I remember buying this album as a teen and listening to it for the first time on my parents console stereo. My mom says what a beautiful song...RIP Mom.
One of zeppelin's most underrated tunes. I own 2 acoustic guitars and one has been permanently tuned to play this song for like 5 years now lol. Very fun to play and the melody choices are fantastic. One of my favorites of all time.
Same here and I've written many riffs and songs in it, I love it, the open g type version cgdgbd, if you click my TH-cam page which links to reverbnation / ejrecording, the second song demo called flying ovation is in the tuning
@@philf4086 interesting ya I know there's some variations and I thought I read that page recorded it with two different tunings. I like the one I do beaches it keeps the three strings are the same dgb so it's very familiar and useful to open everything up, but I love all sorts of tunings!
Its a difficult 1, 2. One day i'll say TYG then throw on the Rain Song from SRTS and say its that. Page was simply a master. A complete composer, musician, and technician.@@gregmainer5416
I have never thought Robert Plant's lyrics were great. Not bad but not great while I say this I think of other bands and say we'll they are as good as 'fill in the blank' I don't didn't like this song at first 70's but Doug taking it apart with musical knowledge,- chords,and modalities, it becomes more interesting. (Lyrics also). was the b5 a diminished chord? At the end. Thanks Doug
Totally agree with the comment below - JPJ was a masterful arranger...to the extent that his bass work was often undervalued! This Zep song contains some of their most beautiful orchestration.
Oh yeah. More Zeppelin please. I concur. "Ten Years Gone," "Achilles' Last Stand" & "No Quarter" are some of the best tracks. I'd love "In the Evening" too.
no, who cares...it's simply irritating. just listen and love the song...SO UNIQUE, beautifully written and played by Jimmy Page. watching him play this live in the dark, dancing, swaying with his guitar, eyes closed, head thrown back is simply AMAZING.
“stairway to heaven” is nice and everything, but “The Rain Song” just stands out more as a classic zeppelin track Page at his best as composer/arranger/guitar orchestrator and shout out to JPJ
I'm so insanely jealous that you get to hear all this amazing music with fresh ears. I'd give up several fingers and toes to hear stuff like "The Rain Song" for the first time.
This is a very salty Zeppelin tune. It was the first Zepp album I bought at the age of 13. It fascinated me from start to finish. The year was 1973. Today I am 62 years old and it continues to amaze me. IMHO the best rock band of all time. A step up from Floyd, Yes, Purple, Sabbath, ELP, and other "big" bands. Excellent pick Doug.
I love "The Rain Song" - one of the greatest tunes of all time. Anybody who loves music has to love this song. It is kind of "universal" - everyone can relate to that emotion they're expressing. And they were all in their 20s when this was recorded. Does anyone know if Jimmy Page had any formal education in reading music? Because this is some serious songwriting going on there. If a seasoned musician like Doug has to think twice about the chords used, it really says something.
Jimmy had already been in bands and had been a studio musician since his teens. Even so, you slide a chord around on the guitar neck and play open notes vs fretted notes in a way that sounds pleasant to your ear but isn't perfectly in line with "THAT'S HOW YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO DO IT" and it makes it tougher for people who are trained to hear things a certain way to hear it easily enough. I bet if all of those things that sound tricky were looked at on the guitar, tuned the way Jimmy tuned it, they probably would make sense.
"When we arrived at the hotel after a 12-hour journey we were exhausted. I wanted to sleep but Jimmy played the guitar all day." (Robert Plant) Here is the "education" of him.
I believe Jimmy Page was playing this in Open G tuning, hence the beautiful, melodic sound he is getting from the multiple guitar parts. Absolute genius!
Lot of Zeppelin's songs that Jimmy's chords are Tuned to D A G A D Ten Years Gone is an awesome song of life reflection. I absolutely feel it's their BEST song . Words written so strong & True 💯
@@Kylora2112 I learned it in standard and so I still play it that way. However, I did learn in this tuning a long time ago. I loved the sound but I had 1 guitar at the time and retuning just to play this one song wasn't practical.
