Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...

's 1972 Japanese Tour was the second and final

concert tour A concert tour (or simply tour) is a series of concerts by an artist or group of artists in different cities, countries or locations. Often concert tours are named to differentiate different tours by the same artist and to associate a specific to ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

by the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania *Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...

. The tour commenced on 2 October and concluded on 10 October 1972. This tour took place shortly following the recording of the band's fifth album, ''

Houses of the Holy ''Houses of the Holy'' is the fifth studio album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin. It was released on 28 March 1973 by Atlantic Records. The album benefited from two band members installing studios at home, which allowed them to develop mor ...

''. Two tracks from the album were played live for first time, namely " The Song Remains the Same" and "

The Rain Song "The Rain Song" is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin. It was released in March 1973 as the second track on their fifth album, ''Houses of the Holy''. Recording "The Rain Song" is a ballad of over seven minutes in length. Guitarist J ...

". For these tracks,

Jimmy Page James Patrick Page (born 9 January 1944) is an English musician who achieved international success as the guitarist and founder of the rock band Led Zeppelin. Page is prolific in creating guitar riffs. His style involves various alternative ...

used his characteristic

Gibson EDS-1275 The Gibson EDS-1275 is a doubleneck Gibson electric guitar introduced in 1963 and still in production. Popularized and raised to iconic status by musicians such as John McLaughlin and Jimmy Page, it was called "the coolest guitar in rock." H ...

double-neck guitar A multi-neck guitar is a guitar that has multiple fingerboard necks. They exist in both electric guitar, electric and acoustic guitar, acoustic versions. Although multi-neck guitars are quite common today, they are not a modern invention. Examples ...

. Other songs from the album were also played, but these had already been debuted on previous concert tours.Lewis, Dave and Pallett, Simon (1997) ''Led Zeppelin: The Concert File'', London: Omnibus Press. , p. 81. It was on this tour that

John Paul Jones John Paul Jones (born John Paul; July 6, 1747 July 18, 1792) was a Scottish-American naval captain who was the United States' first well-known naval commander in the American Revolutionary War. He made many friends among U.S political elites ( ...

played his

mellotron The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which pushes a length of magnetic tape against a capstan, which pulls it across a playback head. A ...

for the first time. He used it for the tracks " Stairway to Heaven", "The Rain Song" and "

Thank You "''Thank you''" (often expanded to ''thank you very much'' or ''thanks a lot'', or informally abbreviated to ''thanks'' or alternately as ''many thanks''Geoffrey Leech, ''The Pragmatics of Politeness'' (2014), p. 200.) is a common expression of ...

". He also introduced an arco

stand-up bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...

, which he played during " Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp". Some observers have noted that it was during this tour that the vocals of singer

Robert Plant Robert Anthony Plant (born 20 August 1948) is an English singer and songwriter, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the English rock band Led Zeppelin for all of its existence from 1968 until 1980, when the band broke up following the ...

began to show signs of damage, as he arguably started to lose the extremely high-pitched wail which was evident on previous concert tours and album releases.Luis Rey (1997) ''Led Zeppelin Live: An Illustrated Exploration of Underground Tapes'', Ontario: The Hot Wacks Press, p. 202. In particular, Plant strained to sing the song "

Rock and Roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

", leading him to change the melody of the song to a lower register on all future tours. Whilst on this tour, Jones bought a traditional Japanese string instrument called a

Koto Koto may refer to: * Koto (band), an Italian synth pop group * Koto (instrument), a Japanese musical instrument * Koto (kana), a ligature of two Japanese katakana * Koto (traditional clothing), a traditional dress made by Afro-Surinamese women * K ...

. He later used this instrument on his solo album ''

Zooma ''Zooma'' is the 1999 debut solo album by English musician John Paul Jones, best known as the bassist and keyboardist of Led Zeppelin. The album is primarily composed of instrumental rock. Track listing All tracks written, composed, and a ...

'' (1999).

