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Rating:
The 1980 for rock is certainly one of those numbers to forget (a bit like 1970 with the deaths of Hendrix and Joplin), since it appears on the tombs of famous music stars to mark the passing of Bon Scott (February 19), Ian Curtis
(May 18), John Lennon (December 8), and Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham (September 25).
The evening of September 24, returning from rehearsals held in Windsor for yet another American tour, John Bonham downed several double servings of vodka and orange juice, which caused the vomiting that led to his suffocation.
Despite everything, about two years after the incident, record store windows can still display a new vinyl marked Led Zeppelin. Naturally, it cannot be considered a new studio release in every sense, but more of a transversal journey among outtakes and forgotten tracks (including a live version) that spans the full twelve years of this band's artistic life.
To start with, "We're Gonna Groove" (a cover by Ben E. King and James Bethea), which was supposed to be included in Led Zeppelin (II), is a good rock blues well-suited to warm the audience, enough to open concerts in the early months of '70. The leading roles are equally divided between the percussionist Bonham and the fresh singer Plant (let's not forget it's 1969), who already shows he knows how to expertly pilot the group's front line. The trend towards more cautiously sunny atmospheres represented by the third album chapter comes to the surface in "Poor Tom", where the harmonica and twelve-string help craft a track that stands out for instilling tranquility and serenity in the listener. To remind us that the roots of a great rock band also take off from the amazing ability to personalize others' tracks, the blues of "I Can't Quit You Baby" (the lyrics are not the same as Willie Dixon's) could not be missing, four minutes of excitement and euphoria tasked with encapsulating musicians and listeners in the same magical dimension. "Walter's Walk", which comes from the sessions of "Houses Of The Holy", unlike the painstaking refinement activity that the songs in that album benefited from, presents itself as direct and no-nonsense from the initial riff to the end, allowing the Bonham/Jones duo to emphasize the indispensable role they played, not secondary at all to that of Page and Plant.
The second half of the album contains the fruits of the sessions from which the last true studio work of Led Zeppelin, "In Through The Outdoor". Except for "Bonzo's Montreux", an instrumental conceived by the irreplaceable drummer with Page, on which the latter had fun playing with a harmonizer, one is pleasantly carried away by a vigorous succession of songs starting from the vitality of "Ozone Baby", where the riff-verse-chorus combination proves successful on all fronts. Jones' abilities as a multi-instrumentalist can be appreciated in that boogie setting given through the piano to "Darlene", which allows this restless rock 'n roll to leave Plant the chance (that he certainly doesn't let slip by) to pour out with enthusiasm an uncontainable vocal interpretation. "Wearing And Tearing" is clear proof that our guys on the eve of the breakup were still capable of kicking the butts of many of the new heroes of the end of the decade called punks, with a performance (beyond the limits of sound quality) that is stunning, reaching your ears with the same devastating effects that even today would have a punch thrown at the head by a world heavyweight champion.
"Coda" (which in musical language means END) remains a decent album certainly unable to compete with any of the previous works, which helped (while being aware it wouldn't have been necessary...) to prolong the discographic life of the Zeps even in the '80s, during
which far too often rumors of possible comebacks surfaced, leaving quite a bit of bitterness and much nostalgia for those controversial and unfortunate performances like the Live Aid of 1985 and three years later for the fortieth anniversary of Atlantic.
Tracklist Lyrics Samples and Videos
02 Poor Tom (03:03)
(Page/Plant)
Here's a tale of Tom
Who worked the railroads long
His wife would cook his meal
As he would change the wheel
Poor Tom, Seventh Son, Always knew what's goin on
Ain't a thing that you can hide from Tom
There ain't nothing that you can hide from Tom
Worked for thirty years
Sharing hopes and fears
Dreamin' of the day
He could turn and say
Poor Tom, work's done, been lazin' out in the noonday sun
Ain't a thing that you can hide from Tom
His wife was Annie Mae
With any man a game she'd play
When Tom was out of town
She couldn't keep her dress down
Poor Tom, Seventh Son, always knew what's goin on
Ain't a thing that you can hide from Tom
And so it was one day
People got to Annie Mae (?)
Tom stood, a gun in his hand
And stopped her runnin' around
Poor Tom, Seventh Son, gotta die for what you've done
All those years of work are thrown away
To ease your mind is that all you can say?
But what about that grandson on your knee?