IMO the place where he shines and you see his true talent is when he plays acoustic. I've never known of an artist that can compose the way he does and who can express the feelings the way he does n an acoustic. I do love his other work too but this is just an example of superiority
On the Led Zeppelin classic “The Rain Song” (Houses of the Holy), the great guitarrist Jimmy Page offers a unique variation on DADGAD by additionally tuning the fifth string down a whole step, from A to G, the fourth string down a whole step, from D to C, and the second string up a half step, from B to C, resulting in (low to high) D G C G C D. It's one of the most beautiful rock songs ever made. LZ shows through music a falling rain and all kinds of emotions about that. The mellotron strings is superb, the piano sounds like drops. ...and love goes on through the "seasons of emotions."
Also that MTV acoustic version by Plant/Page is worth a watch… seeing and hearing the magic live is nourishing… th-cam.com/video/BeDylD8dV7U/w-d-xo.html
To me Led Zeppelin are just on another level! All the albums they did during their time, even CODA (a simple assembly of B-tracks with some changes) always has something that stands-out! They were truly masters of their own path, different genres and their own influences... some influences hit closer than others ;) but , at the end of the day, they were really exceptionally talented as a band!
The recurring part where the melody theme descends down the scale (e.g 4:32-4:38) evokes the rain pitter-pattering down a window. Very clever and beautuful.
My favorite Led Zeppelin song. I also feel as though it is their best. WHAT?! NO STAIRWAY? Perhaps it's just my prog heart being soothed by the beautiful sounds of the mellotron.
As it started, I got chills. Even though, I've been listening to Zeppelin for 40 years! So gorgeous. To me, I don't 'rank' so much as tier' and Led Zeppelin and The Doors just to me, are on another level - they are Tier1. Something extra... Even today, after hearing them a million times, they still stand out and above...
I can't get over how well you not only break down the music but also the lyrics so well that a song we thought we new well can be enjoyed again in a new light. Thanks
Compositionally, this song, "No Quarter," "Ten Years Gone," and "Achilles' Last Stand" are untouchable. Honestly, Stairway too. I really don't dig Zeppelin's bluesy tunes as much as their more experimental stuff.
I love how you explain what is happening musically it really adds a greater depth of understanding to your analysis and the brilliance of the artists crafting the music!
@@drx2671 Haha, reading it back it does sound like that happened! It didn't though, we just watched together. We saw him last week too, another awesome performance.
Thank you for another wonderful video. This song was such a great choice. Also, props to their wonderful bass player, John Paul Jones. John did double duty as a keyboard player and music arranger. He's a very well rounded musician who has worn many musical hats throughout his career.
I can imagine your mind is getting blown hearing all that great music I grew up listening to. From the Beatles to Bolt Thrower, `60s - `90s era. I think the 70`s were the headiest times for new music.
One of the things I love about this song is the mellotron playing against the double bass - the mellotron has a very thin sound with no bottom end and the double bass complements this with loads of bottom end so it cuts through beautifully
Think that’s cello not double bass, as it was standard on the mellotron 400 along with the 3 violins and flute ( used on live versions of Stairway) . In no way can the 3 violins sound be called ‘thin! It’s a huge sound!
To me one of the most beautiful acoustic songs ever. When it first came out I spent forever trying to learn it on guitar in standard tuning, never got it right. Eventually Guitar Player tabbed it, it's an alternate tuning, and once you learn that it's actually very easy to play. Thanks for doing this Doug. Fascinating deconstruction of the chords. Maybe more Steely Dan in the future? Oh and that last dissonant arpeggio is just an Fmaj7 shape on guitar on the 5th fret, falls easy under the fingers which is probably true of the entire composing of the song.
It is indeed @ alternative tuning, it is so much simpler to play when tuned to Gsus4, the chords just open up to your fingers, I guess that is exactly why they call it "open tuning" and not just because the strings play a chord when played open with no fingers. I mean standard tuning isn't classed as open tuning and yet it still delivers a chord when played with open strings.
One of the band's most beautiful pieces. This album was my first from the band I came to love and declare my all-time favorite after one play through 😁
Love this song, Doug. That guitar work from Jimmy with Robert's words and vocals get me every time. Of course JP Jones on the mellotron and John Bonham is playing with brushes but there is drums. Great arrangement by Page, it was an answer to George Harrison suggesting they do some ballads. Thanks for sharing this on youtube, loved your reaction and analysis. More LZ would be greatly appreciated.
