John Bonham

Man I just drummed along to Achilles' Last Stand on my iPod... that song is intense. I forgot to pace myself and I was getting worn out around the third 5/4 section. Some pretty sick fills on that track.
 
Bonham was a genius, his tuning technique his creative choice of what to play and what not to play and above all his natural 'swing'. No one comes close in all 3 areas of drum mastery. Ian Paice, Ginger Baker and Stuart Copeland are amazing, but Bonzo is out of this world. The outtake tracks of Bonham's playing in the 1978 sessions are absolutely authentic. Are there any other 'bootlegs' where the authenticity is dubious...?
Let me know....a drummer from Sussex, UK


what Bootleg you speaking about
 
I was recently watching Mike Portnoy's In Constant Motion DVD (which is really good) and he has a segment where he plays in numerous tribute bands.

His tribute band plays Moby Dick. Immediately after Mike's performance, I watch the Zep version on DVD.

While Mike does a good job of imitating Bonzo to a point, Bonzo was just in a completely different class. I was really shocked by this.

It was clear that Mike doesn't nearly have the groove, speed or chops that Bonzo had. His triplets were played much, much slower.

I am not writing this to bash Mike, as I am a huge fan of his and own all of DT DVDs and CDs. But, it is surprising to see just HOW good Bonzo was, even judging by today's standards.
 
I think anytime someone plays a tribute to one of the greats, as good as it may be, it will always bring you back to the original. You can't play Bonham better than Bonham, just like you can't play Buddy better than Buddy, Hendrix, Jaco, Coltrane, etc. etc. Imitators couldn't exist without the originals.

Now I haven't seen the Portnoy DVD, and I have no trouble believing the comment about groove as I find Portnoy's playing to be rather stiff and lacking in feel, but the triplet speed? Really? Even with the double bass drums? I've seen Portnoy go pretty fast on those things. Or was he attempting to play it the real way with just one? That I could believe, because he seems to do plenty of things with two feet that could easily be done with one.
 
I think anytime someone plays a tribute to one of the greats, as good as it may be, it will always bring you back to the original. You can't play Bonham better than Bonham, just like you can't play Buddy better than Buddy, Hendrix, Jaco, Coltrane, etc. etc. Imitators couldn't exist without the originals.

Now I haven't seen the Portnoy DVD, and I have no trouble believing the comment about groove as I find Portnoy's playing to be rather stiff and lacking in feel, but the triplet speed? Really? Even with the double bass drums? I've seen Portnoy go pretty fast on those things. Or was he attempting to play it the real way with just one? That I could believe, because he seems to do plenty of things with two feet that could easily be done with one.
I am referring to the rack tom, floor tom, bass drum triplet.

He played with a single kick.

Again it was really, really good. Bonham was just faster, cleaner, better with more groove.

I love Mike. One of my top 5 drummers.

I just didn't really realize just how good Bonham was I guess.
 
Hope you all had a chance to pick up the new Traps magazine with Bonham on the cover. I'm always impressed with his ergonomics of the set and tell my students to study how little motion he put into playing. Everything from pretty much wrist movements and slight arm motion. All drums set up above waist level, good positioning of snare and toms, there's still so much to learn from him. What a great sound with minimal effort. He even sat rather low for the day. Check out the mag or go to the website.

www.trapsmagazine.com
 
Re: Zeppelin II Inner Gatefold

Hi - this isn't really directly Bonham related, but this forum is a friendly spot and I thought someone here might have some info I'm looking for.

I've always liked the Zeppelin II inner gatefold and thought it would make an excellent poster to put up in a person's practice space. Does anyone happen to know if one is available anywhere or ever was?

I've thought about scanning the album and piecing it together, enlarging it, and taking it to Kinko's to be color-laser-printed, but I don't think it will look as cool and crisp as a professionally done job.

Thanks.

PS: Attached is a small digital image I found of the gatefold.
 

Attachments

  • led2gf.jpg
    led2gf.jpg
    21.5 KB · Views: 847
Hope you all had a chance to pick up the new Traps magazine with Bonham on the cover. I'm always impressed with his ergonomics of the set and tell my students to study how little motion he put into playing. Everything from pretty much wrist movements and slight arm motion. All drums set up above waist level, good positioning of snare and toms, there's still so much to learn from him. What a great sound with minimal effort. He even sat rather low for the day. Check out the mag or go to the website.

www.trapsmagazine.com
Don't. tell your students to look at the danish TV Led Zeppelin performances that's when Bonham first starting out and he looks like he's trying to go through the drum heads and the Fisher-Price(single-brased)cymbal stands are just rocking back & forth.but if you look at The Song Remains The Same you can tell he getting the volume & power without totally slamming the kit which reminds me I can't. wait until they re-release The Song Remains The Same in Nov.07 it's gonna have all the songs from Madison Square Garden
plus outakes and all the other goodies you would expect from a Zeppelin re-release.everybody get your Christmas list ready.

