When Giants Walked the Earth: 50 years of Led Zeppelin. The fully revised and updated biography.

by Mick Wall

The definitive final word on the world's greatest rock band, Led Zeppelin.

Over ten years after WHEN GIANTS WALKED THE EARTH, Mick's seminal biography of the band, comes this major and extensively researched revision, which will provide an unflinching look at life inside one of the biggest-selling rock bands of all time, and present the definitive, final word on Led Zeppelin.

They were 'the last great band of the sixties; the first great band of the seventies'; they rose, somewhat unpromisingly, from the ashes of the Yardbirds to become one of the biggest-selling rock bands of all time. Mick Wall, respected rock writer and former confidant of both Page and Plant, unflinchingly tells the story of the band that wrote the rulebook for on-the-road excess - and eventually paid the price for it, with disaster, drug addiction and death.

WHEN GIANTS WALKED THE EARTH reveals for the first time the true extent of band leader Jimmy Page's longstanding interest in the occult, and goes behind the scenes to expose the truth behind their much-hyped yet spectacularly contrived comeback at London's O2 arena in 2007, and how Jimmy Page plans to bring the band back permanently - if only his former protégé, now part-time nemesis, Robert Plant will allow him to. Wall also recounts, in a series of flashbacks, the life stories of the five individuals that made the dream of Led Zeppelin into an even more incredible and hard-to-swallow reality: Page, Plant, John Paul Jones, John Bonham, and their infamous manager, Peter Grant.

Genres: Music, Biography, Nonfiction, History, Audiobook, Biography Memoir, Rock N Roll

609 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 30, 2008

About the author

Mick Wall is an author, journalist, film, television and radio writer-producer, who’s worked inside the music industry for over 35 years. He began his career contributing to the music weekly Sounds in 1977, where he wrote about punk and the new wave, and then rockabilly, funk, New Romantic pop and, eventually, hard rock and heavy metal. By 1983, Wall become one of the main journalists in the early days of Kerrang! magazine, where he was their star cover story writer for the next nine years. He subsequently became the founding editor of Classic Rock magazine in 1998, and presented his own television and radio shows.

Reviews

[Michael Finocchiaro · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did not read the more famous Hammer of the Gods biography because I heard it took too much vicarious pleasure in the revelling and partying of the Zep boys and did not talk enough about the music they produced. The Mick Wall biography on the other hand, does mention some of the shameless and shameful behaviour of the band but also talks at length about the backgrounds and stories of the individual musicians that made the group and the unwinding of the binds that ended in the tragic death of Bonzo and the dissolution of Led Zeppelin. I felt that Wall's book took a more Jimmy Page-centric view of the band (I believe that some sources told me that he and Jimmy were pretty tight back in London but I could be mistaken), but he still talks more or less objectively about John Paul Jones, Robert Plant and the late great John Bonham. Some revelations for me was how much music that was stolen outright with no credit to the original authors (and I won't accept the 'everyone did that back then excuse') particularly on Led Zeppelin I, II and III or the musical genius of John Paul Jones who would play bass with pedals while soloing on his keyboard and writing a good amount of the music. Of course, there is Jimmy Page and his growing obsession with the occult, Robert's overflowing sexual prowess, and the uncontrollable drinking of Bonzo. A lot of the credit to Zep's success was actually due to Peter Grant's obsessive management of EVERYTHING that concerned Zeppelin from licensing to paraphernalia to concert schedules to interviews. It was a well-oiled if someone off-the-rails train ride that earned all of them millions in a time where musicians were lucky to live off their music for the most part. Of course, G was also a bit of a gangster,Bonham a bullying drunk, Robert completely sex-obsessed, and Jimmy deep into his Crowley cult. All of these factors both added to the mystique of their greatest albums: IV, Houses of the Holy, and Physical Graffiti - but also their slow downfall in Presence, In Through the Out Door, and Coda. This is not to say that I do not adore all the music and indeed I own vinyl originals of all of them including the paper back for Out Door and the spinning psychedelic wheel of III, but there is a qualitative difference that shows through each of them as the band evolved. The Song Remains the Same was remixed in 2009 and sounds far better but as pointed out by Wall, How the West Was Won is actually a better and more accurate portrait of the live Led at their best.
So, if you can put aside your disgust at their juvenile behaviour (not to say abusive at times) and just wish to understand why they became and remain so incredibly legendary in the rock-n-roll world, I would highly recommend this Mick Wall biography for both the story and the musical insights.

[Becky · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sometimes, I have these moments of personal insight into myself that make me realize that I do not do things the way that "normal" people do. This book definitely brought one of those on. I say this because I literally grew up listening to Led Zeppelin, to the point that I could recognize them from a half-second of playtime as I'm flipping through the radio dial or skipping randomized songs on my phone playlist. I literally cannot remember a time in my life that Led Zeppelin music wasn't there. But until I read this book, I couldn't have told you anything about Led Zeppelin themselves. Not how many members were in the band. Or what their names were. Etc. I loved the music in a "this is just the soundtrack of my life" kind of way and I never one time paused to think about it in terms of who the band was or how the music came be.

Which is kind of strange, considering that many of y'all might be aware of just how much I love origin stories. (Spoiler alert: A LOT.)