Great song and analysis Doug. Chock full of chords including a variety of dim, sus2,4, 5s, b5s,Maj7,9’s, b9’s,11th, Am11D G7+11. Almost like Page wanted to explore every harmonic avenue. The I-V box set shows both guitars and the alternate D G C G C D tuning makes it way easier to play and sounds much better than standard tuning.
Long time ago i made my version with this tuning, and was a real pleasure to play, I composed two original compositions with this type of tuning and was a real pleasure
@@redlioness6627 i mean D G C G C D in my cover, i love composing in almost 30 years playing i only made cover of 10 musics, one of them rain song. after that i made my one tuning for 2 original songs, and one of them oriental: o voo da aguia in my youtube site. this began with led zeppelin tuning in rain song and bron yr aur from physical graphitti
The rain song is one of the best Led Zeppelin songs. It is absolutely beautiful! Also, do 21st Century Schizoid Man next! Or any other King Crimson song.
This is my favorite from them ever since high school - tuned to G and got access to different chord shapes, that slide is 7th to 5th fret with a couple open strings, so those are left the same pitch during the slide
Doug, Ive been listening to your channel for a couple of months now and wanted to express my love for all your videos. Love getting the chance to hear some songs ive never heard and enjoy your reactions and commentary!!!
A lot of LZ's "experimental" music was due in part to John Paul Jones. He was not only their bassist, but he played a lot of the keyboards on songs like this and Kashmir. He was also basically considered a hired gun when he first started with them. But they found that he was irreplaceable.
Great point, he rarely gets the credit he deserves. Page was masterful in the studio and had great instinct for layering parts, but JPJ was the X factor…LZ would not have sounded like LZ without his contributions. I think he can be compared to Rick Wright of Pink Floyd in the same light, although obviously Wright only played keys, but also contributed vocals.
Worth noting JPJ was also the only trained musician in the band. My god the man knows how to seriously rock out. We need to get Doug to do some ‘Them Crooked Vultures” 😵💫 in 🌼 🌼 🤔
If you liked this I would highly recommend the live version from the song remains the same soundtrack, the guitar work is as impressive and the song has much more impact than the studio version I also believe the vocal performance is much better live
That was a great choice...easily one of my favorite Zep tunes, just absolutely beautiful in a slightly melancholic way. Page is not just a great guitarist, but also a great composer, arranger and producer, and Plant is am amazing lyricist as well as vocalist. Superb.
There are about 4 different guitar parts to create this sound. Page and Jones, being studio musicians, knew how to achieve the sounds they wanted using overdubs.
When this album was made there really were not many guitarists playing like this and using such advanced technique and harmony; amazing guitar playing and writing
They were brilliant in bringing in different musical cultures into their writing. The first time I heard this song I was captivated as a kid and though I was no advanced player at nine, I had to try to learn to play it and by ear lol
This and Ten Years Gone are the Greatest Zeppelin songs, to me. PS The Rain Song live at the "Unledded" concert is one of the most beautiful performances in Music History
Hey Doug, great review. Btw, Jimmy's unique guitar phrasing and slide that retain the character are due to a variation of the DADGAD tuning. Actually, in this song the tuning is D G C G C D. I've tried playing it with several other tunings but it never sounds quite right until the tuning is D G C G C D. Magnificent chord structure. John Paul Jones does a tremendous job with the string accompaniment, as does John Bonhams sweet percussive phrasing. Only to be further lifted up by Robert Plants vocals. This was a very special time for Led Zep as was their 3rd and 4th album where a lot of the inspiration came from Bron-Yr-Aur. A cottage in Wales without electricity or running water where they could delve into some great musical fluidity that would become another added dimension to their sound prior to The Rain Song. Page's chord scene is off the charts!
I always find it interesting how they convert songs like these to the stage, since there's only four of them, so no 2nd guitar, no orchestral instruments or extra piano. In The Song Remains The Same cut, they totally manage it with what IMO ends up a smoother rendition. They play it in A(ish - I think they sped up the songs a little for runtime). Jimmy takes on a lot more, mixing elements of the two guitar parts together. JPJ sticks to just the melotron. It sounds so awesome as a performance.
The most emotional I’ve ever felt playing guitar was when I finally nailed this song which took me years to figure out, then I was told it wasn’t played in standard tuning 😂, so I learned it again in Jimmy Page tuning, we didn’t have internet back then
I remember buying this album as a teen and listening to it for the first time on my parents console stereo. My mom says what a beautiful song...RIP Mom.
