Un-Led-Ed
Encyclopedia
Un-Led-Ed is the debut album by Dread Zeppelin
. Released in 1990 to a skeptical public, the album became a sensation on the strength of glowing reviews and a public endorsement by Led Zeppelin
vocalist, Robert Plant
, who claimed he preferred Dread Zep's version of "Your Time Is Gonna Come
" to Led Zeppelin's original.
of Eurythmics
. The first sessions yielded two vinyl 45 singles, "Immigrant Song" b/w "Hey Hey What Can I Do" and "Whole Lotta Love" b/w "Tour-Telvis: A Bad Trip". Both singles were released by Birdcage Records in 1989.
After selling out multiple runs of the singles in various vinyl colors, Birdcage gave the go-ahead to record a full album. The original concept was to lampoon each Led Zeppelin album in its original order but that was scrapped for more of a hodgepodge approach that could include Dread Zeppelin live favorites like "Black Dog
" and "Heartbreaker
."
Un-Led-Ed was 90% finished when Dread Zeppelin were signed to I.R.S. Records
who arranged for the final recording sessions at Club 56 Studio in Burbank, CA. Two songs were recorded: "Black Dog" and "(All I Want For Christmas Is) My Two Front Teeth." Both songs feature new drummer, Fresh Cheese 'n' Cheese (Paul Maselli). Original percussionist, Cheese (Curt Lichter), had left the band after the Chapel recordings.
"Hey Hey What Can I Do" and "Tour-Telvis: A Bad Trip" were not included on Un Led-Ed but appear on a Birdcage Records cassette-only compilation called Kom Gib Mir Deine Zeppelin and various I.R.S. single B-sides. "All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth" appears on a 1990 I.R.S. Christmas sampler called Just in Time for Christmas.
A fourth extra track, "Un-Led-Ed," a psychedelic pastiche incorporating several songs from the album and meant to be somewhat of an overture, was cut from the album due to copyright considerations. The song appears as "Un-Led-Eddd (in 3D)" on Dread Zeppelin's 1995 album for Birdcage Records, No Quarter Pounder
.
The album features a guest appearance by former Lemony Sykes vocalist George-John Chocolatto.
, envisioned the album to incorporate a gameboard. A mock Monopoly
board was created using Led Zeppelin, reggae music and Elvis Presley
references for the properties and utilities. This concept was eventually used for the inside of the album. When the band signed to I.R.S., the idea was pitched to do a cover along the lines of the children's toy where magnetic shavings are manipulated by a magnet to make different hair styles. Artist Hugh Brown created a mock-up for this cover, but the idea was rejected as being too costly. Brown then created the cover that is now used, pictures of the band surrounded by branches and colored lights.
The first pressings of Un Led-Ed were distributed by MCA Records in the United States. These copies show Tortelvis with original hair and photo on the gameboard. Within a month, I.R.S. changed distributors to EMI who distributed copies of the edited cover.
The original Ed Zeppelin was played by Bryant Fernandez. His photo is on the gameboard in the inside of the CD. When Bryant left the group midway through the recording, his twin brother, Bruce Fernandez, took over the Ed Zeppelin role. His photo is on the front cover.
Dread Zeppelin
Dread Zeppelin is an American band best known for performing the songs of Led Zeppelin in a reggae style as sung by a 300 pound Vegas Elvis impersonator. Over the years they would also perform songs originally by Elvis Presley, Bob Marley and The Yardbirds. The group toured extensively around the...
. Released in 1990 to a skeptical public, the album became a sensation on the strength of glowing reviews and a public endorsement by 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...
vocalist, Robert Plant
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...
, who claimed he preferred Dread Zep's version of "Your Time Is Gonna Come
Your Time Is Gonna Come
"Your Time Is Gonna Come" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin, released on their 1969 début album Led Zeppelin.Guitarist Jimmy Page played an out-of-tune Fender 10-string steel guitar on this track. In an interview he gave in 1977, Page stated that he only learned how to play the steel...
" to Led Zeppelin's original.