So I wasn't a "Led Zeppelin fan" so much as a "Led Zeppelin music lover". I was content with Zeppelin just being there, a constant in the background of my life. They hold a nostalgic place in my heart, reminding me of my dad and of an era (the 70s) that I never experienced and can only appreciate through cultural memory - music, movies, TV, etc. As I got older, and started to get some of the more… mature… references, I only came to love the music more. I mean, now I know why that Led guy loved lemons so much. :P

Anyway, considering all of that, I'm not sure how I feel about this book, but I think that my feelings about Led Zeppelin (by which I mean the music of them) are unchanged. I loved the origin story aspect of the book, especially because now knowing what I do about how this band came together, and the perfect combination of factors in each of the members that allowed them to work so well together, so quickly. I loved that bit... but honestly, so much of the rest of it, the antics and the drama and the blah blah blah... I don't care about. Maybe it's a bit shitty, but I am perfectly fine with knowing that Led Zeppelin made music I love, but may have been people I wouldn't have wanted to actually know. I don't really want or need to know anything else but the art. That is enough for me. The same as it is for books and the flawed human beings who write them. Sometimes, the less we know, the better.

It's not news to me, or anyone, that alcohol and drugs and groupies and craziness and out of control behavior were a thing that successful bands (and people) got involved with in the 70s. And still do. Led Zeppelin partook. No denying it. Sometimes it was a blast, and sometimes it cost them, heavily. That's the way it goes. I don't need it spelled out in gratuitous detail.

It's not surprising to me that there were and are accusations of plagiarism/creative theft/failure to properly attribute credit, etc. But here's the thing - Nothing is created in a vacuum. Everything is inspired by someone or something that came before. Led Zeppelin took old folk songs, blues songs, jazz songs, songs that I never would have listened to in any form otherwise, and made them into something magical and beautiful and haunting, or whatever it was they were going for. If anything, that only makes me appreciate the source music more, to see what was, and then what they did with it. I know that many of their songs were "inspired" by the work of others, and I'm all for it.

Many people won't agree with me on that, but that's OK. I can forgive a multitude of sins as long as songs like "In My Time Of Dying" and "When The Levee Breaks" get to exist. And all the rest of them, too. Just sayin'.

So. Love Led Zeppelin, always have, always will, despite this book's really strenuous attempts at showing how out of control and shitty they were in a lot of ways. Except one thing, which admittedly does make me rage twitch: John Bonham attempting to "force a flight attendant to have sex with him" should have been called exactly what it was, Mick Wall. Attempted rape. If you're going to show all the warts, don't fucking try to slap a bandaid over the biggest, nastiest one. I had a little bit of a rage aneurysm when I heard that shitty boys-will-be-boys euphemism. Fuck all of that. He was a great drummer, legendary even, but he tried to rape someone. Not OK. Not then, not when this was published 10 years ago. Not now.

That being said… it doesn't change the music for me. I can't let knowing that John Bonham had serious alcoholism and uncontrollable behavior and really piss-poor judgement while drinking take away from what they made together. Was he a "bad" person? I don't know. I think probably not. His behavior was erratic but I think he needed help, and didn't get it, and it ultimately killed him. Honestly, it's a tragedy, but I think that at that time, mental health issues were for schizophrenics and everything else was nothing a good kick in the ass or a few (dozen) drinks couldn't solve. But… hindsight is 20/20 as they say. From the things I heard in this book, he was not okay, but it was written off as boys being boys and having well-earned fun that just got out of control.

One more note on the "drama", before I move on to the structure of this book. Jimmy Page was apparently into the occult. If you care. I don't. Apparently it was a big deal back in the day. Meh. I don't care if he held a ritual to summon a demon and used his super esoteric knowledge to benefit his talent or career. If so, good for him. The way that this book went on and on and on about the OCCULT made it feel like it was written that way throughout the book, in all caps, like this should be a scandalous shocker that would make people do a double-take and question everything they ever enjoyed about the band - COULD THEIR SUCCESS BE THE RESULT OF DEVIL WORSHIP??! Do not care. Believe in whatever you want, Page. You do you. If he is not hurting anyone, then what the fuck does it matter what the man believed in? Someone eating a piece of bread and claiming that it's the body of Christ, drinking a bit of wine as his blood, and that's all totes normal, apparently, but change the symbolism and suddenly THOSE beliefs become a thing that needs to be hashed and rehashed again and again, even going so far as to make the occult the closing idea of the book, rather than, ohhh… I dunno, something about Led Zeppelin. There's even a biography chapter of Aleister Crowley. Because… reasons?

Let's move on.

I was totally going to do a parody of the chapter intros here, but the thought of actually trying to imitate second person narration made me throw up in my mouth a little bit. So, nah. I won't do that. It was annoying enough to get through it each chapter, every chapter (except one, because CONSISTENCY!) over and over again. And on top of that, it was written in a really annoying British Limey/Cockney/Something? Slang that made me want to puncture my eardrums with a pencil. Not because of the accent - let's be clear that Simon Vance could read to me in Klingon and I would soak that shit up - but because of the pretentiousness of it. UGH.

Not to mention that except for the very first few intros, I never knew who I "was" at any given time in these sections. Was I Page? Was I Plant? Was I some random groupie? Jones now? Who the fuck knows. I think I have MPD after listening to this book.

AND on top of that, these intros just kept rehashing (AGAIN!) the same origin story over and over and over. At 84% into the book I had a rant in a voice to text note in the Audible app about the fact that we were EIGHTY-FOUR PERCENT into the book and still fucking talking about Page's previous band, The Yardbirds, Jimmy Page's vision for The New Yardbirds (which would become Led Zeppelin) and how much of a risk it was, yada yada yada. WHY are we still talking about that at this point? WHY, when Led Zeppelin's time together and Bonham's life itself was coming to an end, were we STILL ON THE FORMATION OF THE BAND?? LET'S MOVE THE FUCK ON ALREADY!

SO annoying.

Dammit. As I've gone along, I've talked myself into rating this book way lower than I ever would have thought. But, aside from Simon Vance, and the FIRST time through the origin story, I don't have anything positive to say about this. I love the music, but this book, in the end, didn't enhance it in any way. It just made me aware of the fact that in this case, the music is enough. I don't need or want anything more.