❤
Songs like Rain Song separate Zeppelin from many of their contemporaries who could not/did not have their musical and emotional range. Pure beauty.
100% agree
absolutely but some still think they were a heavy metal band
@@ledded1 Yeah, people wo obviously haven't heard much heavy metal (or haven't heard any Zep)
Amen! P.U.R.E. BEAUTY.
Fully agree! And I would add they also experimented with change of keys and tempo, like for example Black Dog.
George Harrison told them that they needed to do a ballad because all they have is heavy.
So they did, and man I'm so glad they did. 😁
“ something” by The Beatles is quoted musically in the song
One of zeppelin's most underrated tunes. I own 2 acoustic guitars and one has been permanently tuned to play this song for like 5 years now lol. Very fun to play and the melody choices are fantastic. One of my favorites of all time.
Same here and I've written many riffs and songs in it, I love it, the open g type version cgdgbd, if you click my TH-cam page which links to reverbnation / ejrecording, the second song demo called flying ovation is in the tuning
Eric Johnsons climbing from inside is in it too, which I learned by ear
How on earth is Rain Song "underrated"?!
@@ejRecording D G C G C D for me. That is the tuning.
@@philf4086 interesting ya I know there's some variations and I thought I read that page recorded it with two different tunings. I like the one I do beaches it keeps the three strings are the same dgb so it's very familiar and useful to open everything up, but I love all sorts of tunings!
The Rain Song is their crowning achievement, many fans like me have always felt. Endless great songs, but this stands alone
Ten Years After is a close 2nd
Absolutely my favourite Led Zep song too, beautifully done throughout, wonderful sound and just love it when that Mellotron fires up.
Its a difficult 1, 2. One day i'll say TYG then throw on the Rain Song from SRTS and say its that. Page was simply a master. A complete composer, musician, and technician.@@gregmainer5416
I have never thought Robert Plant's lyrics were great. Not bad but not great while I say this I think of other bands and say we'll they are as good as 'fill in the blank' I don't didn't like this song at first 70's but Doug taking it apart with musical knowledge,- chords,and modalities, it becomes more interesting. (Lyrics also). was the b5 a diminished chord? At the end. Thanks Doug
I like ten years gone. Definitely.
I loved this song so much that it was my wedding song. It will always hold a special place in my heart ❤️
Talks way to much!
that means your gonna be married forever.
Zep is my favorite of all time, and I thought about using Thank You for my marriage but used NIB from Sabbath instead.
Totally agree with the comment below - JPJ was a masterful arranger...to the extent that his bass work was often undervalued! This Zep song contains some of their most beautiful orchestration.
Oh yeah. More Zeppelin please. I concur. "Ten Years Gone," "Achilles' Last Stand" & "No Quarter" are some of the best tracks. I'd love "In the Evening" too.
Ten Years is a beautiful song but it's pretty simple. I think Achilles would be more interesting 🤷♂️
Oh for Sure , how about Doug doing The Wanton Song ? Epic track
I love 'In the Evening' such an underrated track.
Carouselambra is pretty awesome too. It's long and mostly a JPJ & Bonham vehicle but it's always been a favorite!
Dude, No Quarter live is the best track EVER! The rhythm section is soooo mean
Ah, John Paul Jones, such an accomplished musician.
Isn't he just. Sometimes it's tough being in a band with musical geniuses. Good thing he can match every step, and when it's needed, stride ahead.
From 1969 until 79 Led Zeppelin released some of the greatest rock n roll music ever recorded. Their music 🎶 will forever be timeless.
The Beatles owned the 60’s and Zeppelin owned the 70’s.
@@Rock_Snob But RUSH rules them all!
@@leesmith6749 Who’s Rush?
Maybe the most beautifully written guitar piece ever. Definitely my favorite ZEPPELIN song.
“They flatted the 5th, I don’t believe it was a sharp 4th”- Who else would hear that? This is why I love his videos!
no, who cares...it's simply irritating. just listen and love the song...SO UNIQUE, beautifully written and played by Jimmy Page. watching him play this live in the dark, dancing, swaying with his guitar, eyes closed, head thrown back is simply AMAZING.
