In the winter of 1970-71, Led Zeppelin decamped to the village of Headley in southern England.
So why does this drum track sound so good? The answer is twofold: High ceilings and good fortune. Cole, DJ Shadow, Mike Oldfield (twice), Anthrax, Billy Idol, Chemical Brothers, Vanilla Ice, Kid Rock (three times), Public Enemy, Butthole Surfers, Lords Of Acid (twice), Erasure, Tea Party, Everclear, Jesus Jones, Lisa Lisa, The Clash, Evanescence, Caspian… and around 230 others. The intro (mostly) has been sampled many times - namely by The Beastie Boys (twice) as well as by Eminem (twice), Björk, Massive Attack, Dr. The whole record has incredible drums, which is probably why two of the songs start with solo drum intros - When The Levee Breaks being one of those. More than enough to give everyone in Toronto three copies of it. That record has gone platinum 24 times, according to the Recording Industry Association of America.
The band knew it they saved it for the very last track on their 1971 untitled masterpiece often referred to as Led Zeppelin IV. Goddamn huge, and such a cool performance. The drum sound on Led Zeppelin’s When The Levee Breaks might be the GOAT.