[Danilo · Rating 4 out of 5]

U srednjoj su jednom godišnje delili knjige kao nagrade nekim učenicima, mene je profesorica iz srpskog volela pa sam imao tu privilegiju da biram koju ću knjigu da dobijem.
I tako dok su ostali dobijali klasične romane i slično, ja sam u četvrtoj godini dobio biografiju Zeppelina, u trećoj je bio Frank Zappa, a u drugoj Louis Armstrong ako se dobro sećam redosleda. Nisam siguran koliko je taj izbor oduševio profesoricu, ali zato sad nadoknađujem. :)

[Bill · Rating 1 out of 5]

You are Mick Wall, and boy, do you have a story to tell! Nothing less than the fable of Led Zeppelin, arguably the greatest rock band ever and, unarguably, the biggest band in the world throughout the 1970s. It’s not a tale as popularly told as that of the Beatles or the Stones, outside of the gossipy tabloid focus of Stephen Davis’ Hammer of the Gods. What sets you apart from that dreck is that you can bring to the table an in-depth knowledge of the band’s music. You are Mick Wall and you have a story to tell. The question is, can you get out of the way of the story long enough not to screw it up?
When you think about it, you realise that the Zeppelin saga almost tells itself, with so many tales both whispered and shouted over the years of the drugs, the groupies, the mud shark, the Satanism. All you really have to do is competently address the facts. But you’ve got a better idea! Instead of the same old tired codswallop, why not try something daring? Make the reader the members of the band! Each section will begin with “You are Jimmy Page”, “You are Robert Plant”, et al. These sections will all be written in the second-person present and they will last much longer than anyone could possibly want!
Hey, look at that “codswallop” sitting up there! That gives you another brilliant idea. Why not make these second-person sections as densely provincial as possible? Despite the fact that, by your own assertion, Led Zeppelin is one of the few British bands to be “made in America”, where they experienced their first big success, you have an idea to try your hardest to alienate anyone outside the United Kingdom with such a cartoonish overindulgence in Limey slang that the band members come off less like the golden rock gods of the 1970s and more like Pinky and the Brain. Whoops! You almost forgot references to people, places and events that will be almost impenetrable to American readers! There! Mission accomplished!
You have now come to the toughest topic to cover in this book; that whole “Satanism” bugaboo. You have an idea. You’ll simply write “Aleister Crowley was a goofy occultist from the early 20th century, and Jimmy Page sure liked Aleister Crowley.” Done and done! But… there’s all that research you did! And you know for a fact that people read Beatles biographies to learn more about the Maharishi. Therefore, you include a whole chapter about Aleister Crowley. Who would skip over that?
You are Mick Wall and you have finished your book. It’s printed and you’re holding a copy in your hands. You have never been so proud! This is one of your life’s defining moments! And then that moment is ruined when you open the cover. How is it possible? Where did all these errors come from? You state that Led Zeppelin’s fourth album is second only to The Eagles Greatest Hits in sales. How could you have forgotten about that American bloke? What was his name? Tito Jackson? Geranium Jackson? You can’t remember the album’s name, but you know it has something to do with zombies. Your mention of the “Atlanta Braves football stadium” so bungles two sports that the ridiculous statement has an almost Zen-like effect on American readers, who quickly fall into a trance when contemplating it.
Then there’s the creme de la creme of oh, so many errors. You claim that moderately-successful ‘60s TV/pop star Bobby Sherman created the Monkees (!) Not a single bit of that is true! You are gobsmacked! Are you really that dumb? No… no, of course not! You are Mick Wall! You’re Jack the Lad! Bollocks! Quid! Snog!

You are Mick Wall and you have managed what some thought was impossible; you have written a crappy book about Led Zeppelin.

[Elaine Kasket · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a big improvement on Hammer of the Gods, and I dithered over whether to give it three or four stars. I agree with the reviews here there and everywhere that are calling it the "definitive biography". It boasts thorough research, in depth knowledge both personal and research-based, good writing, and a fantastic book jacket. I would have given it four stars if it were not for the following two problems.

Issue One is the italicized second-person detours that are meant to take you "into the head" of various members of Led Zeppelin, Peter Grant, and associates. This awkward literary device is an overly forced way of trying to get you to imagine what it must have been like to have been, say, a young flaxen-haired hippie lad from the Black Country who gets the opportunity of a lifetime. Personally, I don't need italics and the second person to help me imagine that, especially given the richness of the descriptions given elsewhere, in the non-italicized bits. An additional annoying characteristic of the second-person segments is that they are sometimes randomly placed or out of sync, chronology-wise, with the story, and Wall never identifies whose head you're meant to be inside (saying, "You are Robert Plant. You are a young flaxen-haired hippie lad from the Black Country" would be more dorky than it already is), so sometimes you're not entirely sure where you are.

Issue Two is a sometimes laughably credulous attitude towards the teachings of Aleister Crowley and the O.T.O., which Wall describes at one point as a "great world religion." Now, I'm not saying anything about whether the great world religions are more or less bonkers than O.T.O., but I would hesitate to classify the O.T.O. in such a manner. Why is it necessary to devote so many pages to this topic? Is it because occultism was *really* such an influence on Led Zep's music that it's necessary to discuss it at this level of earnestness? Is Wall trying to legitimize and respect Jimmy Page as a Smart Guy who wouldn't believe in claptrap? Or does Mick Wall - and this is a hypothesis that I was leaning towards as I read on (and on, and on) - have an undeclared bias, i.e., that he is an O.T.O. member himself?

Whatever the reason for the massive word count given over to this topic, all I know is that I often longed to get back to the story of the band and its music and got pretty bloody sick of seeing magic capitalized and spelled with a "K".