“stairway to heaven” is nice and everything, but “The Rain Song” just stands out more as a classic zeppelin track
Page at his best as composer/arranger/guitar orchestrator and shout out to JPJ
I'm so insanely jealous that you get to hear all this amazing music with fresh ears. I'd give up several fingers and toes to hear stuff like "The Rain Song" for the first time.
No one would want you to do that...
I agree with you... Some songs are kind of espiritual thing at first listening. This song is one of them for sure.
This is a very salty Zeppelin tune. It was the first Zepp album I bought at the age of 13. It fascinated me from start to finish. The year was 1973. Today I am 62 years old and it continues to amaze me.
IMHO the best rock band of all time.
A step up from Floyd, Yes, Purple, Sabbath, ELP, and other "big" bands.
Excellent pick Doug.
Man I´m Jose Luis Garcia but born untl 64 so I suppose you are the first to be Za Zeppelin fan of both, of course dad was Luis Garcia too, Kudos
I love "The Rain Song" - one of the greatest tunes of all time. Anybody who loves music has to love this song. It is kind of "universal" - everyone can relate to that emotion they're expressing.
And they were all in their 20s when this was recorded. Does anyone know if Jimmy Page had any formal education in reading music? Because this is some serious songwriting going on there. If a seasoned musician like Doug has to think twice about the chords used, it really says something.
Jimmy had already been in bands and had been a studio musician since his teens. Even so, you slide a chord around on the guitar neck and play open notes vs fretted notes in a way that sounds pleasant to your ear but isn't perfectly in line with "THAT'S HOW YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO DO IT" and it makes it tougher for people who are trained to hear things a certain way to hear it easily enough. I bet if all of those things that sound tricky were looked at on the guitar, tuned the way Jimmy tuned it, they probably would make sense.
"When we arrived at the hotel after a 12-hour journey we were exhausted. I wanted to sleep but Jimmy played the guitar all day." (Robert Plant) Here is the "education" of him.
I remember reading a story in the 90’s, I think in Guitar World, of a guitar teacher saying Jimmy was the worst classical player he had ever seen
No, Jimmy never had formal music education😊
Ive loved this song over decades my favorite Zeppelin song soooo so beautiful
"In the light " is definitely worth a listen. Another very underrated song in the zeppelin canon.
My favourite Zep tune
A perfect song
I thought I was the only one
In the light is the best zeppelin song, hands down.
The Rain Song is what made me a Zeppelin fan. It's my favorite of their "slower" songs. Fantastic song.
I believe Jimmy Page was playing this in Open G tuning, hence the beautiful, melodic sound he is getting from the multiple guitar parts. Absolute genius!
Low to high: DGCGCD - So Gsus4ish
Last 15 seconds Doug is like " What Sorcery is this?!"
A stunning masterpiece..
The Rain Song is the most beautiful song ever written. Zeppelin smoked but their slow songs were pure perfection.
Lot of Zeppelin's songs that Jimmy's chords are
Tuned to D A G A D
Ten Years Gone is an awesome song of life reflection. I absolutely feel it's their BEST song . Words written so strong & True 💯
The Rain Song is in Gsus4 (DGCGCD), and there's SO MANY beautiful voicings in that tuning.
@@Kylora2112 > I hate your comment, if you really read & understood my comments
I wouldn't be bashing you
@@Kylora2112 I learned it in standard and so I still play it that way. However, I did learn in this tuning a long time ago. I loved the sound but I had 1 guitar at the time and retuning just to play this one song wasn't practical.
this is what made Pagey top of the heap. Not his soloing, his writing.
And production.
IMO the place where he shines and you see his true talent is when he plays acoustic. I've never known of an artist that can compose the way he does and who can express the feelings the way he does n an acoustic. I do love his other work too but this is just an example of superiority
One of the greatest songs ever written. I really love the way Jimmy ended it.
How lucky am I to have seen this song live!!!!! I just can't~
On the Led Zeppelin classic “The Rain Song” (Houses of the Holy), the great guitarrist Jimmy Page offers a unique variation on DADGAD by additionally tuning the fifth string down a whole step, from A to G, the fourth string down a whole step, from D to C, and the second string up a half step, from B to C, resulting in (low to high) D G C G C D.
It's one of the most beautiful rock songs ever made.
