Led zeppelin - Four sticks live 1971

[caesarcerf]

rhyknow09. you couldn't be more wrong. it's a reference to Bonham playing using 2 sets of sticks during the studio version of this song. nice try.

[rhyknow09]

a reference to bad press in 70's , "four sticks" in the mud

[mrfarenheit0323]

just when you think you've heard every zeppelin bootleg under the sun... incredible.

[bhlml]

Listening live version of this song for the first time. Sounds great.

Thanks for uploading this song. Gomawoyo!

[jeremyjabber]

dammit...freeky

[jeremyjabber]

jimmy Page 2012. As long as he doesnt bring freezy Zoso shit.

[pornorp]

@jeremyjabber Zoso was kick ass....

[Hakiblack]

He sounds like my brother becomming my sister.



[Floydian75]

John Paul Jones is awesome...but he never really had good pictures.

[SupernalOne]

from the photo, Plant likes to feel the cold wind blowing through his (chest) hair 

[LoryCowery]

can you picture all four of these guys wasted in a recording studio or hotel room and one of them looks over to bonham and asks, "hey, bonzo! what if you played a song with FOUR STICKS!? we could call it "four sticks!"

haha!

four sticks: the dumbest idea ever concocted by four (probably considerably inebriated band members) that turned out to be a kickass track, lol!

but then again, who else couldve pulled it off, really?

[daviejtube95]

@LoryCowery actually t was bonzo's idea after seeing ginger baker!

[egliath]

@LoryCowery no, they probably singing about their dicks

[LoryCowery]

@egliath im not sure which of these i am to believe. they both sound like relevant explanations, lol!

[diperrimax]

@LoryCowery thats not the story. the story is bonham picked up for sticks and played this song they called it four sticks.... sorry if i missed a it of the story im stnoed rightg now

[Phenomenon58]

@diperrimax I heard he was getting so fustrated because he couldnt get the beat right, so he just picked up four sticks out of fustration and did the song instead with it.

[bws1971]

And here we have the reason why Robert Plant is the greatest front man of all time.

[FlutterVision]

All Comments (167)

Everytime I look at you... that poster... OMG BAMMBOOMO:D #MISSAFUKCCC

[54Hummingbird54]

Plant's voice is giving me shivers......what pipes! God I miss this band!!

[ozzyking]

It > Beatles

[SpenceMcComb]

My god (Jimmy Page), young Plant's vocals get me every time. What a voice the guy had; unbelievable.

[zeppelin642]

This song kicks Ass...not sure why its so underrated

[JohnAllanification]

that sound's like an electric guitar. i 'd sure like to know and if it's one that we've seen before.

it might be the double-neck but wouldn't it be a hoot if it was one of his les paul's.

[apog4]

well let me see john paul and bonhan and jimmy is a bit in cold but robert feels a little bit hot so he open his skirt!!!LED ZEPPELIN ROCKS

[MrSimi71]

The rhythmic timing of this song is just insane. No band nowadays would have the balls to compose such a song, nevermind performing it live in concert.

[217trevino]

cliff burton looks like john paul in this pic

[DeltaGaryGordon]

Plant is on it.

[johnjhuff]

1971, a great year for music... LZ IV, Who's Next, DP Fireball, Yes Yes Album + Fragile, Alice Cooper Love it to Death + Killer, Bowie Hunky Dory, Marvin Gaye What's Going On, Funkadelic Maggot Brain, Rolling Stones Sticky Fingers, Lennon Imagine, Sly +FS There's a Riot Goin' On, I could go forever....

[metallicka007]

@johnjhuff The Doors L.A. Woman!!!

[FrandCrouchman]

@johnjhuff L.A. WOMAN the doors ;)

[Earthdogbonzo3]

@40Rtruss Where are the local bands and musicians today picking up the pieces?

[Earthdogbonzo3]

Thought it was June 3rd, May 3rd, 1971 I was12! This is awesome! Raw, forceful and off the cuff!

[TheDataMaestro]

@40Rtruss my ears are still ringing from their concert at Madison Square Garden in the late 70s

[AgurkTomatGulerod]

Fedt, i Danmark!

[mussefele]

@AgurkTomatGulerod Ja mega har du set de var også her i 1969 der er nogle video optagelser i hq af det tjek dem ud det er mega fedt. peace 'n' love

[nelsano3]

This is unbelievably good!!!!! It has a crazy time signature in this song, you can hear stuff like this with bands like Sepultura: a kind of futuristic heavy tribal music... Jimmy page has got alot to answer for, many, many bands were allowed in because of the doors Led Zep opened.

