In the Evening

"In the Evening"
Song by Led Zeppelin
from the album In Through the Out Door
Released 15 August 1979 (1979-08-15)
Recorded November–December 1978
Studio Polar, Stockholm, Sweden
Genre Hard rock[1]
Length 6:48
Label Swan Song
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) Jimmy Page

"In the Evening" is the first track on Led Zeppelin's 1979 album In Through the Out Door. The track has a synthesizer-driven sound backed by a dominant guitar phrase.

Overview

The track features an extended droning introductory section led by Jimmy Page on guitar, preceded by Plant's haunting shrill which also includes low sustaining bass pedals played by John Paul Jones and also featured John Bonham playing a tympano; doing long extended single stroke rolls and random single hits, while he changed the pitch of the drum using the foot pedal. Page used a Gizmotron to create the droning effects and sliding solo at the beginning of the song,[2] (Page would play a similar section to the intro of "In the Evening" during "Dazed and Confused" using a violin bow, as can be heard on bootleg recordings of Led Zeppelin's concert at Tampa Stadium in 1973).

The creation of this song can be traced largely to Led Zeppelin bassist and keyboardist, John Paul Jones. When the band was recording this album, Page and drummer John Bonham would usually show up at the studio very late and work through the night. In their absence, "In the Evening" started out with just drums and keyboards created by Jones, who had a new drum machine to work with.

Live performances

The song was performed live at Led Zeppelin concerts during 1979 and 1980. During the 1979 performances, it would be played directly after Page's guitar distortion and violin bow solo, which incorporated a laser strobe to add to the visual effects.[3] One such live version, from Led Zeppelin's performance at Knebworth in 1979, can be seen on the Led Zeppelin DVD. Performances on the Tour Over Europe 1980 could last more than eight minutes.

Plant revived "In the Evening" on his Now and Zen solo tour in 1988. The song was also played on some concerts in 1995 and 1996 during Page and Plant's tour.

Reception

In a contemporary review for In Through the Out Door, Charles M. Young of Rolling Stone called "In the Evening" the album's best track, describing the song as "a classic Zeppelin orchestral guitar rumble halfway between "When the Levee Breaks" and "In the Light"."[4] However, Young described the vocals as barely understandable.[4] In his review, Young also stated ""In the Evening" has the only great guitar riff on the entire album."[4]

In a retrospective review of In Through the Out Door (Deluxe Edition), Andrew Doscas of PopMatters believed "In the Evening" to be "a phoned-in effort, actually sounding more like Led Zeppelin phoning in a phoned-in attempt at a pop song."[5] Doscas also found Plant's vocals on the song barely understandable.[5]

Personnel

Cover versions

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

References

  1. ↑ "In the Evening: Overview". AllMusic. Retrieved 26 April 2013.
  2. ↑ Brad Tolinski and Greg Di Bendetto, "Light and Shade", Guitar World, January 1998.
  3. ↑ Dave Lewis (1994), The Complete Guide to the Music of Led Zeppelin, Omnibus Press, ISBN 0-7119-3528-9.
  4. 1 2 3 Young, Charles M. (18 October 1979). "In Through The Out Door". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
  5. 1 2 Doscas, Andrew (22 September 2015). "Led Zeppelin: In Through the Out Door (Deluxe Edition)". PopMatters. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
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