My favorite Led Zeppelin song is In My Time of Dying off the album Physical Graffiti. A close second is When the Levee Breaks from Led Zeppelin IV. Neither original Led Zeppelin songs but both showcase John Bonham‘s genius power drumming at its best. I loved the hollowed out echo sound of his drumming on the latter song. More details below.
In My Time of Dying
When the Levee Breaks
In January 1971, Led Zeppelin recorded the song When the Levee Breaks at Headley Grange, a rural English house that had been adapted for music recording. Rather than placing the drums in a conventional studio room, drummer John Bonham set up his kit in the mansion’s hallway. The building’s stone walls and very high ceilings created a large, natural reverberation.
Engineer Andy Johns captured this sound by suspending two Beyerdynamic M160 ribbon microphones above the staircase on the second floor, several meters above the drum kit. Positioned so far away, the microphones recorded not just the drums but also the hall’s expansive echo, producing the track’s famous deep, cavernous drum sound.
To enhance the effect, the audio was sent through a Binson Echorec and then heavily compressed, which added the powerful attack that makes the recording so recognizable.
According to guitarist Jimmy Page, the band had previously tried recording the song in multiple studios, but the drum sound felt “flat.” When they finally heard Bonham’s drums reverberating through the hallway at Headley Grange, they realized they had captured something exceptional.
