There was arguably no one bigger than Led Zeppelin in 1975. The undeniable presence and charisma of Robert Plant, coupled with the mesmeric massaging of guitar strings by Jimmy Page, had the English band on top of the universe. Although they had a distinctly different sound from The Beatles, Led Zeppelin took the baton from the Fab Four and didn\u2019t stop until they lapped everyone else. They were truly in a league of their own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By the mid-point of the 1970s, they had already churned out five albums, all to critical acclaim, and they had no intention of slowing down. It is their fourth LP, Led Zeppelin IV, which includes the monstrous \u2018Stairway to Heaven\u2019 that is often regarded as their magnum opus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There was no clear \u2018Led Zeppelin sound\u2019 by the release of this record in 1971. Tunes such as \u2018Friends\u2019 and \u2018What is and What Should Never Be\u2019 indicated that the last thing the band wanted to do was release track after track of blues-rock \u2014 they were here to experiment, and they weren\u2019t going to stop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This experimental side of the band truly came out in their recordings for the 1971 album. There were three tracks included in their \u201971 sessions which failed to see the light of day until four years later. \u2018Boogie with Stu\u2019, \u2018Night Flight\u2019 and \u2018Down By The Seaside\u2019 all appeared on their 1975 album Physical Graffiti despite being recorded four years earlier. Speaking to Rolling Stone in 2015, Jimmy Page shared the reasoning why these songs were shelved, \u201cIf you think about it, you couldn\u2019t have substituted anything off the fourth album with any of those leftover tracks, quite rightly so.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Out of those three tracks, there was one that came very close to not even making the Physical Graffiti track list. Robert Plant revealed how he had to fight for the release of \u2018Down By The Seaside\u2019 after none of his bandmates were willing to grant his request. Inspired by the Neil Young song \u2018Down By The River\u2019, the head-bopping rock tune signifies the societal rat race we are all living, with lyrics including \u201cDown in the city streets, see all the folk go racin\u2019, racin\u2019, no time left, to pass the time of day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The song, which is now relatively popular within the Led Zeppelin fanbase, was nearly lost forever in the musical vaults. Plant revealed his bandmates\u2019 disdain towards it, \u201cEverybody laughed when I suggested to include \u2018Down By The Seaside\u2019 on Physical Graffiti.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although the 76-year-old singer got his wish, there is enough evidence that the rest of the band never changed their opinion on the track. Not once have Led Zeppelin played \u2018Down By The Seaside\u2019 live, a fact which must haunt Robert Plant to this day. OK, maybe it\u2019s not that serious, I\u2019m sure he had enough fun and success, maybe Plant doesn\u2019t spend all his days reminiscing about what could\u2019ve been if he had played that song to his loyal fans just once\u2026 or maybe he does?<\/p>\n\n\n\n