Communication Breakdown
Communication Breakdown is a song by Led Zeppelin, from their 1969 debut album Led Zeppelin. It was one of the first songs that Jimmy Page and Robert Plant worked on together.
The pounding guitar riff was one that Page has stated is difficult to play because of the constant, quick downstroke with the pick. He used a small, miked Supro amplifier throughout; and ran his lead guitar through a fully closed Vox wah pedal to create the “guitar in a shoebox” sound on the lead. “Communication Breakdown” is also one of the few songs that Page sang a backing vocal on.
The song was a popular live number at Led Zeppelin concerts, and, along with “Heartbreaker” was the only song to be played during every year that the band toured. It usually either opened shows or was played as an encore.
In the US, the track was released as the B-side of the single “Good Times Bad Times.”
On the Led Zeppelin BBC Sessions, released in 1997, this song was featured three times, each with a slightly different improvisation by the musicians. A live version taken from a performance at the Royal Albert Hall in 1970 can also be seen on the Led Zeppelin DVD.
In the documentary Ramones: The True Story, Page’s speeded up, downstroke guitar riff is cited as guitarist Johnny Ramone’s inspiration for - and basis of - his punk-defining, strictly downstroke guitar strumming.
Iron Maiden later covered the track on the B-side to the “Bring Your Daughter to the Slaughter” single, as well as being featured in their Eddie’s Archive box set. The Flaming Lips also covered the song on their Finally the Punk Rockers Are Taking Acid compilation, as did Jason Bonham, son of Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham, on his 1997 album In the Name of My Father - The Zepset
In 2006 Australian hard rock band Wolfmother covered the song during the induction of Led Zeppelin into the UK Music Hall of Fame.
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