[Earthdogbonzo3]

@nelsano3 Alternating time signatures of 5/8 and 6/8. He got the riff from Pakastani street musicians in around 69 or 70, there is a recording of that session where flute plays the main thematic riff, that and all the chaos of these musicians going back and forth in their native tongue! Also from that session: Friends.

[musashiZ15]

drums

[ryssevik]

Awesomeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

[crosscutwisdom]

i have this boot.. yes you are correct only time evr played live.. it called mystery european Gig

[JamesCraig007]

Only time played live.

[Abdulhakeembennette]

This song is way ahead of its time. A lot of bands like Sonic Youth and Radiohead pretend to be the children of punk, but I think this kind of thing is their true lineage. Jane's Addiction was extremely similar to Led Zeppelin, no one noticed at the time.

[riderdude10]

fuckin bonzo

[MrSistermaryelephant]

Zeppelin were a live band as opposed to a studio band. People always question the "metal" element based on the studio recordings. This here kids is metal. Nothing goes down heavier than Led Zeppelin

[Ozzybeans]

Sounds like Page used the doubleneck on this song.

[evangelionale]

whats the song at 0:53?

[PaintedSidewalk]

@evangelionale improvisation.. led zeppelin is the beast at it.

[Cooleemee43]

It makes one wonder why a song like this is rarely played when its so good. The Who were like that also with songs like Slip Kid that there are maybe three performances in total live. Its nice to have a live version of this song though.

[Cooleemee43]

@123rockdrummer four?

[jujhasmusic]

they also played gallows pole for the first time ever at this show, GOD I WOULD KILL TO BE THERE

[sco40]

the song is sped up

[fluxdust]

stunning performance... RP's voice was in top form...

[jlk792]

i love how plant is actually hitting the high notes. he rarely ever did that live. definitely one of the best songs, off one of the best albums, of one of the best bands of all time. i wish there was video footage of this though

[taxmonkey123]

The only time it was played live.

[jhowardgators]

That's when Plant could no joke sing.

[matteoarici]

brutali, selvaggi, assoluti.

[uversa777]

There was a small and rare window when Plant could sing the real melodies to the songs this recording is a treasure of a special time in music

[khuddle]

69-72. But wow he was on form for this number.

[jdidnoid]

@khuddle Yup, and then the vocal surgery lowered his range.

[Banner1979]

@jdidnoid I think Rob had his surgery in '74.

[Kikoune974]

@Banner1979

What surgery?

[Banner1979]

@Kikoune974 I think it was in his throat, something to do with his vocal chords. It was mentioned in the biography Hammer Of The Gods.

[sakalak]

Wow. Better than the studio version.

[kidzsanlorenzo]

when you hear the album and listen to what bonzo is doing it is simply from another planet! thanx for sharing! are there any videos of bonzo playing this song??

[Pepper2Jason]

unfortunately, i dont think so

[TheMullerFan]

fuckin brilliant. my favourite Zep song. nice slideshow too

[MorningView4]

this is fucking incredible.

[0tofu0]

Bonzo actually played with two sticks in each hand when they played this song live.

[rondoliomercutio]

dude i actually cant believe sometimes how high plant could sing. "when the owls.." is ridiculously high

[sirpancho]

OMG  so fucking awesome!!!! thanks for sharing

[Grubbsy]

The first 30 seconds of the song make me want to shout out Mortal Kombat! Almost... Don't know why my ears hear it.

[TheMullerFan]

lol i getcya

[hhi58]

still have my ticket stub to this show. Managed to get right up to the front. In fact, they stopped the show because they kept trying to clear the front of the stage when finally Plant asked them to stop and told everyone up front to just sit down...sit down for Zep...didn't happen. Great show!

[bamwow09]

sit down 4 zep? lol hell na

[Who2Are1You]

hahahahaha! no shit!!!

[423likeajewel]

wow this is a one of a kind performance...

rip bonzo

[mjkwyo]

ZePPPPPPPPPPP!`

[specialness16]

the voice! you can tell where chris corell gets his influence from :P it's a shame the technique they used messed their voices up though :/

[MOSKII58]

they did a good job, it seemed like it sped up a bit at the 2nd 1/2 of the song, but

how many bands would even perform a song w/ several weird time sigs.. thats why they were the "Mighty Zep" r.i.p. Bonzo

[zeppelinstrat]

yes i know, that's why i said what i did.

[luvthatzeppelin]

Very Cool show.

