Led Zeppelin's "BBC Sessions" is a great treasure trove of live material the group recorded for the BBC between 1969 and 1971. Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and John Bonham were one of the rock world's greatest live acts, as this live set clearly shows. Granted, several songs are repeated, like "Communication Breakdown" (3 versions), "You Shook Me" and "I Can't Quit You Baby" (2 versions), but who's complaining? One of Zeppelin's live trademarks was never to perform any song the exact same way, so each version of "Communication Breakdown," for example, differs somewhat from the other versions, as the band wanted to jam on it in a different, fresh way each time. And it works. Other goodies include a smokin' version of "Travelling Riverside Blues," and a brilliant performance of Zeppelin's signature song, "Stairway To Heaven." I also love the band's extended workouts on display here, including an 18 1/2 minute jam on "Dazed And Confused" (with Page getting some truly wild sounds out of his guitar), and the nearly 14-minute blast through "Whole Lotta Love," in which Zeppelin also insert some blues favorites like "Boogie Chillin'" and "That's Alright Mama." So, what are you waiting for, Zepheads---"BBC Sessions" totally deserves a place in your Led Zeppelin collection.

when i first popped the first cd in my cd player i was really surprised. i didn't expect much from it for some reason, but whatever reason that was, it was wrong. this album revitalized my enduring enthusiasm for led zeppelin, the band that could play the same song several different ways.
speaking of playing the same song different ways, bbc sessions has 3 versions of communication breakdown, 2 versions of you shook me and i can't quit you baby, 2 versions of dazed and confused and whole lotta love, i think i covered everything. :O
if you're a new zepp fan, then you'll love the rhythm and ferocity at 80% of their tunes on here - it harkens back to their early days of their first 4 albums.
it also contains the phenomenal, The Girl I Love She Got Long Black Wavy Hair and Travelling Riverside Blues! Truely missed classics, not on any lone album (i do think they are in one of the box sets).
trust me, if you're looking for a great rock album from a band that you thought you heard it all from, then pick up this album -its a welcome breath of fresh air.

The "BBC Sessions" showcases the awesome musical ability of all four members of the 70's rock titan Led Zeppelin. Disc 1 is mainly composed of heavy rock and blues familiars from their first two official releases. "Communication Breakdown" is found during three different points during this album, with each track showing the vast improvement of Zeppelin's playing ability in just three short months of touring in 1969. This is also effectively displayed with the inclusion of "You Shook Me" and "I Can't Quit You," played from the first "Top Gear" BBC Sessions in March of 1969 and during the "One Night Stand" BBC recordings from August of the same year. The blues drenched standout "Travelling Riverside Blues" features white hot Blues riffing by Page, and includes song writing credits that are typically documented as produced by Page, Plant, and Robert Johnson, who was one of many mysterious "fifth" song writers of Led Zeppelin. For those who aren't hardcore Zep heads like myself, Led Zeppelin was a band notorious for stealing lyrics directly out of old blues favorites. My only complaint about Disc 2 is that Robert Plant's voice cracks during the opening track "The Immigrant Song" and the then-yet-to-be-released "Black Dog," which kicks off with the opening drum beat of "Out On the Tiles." Outside of those two weak moments, Disc 2 delivers the goods and then some. Led Zeppelin flexes their heavy metal muscles on a rip-roaring version of "Whole Lotta Love," which was also one of the first live performances of this song. The 60's flower power side found on "Zeppelin III" or "Zeppelin IV" is also displayed with perfection on "Going to California," "That's the Way," and "Thank You," which is a great way to end a concert. Outside of a couple of dips in sound quality caused by Father Time and an inept mixing board, "The BBC Sessions" is a perfect collector's item for Led Zeppelin fans. It is a perfect reminder to those who have forgotten how awesome Led Zeppelin was when they were playing together.

I'm surprised by the unanimously great reviews of this thing--nobody else resents paying $25 for it? "Travelling Riverside Blues" is awesome, but I own it in two other formats. "The Girl I Love" is great, but short. The 13-minute "Whole Lotta Love" medley on disc 2 is the obvious highlight of the whole set: I have never heard such an interesting 13-minute song before, ever. It does not let up, and it does NOT get boring. And remember it's live--that's pretty impressive.

However, some songs (namely the first 2 on disc 2) are very mediocre. Jimmy's solos are pretty killer, but his riffs and rhythm playing are sloppy in the extreme. And Plant's singing? His vocals on "Immigrant Song" are bad enough to ruin the song. I wouldn't mind a few misses--in fact I would expect them on any live album--but what they are asking for it is absolute rape. Therefore, I would recommended this only for the diehards among us.

I will say, though--this is the best live Zep you can get, and if you own Led I-IV, it really IS cool to hear those same songs stripped of all the studio trappings, however imperfect the result may be.

I wasn't even born yet when these performances took place, so there aren't that many other places where I could have heard this band's live material.

To me, Led Zeppelin's BBC Sessions really pointed to the studio skill of Jimmy Page. Live, without the benefit of overdubbing, Zeppelin's music is not quite as good. Robert Plant, obviously, couldn't afford to cut loose his highest registers for fear of losing his voice before the concert/broadcast is done, and since Zeppelin didn't use hired rhythm guitarists, when Jimmy Page rips into his solos, there's no rhythm-guitar support, which takes away from some of the crunch of the songs. Honestly speaking, I don't think there's any version on this set that surpasses the original recordings.

But that's not the point, is it? The fact is, BBC Sessions is an excellent representation of the band's history. Only after listening to that stripped-down version of "Stairway to Heaven", or the 15-minute wank of "Dazed and Confused" (which doesn't come off well as a listening experience, though live audiences in its time mostly loved it), the noisy "Communication Breakdown". It's all testament to how great a job Jimmy Page did on crafting those Zeppelin albums. Musically speaking, the Zeppelin backbeat (hailed by many as the best of all time) of John Paul Jones and John Bonham is the only part that didn't suffer, coming off powerful and funky.

Just from a musical standpoint, BBC Sessions isn't the greatest piece of the Zeppelin history. Nevertheless, it's the closest I've ever come to seeing this band live, and its existence only augmented my appreciation of Zep's studio catalogue.