[DJ Yossarian · Rating 1 out of 5]

To be honest I couldn't get past about page 30 of this thing -- the writing style grated on me that much. The actual factual historical stuff was insightful enough, but I just can't abide by the particular conceit employed here by the author, of having these multi-page italicized interludes that are supposed to be some kind of interior monologue by the protagonists (but in second person), e.g.

You are Peter Grant. It is the summer of 1968, you are thirty-three and sick and tired of earning money for other fucking people. In the days when you'd worked for Don Arden, it hadn't mattered. Don could be a right c*nt to work for, always on your case, giving you a hard time, always taking the piss, but at least you'd been paid regular and in cash.

Blah blah blah. I really hate it when biographers or historians try and put words into people's mouths, it just erodes their credibility right from the start. So although I love me some Led Zeppelin, I'm going to look elsewhere for a good book on them.

[*TUDOR^QUEEN* · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love reading rock biographies and had never enjoyed one about Led Zeppelin. This seems to be one of the best books about this iconic band, and I was familiar with the author from some other fine rock bios he's written. I was lucky enough to pick this gem up on a kindle sale.

This was a very thorough and well-written biography of the band. I was a little thrown off by some of the chapter lead-ins of imagined narratives from each member of the band that were in italic form and not identified as to who was speaking. You had to eventually realize yourself who was "talking". Other than this slight annoyance, I highly recommend this wonderful book.

[Marco · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love the band, this bio; not so much. Mick Wall's style is not entirely for me. Made me feel like he's very pleased with himself or something. Especially during the italic segments, in which he changes perspective, talking to a band member / VIP about that band member / VIP. The tone of those parts.. Ugh. Unbearable. After a few I started skipping them. Didn't do that when it comes to Jimmy Page's interest in the occult, but the overload of information makes those parts surprisingly boring. Bonzo; that's more like it. Man, he lived like he played the drums. On the road anyway. What a character. I sure hope he's not touring up there.

[Tosh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mick Wall has the annoying habit of writing first-person narratives in a biography. But beyond that, this is an interesting biography on one of my NOT favorite bands. If the mood hits me correctly, I usually hate Led Zeppelin. But nevertheless a fascinating band as a subject matter.

Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones were great session players during the British Invasion years. We're talking Herman's Hermits, Lulu, and lots of Mickie Most productions. And right away I have to tell you I love that type of music more than the Zeppelin. But to give credit, Page (and Jones) are remarkable arrangers. And the production of Zeppelin records are great. What they are not is songwriters. They steal songs like a boy or girl stealing an apple from a neighbor's apple tree. Listen to Jakes Homes original version of Dazed and Confused! Page stole that song. He did a great arrangement of the song, but nevertheless it is surely not a song by "Jimmy Page' as it is credited on the label.

One of the interesting things about Wall is that he writes about Page's fascination with Crowley - who everyone knows is one of Page's passions. He has a huge collection of Crowley editions as well as paintings, etc. And it is pretty certain that Page is one of the top figures in the Crowley group. Which is interesting when you mix Led Zeppelin sounds with the image of the occult. But on the other hand you have these terrible lyrics by Robert Plant ....well, I don't want to go there.

So what makes this book depressing is how Page sort of ends up as a sad guy who sort of lost his creation due to his relationship problems with his lead singer Plant and a series of early deaths - Plant's son and their drummer. The decadence part is also an enjoyable read, but that too turns into dark muck, when all of sudden the management became violent and ugly. Their manager Peter Grant is a fascinating character, due that he was the first figure to actually challenge everyday music world practices. It was pretty 'my way and nothing for you.'

But later on it became an ugly brutish method in dealing with road crews and especially to groupies. Led Zeppelin wrote the book with respect to Groupie culture. But what was once fun became a really ugly scene. So the book is about having the ultimate power and fame, and then what? And that is the sad part of the book. Plant and Jones had no problem after Zeppelin, but Page one feels, had his moment and is really trying to get that moment back. But it's gone.

[Karen Witzler · Rating 3 out of 5]

They were so young. Enjoyed the Jimmy/Aleister exposition. Read in a bout of Easter manic insomnia.

[Patrick Duran · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would give this 5 stars, but I'm not sure of the veracity of all the reporting. The book is about Led Zeppelin, but Mick Wall makes a statement that The Monkees were discovered by the pop singer/actor Bobby Sherman. Other readers have pointed out some of the inaccuracies in the writing. It's entirely possible that there is some obscure written account that Bobby mentioned the casting call notice to one of the four members, which led to them being cast, but no such details are provided. It leads to one questioning some of the other reporting.

On its face value, this is one terrific work. It gives you an inside look at the creation of the band and an in-depth look into their interpersonal relationships. It may sound trite, but it is truly shocking the human body can absorb so much abuse and still survive (though not all are so fortunate). I finally understand the lowdown of their years of touring, the creative process behind the songs, the death of John Bonham, the death of Robert Plant's son, and the eventual demise of the band. Some chapters are thrilling to read for hard-core fans. Even the casual fan would enjoy the overall arc of the book. Definitely recommended.

[Arf Ortiyef · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is easily some of the worst writing I've ever read in my life. Presumably Mick Wall had to either dictate this book or write it with one hand because he was obviously using his other hand to masturbate furiously the entire time.

I hated this book the second I started reading it but I admit I was also hooked. I had to find out the whole story. Unfortunately for all the details about forming the band and who they ripped off and what sex acts were done to whom, there are scant details about the recording process and songwriting (the parts that are about music). There was barely anything I wanted to read about in it and I was left feeling like I only read part of a story with way too many suppositions.

The ridiculously annoying second-person "flashbacks" are apparently works of fiction (as the disclaimer at the beginning notes) so I'm not sure why I should have read them at all. This technique alone, the author's ham-fisted attempt to break up way too much back-story, was a waste of half of a book.