LZ shows through music a falling rain and all kinds of emotions about that.
The mellotron strings is superb, the piano sounds like drops.
...and love goes on through the "seasons of emotions."
Beautiful song. This and "Ten Years Gone" are my favorites of this band.
Zeppelin...ALWAYS magical and magnificent!
you NEED to listen/watch The Song Remains the Same. The version of this song in that film is incredible.
Yep.......way better......Plant's performance is way more emotional on that live version...
Also that MTV acoustic version by Plant/Page is worth a watch… seeing and hearing the magic live is nourishing…
th-cam.com/video/BeDylD8dV7U/w-d-xo.html
Absolutely, there are a lot of led zeppelin songs that sound way better or different live, mostly in early days when plant can still sing well
I've known since my teenage years that this song is great.
I just didn't know that this song was THIS GREAT.
To me Led Zeppelin are just on another level! All the albums they did during their time, even CODA (a simple assembly of B-tracks with some changes) always has something that stands-out! They were truly masters of their own path, different genres and their own influences... some influences hit closer than others ;) but , at the end of the day, they were really exceptionally talented as a band!
The recurring part where the melody theme descends down the scale (e.g 4:32-4:38) evokes the rain pitter-pattering down a window. Very clever and beautuful.
I agree with the others comments, Ten Years Gone is a masterpiece of feeling and sounds!
This is my absolute favourite Led Zeppelin song
My favorite Led Zeppelin song. I also feel as though it is their best. WHAT?! NO STAIRWAY? Perhaps it's just my prog heart being soothed by the beautiful sounds of the mellotron.
My favorite Zeppelin song! 12 string guitars, beautiful lyrics and one of the greatest Mellotron moments you will ever hear.
As it started, I got chills. Even though, I've been listening to Zeppelin for 40 years! So gorgeous. To me, I don't 'rank' so much as tier' and Led Zeppelin and The Doors just to me, are on another level - they are Tier1. Something extra... Even today, after hearing them a million times, they still stand out and above...
I can't get over how well you not only break down the music but also the lyrics so well that a song we thought we new well can be enjoyed again in a new light. Thanks
Doug, thank you so much, this is one of my favourite songs. To me it's a true beauty and magic piece of art
Zep at their most majestic and orchestral. It’s perfect.
its a doubled 12 string acoustic guitar, and 12 string electric guitar. Amazing guitar playing by Page.
My favourite Zeppelin track. I love it when JPJ’s bass comes in.
The live version from Song Remains the Same is incredible.
Compositionally, this song, "No Quarter," "Ten Years Gone," and "Achilles' Last Stand" are untouchable. Honestly, Stairway too. I really don't dig Zeppelin's bluesy tunes as much as their more experimental stuff.
I wanna second all of these but especially Ten Years Gone
Same
I would add “In The Light”. Always loved that one.
i prefer all 3 of those to Stairway.
Yesss. Ten Years Gone is a gem.
What a song!! Listened to it a thousand times, and it's always impressive! Cool reaction and evaluation!!
One of my favorite songs from my favorite Led Zeppelin album! Good choice, patreon folks!
I love how you explain what is happening musically it really adds a greater depth of understanding to your analysis and the brilliance of the artists crafting the music!
This is my daughters favourite LZ tune and i was lucky enough to see Robert Plant sing it a few years ago with her.
What? Is no one gonna ask how or by what circumstance your daughter got to sing with Robert Plant!
@@drx2671 Haha, reading it back it does sound like that happened! It didn't though, we just watched together. We saw him last week too, another awesome performance.
Songs like this and other acoustical arrangements of theirs to couple with their hard Rock / blues take them into realm of greatest groups ever
Thank you for another wonderful video. This song was such a great choice. Also, props to their wonderful bass player, John Paul Jones. John did double duty as a keyboard player and music arranger. He's a very well rounded musician who has worn many musical hats throughout his career.
I can imagine your mind is getting blown hearing all that great music I grew up listening to. From the Beatles to Bolt Thrower, `60s - `90s era. I think the 70`s were the headiest times for new music.
I was really looking forward to Doug geeking out on the chord progression and orchestration, and he didn’t disappoint. This was awesome 👏🏼
What a great melody!!!
