Zepp SuperFreak 2008-11-19

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

Real page-turner. I don't know how much of this stuff was true, but it all seems very plausible, considering how much we understand of Led Zeppelin, the greatest band in history. In the 2007 London Reunion Concert, Robert Plant even referred to seeing someone with "Hammer of the Gods" enblazoned on a t-shirt. If I remember correctly he likened that title to a male body organ "..so late in life." Just do a search here on Amazon and it's for sale in the Marketplace. Not cheap, but worth it to fans of great music. This edition of "Hammer of the Gods is so up to date that it refers to this December 2007 concert. All Zeppelin fans must be this book and DVD.

jimi page 2008-09-30

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

Finally read the Zeppelin bio after years of hearing about the book's legendary status. What a letdown.

Little interesting info about the musicians, instead just groupie rumors and trashing hotels, written in the most lame prose I've endured since reading my school newspaper back in junior high. Some really wince-inducing passages.

I saw on the back cover that author Stephen Davis has written quite a few rock band bios, and this feels slapped together just under deadline.

AliGhaemi 2008-01-16

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

There are few bands that have achieved the musical heights of the four Englishmen known as Led Zeppelin. Songs like Whole Lotta Love, Stairway To Heaven, Kashmir and Black Dog are staples of young and old, charts and radio; catchiness and memorability. Similarly, very few bands have had as much popularity, mystique, innuendo or power attributed to them as the folk and blues hard rock legends.

While the roots, music, business dealings and concerts of the band are present and discussed Led Zeppelin's hedonistic travails and fantastic romps through America and Europe are what Hammer Of The Gods (a phrase brought to contemporary consciousness by Friedrich Nietzsche and heard in the 1970 song Immigrant Song) is largely focused on.

If reports are true much of the book's information and insider tips stem from the band's roadie and tour manager Richard Cole, in addition to the information collected, and chronologically presented, from press and public sources. Given Richard Cole's role and vocation Hammer Of The Gods is riddled with stories of sex, drugs, rock 'n' roll as well as concert grosses and tour itineraries and exploits. Much of the information might be both exaggerated and shrouded in the daze of yesteryears memory, but Hammer Of The Gods is a fast and interesting read on the band and its habits. Singer Robert Plant, who is presented as a debauched sex symbol, says as much in a post-publication quotation attributed to him in later editions. Guitarist Jimmy Page, who was the band's main composer, is seen as a semi-junkie with a lust for young girls and magick, drummer John Bonzo as an affable drunk drummer who beat the drums harder than anybody while bassist and keyboardist John Paul Jones is both absent and, perhaps by implication, more serene.

There are other books out there on Led Zeppelin - including one by Richard Cole called Stairway to Heaven: Led Zeppelin Uncensored - but it is hard to imagine a more interesting read on the legendary Brits than this - warts, booze, groupies and all.

FNU MNU LNU 2007-12-29

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

I used to listen to Led Zep in high school, and until the release of Mothership and the publicity surrounding the reunion concert I never knew anything about the band. This book was a totally enjoyable read and a good overview of the band's history. I came away with an image of the band members as four vibrant and dynamic individuals. Their story is a fascinating one, and I'll enjoy their music even more now.

Chess Buddhist 2007-12-28

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

Davis' profile of Led Zepplin is probably a reliable protrait of the band. If you are like me and you don't care too much for Led Zep music, you will still find the book an interesting read as a slice of pop culture history and biography of at least one fairly interesting guy (Jimmy Page).

Davis' use of language is sometimes preposterously overblown. His diction is sometimes questionable, too, as when he describes Bonham flying into a rage. Bonham "apotheosized into the Beast." (Here you have an example of both hyperbole and poor diction.)

The book is filled with this type of writing, which makes it exciting to read while casting a shadow of doubt as to its veracity.

Davis doesn't call Page out on his affected interest in black magic and sorcery. Davis seems to take it all seriously. The other side of that story is Page was a young man, in his 20s, with excess cash and a deficit in maturity, dabbling in a silly hobby.

Overall, this was a good read for the uninitiated. A bit of a guilty pleasure really.