[zeppelinstrat]

i thought they never played this cause of the time signature issues, they were afraid it would fall apart. oh well i guess the books were wrong.

[7855waldo]

2:20 - Robert Plant looks like Kate Winslet!

(Latter not yet born when photo taken?)

[jamieakabear2316]

good thing peter grant didnt spot whoever recorded this. haha from what ive read and heard, this guy wouldnt have left the gig under his own power. but i am glad that they got this recorded. amazing stuff here.

[biotonk]

plant is so good here

[mikeydhh]

I would love to thank the person that recorded this show, to capture the rarities like this and "Gallows Pole". I also consider this song one of my favorites from their fourth album.

[francescaemc2]

Che meraviglia!!!!

[hellojenny20]

MY BOYS!!!!!!!

[francescaemc2]

they are MY Boys!!!!!!!

[MrLafayette3]

The reason this is called four sticks?

The greatest drummer of all time played this with four sticks! Two in each hand!

[abcccccdd]

me gusta la reverb

[fuckamericanidiot]

the beatles are shit AND my mother is dead huh? a double whammy of disillusionment

[fuckamericanidiot]

not at all i like the beatles cos i like the songs, they're nothing like boy bands of today, for a start they're a proper band, and that's not even half of it. you must be so bored and lonely to be here, OR you're just a twat. don't get me wrong, it could be both.

[garbeaj]

To my knowledge,this is the only live performance by Led Zeppelin of this tune...

[kujo8rockly]

heavy...

[mpcLZ1888]

led zeppelin IV is probably one of the best albums ever

[zeppelinn]

@mpcLZ1888 Yeah.. the others are for example LZ, LZ II., LZ III, Houses of the Holy and some others (Physical Graffiti, Presence) :-)

[Banner1979]

@mpcLZ1888 Too right. There used to be a show over here in the UK called Classic Albums and they never covered any Zep albums. They should have done this one.

[enacra101]

@mpcLZ1888 probably? typo, I think you meant is* =D

[mussman717word]

@mpcLZ1888

Probably? Try definitely.



[drex4eva]

@mpcLZ1888 correction it is the best album by the best band ever assembled

[ZoSoRecords]

nice pics!

[marcolive87]

Bonzo is God, with bonham on drums you can play anything you want. Four Sticks... incredible!

[cohkaa]

increible Plant!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[shyscape]

The way plant plays with his vocals on the end on this song is so great te riff is so DAM rockin forget the drums, just insane!! a truly great tune!!

[ryssevik]

awesome, excellent by zeppelin amen.

[corkskrewclubhouse93]

this is such an underrated zeppelin song

i think it's awsome

[Kewkyness]

I suppose your opinion is fact these day?!

[Luzzeppelin]

BLABLABLA ZEPPELIN RULES!! ZEPPELIN SONG; ZEPPELIN Video,

BEATLES INST HERE OK?

[rokky1818x]

black people created rock. early beatle stuff is kinda poppy but after they matured a little bit they did stuff no boy band today would touch...

plus they could play guitars unlike bb's today. if you can find one bb that could play while my guitar gently weeps then i might consider your statements relevent...

dick... lol had to throw that in

[davidlm6974]

Plant's voice is at it's absolute peak in this performance. Brilliant.

[CorreCalle123]

Ever heard Helter skelter, it's the first hard rock song, ever the heard sgt, peppers album. It was a style that had never been used before. Beatles invented rock. Without them, the world would probably be filled with (your idols)backstreet boys

[Vadergeek]

Well, they didn't invent rock. There are people who revolutionize it, like the Beatles, but saying that they invented rock is like saying that Antoine Lavoisier invented science.

[sk8s4MCR]

if ur saying that the beatles ARE shit and not THE shit, then i suggest you get a clue in the entire world of music. i dont like the beatles all that much, but they fuckin revolutionized rock n roll.

[ohwell121]

love the shuffle in the beginning, really gives the song an edge

[youvebeenthunderstru]

I can't find the studio version anywhere on youtube. God damn cocksuckers keep removing it.

[StairwayToHeaven666]

so .. buy the album

[youvebeenthunderstru]

I have the album, but it's easier to listen to things online.

[StairwayToHeaven666]

oh ok

[doorsone28]

this was magicalllllllll=]]

[Tengent]

Makes me want to learn odd time signatures.

REAL BAD.

[45ounce]

It does have that effect.I agree!

