The only Led Zeppelin song featuring a co-lead vocalist with Robert Plant
It’s safe to assume that Led Zeppelin would likely have been a very different band were it not for Jimmy Page’s efforts as a studio musician before joining. Unlike a lot of other bands, Led Zeppelin didn’t just form and learn on the job; by the time they had come together, Jimmy Page had a good knowledge of different forms of music and knew exactly how he wanted the band to sound.
The idea for Led Zeppelin was simple: to have no musical restrictions. Jimmy Page had worked with a range of different musicians who dabbled in various genres of music, so why would he only pick one genre for his band? He wanted to work with people who were willing to play a mix of hard rock, classical music, acoustic music, blues, and R&B and then centre those sounds around a big chorus.
This led to the creation of a band that truly knew no limits. They were keen on dabbling in various different styles of music and telling stories with the sound they were making. This led to them embracing folk music, making songs that were still rock-heavy but borrowed from folk to put together some kind of narrative and structure throughout the track.
For some fans, this was great, as it was a breath of fresh air and a gateway into a style of music that they may not have heard before. For other fans, it was a nightmare, as it made songs too inaccessible and long-winded. Led Zeppelin reeled it in ever so slightly on their fourth album, which kicked off with two songs absolutely entrenched in rock music; however, these songs just made way for one of their most ambitious folk ballads of all time: ‘The Battle Of Evermore’.
This folk song is laced with narrative and incredibly layered. It was the result of Jimmy Page stumbling across his bandmate’s mandolin and starting to play some chords on it. He felt comfortable playing the instrument because of his previous experience working with different playing styles before forming Led Zeppelin.
“On ‘The Battle of Evermore‘, a mandolin was lying around. It wasn’t mine, it was Jonesey’s,” said Page, “I just picked it up, got the chords, and it sort of started happening. I did it more or less straight off. But, you see, that’s fingerpicking again, going back to the studio days and developing a certain amount of technique – at least enough to be adapted and used.”
The track was a standout for fans because of its lyrical and musical excitement; however, one of the notable things about the song was that it marked the first (and only) time that Robert Plant shared lead singing duties. Nobody ever questioned Plant’s ability as a singer; he could deliver the goods regardless of what direction the band decided to take; however, his sharing the role on this song only elevated it.
On ‘The Battle Of Evermore’, he shared the mic with Sandy Denny. The song starts with just Plant, but Denny picks up the vocals and the two trade couplets throughout. The joint responsibility really highlights the song’s roots in folk music and is an excellent means of elevating the narrative embedded within the track.
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