Carouselambra
Encyclopedia
"Carouselambra" is a song on English
rock
band Led Zeppelin
's 1979 album, In Through the Out Door
. The name Carouselambra is a reference to the first section of the song sounding similar to carousel
music. It is the second longest song the band recorded in the studio (after "In My Time of Dying
"), clocking in at more than 10 minutes in length.
It's also a very unusual song for the band, as Jimmy Page
's guitar
work is pushed almost to the background, while John Paul Jones
dominates with heavy use of synthesizer
s.
in May 1978. The song itself is split in three sections. The first section is a fast-paced showcase of Jones on synthesizer (he overdubbed a bass guitar part), with Robert Plant's
vocals mixed down slightly underneath Jones, the drums
of John Bonham
and Page's guitar chord progression. The second section is much slower in pace, highlighting Page's use of the Gibson EDS-1275
double-necked guitar, the only time he used that instrument on a Led Zeppelin studio song, while Plant sings some reflective lyrics. The final section returns to an up-tempo beat, with all four band members performing in unison. Page's deep, droning guitar sound was produced with a Gizmotron
, a device that creates indefinite sustain, weird harmonics, and allows the guitar to sound like a string section.
Jones, in an interview, stated he had obtained the Yamaha GX-1 synthesizer from Keith Emerson
after Emerson, Lake & Palmer
had split-up after completing the album Love Beach
.
The song is in standard 4/4 timing in the key of A major, although there are various instances of modulation to C, D, F, and G major. The lyrics to the first section of the song follow a rough "ABAB" rhythmical format. In the second and third sections of the song the format changes along with the instruments.
Plant's lyrics, particularly in the first section of the song, are somewhat buried in the mix and are difficult to discern. According to an interview Plant gave in 1979, the song was about someone who, when one day realising the song was written about them, would say, "My God! Was it really like that?" Plant has also said that the lyrics are related to "The Battle of Evermore
" with clues at the end where he sings "But guard the seed."
"Carouselambra" was never played live by the band at Led Zeppelin concerts
. One fan vehemently claimed that the song was performed for an encore at the June 26, 1977 concert at the LA Forum, but bootleg
video and audio prove that the song was actually "It'll Be Me." The band planned to perform the song on their 1980 North American tour, and rehearsed it on the day that drummer John Bonham
died. During the 1995-96 Page and Plant
tour, however, Plant would often sing the middle verse of the song when he and Page performed "In the Evening
".
"Carouselambra" was played as the closing credits rolled when MTV was first broadcast.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
's 1979 album, In Through the Out Door
In Through the Out Door
In Through the Out Door is the eighth studio album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin. It was recorded over a three week period in November and December 1978 at ABBA's Polar Studios in Stockholm, Sweden, and released by Swan Song Records on 15 August 1979...
. The name Carouselambra is a reference to the first section of the song sounding similar to carousel
Carousel
A carousel , or merry-go-round, is an amusement ride consisting of a rotating circular platform with seats for riders...
music. It is the second longest song the band recorded in the studio (after "In My Time of Dying
In My Time of Dying
"In My Time of Dying" is a traditional gospel music song that has been recorded by numerous musicians. An early version, titled "Jesus Goin' A-Make Up My Dying Bed", is mentioned in historian Robert Emmet Kennedy's Black Cameos published in 1924, on Louisiana street performers, and also listed in...
"), clocking in at more than 10 minutes in length.
It's also a very unusual song for the band, as Jimmy Page
Jimmy Page
James Patrick "Jimmy" Page, OBE is an English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and record producer. He began his career as a studio session guitarist in London and was subsequently a member of The Yardbirds from 1966 to 1968, after which he founded the English rock band Led Zeppelin.Jimmy Page...
's guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
work is pushed almost to the background, while John Paul Jones
John Paul Jones (musician)
John Paul Jones is an English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, composer, arranger and record producer. Best known as the bassist, mandolinist, and keyboardist for English rock band Led Zeppelin, Jones has since developed a solo career and has gained even more respect as both a musician and a...
dominates with heavy use of synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
s.
Overview
"Carouselambra" was conceived during the band's rehearsals at Clearwell CastleClearwell Castle
Clearwell Castle is a mock Gothic mansion located in Clearwell, Gloucestershire. First known as Clearwell Court, it was built for Thomas Wyndham in 1728 to replace an older house which occupied same site. Its name was changed to Clearwell Castle in 1908....
in May 1978. The song itself is split in three sections. The first section is a fast-paced showcase of Jones on synthesizer (he overdubbed a bass guitar part), with Robert Plant's
Robert Plant
Robert Anthony Plant, CBE is an English singer and songwriter best known as the vocalist and lyricist of the iconic rock band Led Zeppelin. He has also had a successful solo career...
vocals mixed down slightly underneath Jones, the drums
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
of John Bonham
John Bonham
John Henry Bonham was an English musician and songwriter, best known as the drummer of Led Zeppelin. Bonham was esteemed for his speed, power, fast right foot, distinctive sound, and "feel" for the groove...
and Page's guitar chord progression. The second section is much slower in pace, highlighting Page's use of the Gibson EDS-1275
Gibson EDS-1275
The Gibson EDS-1275 is a doubleneck Gibson electric guitar introduced in 1963 and still in production. Popularized by both rock and jazz musicians such as Jimmy Page and John McLaughlin, it was called "the coolest guitar in rock."-History:...
double-necked guitar, the only time he used that instrument on a Led Zeppelin studio song, while Plant sings some reflective lyrics. The final section returns to an up-tempo beat, with all four band members performing in unison. Page's deep, droning guitar sound was produced with a Gizmotron
The Gizmo
The Gizmo was an effects device for the electric guitar, invented ca. 1973 by the English rock musicians Kevin Godley and Lol Creme, whilst they were members of the British rock group 10cc....