Also a waste of time were Wall's opinions about the band's music. It seems like he doesn't care for their later albums and writes them off as a waste of time. I couldn't disagree more about this! Why would you write a book about a band if you didn't like 1/3 of their music? Oh, I know why! Because this guy writes books about every famous band he can get an interview with.

So much of this book is written from the author's opinion that everything Page did was about summoning demons so it includes at least a full chapter about the life story of Aleister Crowley. Then Wall brings in his expert on the subject, his friend Dave. Here's what I imagine the book is like: "Don't take my word for it! Dave says: 'Oh yeah Page was big into Crowley, man. They were tight bros from way back in the day.' So there you have irrefutable proof that Good Times, Bad Times, the only good song they ever wrote, was actually written by Satan."

Wall spends the first half of this book with a hard-on and then completely loses interest for the second half. This is not only a flaccid disservice to the storytelling, it makes a lot of the book very boring! The last two chapters read like a chore: all about how Page wants Zeppelin to reform and Plant doesn't over and over again and then the book just fucking ends. He had so many sources, why couldn't he just tie that information together?

This book stinks and Wall doesn't understand music, Crowley or probably just life in general. This is another trashy book churned out by a guy who has built a career writing trash. On the other hand, where else are you gonna read about all this "bacchanalia"?

[Alex Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty decent bio, although it was written in 2009 so doesn’t have anything about their most recent reunions.

[Matt Slaybaugh · Rating 2 out of 5]

Also posted here: AGITREADER

I’m not a big Led Zeppelin fan. In fact, I knew relatively little about the band that I didn’t learn from listening to classic rock stations while making pizzas at the Bogey Inn back in the day. That fact, along with an abnormal lust for books with more than 450 pages, is what led me to pick-up Mick Wall’s When Giants Walked the Earth: A Biography of Led Zeppelin in the first place. Also, the cover art is really sweet.

What I really wanted was a definitive chronicle of the band, you know, the one book that’d give me everything I need to know. Yes, I saw Hammer of the Gods sitting there on the shelf too, but newer is better, right? And I really wanted the inside story on that Coverdale/Page album. In the end, this did the job only adequately. I got the inside scoop on the break-up and all the tedious dirt about Page’s plagiarism issues, but to get that I had to suffer through some truly poor writing and Wall’s obsession with Jimmy Page’s “dark side.”

Somewhere along the way, Wall got it into his head that the single question Zep fans and book-buyers want answered more than any other was whether Jimmy Page worships the devil, or at least Aleister Crowley. And, while I suppose that may be true for diehard fans who’ve actually tried playing “Stairway to Heaven” in reverse, I’m not sure that even those folks will want the level of attention that Wall gives to the subject. Crowley doesn’t show up in the book till about 180 pages in, in a full chapter devoted to Page’s interest in the “dark arts,” but from that point on he’s a constant presence. I now know as much about Crowley’s personal history as I do about that of John Paul Jones. Wall makes sure that nearly every significant event in the band’s later history gets a thorough analyses for any signs of the occult. Suffice to say, it’s a bit much.

Wall’s other agenda seems to be some kind of self-aggrandizing one-up-manship. He’s got the real story. He knows what really happened because Jimmy Page told him so. He attacks several of the more well known Zeppelin myths (like the “shark incident”) with the intent of “setting things straight,” but really just ends up telling the same old story with minute changes in the details or perspective. Meh, so what?

First on my list of annoyances, though, is Wall’s attempt at a stylistic departure. Repeatedly, he tries to take readers “inside the minds” of the band and their closest allies, suddenly switching to second-person storytelling. Aside from the obvious phoniness of his technique and his inability to pull anything revealing out of these long, italicized passages, is the fact that the writing is just terrible. Trying to cram facts and epiphanies into his second-person concept forces Wall to torture readers and the English language alike. Imagine three pages like this: “It was while you were with Jackie that you made your own first record: ‘She Just Satisfies.’ Your own song with you singing and Jackie on backing vocals. You were 21 and suddenly it was like you had the whole world by the arse.” I guess we should admire Wall for attempting something interesting, but his editor should have put a stop to it.

Bottom line: there may not be a better book on Led Zeppelin out there, but there’s got to be a less irritating one.

[Mike Sumner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written by Mick Wall, "When Giants Walked The Earth: A Biography Of Led Zeppelin" is the culmination of several years of research, and is written by someone who has known guitarist Jimmy Page for over two decades. Its material is based on interviews the journalist has conducted with every member of the band over the years, as well as those who knew and worked alongside them. I have been a fan of Led Zeppelin for 45 years and I thoroughly enjoyed this momentous opus, running to 534 pages. It is therefore beyond my comprehension how anyone on Goodreads could rate this with One Star having read just 30 pages and giving up on the book. Rather like rating a movie after watching just the opening credits. I would qualify my Five Star rating by stating that this is for fans of Led Zeppelin. I doubt that you would enjoy it so much if you weren’t.

Mick Wall said in 2009 that he just felt there had never been a really serious book written about Zeppelin. Hammer Of The Gods is great but its 25 years old and not really built on any genuine research or interviews with the band. He thought it was time for something seriously heavyweight. And heavyweight it is, requiring considerable stamina to complete. It has taken me a couple of weeks to read, giving myself time to reflect on the content of each comprehensive chapter.

From 1969 to 1975, Led Zeppelin were arguably at the peak of their powers. The book covers all that in detail. But Zep 'II' (1969) and 'IV' (1971) would be the peak of their success. Many, like me, still love 'Houses of the Holy' (1973), and many parts of the others. Following the release of 1975's critically acclaimed 'Physical Graffiti', Led Zeppelin arguably went into a creative decline, attributed to drugs, alcohol abuse and self-immolation. And without drummer John ‘Bonzo’ Bonham, who was the best rock drummer ever, who died at a shocking young age, choked on his own vomit, Led Zeppelin were no more. Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones developed solo careers - Plant the most successful.