Recording
Initial recording sessions for the album took place exclusively at The Chapel in Encino, California in 1989. Co-producer, Rasta Li-Mon (R. Lee Manning) was the house engineer for owner, Dave StewartDavid A. Stewart
David Allan Stewart , often known as Dave Stewart, is an English musician, songwriter and record producer, best known for his work with Eurythmics. He is usually credited as David A. Stewart, to avoid confusion with other musicians named "Dave Stewart".-Early life:Stewart was born in Sunderland,...
of Eurythmics
Eurythmics
Eurythmics were a British pop rock duo, formed in 1980, currently disbanded, but known to reunite from time to time. Consisting of members Annie Lennox and David A...
. The first sessions yielded two vinyl 45 singles, "Immigrant Song" b/w "Hey Hey What Can I Do" and "Whole Lotta Love" b/w "Tour-Telvis: A Bad Trip". Both singles were released by Birdcage Records in 1989.
After selling out multiple runs of the singles in various vinyl colors, Birdcage gave the go-ahead to record a full album. The original concept was to lampoon each Led Zeppelin album in its original order but that was scrapped for more of a hodgepodge approach that could include Dread Zeppelin live favorites like "Black Dog
Black Dog (song)
"Black Dog" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin, the lead off track of their fourth album, released in 1971. It was also released as a single in the United States and Australia with "Misty Mountain Hop" on the B-side, and reached #15 on Billboard and #11 in Australia.In 2010, the song was...
" and "Heartbreaker
Heartbreaker (Led Zeppelin song)
"Heartbreaker" is a song from English rock band Led Zeppelin's 1969 album, Led Zeppelin II. It was credited to all four members of the band, having been recorded at A&R Studios, New York, during the band's second concert tour of the United States, and was engineered by Eddie Kramer."Heartbreaker"...
."
Un-Led-Ed was 90% finished when Dread Zeppelin were signed to I.R.S. Records
I.R.S. Records
I.R.S. Records was a record label, started in the United States in 1979 by Miles Copeland III along with Jay Boberg and Carl Grasso. Miles was also the manager of Wishbone Ash, The Police, and later, Sting, as well as other bands. I.R.S. was the sister label of Copeland's Illegal Records .I.R.S...
who arranged for the final recording sessions at Club 56 Studio in Burbank, CA. Two songs were recorded: "Black Dog" and "(All I Want For Christmas Is) My Two Front Teeth." Both songs feature new drummer, Fresh Cheese 'n' Cheese (Paul Maselli). Original percussionist, Cheese (Curt Lichter), had left the band after the Chapel recordings.
"Hey Hey What Can I Do" and "Tour-Telvis: A Bad Trip" were not included on Un Led-Ed but appear on a Birdcage Records cassette-only compilation called Kom Gib Mir Deine Zeppelin and various I.R.S. single B-sides. "All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth" appears on a 1990 I.R.S. Christmas sampler called Just in Time for Christmas.
A fourth extra track, "Un-Led-Ed," a psychedelic pastiche incorporating several songs from the album and meant to be somewhat of an overture, was cut from the album due to copyright considerations. The song appears as "Un-Led-Eddd (in 3D)" on Dread Zeppelin's 1995 album for Birdcage Records, No Quarter Pounder
No Quarter Pounder
No Quarter Pounder is a studio album by Dread Zeppelin, released on September 12, 1995. Its title is wordplay on the Led Zeppelin song "No Quarter" and the name of a hamburger made by McDonald's, a Quarter Pounder ....
.
The album features a guest appearance by former Lemony Sykes vocalist George-John Chocolatto.
Album cover
Birdcage Records art director, Bryant Fernandez, and producer, Jah Paul JoJah Paul Jo
Jah Paul Jo is a guitarist, bass player, singer and producer best known for creating the novelty band, Dread Zeppelin. From 1983 to 1988, Jah Paul Jo, as Severs Ramsey, was the singer/bass player in The Prime Movers...