, a device that creates indefinite sustain, weird harmonics, and allows the guitar to sound like a string section.
Jones, in an interview, stated he had obtained the Yamaha GX-1 synthesizer from Keith Emerson
Keith Emerson
Keith Noel Emerson is an English keyboard player and composer. Formerly a member of the Keith Emerson Trio, John Brown's Bodies, The T-Bones, V.I.P.s, P.P. Arnold's backing band, and The Nice , he was a founder of Emerson, Lake & Palmer , one of the early supergroups, in 1970...
after Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Emerson, Lake & Palmer, also known as ELP, are an English progressive rock supergroup. They found success in the 1970s and sold over forty million albums and headlined large stadium concerts. The band consists of Keith Emerson , Greg Lake and Carl Palmer...
had split-up after completing the album Love Beach
Love Beach
Love Beach is a studio album by English progressive rock group Emerson, Lake & Palmer released in 1978. It was the band's final album of original material until Black Moon and was produced to satisfy contractual obligations with the group's record company. It was a critical and commercial...
.
The song is in standard 4/4 timing in the key of A major, although there are various instances of modulation to C, D, F, and G major. The lyrics to the first section of the song follow a rough "ABAB" rhythmical format. In the second and third sections of the song the format changes along with the instruments.
Plant's lyrics, particularly in the first section of the song, are somewhat buried in the mix and are difficult to discern. According to an interview Plant gave in 1979, the song was about someone who, when one day realising the song was written about them, would say, "My God! Was it really like that?" Plant has also said that the lyrics are related to "The Battle of Evermore
The Battle of Evermore
"The Battle of Evermore" is a folk rock duet sung by Robert Plant and Sandy Denny, by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, featured on their untitled fourth album , released in 1971...
" with clues at the end where he sings "But guard the seed."
"Carouselambra" was never played live by the band at Led Zeppelin concerts
Led Zeppelin concerts
From September 1968 through the summer of 1980, English rock group Led Zeppelin were one of the world's most popular live music attractions, performing hundreds of sold-out concerts around the world.-History:...
. One fan vehemently claimed that the song was performed for an encore at the June 26, 1977 concert at the LA Forum, but bootleg
Led Zeppelin bootleg recordings
The Led Zeppelin bootleg recordings are a collection of audio and video recordings of musical performances by English rock band Led Zeppelin which were never officially released by the band, or under other legal authority. The recordings consist of both live concert performances and outtakes from...
video and audio prove that the song was actually "It'll Be Me." The band planned to perform the song on their 1980 North American tour, and rehearsed it on the day that drummer John Bonham
John Bonham
John Henry Bonham was an English musician and songwriter, best known as the drummer of Led Zeppelin. Bonham was esteemed for his speed, power, fast right foot, distinctive sound, and "feel" for the groove...
died. During the 1995-96 Page and Plant
Page and Plant
Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, both formerly of English hard rock band Led Zeppelin, recorded and toured in the mid-1990s under the title Page and Plant. The pair re-united in 1994 and, after recording a highly successful first album, they embarked on a world tour. They then recorded a second album,...
tour, however, Plant would often sing the middle verse of the song when he and Page performed "In the Evening
In the Evening
"In the Evening" is the first song on English rock band Led Zeppelin's eighth studio album, In Through the Out Door, released in 1979. The track has a synthesizer-driven sound backed by a gargantuan guitar repetition.-Overview:...
".
"Carouselambra" was played as the closing credits rolled when MTV was first broadcast.
Personnel
- Robert PlantRobert PlantRobert Anthony Plant, CBE is an English singer and songwriter best known as the vocalist and lyricist of the iconic rock band Led Zeppelin. He has also had a successful solo career...
- vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... - Jimmy PageJimmy PageJames Patrick "Jimmy" Page, OBE is an English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and record producer. He began his career as a studio session guitarist in London and was subsequently a member of The Yardbirds from 1966 to 1968, after which he founded the English rock band Led Zeppelin.Jimmy Page...
- guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
s - John Paul JonesJohn Paul Jones (musician)John Paul Jones is an English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, composer, arranger and record producer. Best known as the bassist, mandolinist, and keyboardist for English rock band Led Zeppelin, Jones has since developed a solo career and has gained even more respect as both a musician and a...
- bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments... - John BonhamJohn BonhamJohn Henry Bonham was an English musician and songwriter, best known as the drummer of Led Zeppelin. Bonham was esteemed for his speed, power, fast right foot, distinctive sound, and "feel" for the groove...
- drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
Cover versions
- 1999: Prague Collective (String Quartet Tribute to Led Zeppelin) Performed by Riki T. Tavi
Sources
- Lewis, Dave (2004) The Complete Guide to the Music of Led Zeppelin, ISBN 0-7119-3528-9
- Welch, Chris (1998) Led Zeppelin: Dazed and Confused: The Stories Behind Every Song, ISBN 1-56025-818-7