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       #Post#: 176--------------------------------------------------
       Led Zeppelin: When Giants Walked The Earth - Mick Wall
       By: Chip Date: July 21, 2011, 9:00 pm
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       [CENTER]Led Zeppelin: When Giants Walked The Earth (2009)
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       As with KISS And Make-Up, I never really had a desire to read
       the history of Led Zeppelin because I pretty much knew all the
       stories from various sources over the years, be it from
       on-camera interviews with members of the band or interviews from
       magazines and such. As far as When Giants Walked The Earth, I
       was even less inclined to read it for the simple fact that it
       was written by someone other than a member from Led Zeppelin.
       This isn't a knock against the author Mick Wall. The dude did
       his research, albeit flawed and then some, with extensive
       interviews with people in and out of the band. But for me as a
       reader, it always loses something in the translation when
       another person writes about something as big as Led Zeppelin.
       What we are left with is the author's interpretation of what
       happened.
       The book itself is a decent read when it's talking about the
       band in present day, reflecting on all the stories and myths
       synonymous with Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and
       John Bonham. I actually couldn't put the book down reading it
       from page to page when it's all about the Zeppelin mystique and
       it's place in Rock history. But there were a couple of things
       that I absolutely did not like or even think was needed in the
       book.
       Whatever momentum I was getting reading the present day stuff,
       always came to a screeching halt when the book shifts to a
       narrated flashback as Mick Wall sees it. His words, not mine.
       Suddenly the book is now reading like a screenplay for a
       potential movie. This works fine if it were formatted as a
       screenplay. But for me, this just became unbearable after
       awhile. Whenever I could see that another flashback was about to
       rear it's ugly head, I started dreading having to read it.
       This is a pretty fat book at 467 pages. So there were a lot of
       instances where I was beyond frustrated regarding the
       flashbacks. Sure, some people can and will argue that it's there
       simply to further flesh out that person's character and where
       they came from. But for me, it just doesn't work in a book/novel
       format. For you other readers, you may enjoy it. I for one do
       not.
       The other thing that I found unnecessary was the amount of time
       spent on Aleister Crowley. It was just way too much and took me
       even further away from Led Zeppelin and all the crazy stories
       that went down on their Tours over the years. Sure, once again
       other readers will say that it belongs in the book because of
       the profound influence he had on Jimmy Page and his music
       regarding all that "Black Magic" crap. For me, I could care
       less. I get it. But I don't need to read page after page of what
       Crowley was like as a child and growing up to become this wizard
       and all that. It was totally unnecessary and a waste of time.
       And do we really need to know that Jimmy bought such and such
       castle and how he decided to give all the rooms it's own
       different theme? No. Stuff like this should have been cut out to
       make it tighter and more precise (i.e. a better read).
       I was also curious as to just how far and how much of the Led
       Zeppelin legacy was going to be addressed in the book. It's all
       here from it's humble beginnings as The New Yardbirds all the
       way to Robert Plant and Alison Krauss' Raising Sand, which by
       the way is the sole reason why there is no reunion as of 2011.
       Yes, even the reunions of Live Aid, Atlantic Records 40th
       Anniversary and O2 are dissected here.
       I'm a huge fan of the band and thought I knew it all. But there
       were very few things that were new to me in this book. Overall,
       the book simply retells everything that even a minor fan of the
       band already knows. So, I would only recommend the book to those
       that have to have everything with the name Led Zeppelin
       plastered on it. Personally, I would never read this one again.
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