One of the things I love about this song is the mellotron playing against the double bass - the mellotron has a very thin sound with no bottom end and the double bass complements this with loads of bottom end so it cuts through beautifully
Think that’s cello not double bass, as it was standard on the mellotron 400 along with the 3 violins and flute ( used on live versions of Stairway) . In no way can the 3 violins sound be called ‘thin! It’s a huge sound!
Whenever I hear a melotron I always think to Watcher of the skies by Genesis (Foxtrtot).. love the sound of that song…
To me one of the most beautiful acoustic songs ever. When it first came out I spent forever trying to learn it on guitar in standard tuning, never got it right. Eventually Guitar Player tabbed it, it's an alternate tuning, and once you learn that it's actually very easy to play. Thanks for doing this Doug. Fascinating deconstruction of the chords. Maybe more Steely Dan in the future? Oh and that last dissonant arpeggio is just an Fmaj7 shape on guitar on the 5th fret, falls easy under the fingers which is probably true of the entire composing of the song.
It is indeed @ alternative tuning, it is so much simpler to play when tuned to Gsus4, the chords just open up to your fingers, I guess that is exactly why they call it "open tuning" and not just because the strings play a chord when played open with no fingers.
I mean standard tuning isn't classed as open tuning and yet it still delivers a chord when played with open strings.
@@redlioness6627 Yep. The record version is tune the G string to A, the B string to D. Live he tunes to dropped D but same approach.
@@stevemd6488
He always seems to play songs in different tunings live.
@@redlioness6627 Yea I think it's for vocal reasons, easier for Plant to sing
I learned it in standard tuning when I was a kid. Not very easy and I felt like an idiot when I figured out it was in an open gunning.
One of the band's most beautiful pieces. This album was my first from the band I came to love and declare my all-time favorite after one play through 😁
Such a beautiful song!
I love playing this on my guitar,fabulous chords!
Love this song, Doug. That guitar work from Jimmy with Robert's words and vocals get me every time. Of course JP Jones on the mellotron and John Bonham is playing with brushes but there is drums. Great arrangement by Page, it was an answer to George Harrison suggesting they do some ballads. Thanks for sharing this on youtube, loved your reaction and analysis. More LZ would be greatly appreciated.
Great song and analysis Doug. Chock full of chords including a variety of dim, sus2,4, 5s, b5s,Maj7,9’s, b9’s,11th, Am11D G7+11. Almost like Page wanted to explore every harmonic avenue. The I-V box set shows both guitars and the alternate D G C G C D tuning makes it way easier to play and sounds much better than standard tuning.
Long time ago i made my version with this tuning, and was a real pleasure to play, I composed two original compositions with this type of tuning and was a real pleasure
You mean Gsus4 right!
@@redlioness6627 i mean D G C G C D in my cover, i love composing in almost 30 years playing i only made cover of 10 musics, one of them rain song. after that i made my one tuning for 2 original songs, and one of them oriental: o voo da aguia in my youtube site. this began with led zeppelin tuning in rain song and bron yr aur from physical graphitti
My favourite Zeppelin song. Incredible writing.
This is one of my favorite LZ songs. It’s so expressive and I like how it builds softly to more loudly. The orchestra is beautiful.
The rain song is one of the best Led Zeppelin songs. It is absolutely beautiful!
Also, do 21st Century Schizoid Man next! Or any other King Crimson song.
He's done the entire
"In The Court of the Crimson King" album already but you will have to join his Patreon channel to see it.
A special Zepp song. Very emotional, give peace everytime when I heard it. UNIQUE. Also the best Zepp album.
What you are hearing are Jimmy's exceptional bended notes. ❤
My favourite Led Zep song. Thanks Doug.
"...These are the seasons of emotion..."
❤❤❤... ❤
This is my favorite from them ever since high school - tuned to G and got access to different chord shapes, that slide is 7th to 5th fret with a couple open strings, so those are left the same pitch during the slide
The Rain Song is a mssterpiece of beauty
Doug, Ive been listening to your channel for a couple of months now and wanted to express my love for all your videos. Love getting the chance to hear some songs ive never heard and enjoy your reactions and commentary!!!
"Why would they do that?" I'm guessing because it SOUNDS GOOD :)
A lot of LZ's "experimental" music was due in part to John Paul Jones. He was not only their bassist, but he played a lot of the keyboards on songs like this and Kashmir. He was also basically considered a hired gun when he first started with them. But they found that he was irreplaceable.