Tour set list

The dropping of the acoustic set by the band resulted in shorter

set list A set list, or setlist, is typically a handwritten or printed document created as an ordered list of songs, jokes, stories and other elements an artist intends to present during a specific performance. A setlist can be made of nearly any materi ...

s than those played on more recent tours, with shows now extending to a more manageable length of around two hours. The fairly typical set list for the tour was: #"

" (

Page Page most commonly refers to: * Page (paper), one side of a leaf of paper, as in a book Page, PAGE, pages, or paging may also refer to: Roles * Page (assistance occupation), a professional occupation * Page (servant), traditionally a young m ...

Plant Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclud ...

Jones Jones may refer to: People *Jones (surname), a common Welsh and English surname *List of people with surname Jones * Jones (singer), a British singer-songwriter Arts and entertainment * Jones (''Animal Farm''), a human character in George Orwell ...

, Bonham) #"

Out on the Tiles ''Led Zeppelin III'' is the third studio album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, released on 5 October 1970. It was recorded in three locations. Much of the work was done at Headley Grange, a country house, using the Rolling Stones Mobil ...

" (intro) (Page, Plant, Bonham) / " Black Dog" (Page, Plant, Jones) #" Over the Hills and Far Away" (Page, Plant) #"

Misty Mountain Hop "Misty Mountain Hop" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin, released in 1971 by Atlantic Records. The song appears on the band's untitled fourth album, and was released as the B-side to the single " Black Dog" and performed in most of the ...

" (Jones, Page, Plant) #"

Since I've Been Loving You "Since I've Been Loving You" is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, released in 1970 on the album ''Led Zeppelin III''. Overview "Since I've Been Loving You" was one of the first songs prepared for the ''Led Zeppelin III'' album. The s ...

" (Page, Plant, Jones) #"

Dancing Days "Dancing Days" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin. It appears on their 1973 album, ''Houses of the Holy'', and was released as a single in the US. It was recorded at Stargroves, England in 1972. It was inspired by an Indian tune tha ...

" (Page, Plant) #" Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp" (Page, Plant, Jones) #" The Song Remains the Same" (Page, Plant) #"

" (Page, Plant) #" Dazed and Confused" (Page) #" Stairway to Heaven" (Page, Plant) #"

Moby Dick ''Moby-Dick; or, The Whale'' is an 1851 novel by American writer Herman Melville. The book is the sailor Ishmael's narrative of the obsessive quest of Ahab, captain of the whaling ship ''Pequod'', for revenge against Moby Dick, the giant whit ...

" (Bonham, Jones, Page) (on 5 and 9 October only) #"

Whole Lotta Love "Whole Lotta Love" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin. It is the opening track on the band's second album, '' Led Zeppelin II'', and was released as a single in 1969 in several countries; as with other Led Zeppelin songs, no single was ...

" (Bonham, Dixon, Jones, Page, Plant) Encores (variations of the following list): *"

Heartbreaker Heartbreaker(s) or The Heart Breaker(s) may refer to: Film and television *''The Heart Breakers'', a 1916 film starring Andrew Arbuckle *''The Heart Breaker'', a 1925 film directed by Benjamin Stoloff * ''Heartbreaker'' (1983 film), an American f ...

" (Bonham, Page, Plant) (On 2 October and 4 October) *"

Immigrant Song "Immigrant Song" is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin. It is built upon a repeating riff and features lyrical references to Norse mythology, with singer Robert Plant's howling vocals mentioning war-making and Valhalla. The song was ...

" (Page, Plant) *"

" (Page, Plant) (On 5 October) *" The Ocean" (Bonham, Jones, Page, Plant) (On 3 October) *"

Communication Breakdown "Communication Breakdown" is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, from their 1969 self-titled debut album. It was also used as the B-side of the group's first single in the US, " Good Times Bad Times". A promotional video was released ...

" (Bonham, Jones, Page) (On 2 October) *" Stand by Me" (King, Leiber, Stoller), performed in Osaka on 9 October There were some set list substitutions, variations, and order switches during the tour.

Tour dates

References

External links

Comprehensive archive of known concert appearances by Led Zeppelin (official website)

Sources

*Lewis, Dave and Pallett, Simon (1997) ''Led Zeppelin: The Concert File'', London: Omnibus Press. . {{Authority control Led Zeppelin concert tours 1972 concert tours 1972 in Japanese music Concert tours of Japan