, envisioned the album to incorporate a gameboard. A mock Monopoly
Monopoly (game)
Marvin Gardens, the leading yellow property on the board shown, is actually a misspelling of the original location name, Marven Gardens. The misspelling was said to be introduced by Charles Todd and passed on when his home-made Monopoly board was copied by Charles Darrow and thence to Parker...
board was created using Led Zeppelin, reggae music and Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
references for the properties and utilities. This concept was eventually used for the inside of the album. When the band signed to I.R.S., the idea was pitched to do a cover along the lines of the children's toy where magnetic shavings are manipulated by a magnet to make different hair styles. Artist Hugh Brown created a mock-up for this cover, but the idea was rejected as being too costly. Brown then created the cover that is now used, pictures of the band surrounded by branches and colored lights.
Controversy
At the behest of the Elvis Presley estate, the photo of Tortelvis (Greg Tortell) on the cover of Un Led-Ed was blacked out. Later editions of the album have Tortelvis' giant Elvis coif replaced by a multi-colored rasta wig. The photos of Tortelvis on the Monopoly-style gameboard were also blacked out.The first pressings of Un Led-Ed were distributed by MCA Records in the United States. These copies show Tortelvis with original hair and photo on the gameboard. Within a month, I.R.S. changed distributors to EMI who distributed copies of the edited cover.
The original Ed Zeppelin was played by Bryant Fernandez. His photo is on the gameboard in the inside of the CD. When Bryant left the group midway through the recording, his twin brother, Bruce Fernandez, took over the Ed Zeppelin role. His photo is on the front cover.
Track listing
- "Black DogBlack Dog (song)"Black Dog" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin, the lead off track of their fourth album, released in 1971. It was also released as a single in the United States and Australia with "Misty Mountain Hop" on the B-side, and reached #15 on Billboard and #11 in Australia.In 2010, the song was...
" (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...
, 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...
, 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...
)/Hound DogHound Dog (song)"Hound Dog" is a twelve-bar blues written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller and originally recorded by Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton in 1952. Other early versions illustrate the differences among blues, country, and rock and roll in the mid-1950s. The 1956 remake by Elvis Presley is the best-known...
(Leiber, Stoller) – 5:21 - "HeartbreakerHeartbreaker (Led Zeppelin song)"Heartbreaker" is a song from English rock band Led Zeppelin's 1969 album, Led Zeppelin II. It was credited to all four members of the band, having been recorded at A&R Studios, New York, during the band's second concert tour of the United States, and was engineered by Eddie Kramer."Heartbreaker"...
(At the End of Lonely Street)Heartbreak Hotel"Heartbreak Hotel" is a song recorded by American rock and roll musician Elvis Presley. It was released as a single on January 27, 1956, Presley's first on his new record label RCA Victor. His first number-one pop record, "Heartbreak Hotel" topped Billboards Top 100 chart, became his first...
" (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...
, Jones, Page, Plant)/Heartbreak HotelHeartbreak Hotel"Heartbreak Hotel" is a song recorded by American rock and roll musician Elvis Presley. It was released as a single on January 27, 1956, Presley's first on his new record label RCA Victor. His first number-one pop record, "Heartbreak Hotel" topped Billboards Top 100 chart, became his first...
(Axton, Dursden, Presley) – 4:46 - "Livin' Lovin' Maid (She's Just A Woman)" (Page, Plant) – 3:45
- "Your Time Is Gonna ComeYour Time Is Gonna Come"Your Time Is Gonna Come" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin, released on their 1969 début album Led Zeppelin.Guitarist Jimmy Page played an out-of-tune Fender 10-string steel guitar on this track. In an interview he gave in 1977, Page stated that he only learned how to play the steel...
" (Jones, Page) – 5:09 - "Bring It On Home" (Page, Plant) – 4:34
- "Whole Lotta LoveWhole Lotta Love"Whole Lotta Love" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin. It is featured as the opening track on the band's second album, Led Zeppelin II, and was released in the United States and Japan as a single. The US release became their first hit single, it was certified Gold on 13 April 1970, when it...