Great point, he rarely gets the credit he deserves. Page was masterful in the studio and had great instinct for layering parts, but JPJ was the X factor…LZ would not have sounded like LZ without his contributions. I think he can be compared to Rick Wright of Pink Floyd in the same light, although obviously Wright only played keys, but also contributed vocals.
Bonzo is irreplaceable also. Robert Plant refuses to go back to Led Zeppelin.
Worth noting JPJ was also the only trained musician in the band. My god the man knows how to seriously rock out. We need to get Doug to do some ‘Them Crooked Vultures” 😵💫 in 🌼 🌼 🤔
A hired gun? Page and JPJ were the first members if zep. Then they found plant who in turn suggested Bonham
Think you have that wrong mate.
If you liked this I would highly recommend the live version from the song remains the same soundtrack, the guitar work is as impressive and the song has much more impact than the studio version I also believe the vocal performance is much better live
This makes me so happy. To see you awash in this lush beauty.
It's such a beautiful soulful song!
So glad you’ve done this beautiful song
That was a great choice...easily one of my favorite Zep tunes, just absolutely beautiful in a slightly melancholic way. Page is not just a great guitarist, but also a great composer, arranger and producer, and Plant is am amazing lyricist as well as vocalist. Superb.
There are about 4 different guitar parts to create this sound. Page and Jones, being studio musicians, knew how to achieve the sounds they wanted using overdubs.
Not only is Jimmy a guitar wizard but he is also a production wizard
When this album was made there really were not many guitarists playing like this and using such advanced technique and harmony; amazing guitar playing and writing
I always think of this song in a rainy sunny day. I dont know why. I can smell the rain...
Great song and so is Tea for one ❤❤ Blues at it’s Best ❤❤
My favorite zeppelin song !thx so much
They were brilliant in bringing in different musical cultures into their writing. The first time I heard this song I was captivated as a kid and though I was no advanced player at nine, I had to try to learn to play it and by ear lol
This piece and Ten Years Gone are my favorite LZ songs
I don't know much about writing, scoring or much else about music. But i know what is beautiful to my ears and soul 😊❤
One of the most beautiful songs ever written. Love the open tuning.
That one always makes me weep, it's so s.ad and beautiful.
This and "Black Dog" are tied as my favourite Led Zeppelin song.
I haven’t played since my buddy Kris died, he was a talented guy. This makes me want to restring the old girl.
You know he'd want you to. Go for it!
Music is a great healer
Hey man. I really like your channel. Thanks for this.
Listened to this at a cottage in northern Ontario. During a steady rain outside. Seemed perfect
Sometimes you don't fully understand, you just love and accept the sound.
This and Ten Years Gone are the Greatest Zeppelin songs, to me. PS The Rain Song live at the "Unledded" concert is one of the most beautiful performances in Music History
Hey Doug, great review. Btw, Jimmy's unique guitar phrasing and slide that retain the character are due to a variation of the DADGAD tuning. Actually, in this song the tuning is
D G C G C D. I've tried playing it with several other tunings but it never sounds quite right until the tuning is D G C G C D. Magnificent chord structure.
John Paul Jones does a tremendous job with the string accompaniment, as does John Bonhams sweet percussive phrasing. Only to be further lifted up by Robert Plants vocals. This was a very special time for Led Zep as was their 3rd and 4th album where a lot of the inspiration came from Bron-Yr-Aur. A cottage in Wales without electricity or running water where they could delve into some great musical fluidity that would become another added dimension to their sound prior to The Rain Song. Page's chord scene is off the charts!
I always find it interesting how they convert songs like these to the stage, since there's only four of them, so no 2nd guitar, no orchestral instruments or extra piano. In The Song Remains The Same cut, they totally manage it with what IMO ends up a smoother rendition. They play it in A(ish - I think they sped up the songs a little for runtime). Jimmy takes on a lot more, mixing elements of the two guitar parts together. JPJ sticks to just the melotron. It sounds so awesome as a performance.
The most emotional I’ve ever felt playing guitar was when I finally nailed this song which took me years to figure out, then I was told it wasn’t played in standard tuning 😂, so I learned it again in Jimmy Page tuning, we didn’t have internet back then