There is much more to this book that my brief resumé covers. Wall said: "My book came about because Jimmy simply refused to do a book of his own." I for one am glad that it did. Highly recommended for fans.

The song remains the same....

[Maximilian Wolf · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book focused on all about one of my favorite rock bands.
I do like many details regarding various Led Zeppelin songs and song origins.

I wouldn't say I like narrative parts focusing on the personal development aspect of the band members.
The impression that many details about Robert Plant are missing by purpose makes the book less juicy.

[Lauri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Põhjalik ülevaade maailma vägevaima rockbändi sünnist, kasvuraskustest, tõusust stratosfääri ja lõpuks nina ees maassesööstust ning siiamaani garaažis, laia publiku silme eest varjatult ilmselt toimuvatest edututest ülesputitamiskatsetest. Autor Mick Wall on materjalis väga kodus, tõsi küll, mida edasi seda ilmsemaks saab kallutatus ühe liikme - Jimmy Page'i loomulikult - poole. Tegelikult võiks ju ka vaielda Page'i osa tähtsusest Zeppelini ajaloos aga päris selge on see, et Zeppelini kui perfektse ja ideaalse rockimasina moodustasid ikkagi 4 meest. Ilmselt taustamaterjali kogudes ei õnnestunud tal teiste meestega niipalju vestelda kui Pagega, kui üldse - eriti Plant on enam kui tõrges Zeppelini aegu meenutama...
Põhipuudusi on siiski kaks. Esimene neist on autori kui kogenud muusikaajakirjaniku korraga tärganud kirg ilukirjanduse vastu. See väljendub teksti põhiosa sisse päris suvaliselt topitud heietustes, mis on suht ootamatult vormistatud bändiliikmete ja nende legendaarse manageri teises isikus tagasivaadete-sisemonoloogidena. "Sa ju teadsid, et las koerad hauguvad, sina oled ikkagi parim, sina oskad trumme lüüa nagu ei keegi teine ja sina teadsid et sinust saab lõpuks staar". Need tagasivaated on küündimatud, ülimalt segased, kronoloogiliselt täiesti suvas järjekorras (näiteks lõpus kui kogu Zeppelini nimeline masin juba igatpidi laguneb, paisatakse korraga ette Bonhami või Planti "sisemonoloog" ajast kui hilisteismelistena alles esimesi samme okkalisel rock'n'rolli teel astusid), oma ülbuses suht imekspandavad - autor arvab heaks reaalsete inimeste mõtteid mingite konkreetsete sündmuste või teiste inimeste kohta välja mõelda ja lõpuks - täiesti asjassepuutumatud. Selles mõttes, et Zeppelini loole ei anna nad küll midagi juurde, enamik noist sisemonoloogidest jääb täiesti tundmatute 60ndate kohtade ja isikute tõttu totaalselt arusaamatuks. Kui aga tegu oli muusikaajakirjaniku eneseuhkust kõditavate katsetustega ilukirjanduse vallas - sest ma kahtlen ikka väga tema Zeppelini liikmete mõtete tundmises, vaatamata ohtratele intervjuudele-taustamaterjalidele - siis oleks võinud need küll vabalt sahtlisse kirjutada, kui niimoodi põhinarratiivi hakkivalt elulukku sisse surada. Praeguse seisuga need vahepalad lihtsalt segavad ja häirivad.
Teine põhimiinus on kuskil 150-180. lk pealt alguse saav ohjeldamatu ja naeruväärne okultismi-teema. Hea küll, Jimmy Page tegeles sellega ja mingil määral ehk oleks see tõesti sobinud ja väärinud äramärkimist. Aga meil on siin paar peatükki Aleister Crowley elust, ohtralt ristviiteid Crowley töödele ja Zeppelini käekäigule - autori järgi oli Zeppelini karjäär Jimmy Page'i poolt maagiliselt toetatud ja päris naeruväärseks muutuv okultismi ja isegi satanismi tagaajamine Zeppelini elust. Loed rockbiograafiat ja korraga langeb autor arutlustesse kas rahva poolt saadav energia mõjutas Page'i okultistlikult ning kas Page'i okultismiharrastused mõjutasid Zeppelini liikmetele hiljem osaks saavaid kannatusi ja surmasid. Kogu seda okultismiteemat ei käsitleta neutraalselt ja objektiivselt, vaid mingi ebamäärase imetlusevärina ja mõista andes ainult valitutele teada oleva salatarkuse üleolekuga. Jääb mulje, et autor on isegi Crowley sonimisi tõe pähe võtnud ja tahaks kangesti noidsamu seksuaalmaagiaid rakendada.
Kolmas miinuselaadne asi on lõpukolmandikust alates pidev ja ühtlane vingumine Zeppelini comebacki ebaõnnestumise üle. Ma olen ise Zeppelini kuulanud umbes 30 aastat ja mina küll vähemalt ei nõrke igatsusest kuskil staadionil kolme vanameest ja ühte veidi nooremat trummarit postmargisuurustena 50 aasta taguseid hitte mängimas. Ja neid hitte ma veel isegi kuulaks, aga neidsamu vanamehi ma mingit uut muusikat küll tegemas ei taha näha-kuulda. Heakene küll, võib-olla tõesti maailm vajab Zeppelini kokkutulekut, vähemalt vajab seda ilmselt Jimmy Page ja eks lugupeetud autor väljenda tema soovi, seda et ta teiste meestega väga rääkinud pole on mujaltki näha.
Aga muidu on igati kobe raamat, nii vanadele fännidele kui ka noorematele põlvkondadele, kes selle raamatu läbilugenuna suudavad ehk mõista miks tänapäeva "staarid" kes longivad üksi lavale, mälupulk "kontserdiga" taskus suudavad vana kooli rocki hindavates vanameistrites ainult tülpinud põlgusesegase muige välja meelitada.