Keep Swatting,
Bonzolead
 
Don't. tell your students to look at the danish TV Led Zeppelin performances that's when Bonham first starting out and he looks like he's trying to go through the drum heads and the Fisher-Price(single-brased)cymbal stands are just rocking back & forth.but if you look at The Song Remains The Same you can tell he getting the volume & power without totally slamming the kit which reminds me I can't. wait until they re-release The Song Remains The Same in Nov.07 it's gonna have all the songs from Madison Square Garden
plus outakes and all the other goodies you would expect from a Zeppelin re-release.everybody get your Christmas list ready.

Keep Swatting,
Bonzolead

i have to admit john was was a pretty good drummer. thats all i have to say!

pinky x
 
John Bonham is my drumming hero. He's so fast and so powerful, the power he gets on Moby Dick with his bare hands I can't even get by using sticks!

And Good Times Bad Times with the triplets and how he USES A SINGLE BASS PEDAL is insane, I don't think my right foot will ever be that fast. Plus the fact that he plays those triplets that fast, but also perfectly controlled, in time, and at the right volume, its incredible.


And munsieman, you do know that John Bonham hated playing D'yer Maker, right? It was his least favorite song to drum to.


only the good die young........
 
A little clarification here... I read somewhere on a website that in addition to the green sparkle kit he used in the 1972 Austrailia tour, there were two other green sparkle drumsets he used, i.e the one he used on LZ III was a different one, the one for LZ IV was another one, and Houses of the Holy and Physical Grafitti was a third one. Is that true? Or did he use just the ONE green sparkle kit, the one we all know and love? Here's the info I found:

Bonham used three different ludwig green sparkle set on Led Zeppelin III, IV, Houses of the Holy, and Physical Graffiti. You can see him playing one of them on the "Immigrant Song" on the Led Zeppelin DVD. Pat Bonham has one of the kits that is suppose to be at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

And the site where it came from.
http://www.kellyindustries.com/drums/john_bonham.html
 
heyy guys i got a question for and zeppelin fanatic. probably one of my favorite songs is good times bad times just for the intense drumming, but ive never found or heard a live version, did they play this live and are there any live recordings?? if so let me know

Thanks
 
heyy guys i got a question for and zeppelin fanatic. probably one of my favorite songs is good times bad times just for the intense drumming, but ive never found or heard a live version, did they play this live and are there any live recordings?? if so let me know

Thanks

According to Dr. MustardPie, there are a couple recordings of GTBT in circulation.

Sources for Rare Performances of LZ Songs:
Good Times Bad Times
AUD 1970.09.04 Inglewood, LA Forum - In Communication Breakdown medley. Best source.
AUD 1971.09.23 Tokyo, Budokan Hall - In Whole Lotta Love medley.

I have the LA forum recording someplace on a CD and will post it later as an attachment (if I can find it and if it is permitted in this forum).

From what I remember listening back to it months ago, the sound quality is not bad to crappy and the tempo is clipping along pretty well - faster than the studio version. Bonham is playing a pretty basic, sturdy, arena version of the studio groove (none of the triplet and 16th note bass drum embellishments).

Listening to old shows, I've noticed alot of the studio stuff is streamlined and simplified when it's played in a large arena (or at quicker tempos than the studio version). So, that kind of embellishment on Zep I's GTBT, played live even at a slower tempo, might have even been ditched by Bonham if he were playing a 3+ hour show at maximum volume and intensity in a large area.

Here's alot of VERY nice info about Zep concerts, recordings, rare performances and such:

http://www.royal-orleans.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=18827

I was getting into this stuff alot a while back, but it's very addicting. I had to stop completely because it was leaving no time to actually play drums. However, I collected a decent amount of good material beforehand and still enjoy peeking at it from time to time.

Some of the video stuff is really cool. Foreign performances, interviews - even a clip of Page playing in a skiffle band at 15 years old on a British talent program. He said he wanted to be a chemist or engineer or something like that when asked about his future.

Another interesting video clip has the pre-Zeppelin Yardbirds (with Page) playing Dazed and Confused - no Plant, no Bonham, no Jones. The singer doesn't quite make the grade at all when compared to Plant's treatment of the tune, but the drummer plays alot of the things we hear as Bonham-esque on this tune. I mean, when you hear that tune today played by Zep and the fills on it and such, you pretty much say, "Yep, that's Bonham. That's Bonham's tune." But when you consider the fact that a guy was already playing that tune before Bonham with very similar kicks and fills and such, I think you have to conclude that Bonham was either instructed or took it upon himself to play the tune close to the "original" drummer's take on it. Of course, he didn't play it exactly as the Yardbirds' drummer did, but still he played it with an informed knowledge of the other guy's playing at least. I find this fact kinda interesting and cool too...
 
Last edited:
if it werent for bonham none of us would be playing like we do today he changed everything and i love him for it
 
can't let this man slip on to page 2. was just listening to II and it made me want to read through this thread a bit.
 
Back
Top