" (Bonham, Willie DixonWillie DixonWilliam James "Willie" Dixon was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. A Grammy Award winner who was proficient on both the Upright bass and the guitar, as well as his own singing voice, Dixon is arguably best known as one of the most prolific songwriters...
, Jones, Page, Plant) – 4:34 - "Black Mountain SideBlack Mountain Side"Black Mountain Side" is an instrumental by English rock band Led Zeppelin, featured on the band's 1969 début album Led Zeppelin. It was recorded at Olympic Studios, London during October 1968.-Song structure:...
" (Page) – 2:01 - "I Can't Quit You BabyI Can't Quit You Baby"I Can't Quit You Baby" is a blues standard written by Willie Dixon and first recorded by Chicago blues artist Otis Rush in 1956. The song, a slow twelve-bar blues, has been recorded by various artists, including Led Zeppelin, who included it on their debut album.- Otis Rush version :"I Can't Quit...
" (Willie DixonWillie DixonWilliam James "Willie" Dixon was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. A Grammy Award winner who was proficient on both the Upright bass and the guitar, as well as his own singing voice, Dixon is arguably best known as one of the most prolific songwriters...
) – 6:02 - "Immigrant SongImmigrant Song"Immigrant Song" is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin. It was released as a single from their third album, Led Zeppelin III, in 1970.-Overview:...
" (Page, Plant) – 2:53 - "Moby Dick" (Bonham, Jones, Page) – 4:19
Personnel
- Carl Jah - Guitars, Maharishi and Background Vocals
- Jah Paul Jo - Guitars, Keyboard and Background Vocals
- Put-Mon - Porn Bass and Background Vocals
- Tortelvis - Lead Vocals and Drums on "Moby Dick"
- Ed Zeppelin - Conga, Percussion & Toast
- Cheese - Drums and Percussion
- Fresh Cheese 'n' Cheese - Drums on "Black Dog"
- I-Lar-E Treadwell - Telephone Harmonic Convergence On “Black Dog”
- "Colonel” Ron Kane - Spoken Introduction to “Moby Dick”
- Bun-E Slopes - Blues Harp on “Bring It On Home”
- The Memphis Hornies (Saxwell, Raji And Spam Acid) - Horn Section on "Black Dog"
- The Dreadettes - Background Vocals
- Michael Jordanaires - Background Vocals
Production
- Producers: Jah Paul Jo, Rasta Li-Mon
- Engineer: Rasta Li-Mon
- Mastered: Plant 'n' Paige at Love Cave
- Art Direction: Bryant Fernandez (Birdcage Records), Hugh Brown (I.R.S. Records)
- Photography: Bruce Fernandez, Andy Castro, Fred Davis
- Charlie Haj is the man who hands Tortelvis his water and towels on stage.
Country and format
- CD: 1990 JP (JVC VICP-93)
- CD: 1990 UK (IRS EIRSACD 1042)
- CD: 1990 US (IRS X2 13048)
- CS: 1990 UK (IRS EIRSAC 1042)
- CS: 1990 US (IRS X4-13048)
- CS: 1990 US (IRS IRS-82048) Selections From Un-Led-Ed (Promotion Only)
- LP: 1990 AU (IRS L30502) Pressed on clear vinyl
- LP: 1990 BZ (IRS/EMI-Odean 713136 1)
- LP: 1990 UK (IRS EIRSA 1042) Pressed on black and clear vinyl
- LP: 1990 UK (IRS EIRSAPD 1042) Picture disc
- LP: 1990 US (IRS X1-13048) Pressed on yellow vinyl
External links
- Official site of the ORIGINAL BAND
- Official site of Dread Zeppelin's First Record Label, Birdcage Records
- Official Carl Jah site
- I-Lar-E Treadwell
- The "Colonel" Ron Kane Files
- CD Profile Un Led ED
- CD Review Riff Raff Magazine, August, 1990
- CD Review ‘Led In Their Pencils, KERRANG! July 28, 1990
- CD Review Metal Hammer, August, 1990
Charts
Album| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | The Billboard 200 | 116 |