Four Sticks
Encyclopedia
Not to be confused with Four Kicks
.
"Four Sticks" is a song by the English
rock band
Led Zeppelin
from their fourth album
, released in 1971. The title came from the fact that drummer
John Bonham
played with two sets of two drumsticks, totalling four. His decision to play the song with four sticks was a result of him being very frustrated with not being able to get the track down right during recording sessions at Island Studios. After he grabbed the second pair of sticks and beat the drums as hard as he could, he recorded the perfect take and that was the one they kept. This song was particularly difficult to record, and required more takes than usual. John Paul Jones
played a VCS3 synthesizer on the track.
Guitar
ist Jimmy Page
once said of the song: "It was supposed to be abstract." The abstract effect is further achieved by the unusual time signature
of the song, featuring riffs in a mixture of 5/8 and 6/8 time signatures. After another failed take during the recording, Jimmy began to play an improvised guitar riff out of frustration. That riff was later on developed into the second track of the album, "Rock and Roll
".
The song was re-recorded by Jimmy Page
and Robert Plant
with the Bombay Symphony Orchestra in 1972, during their trip to India
, along with another track, "Friends
" from Led Zeppelin III
. This version featured tabla drums and sitars. The recordings have never been released officially and are only available on Led Zeppelin bootleg recordings
. The project is said to have run into problems because the orchestra didn't keep time in the Western style and some of them drank rather a lot.
The band is only known to have played this song live once, at Copenhagen
on their 1971 European tour
, as has been preserved on some bootleg recordings.
Also in 1994, Robert Plant and Jimmy Page had rejoined in musical collaboration as Page and Plant
. On 25 August and 26, live performances were taped in London
, Wales
, and Morocco
with Egyptian
and Moroccan
orchestration of several Led Zeppelin tunes - "Four Sticks" was one of them, and the arrangement features drummer Michael Lee playing with four sticks as well as multiple percussionists such as Hossam Ramzy
. This new version of "Four Sticks" was also included on the album No Quarter: Jimmy Page and Robert Plant Unledded
, and live performances were so successful commercially and artistically that the ensemble coordinated a 1995/1996 world tour.
Robert Plant played a version of the song during his solo tour in 2005, as is included on the DVD release Soundstage: Robert Plant and the Strange Sensation
, although drummer Clive Deamer only plays with two sticks.
Four Kicks
"Four Kicks" is the second single taken from Aha Shake Heartbreak which is the second album by the American rock band Kings of Leon. It peaked at number 24 in the UK singles chart and number 32 in the Irish singles chart.-Music video:...
.
"Four Sticks" is a song by the English
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 band
Rock Band
Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...
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...
from their fourth album
Led Zeppelin IV
The fourth album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin was released on 8 November 1971. No title is printed on the album, so it is generally referred to as Led Zeppelin IV, following the naming standard used by the band's first three studio albums...
, released in 1971. The title came from the fact that drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
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...
played with two sets of two drumsticks, totalling four. His decision to play the song with four sticks was a result of him being very frustrated with not being able to get the track down right during recording sessions at Island Studios. After he grabbed the second pair of sticks and beat the drums as hard as he could, he recorded the perfect take and that was the one they kept. This song was particularly difficult to record, and required more takes than usual. 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...
played a VCS3 synthesizer on the track.
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...
ist 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...
once said of the song: "It was supposed to be abstract." The abstract effect is further achieved by the unusual time signature
Time signature
The time signature is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats are in each measure and which note value constitutes one beat....
of the song, featuring riffs in a mixture of 5/8 and 6/8 time signatures. After another failed take during the recording, Jimmy began to play an improvised guitar riff out of frustration. That riff was later on developed into the second track of the album, "Rock and Roll
Rock and Roll (Led Zeppelin song)
"Rock and Roll" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin, which was first released as the second track from the band's fourth album in 1971, with a guest appearance by The Rolling Stones pianist Ian Stewart.-Overview:...
".
The song was re-recorded by 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...
and 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...
with the Bombay Symphony Orchestra in 1972, during their trip to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, along with another track, "Friends
Friends (Led Zeppelin song)
"Friends" is the second track from the 1970 album Led Zeppelin III, the third studio album of English rock band Led Zeppelin. Jimmy Page and Robert Plant wrote the song in 1970 at Bron-Yr-Aur, a small cottage in Wales where they stayed after completing a grueling concert tour of the United...
" from Led Zeppelin III
Led Zeppelin III
Led Zeppelin III is the third studio album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin. It was recorded between January and July 1970 and released on 5 October 1970 by Atlantic Records. Composed largely at a remote cottage in Wales known as Bron-Yr-Aur, this work represented a maturing of the band's...
. This version featured tabla drums and sitars. The recordings have never been released officially and are only available on Led Zeppelin bootleg recordings
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...
. The project is said to have run into problems because the orchestra didn't keep time in the Western style and some of them drank rather a lot.
The band is only known to have played this song live once, at Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
on their 1971 European tour
Led Zeppelin European Tour 1971
Led Zeppelin's 1971 European Tour was a concert tour of Europe by the English rock band. The tour commenced on May 3 and concluded on July 5, 1971. It included one concert at Liverpool, England, which was a rescheduled date from their preceding tour of the United Kingdom...
, as has been preserved on some bootleg recordings.
