The song, released forty years ago on "Physical Graffiti" and previously known as "Driving to Kashmir," serves as a foundation and is included in the school material for rock bands.
By Ricardo Batalha (*)
In the inaugural post of “ Battlefield, ” I talked about the “beloved” Kingdom Come by Rival Sons and included some recommended videos, including one by Stone Fury. As one thing leads to another, it's worth remembering Bruce Dickinson. Currently undergoing treatment for tongue cancer, the vocalist displayed his typical British humor when he was a guest presenter during the golden age of the American MTV show “Headbangers Ball.” Besides the funny quips, the sarcasm when introducing the music video for the ballad “What Love Can Be” by Kingdom Come was even greater: “Now enjoy Led Zeppelin… Oh no, Kingdom Come .” Continuing the connections, it's also worth remembering that Dickinson recorded Led Zeppelin 's “Communication Breakdown” Iron Maiden .
Around the same time, even the late master Gary Moore (not as revered as he should be, it must be said) recorded a song called "Led Clones" on his album "After The War" (1989), the last of his Hard Rock phase before fully embracing Blues. The composition by the Irish guitarist, which features Ozzy Osbourne, makes a clear reference to the classic "Kashmir" and its reference in "Get it On," a track from Kingdom Come's debut album. The verse "You've stolen from the houses of the holy / You've rolled into the kingdom of the saint," which appears in the lyrics of "Led Clones," reveals the intention to criticize. "Every band has something that sounds like another. I don't see the slightest problem with that ," vocalist Lenny Wolf once confessed to me (Roadie Crew, issue #78). Wolf explained that at the beginning he was flattered when people compared his work to Led Zeppelin. "I was aware that there was a similarity because this was indeed one of my musical references, but after a while this type of comparison started to become tiresome and boring ," he revealed.
But then we start remembering other “Kashmir” songs scattered around. Or are you going to tell me that the line from “Judgement Day” by Whitesnake ; “Wake Up” by Rage Against The Machine; or “Welcome Home” by Coheed and Cambria didn't also come from it? Oh, and there's that part of “When Doomsday Comes (Hybrid Theory)” from the merely mediocre “Call To Arms” (2011) by Saxon – my opinion, of course. Calm down, there are still people who swear that “Perfect Strangers” by Deep Purple ; and “Rock & Roll” by Dio were also inspired by “Kashmir”. Try to find “The Ballad of John Henry” by Joe Bonamassa, and feel the progressions. OK, since we're going to throw caution to the wind, what song did rappers Puff Daddy and Schoolly D sample and do well with?
“Robert Plant has always been a great influence on me. That’s undeniable ,” vocalist Jack Russell (Roadie Crew, ed. #130), who recorded the album “Great Zeppelin: A Tribute to Led Zeppelin” with Great White in the late 90s, once told me. Brazilian vocalist Edu Falaschi , who celebrated his 25th year in the music industry in 2015, hasn't forgotten the version of “Kashmir” he recorded for the tribute album “The Music Remains the Same: A Tribute to Led Zeppelin,” released in 2002, when he was the frontman of Angra. “Having sung that song was a privilege ,” says the vocalist, instrumentalist, producer, and composer. “When we received the invitation to participate in the tribute, we were very happy, mainly because I had complete freedom to put my personality into this great anthem,” adds the Almah frontman.
Plant said the inspiration came from the long road that crosses the Sahara Desert: 'It felt like you were driving in a canal, this ruined road, and it seemed endless.'
The composition, released forty years ago on "Physical Graffiti" and previously known as "Driving to Kashmir," serves as a foundation and is included in the "school material" of rock bands. "The descending chord progression was the first thing I did. After the 'da-da-da, da-da-da' part came to me, I wondered if the two parts could be layered on top of each other. It worked! There's some dissonance there, but it's not a problem. At the time, I was very proud ," explained the humble guitarist Jimmy Page in the book "Light & Shadow" by Brad Tolinski (Globo Livros).
Já Plant, who conceived the idea for the composition shortly after the 1973 tour, while traveling from Guelmim – Morocco's "gateway to the Sahara" – to the city of Tan-Tan, said the inspiration came from the long road that crosses the Sahara Desert. "It felt like you were driving in a canal, this ruined road, and seemingly endless." Despite the inspiration, Kashmir is located in the far northwest of the Indian subcontinent, where there is a long-standing territorial dispute between India, Pakistan, and China.
Whether it's homage, reverence, or even plagiarism, the fact is that "Kashmir," composed by Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, and John Bonham, still fascinates. Like the road that inspired Plant, its influence will seemingly have no end.
Recommended views:
Led Zeppelin – Kashmir (Celebration Day):
Gary Moore – Led Clones (w/ Ozzy Osbourne):
Kingdom Come – Get It On
Angra – Kashmir
(*) Ricardo Batalha is the editor-in-chief of Roadie Crew and director of ASE Assessoria e Consultoria..
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