This one is a great deep cut by Led Zeppelin. It was on Led Zeppelin III and is looked over but it has a great riff by Jimmy Page. It’s nice to find a Zeppelin song that hasn’t been played to death…the guitar riff is killer on this song.
In Japan, this was mistakenly placed on the B-side of “Immigrant Song” rather than “Hey, Hey What Can I Do.” Those copies are rare collector’s items.
Robert Plant remembered an 18th-century cottage called Bron-Yr-Aur he had visited in his youth and felt it would be a great place to temporarily escape life in the fast lane and commune with nature. Plant invited his co-writer, guitarist Jimmy Page, and in the spring, the two men took their instruments and supplies to the retreat to recharge their batteries. The place had no running water or electricity at the time.
Robert Plant: “It was time to take stock, and not get lost in it all, and what better way to keep it real than at a place with no electricity, candles for light, water from a stream, and an outside toilet?”
Many fans didn’t embrace Led Zeppelin III like their first two albums. The band would routinely bludgeon their audiences with hard rock. This album had a lot of acoustic mixed in with rock guitar. I think it’s the most underrated album in their catalog. The next two albums would combine these two elements perfectly. Led Zeppelin III was the turning point of Led Zeppelin…after that album. To my ears…this is when Led Zeppelin grew up musically.
Led Zeppelin III peaked at #1 in the US, Canada, and UK in 1970-71.
Drummer John Bonham would talk about going “out on the tiles,” meaning to bars – the title is a British term for going out on the town. Jimmy Page wrote this song around the phrase. Bonham, along with Page and Robert Plant, got a writing credit on the track.
Jimmy Page: “That’s ambient sound. Getting the distance of the time lag from one end of the room to the other and putting that in as well. The whole idea, the way I see recording, is to try and capture the sound of the room live and the emotion of the whole moment and try to convey that. That’s the very essence of it. And so, consequently, you’ve got to capture as much of the room sound as possible.”
Jimmy Page: “When Robert and I went to Bron-Yr-Aur we weren’t thinking: ‘Let’s go to Wales and write.. The original plan was to just go there, hang out and appreciate the countryside. The only song we really finished while we were there was That’s The Way, but being in the country established a standard of traveling for inspiration and set a tone for Led Zeppelin III.”
Below Jason Bonham tells the story of Out On The Tiles
Out On The Tiles
As I walk down the highway all I do is sing this song
And a train that’s passin’ my way helps the rhythm move along
There is no doubt about the words are clear
The voice is strong, is oh so strong
I’m just a simple guy, I live from day to day
A ray of sunshine melts my frown and blows my blues away
There’s nothing more that I can say but on a day like today
I pass the time away and walk a quiet mile with you
All I need from you is all your love
All you got to give to me is all your love
All I need from you is all your love
All you got to give to me is all your love
Oh yeah, oh yeah
Oh yeah, oh yeah
I’m so glad I’m living and gonna tell the world I am
I got me a fine woman and she says that I’m her man
One thing that I know for sure gonna give her all the loving
Like nobody, nobody, nobody, nobody can
Standing in the noonday sun trying to flag a ride
People go and people come, see my rider right by my side
It’s a total disgrace, they set the pace, it must be a race
And the best thing I can do is run
All I need from you is all your love
All you got to give to me is all your love
All I need from you is all your love
All you got to give to me is all your love
Oh yeah, oh yeah
Oh yeah, oh yeah
Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah
PowerPop... An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture 
Good call on picking a Zep tune that has not been played to death! I came very close actually to grabbing Zep 3 on vinyl yesterday but I ended up with 7 other albums as I’m in Toronto right now lol
I might not be done yet
LikeLiked by 3 people
Nice! where you shopping? I know sadly the Sam’s flagship and its neon sign is long gone, is the HMV or Sunrise flagship store still there on Yonge Street? Of are you finding a number of used shops?
LikeLiked by 1 person
If you ever come across Encomium, buy it!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Funny how folk didn’t buy into III in the same way as the first two. This was actually the first Led Zeppelin album I bought …. Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp possibly my favourite track. So different.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I always liked the mix of acoustic and electric…and later on the building up from soft to hard. I guess most wanted the harder edge of the first two…but I really liked this.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I didn’t remember this song, and I didn’t buy Led Zep III even though I liked a lot of it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nice tune, Max. Did they steal it from somebody?
Just kidding, which I think I can get way with, given I really dig Zep!
Seriously, a great tune with a cool guitar riff I hadn’t heard before or didn’t recall.
Speaking of Zep, I’ve done lots of recent listening of Yes’ back catalog, especially “Close to the Edge.” One tune on there, “Siberian Khatru”, has portions that to me have a bit of a Zep vibe.
If you’re curious, below is a clip. The section I’m referring to starts at around 54 seconds into the tune. I could picture this on “Physical Graffiti” – reminds me a bit of “Trampled Under Foot”.
Regardless, I think “Siberian Khatru” is a pretty cool tune – can you tell? 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
I actually tpyed out… “Bonham was credited in the songwriting but yet he couldn’t credit blues artists on other songs?” But I wimped out and didn’t include that.
Yea that song does! It sounds like it would go well on that album next to Trampled Underfoot.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Never my favorite band but I can’t love’ em all!
LikeLiked by 2 people
I’ll second that.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Not mine either but I do like some of their songs.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I don’t remember hearing this before, certainly not familiar to me but it’s not bad. I liked ‘Bron Y Aur Stomp’ (or however it’s spelled). Like I’ve said before to you, this is the album where they began to get somewhat interesting.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yea I feel the same way…. the first two albums were hard blues from other artists…they grew with this one.
LikeLike
I have a lot to say about your post, Max. First, I recognized Ted Nugent in that video as The Motor City Madman is a Michigan boy first and for other not-so-wholesome reasons. I also recognized Sebastian Bach from….. Trailer Park Boys! lol. Second, I love that album!!!! So many good songs, and a couple that were covered on the Led Zeppelin covers album, “Encomium,” including this one. Tangerine is another one that gets covered. BTW for those who haven’t heard Encomium, I *highly* recommend it. Here’s a youtube link to the cover of it:
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh yea…that is Shannon Hoon singing! He had an incredible voice but sadly died early. I’ve heard a few off of that album but not this one. “not-so-wholesome reason” lol
LikeLiked by 1 person
Max, I’m so sorry to hear that Shannon Hoon died early 😦
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes he had a special kind of voice and seemed like a good guy.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yeah, I tend to prefer them from LZIII through to Physical Graffiti – III would be a lot better if they subbed out Hats Off To Harper for Hey Hey What Can I Do?
LikeLike
How do they make a mistake as to which song goes on the B-side, or any side? Come on, Japan. You’re better than that. (Forgot about this song – remember when I heard it didn’t think it was a bad cut at all)
LikeLiked by 1 person
I know right? That is something you double check before you print. I do like this song and to tell you the truth…Hey Hey What Can I Do? Remains probably my favorite…something about that song.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Killer rock n roll track.
LikeLiked by 1 person