Alice In Chains guitarist Jerry Cantrell loves pretty much every song that Led Zeppelin ever recorded. But as he tells MusicRadar, there is one Zep number that he loves more than any other.
Jerry describes Led Zeppelin as the perfect combination of four brilliant musicians.
“All you gotta do is listen, man!” he says. “And if you were lucky enough to watch them in front of you, Jesus Christ! Sadly, I never got to see Led Zeppelin live, but all the footage out there is incredible.
“What I love about them is that they’re a real band, first and foremost. I’m not taking anything away from Jimmy Page, but it took John Bonham, Robert Plant and John Paul Jones to make it a band… just like Alice In Chains.
“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. But 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.”
He continues: “I always admired Jimmy’s understanding of sound. He was one of the first muso guys to spend a lot of time and attention on using the studio as an instrument, too.
“He was a guitarist and a producer. 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. There is no other band that can occupy the space that Led Zeppelin occupies.
“It’s funny, I read an interview with [Jethro Tull frontman] Ian Anderson from 1978 or 1979 and he was asked about how he came up with his own sound. And his answer was something like, ‘We couldn’t do heavy rhythm and blues because Led Zeppelin were the best band in the world for that. We couldn’t do bluesy rock ’n’ roll because The Rolling Stones were the best at that. And we couldn’t do trippy space rock because Pink Floyd were the best at that... so we tried to fill the gap!’ I thought that was f*ckin’ great.
“That’s what we are all searching for, our own gap to exist in. I wouldn’t compare Alice In Chains to Led Zeppelin but we definitely occupy our own space. That’s hopefully where you end up at the end of the search, and maybe you’ll inspire somebody else to find their own thing.”
And his favourite Led Zeppelin song?
“There’s not really much they did that I don’t like,” Jerry says, “but Dazed And Confused always stands out for being heavy.
“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.
“I may be incorrect in saying this, but I think Led Zeppelin were trashed by the music mags early on. People didn’t get it at first, but they persevered and found their audience. They’re one of my favourite bands and greatest influences. 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!”
