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Title: Hammer of the Gods by Stephen Davis ISBN: 0-425-18213-4 Publisher: Berkley Pub Group Pub. Date: January, 2001 Format: Mass Market Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.92 (53 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: Dark comedy
Comment: This is the first unauthorized Led Zeppelin biography to emerge in the wake of the band's demise. The road-fever antics of the band and it's crew are told here with aplomb: Richard Cole driving his Harley down the corridor of the Hyatt House in LA, Jimmy Page courting a 14 year old groupie, John Bonham's insatiable appetite for booze and carnage, hotel destruction and wild orgies are all well documented. These stories are pretty funny, if sensational and embellished for comedic effect.
But from the mid '70s onwards, a dark cloud followed the band. From Robert Plant's near fatal car accident in 1975 and his son's death in 1977, Page's descent into heroin addiction in 1976, and ultimately Bonham's fatal vodka binge in September, 1980, the Zeppelin saga certainly has a tragic side.
This book is fairly uneven in that Davis documents Zeppelin's timeline fairly meticulously until 1975, and then he seems to be rushing to get to the end. He also fails to acknowledge that Zeppelin became an erratic live act from 1977 onward due to the deteriorating health of Page and Bonham. Davis would have you believe that in spite of the excessive substance abuse, Zeppelin remained in top form, and there is plenty of recorded evidence to refute that. Having Richard Cole as a primary source tends to undercut the credibility of the book as well. That said, it is obvious that Davis certainly respects Zeppelin's musical accomplishments, and ultimately that is the point. Zeppelin may have overindulged, but the music is what the band will be remembered for.
Rating: 5
Summary: Don't read while on the toilet . . .
Comment: An awesome book. Stephen Davis's unauthorized biography of the 70's biggest rock band displays both his wonderful storytelling style (and ability to fudge the truth) and just how great and weird a band Led Zep was. After reading this book, you'll get the picture why Zeppelin still to this day has an unmatched aura of chaos and mystery that is genuine and not cheesy in the way that many current bands try to project a fake and corny image (i.e. Metallica). Even Robert Plant has said the book has done much to enhance the band's legacy. One flaw of the latest edition of "Hammer" is that the new chapter takes away from the books previous ending (the classic Plant quote that ends the Live-Aid chapter). Still, this book covers all the bases from the inspiration for their songs ("Trampled Underfoot" was a takeoff of Stevie Wonder's "Superstition") to the infamous hijinx and backstage debauchery (a drunken Bonzo taking the mike at a Deep Purple concert and announcing to the audience that the guitarist "can't play for %#@!") that made Zep the nightmare of inn keepers around the globe.
Rating: 5
Summary: Hammer Of The Gods is a must read for any Led Zeppelin Fan
Comment: I have this book and its one that I can read again and again.
Some of it seems far fetched but you have to remember the times were alot different back then as well. Being up in my age I can recall the time period of the high flying Zeppelin and reading about them in the magazines that this book mentions.
If you get any book about Mr. Page and company this would have to be it.
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Title: Stairway to Heaven: Led Zeppelin Uncensored by Richard Cole ISBN: 0060938374 Publisher: HarperEntertainment Pub. Date: 08 January, 2002 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
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Title:Led Zeppelin ASIN: B00008PX8P Publisher: Wea Corp Pub. Date: 27 May, 2003 List Price(USD): $29.99 Comparison N/A, buy it from Amazon for $22.49 |
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Title: Led Zeppelin: Dazed and Confused: The Stories Behind Every Song by Chris Welch ISBN: 1560251883 Publisher: Thunder's Mouth Press Pub. Date: October, 1998 List Price(USD): $22.95 |
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Title: Led Zeppelin: In Their Own Words (In Their Own Words Op41284) by Paul Kendall, Dave Lewis ISBN: 0711948666 Publisher: Omnibus Press Pub. Date: June, 1995 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
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Title: Led Zepplin: A Celebration by Chris Charlesworth, Dave Lewis ISBN: 0711996512 Publisher: Omnibus Press Pub. Date: September, 2003 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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