[Larry (LPosse1) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I guess I’m a glutton for punishment—this marks my third Led Zeppelin biography. But what can I say? These heavy metal pioneers continue to fascinate me, and When Giants Walked the Earth by Mick Wall offers yet another gripping, gritty, and sometimes chaotic perspective on a band that truly reshaped the rock landscape.

Mick Wall brings a veteran journalist’s depth and edge to the story, peeling back the mythology and getting into the meat of what made Zeppelin tick—and what ultimately tore them apart. He captures the musical brilliance, the larger-than-life personas, and the dark underbelly of fame with an unflinching honesty that feels true to the spirit of the band.

This biography stands out for its unique stylistic approach—Wall occasionally writes from the perspective of each band member in the second person. It’s an unusual narrative device, and while it took me a bit to warm up to it, I came to appreciate how it added a psychological and emotional layer that more traditional biographies sometimes lack.

What I really appreciated were the deep dives into the creative process—the riffs, the studio sessions, the tours—and the way Wall contrasts those moments of inspiration with the excesses and pressures that defined the band’s off-stage life. His portrayal of Jimmy Page’s mystical obsessions, Bonham’s volatility, Plant’s evolution, and Jones’s quiet genius is rich and textured.

That said, the book occasionally wanders or gets bogged down in repetition, and the nonlinear structure can be a little disorienting. Still, those are small trade-offs for a book that so vividly captures the highs and lows of the Zeppelin saga.

For anyone obsessed with Zeppelin like I clearly am, this book is worth the ride. It’s raw, ambitious, and doesn’t flinch—which, come to think of it, sounds a lot like the band itself.

[Svetla Dobreva · Rating 3 out of 5]

Колебаех се каква оценка да сложа, но в крайна сметка давам 3 звезди.
Книгата е доста обемна, съдържа доста детайлна информация, което е един от нейните плюсове.
Но... Не ми харесва съвсем стилът на писане на Мик Уол. Във всяка отделна глава има абзаци, които се водят във второ лице, единствено число, т.е. уж монолог на някой от основните действащи лица: Джими, Робърт, Джон Пол или Джон/Бонзо. Тук най-явно си личи как се е вихрила авторовата фантазия, за която творческа волност набързо споменава в кратък предговор към книгата.
Но тези четири-пет изречения предговор са много важни.
В крайна сметка, се е получила книга, събрала доста исторически достоверни факти и събития за историята на любимата банда. Но всичко това е разгърнато на фона на авторовата фантазия какво той си представял, че бил казал Робърт, или Джими, или всеки един от останалите.
Много място е отделено на увлечението на Джими Пейдж по окултизма, и в частност от Алистър Кроули. Според Мик Уол Пейдж до ден днешен е член на тайно окултно братство, изповядващо маниите на Кроули.
Ай, стига бе...
И нещо дребно, което много ме подразни: да наречеш "Лед Цепелин за бедняци" музиката на Уайтснейк е меко казано идиотско изказване.
Не съм тръгнала да проверявам обстойно цитирани в книгата цифри, дати и твърдения, но попрочетох оттук-оттам, че има сгрешена и фактологията информация
Като цяло, не съжалявам, че я прочетох.
Но май няма да посегна повече към други книги на Мик Уол.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's all here - from the build-up to the greatness to Page's absorption in the occult to the legendary excesses that contributed to their demise. The story culminates with the inevitable question about when they'll get back together, the obvious answer being never which leads one to wonder what does Jimmy Page been doing for the past 30+ years waiting for Robert Plant to change his mind.

[Milan Vasiljevic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must Read!

[Josh Lovvorn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like probably most readers of this book, I fell into this book thanks to my love of the band Led Zeppelin. As a teenager, I discovered classic rock thanks to my father and my interest in impressing a girl who I was trying to date at the time. Though I spent a long time on the punk rock and ska vibe, I always came back to classics like Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, and of course, Led Zeppelin. I was then quite interested in learning more about he band than the random quips I learned from internet babble and various magazines.

The book was set up in an interesting format. It started with the time of Jimmy Page in the Yardbirds and his struggle to bring together an "album-centered" band through every obstacle. The book began, and was intermittently interspersed with apparent 2nd-person accounts of all of the members of the band and their manager Peter Grant. At first, these "asides" were nice. It was a way to step back in one sense, and in another sense to get a more personal account of the band's history. However, as the book progressed from album to album, the asides continued to delve into each members' past experiences in the music industry and pub scene. By the end of the book, the asides were more a nuisance than anything.

I enjoyed how the book was chronicled nonetheless. Mick Wall takes us on a timeline with the major road signs being the albums themselves. At times I grew a little weary with the amount of time spent on the occult interests of Jimmy Page, but given how paramount he was to the band, and how paramount those interests really were, I cannot really fault Wall for his time spent on the subject. I was also very interested in the comings and goings of Peter Grant, the infamous manager who bludgeoned his way through the American music scene, and Richard Cole, the road man and eternal partner in chaos to John Bonham.

The book was fantastic, and I found myself having to pause to pull out my vinyl copies of Led Zeppelin I, III, and Physical Graffiti to listen to them as they should be heard. I also pulled out the DVD, paying great attention to every member of the band in turn to get a good feeling of what the book was describing. I became especially engrossed with Bonzo, listening as closely as I could the drums in each song, finding myself experiencing Led Zeppelin totally differently, and more completely now.

I recommend this book to any fan of Zeppelin, and anyone interested in rock and roll in general. It is a good flowing read and primes you to fully appreciate the band and their enormous accomplishments.

