “And if you were lucky enough to watch them in front of you, Jesus Christ!” He never had that opportunity, but is a keen viewer of the band’s tour footage.
“I always admired Jimmy’s understanding of sound. He was one of the first music guys to spend a lot of time and attention on using the studio as an instrument, too…He was into sounds, recording and layering. That appealed to me and the music he made was completely unique and slightly out of control and raw. That’s what rock ’n’ roll is supposed to be.”
Of all of their dazzling repertoire, “Dazed And Confused always stands out for being heavy.” The track uses layers of sound to create its eerie, psychedelic ambience, with multiple guitar track layers and a violin bow used on the guitar strings to produce that sinister atmospheric sound. Use of founding band member and guitarist Jimmy Page’s studio experience would have definitely increased the band’s creative potential: “I think Jimmy had a real fire and knowledge of music. His early days of session work and working in bands like The Yardbirds really paid off.”
It was Page’s time working with the Yardbirds that inspired ‘Dazed and Confused’. Page and the band performed a cover of Jake Holmes’s song by the same title, and this brought inspiration for Jimmy’s later composition in 1969. Although the resemblance was obvious and this heavy inspiration was common knowledge, it was never officially honoured. In 2010, Holmes decided to do something about it, filing a lawsuit against the band that made his song famous.
Alice in Chains’ founder, lead guitarist, co-lead vocalist, and songwriter, still felt inspired, but the team effort that it took to build everything Zep remains known for: “I’m part of a collective. I wouldn’t have gone as far as I did if I didn’t have those guys to make music with.” And although Led Zeppelin’s road to recognition was bumpy indeed, Cantrell still holds that “Anybody who plays rock ’n’ roll would have to admit they are one of the cornerstones of it all – it would blow my mind if they didn’t!”
“I wouldn’t compare Alice In Chains to Led Zeppelin but we definitely occupy our own space,” he continued. “There is no other band that can occupy the space that Led Zeppelin occupies.”
Beyond ‘Dazed and Confused’, there are a few tracks the Tacoma native doesn’t enjoy. “Then there’s Good Times Bad Times, You Shook Me, Black Mountain Side, Communication Breakdown, Your Time Is Gonna Come, I Can’t Quit You Baby, How Many More Times… all of that stuff [on the debut Led Zeppelin album] is brilliant…Even the later records that are oftentimes panned are awesome. I think In Through The Out Door [1979] is a great record, man.”
Words of a true stan.
Never Miss A Beat
The Far Out Led Zeppelin Newsletter
All the latest stories about Led Zeppelin from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.