Them railroad songs, Tom would sing to me
Ain't nothing that you can hide from Tom
Keep-a Truckin'
03 I Can't Quit You Baby (04:18)
Ah, ah
I can't quit you, babe
So I'm gonna put you down for awhile
I said I can't quit you, babe
I guess I got to put you down for awhile
Said you messed up my happy home
Made me mistreat my only child
Yes you did babe, oh
Said you know I love you, baby
My love for you, I could never hide
Oh, you know I love you, babe
My love for you, I could never hide
A-when I feel you near me little girl
I know you are my one desire
Whoa, oh, oh yeah
When you hear me moanin' an' groanin, babe
You know it hurts me deep down inside
Oh, when you hear me moanin' an' groanin', babe
You know it hurts me deep down inside
Oh, when you hear me, honey baby
You know you're my one desire
Yes, you are
Oh, you are
04 Walter's Walk (04:30)
(Page/Plant)
Ooh...know I feel so strange looking out the door
oooh...tryin hard to change but can't let go
oooh...cryin' tears of pain and more and more
oooh...everyday is the same as the one before
I'm walkin the floor over you
I'm walkin the floor
Every heart that breaks is a heart that's cold
To the hand that takes your dreamless soul
Ooh...Is it long to wait, is it much to pay?
oooh...Sometimes it's hard waiting for the day.
you know it's hard. I said it's hard
You know it's true. I said it's hard
you know it's hard. You know it's true
Every tear that falls is a smile that's lost
When you hear the call can you count the cost?
As you stand alone do you wonder how?
Can you step aside, does it matter now?
Every love that's changed ?-?-?-?-?-?
In the eye of the night ?-?-?-
In the day everything ?-?-?-?
She was smilin' a tear at her waters fall ??
you know it's true. You know it's true now
I'm walkin the floor over you
I'm walkin' the floor
Every tear that falls is a smile that's lost
When you hear the call can you count the cost?
As you stand alone do you wonder how?
Can you step aside, does it matter now?
Does it matter now? (repeat)
06 Darlene (05:07)
(Bonham/Jones/Page/Plant)
Darlene, oooh Darlene, oooh Darlene,
Darlene, oh oh Darlene, oh oh Darlene
oooh Come on baby give me some
When I see you at that dance with your tight dress on
Whatcha got it sure is fine
I wanna get me some
Darlene, woooh baby baby Darlene, oooh be my baby Darlene,
ooh, come on baby... be my baby
Darlene, ooh, Darlene, hey! hey! Darlene, oh oh
Come back and be my sweet little girl
When I see you on the street, it makes my heart go flitter
I see you walkin with all those guys
It makes me feel so sick
And I don't care what people say
And I don't care what they do
Sweet child I gotta make you mine
You're the only thing that I want: You!
Baby Baby when you walk down the block,
See the people (?flock?)
Woooh! Child! Oh ya drive me wild!
I gotta do it really gonna try
Oh baby, I got my car
I'll take you as far
I'm gonna take you every place
I'm gonna boogie-woogie-woogie-woogie that's fine
I'm gonna prove it, Darlene
I'm gonna make ya my girl
I'm gonna boogie, Darlene
I'm gonna send ya in another world
Cause I love Darlene, I gotta love 'er, Yes I do
I've been savin all my money
I've been workin all day long
I gotta give it all back to you!
08 Wearing and Tearing (05:29)
(Page/Plant)
It starts out like a murmur
Then it grows like thunder
Until it bursts inside of you
Try to hold it steady
Wait until you're ready
Any second now will do
Throw the door wide open
Not a word is spoken
Anything that you want to do
Ya know, ya know, ya know...
Don't you feel the same way?
Don't you feel the same way?
But you don't know what to do
No time for hesitatin'
Ain't no time for hesitatin'
All you got to do is move
They say you're feeling blue, well
I just found a cure
It's a thing you gotta do, yeah
Ya know, ya know, ya know...
Now listen: You say your body's aching?
I know that it's aching
Chill bumps come up on you
Yeah, the funny fool
I love the funny fool
?Just like foolin' after school?
And then you ask for medication
Who cares for medication
When you've worn away the cure
Ya know, ya know, ya know...
Go back to the country
Yeah, go back to the country
Feel a change is good for you
When you keep convincin'
Ah, don't keep convincin'
What's that creeping up behind a you?
It's just an old friend
It's just an old friend
And what's that he's got for you?
Ya know, ya know, ya know...
Do your dance do your dance do your dance
Oooooh, medication. Medication! Medication!
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Other reviews
By Antonino91
Coda is not as bad as one might think and offers a posthumous album that is uneven in quality but not to be discarded: worth rediscovering.
The last track, 'Wearing And Tearing,' boasts an incredible hard rock with Bonzo’s relentless drumming, Plant’s raw and hard voice, Jones’s precise technique, and Page’s heavy riffs.