As an aside, I found myself completely distracted with the asides in the book. I was listening to the audiobook, as read by Simon Vance. He really is a great reader of audiobooks, but these asides were read in the same cant and accent that he reads Duncan Idaho of the Dune novels (which I have on my iTunes and listen to at least a couple of times a year). This bears nothing to the actual book, but if you are an audiobook listener, it's worth a mention.

[Mark Desrosiers · Rating 4 out of 5]

A balanced, energetic bio by a writer who clearly has some kind of love/hate relationship with the Zep mythos (not to mention the principals themselves). Sidestepping most of the nasty gossip (though obviously he had to include a detailed consideration of the "mud snapper incident"), this volume is largely of interest to music geeks -- Wall has an almost Tosches-style obsession with locating the origin of some of Zep's most famous tunes. Also, for the first time ever (as far as I can tell), Wall takes Aleister Crowley seriously, giving lots of fascinating background and detail on how such a bright, drug-addled guitarist like Jimmy Page would become so immersed in the Ordo Templi Orientis. I'll never dismiss this odd world of "magick" and hedonism so readily again.

One more thing (since several reviewers here mention it): Wall intersperses the narrative with memoir-style second-person ramblings about the pre-Zep careers of all the principal characters. Kinda similar to what Edmund Morris did with Dutch, and yeah, Wall has clearly taken liberties. To me, these fugues and interludes were annoying at first, often bringing the narrative to a screeching halt. But then I noticed that the vulgar harangues about Peter Grant's pre-Zep career as actor, wrestler, bouncer, and intolerant handler of Gene Vincent were beyond hilarious into another dimension. Forget Bonham: Grant is the nastiest, most fascinating, and obviously essential character in the Zeppelin story, and Wall knows it...

[Samantha M · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this book up specifically because I wanted to learn more about Jimmy Page’s involvement in occult practices, and even I found myself thinking “dear lord grant me respite from this inane intellectualization of what amounts to an Edwardian era pervert with mommy issues” when I got to the section on Aleister Crowley. Like pretty much every other reviewer who gave a rating of less than 4 stars, I also took umbrage with the fictitious italicized sections where Wall attempts to immerse the reader into the mind of one of the band/their inner circle through imagined interior monologues. At the beginning of the book he explicitly mentions that these sections are not intended to be taken as fact, but presents a level of detail and number of presumably speculative quotes that, in addition to being confusingly realistic, betray a certain conceit. Another reviewer suggested that this book must have been either dictated or typed with one hand because the other was… otherwise engaged, and I personally find this extremely believable given some of the bizarrely structured sentences.

There were also a few erroneous statements, such as Wall’s claim that Lord Lovat was on the side of the English during the 45. That one particularly bothered me, not only because Lovat’s support for the Jacobites resulted in him very famously becoming the last person to be executed by beheading in Britain, but also because it was an entirely unnecessary detail in a book about LED ZEPPELIN. Idk I just think that if you’re going to be wrong there should at least be a point to it.

Even if none of the above were true, I would still give this book less credence than the many who claim it is the definitive Zepp biography because I simply reject the notion that anyone who spends such little time talking about John Paul Jones could provide any sort of authoritative musical insight. #JusticeforJPJ

[Jim Goodrich · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember when I learned of the existence of Led Zeppelin. I was about 13 or so, and my older sister had a boyfriend that would sometimes take my brother and I to the arcade to play video games. I guess he wanted to get in good with us. Anyhow, one time it was just me and him, and on the ride back to my house he played Led Zeppelin IV (the album is actually untitled, but commonly referred to as Led Zeppelin IV, this is also discussed in the book). I thought it was amazing and the artwork on the cassette case was magical. Since then I've always had a special spot for this band, especially the second and fourth albums. This book gave a good history of the bands meteoric ascent to the top spot in the rock world in the early 70's, and their sudden and painful decline. Some things I learned: Jimmy Page was way more into the occult than I ever knew, the four symbols on the fourth album represent the four band members and the book talked about the meaning of each, John Bonham was one of the crazier members on tour, but part of this was due to his frustration at being away from his family for so long, Robert Plant has 10 solo albums since Led Zeppelin broke up. There's a lot covered in this book and I would recommend it to any fan of this band.

[Brian Katz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book. Great review of their history, each album and their touring. It is clear that Bonzo will reign for a very long time as the best drummer in rock & roll history. In contrast to Yes for example, Led Zeppelin was managed very well, by Peter Grant, who fought very hard for a larger and larger percentage of ticket sales for the band. Putting the revenue where it belongs, with the musicians. In addition, Jimmy Page was the musical center, producer, and controlled the distribution of their music. This reduced conflicts along the way and allowed the public to enjoy their music. It was a very sad day when Bonzo died, and looking back, the band made in the right decision in calling it quits after his death. This is in stark contrast with Yes today (2018) where there are two bands touring under the same name (a joke).

[Chris Fluit · Rating 1 out of 5]

Goodreads should really add an "I quit" or "Then I threw it in the trash" option alongside "I finished." This book was awful. The second-person conceit was aggravating ("You are Jimmy Page, you are 23 and one of the best session musicians in London..."). I was also annoyed by the internal inconsistencies (Page's relationship with Jeff Beck seemed to change with each paragraph) and the inaccurate revisions. Save your time (and your money) and read something else.

[Zachary · Rating 1 out of 5]

The straightforward bio sections are okay but the 2nd person mini chapters and the witchcraft / crawley stuff are beyond dumb. And there's a lot if that. Blurg.

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

not a whole lot different than Hammer of the Gods, more details maybe, but most interesting to me was the realtionships of the band, especially after Plant's son died, and Page's heroin addiction.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

*Listened to audiobook*

I'm sure there's much better Zeppelin books put there..