[robocop1993]

i think its 5/4 and 6/8

[Tengent]

Right. *tried to learn to read music*

[jgdrumz15]

its 5/8 and 6/8

[robocop1993]

close enough

[natesquared]

it's 5/4 and 3/4 actually

[jgdrumz15]

oh, well i didnt hear that far into the song lol

[japanisefishmarket]

this is a very complex song to play on drums

this is probably the hardest song by zeppelin to play on drums

[corkskrewclubhouse93]

this is such an underrated zeppelin song

[zaxjackson636]

very mission impossible style lol sounds wayyyyyyyy different from album version with the intro, as did many of their songs s o well.

[elevatorsfan]

First and Last performance of this gem

[Conneyfogle]

This was on the 3rd of May

[craggy1969]

Wrong, this was at KB Hallen, Denmark 3rd of JUNE 1971.

[Conneyfogle]

Yeah, you're right, but on the album Wonderful Copenhagen and indeed a book I have, it says May 5th, judging by the next gig in Stockholm on the 6th June, I tend to go with the 5th of June too.

[craggy1969]

Yeah def June, i have the whole gig on bootleg, awesome gig and this song is a high-light for sure, cheers!

[Conneyfogle]

I have it on one of my playlists, check 'em out!

The album cover is on there

[craggy1969]

Excellent, thanks for that, i'm impressed!

[ShaemusTOFinnigan]

Allow me to bring EVERYONE up to speed...

This show (only known performance of Four Sticks) WAS in Copenhagen at KB Hallen,

ON MAY 3RD, '71. The PREV show was APR 1ST at the Paris Cinema Theatre, London UK (the famous BBC Sessions show - John Peel's In Concert for Radio One) which was 1st broadcast 3 days later (April4th). The NEXT show (after Copenhagen) was in ODENSEN, Denmark on MAY 4TH. The FOLLOWING show was MAY 10th in LIVERPOOL. ZEP DIDN"T play in Sweden in 71, much less Stochholm. peace

[craggy1969]

I stand corrected, simply because i have seen a ticket stub just now from this gig, and you are right, it's May, great gig tho i think we all agree!

Play it loud buddy, Peace.

[ShaemusTOFinnigan]

ya man..what gig that you've heard on boot WASN"T mammothly, gargantuanly, behemothly, juggernautingly (like that "word" ? - har) great??

(ie ya man...we ALL are in agreement)

dewd, I love to play it loud. (but sometimes..in the neather hours..i havta roll it back just a little bit....(neighbors)

Peace back at ya.

[ShaemusTOFinnigan]

sorry amigo...you have the venue correct..but HERE is the straight ups for ya...MAY 3RD (Copenhagen as you know) in front of about 4,000 fans. Only known performance of Four Sticks by the way. Anyways, Zeppelin DID NOT play ANY gigs in June '71. They played 2 more after this gig (MAY 4TH - Odensen; MAY 10TH

Liverpool) Then they were OFF until the MILAN ITALY gig on JULY 5TH (their ONLY show in JULY) where the infamous Vigorelli Velodrome RIOT broke out ! (next gigs were in MONTREUX, AUG 7&8th)

[45ounce]

I stand corrected. May 3rd its is.

[ShaemusTOFinnigan]

sit....you more likely..umm..."sit " corrected. But why split hairs ? (I'm just joking it up a lil'..it's the way I've always been)

Great posts 45.

Slainte' !

[twitchyjohn]

i don't think he was using 4 sticks for the song at this point billiardsgirl. if you listen closely to the drums you can hear single stick-strikes and not the 'flam' effect of using 2 sticks in each hand (spot the drum nerd, hehe.)

[bfdrum86]

you wouldnt hear four sticks live.. its not mixed. i wouldnt be surprised either way if he did or didn't but you can't tell with quality like this, and i occasionally do hear what could be sticks clicking together or occasional rim hitting.

[billiardsgirl1962]

wish they had video on this so we could see bonzo playing with four drum sticks, two in each hand . how awesome is that.

[Aspergian]

I wish there were video of this myself, if not, the soundboard recording from this concert.

[zeiffelin]

holy shit, Robert Plant sounds so fucking awesome here! excellent performance.

[KablesP]

It sounds awesome live I wonder why they didnt play it more often.

[avs002]

Must be early '71 - by September, the fourth album was being debuted officially. This is great!

I hope everyone here will enjoy my own '71 clip: "Led Zeppelin: Dazed & Confused (middle) 14 Sept. 1971".

[jonasbacklund]

plant voice reminds me so much of burke shelley from budgie on the high parts...

[SWarneke]

thanks for putting this up!

this is the only live performance of "Four Sticks"

[Heeey333]

Horrible