"All My Love" is the sixth song on

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 1979 album '' In Through the Out Door''. Credited to Robert Plant and

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 ( ...

, it is a

rock ballad A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn manner.J. M. C ...

that features a synthesizer solo by Jones. It was written in honour of Plant's son Karac, who died while Led Zeppelin were on their 1977 North American tour. "All My Love" is one of only two Led Zeppelin songs that Jimmy Page had no part in writing (the other being "South Bound Saurez", also from ''In Through the Out Door'').

Recording and releases

"All My Love" is a mid-tempo rock-style ballad, that biographer Nigel Williamson describes as "underpinned by a semi-classical arrangement of the kind popular at the time with the likes of

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...

and ELO". The original working title was "The Hook". The song was recorded between November and December 1978 at

Polar Studios Polar Studios was a recording studio in Stockholm, Sweden, which operated from 1978 through 2004. The studio was formed by ABBA musicians Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson and the band's manager Stig Anderson, owner of the Polar Music recording ...

in Stockholm, Sweden. A studio outtake of an extended version of the song exists timed around 7:55 (the song itself would be timed around 6:57). It has a complete ending, with Plant extending the last chorus with much ad-libbing and a twangy

B-Bender A B-Bender is a guitar accessory that enables a player to fluidly alter the pitch of a guitar's B-string. This works by mechanically bending the B-string through the use of a series of levers and/or pulleys attached to an external lever that is ...

guitar solo by Page. This version is found on several

Led Zeppelin bootleg recordings The Led Zeppelin bootleg recordings are a collection of music, audio and video recordings of musical performances by the English Rock music, rock band Led Zeppelin which were never officially released by the band, or under other legal authority. Th ...

. Led Zeppelin performed the song during their concert tour of Europe in 1980. "All My Love" is also included in the Led Zeppelin compilations '' Early Days and Latter Days'', ''

Remasters Mastering, a form of audio post production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device (the master), the source from which all copies will be produced (via meth ...

'' and ''

Mothership A mother ship, mothership or mother-ship is a large vehicle that leads, serves, or carries other smaller vehicles. A mother ship may be a maritime ship, aircraft, or spacecraft. Examples include bombers converted to carry experimental airc ...

''.

Critical reception

In a review for ''In Through the Out Door (

Deluxe Edition The terms special edition, limited edition, and variants such as deluxe edition, or collector's edition, are used as a marketing incentive for various kinds of products, originally published products related to the arts, such as books, prints, r ...

)'', Andrew Doscas of ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

'' described "All My Love" as "the saddest and most heartfelt Zeppelin song." Doscas described the song as "a fitting ode to Plant's son, which hauntingly enough sounds like a foreshadowing of a band on the path to an impending and unforeseeable dissolution. In its 1999 list of "Top 500 Tracks",

Radio Caroline Radio Caroline is a British radio station founded in 1964 by Ronan O'Rahilly and Alan Crawford initially to circumvent the record companies' control of popular music broadcasting in the United Kingdom and the BBC's radio broadcasting monopoly ...

ranked the song at number 239. In an interview he later gave to rock journalist

Cameron Crowe Cameron Bruce Crowe (born July 13, 1957) is an American journalist, author, writer, producer, director, actor, lyricist, and playwright. Before moving into the film industry, Crowe was a contributing editor at '' Rolling Stone'' magazine, for w ...

, Plant stated that this song was one of Led Zeppelin's "finest moments".Liner notes by

for '' The Complete Studio Recordings''. However, guitarist Jimmy Page and drummer

John Bonham John Henry Bonham (31 May 1948 – 25 September 1980) was an English musician, best known as the drummer for the rock band Led Zeppelin. Esteemed for his speed, power, fast single-footed kick drumming, distinctive sound, and feel for groove ...

had reservations about the song's soft rock sound.

The Hook

mono Mono may refer to: Common meanings * Infectious mononucleosis, "the kissing disease" * Monaural, monophonic sound reproduction, often shortened to mono * Mono-, a numerical prefix representing anything single Music Performers * Mono (Japanese b ...

mix of the song was re-released in 2015 on ''In Through the Out Door (Deluxe Edition)'', under the title "The Hook".

References

Sources

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External links