Also in 1994, Robert Plant and Jimmy Page had rejoined in musical collaboration as 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,...
. On 25 August and 26, live performances were taped in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, and Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
with Egyptian
Music of Egypt
The music of Egypt has been an integral part of Egyptian culture since ancient times. The ancient Egyptians credited one of their Gods Thoth with the invention of music, which Osiris in turn used as part of his effort to civilize the world...
and Moroccan
Music of Morocco
The music of Morocco ranges and differs according to the various areas of the country.-Berber folk music:There are three varieties of Berber folk music: village and ritual music, and the music performed by professional musicians....
orchestration of several Led Zeppelin tunes - "Four Sticks" was one of them, and the arrangement features drummer Michael Lee playing with four sticks as well as multiple percussionists such as Hossam Ramzy
Hossam Ramzy
Hossam Ramzy is an Egyptian percussionist and composer. He has worked with Western artists like Jimmy Page and Robert Plant as well as with Arabic music artists like Rachid Taha and Khaled.-Early life and career:...
. This new version of "Four Sticks" was also included on the album No Quarter: Jimmy Page and Robert Plant Unledded
No Quarter: Jimmy Page and Robert Plant Unledded
No Quarter is a live album by Page and Plant, both formerly of English rock band Led Zeppelin. It was released by Atlantic Records on 14 October 1994. The long awaited reunion between Page and Plant occurred on a 90 minute "UnLedded" MTV project, recorded in Morocco, Wales, and London, which rated...
, and live performances were so successful commercially and artistically that the ensemble coordinated a 1995/1996 world tour.
Robert Plant played a version of the song during his solo tour in 2005, as is included on the DVD release Soundstage: Robert Plant and the Strange Sensation
Soundstage: Robert Plant and the Strange Sensation
Soundstage: Robert Plant and the Strange Sensation is the first live DVD by Robert Plant and the Strange Sensation, featuring a performance filmed for the Soundstage television series in Chicago on September 16, 2005, in addition to bonus features from prior to the founding of the Strange Sensation...
, although drummer Clive Deamer only plays with two sticks.
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....
, VCS3 synthesizer - 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
- 1987: BongwaterBongwaterBongwater may refer to:* Bongwater , a 1997 comedy film* Bongwater , a former college rock band* Bong water, the used fluid from a bong...
(Breaking No New Ground! EP) - 1989: The Earwigs (The Song Retains the Name)
- 1992: UnsaneUnsaneUnsane is an influential noise rock trio that formed in New York City in 1988. Their music also touches on elements of hardcore punk and metal...
(Singles 89-92) - 1994: Page and PlantPage and PlantJimmy 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,...
(No Quarter: Jimmy Page & Robert Plant Unledded) - 1995: Rollins BandRollins BandRollins Band was an American rock band led by singer and songwriter Henry Rollins.They are best known for the songs "Low Self Opinion" and "Liar", which both earned heavy airplay on MTV in the early 1990s...
(Encomium: A Tribute to Led Zeppelin) - 2001: Out of Phase (A Tribute to Led Zeppelin IV)
- 2002: Reptile Palace OrchestraReptile Palace OrchestraThe Reptile Palace Orchestra is an eclectic worldbeat band based in Madison, Wisconsin which specializes in lounge, klezmer and other Eastern European music. It began in 1994 with a gig at the Club de Wash, and since that time has become a notable fixture in the Madison music scene...
(Official Bootleg 2002) - 2004: Jezz Woodroffe (In Through the Swing Door: Swing Cover Versions of Led Zeppelin Classics)
- 2005: Howard Hart (Get the Led Out! Led Zeppelin Salute)
- 2006: Robert Plant & The Strange Sensation (Soundstage: Robert Plant and the Strange SensationSoundstage: Robert Plant and the Strange SensationSoundstage: Robert Plant and the Strange Sensation is the first live DVD by Robert Plant and the Strange Sensation, featuring a performance filmed for the Soundstage television series in Chicago on September 16, 2005, in addition to bonus features from prior to the founding of the Strange Sensation...
) - 2006: Franck Tortiller & Orchestre National de Jazz (Close to Heaven: A Led Zeppelin Tribute)
- 2007: Sones de México Ensemble Chicago (Esta tierra es tuya (This Land Is Your Land))
- 2007: MIDIval PunditzMIDIval PunditzMIDIval Punditz is an Indian fusion group consisting of two Delhi-based musicians, Gaurav Raina and Tapan Raj. Their style revolves mostly around changer, jungle, electronica, and North Indian classical music...
(Backspin: A Six Degrees 10 Year Anniversary Project) - 2007: Frankie BanaliFrankie BanaliFrankie Banali is an American rock drummer, best known for his work with multi-platinum heavy metal band Quiet Riot. He has been the band's manager during since 1994. He played drums in the heavy metal band W.A.S.P., as well as with Billy Idol...
& Friends (24/7/365: The Tribute to Led Zeppelin) - 2007: The Nowtet (The Nowtet Plays Zep!)
- 2007: Led Zepagain (Led Zepagain II: A Tribute to Led Zeppelin)
- 2007: Led R (Led the R Out: A Tribute to Led Zeppelin)
- 2008: Alec Haavik Friction Five (Ye Shanghai!)
- 2009: Hampton String QuartetHampton String QuartetThe Hampton String Quartet considered by many to be one of the founders of the "alternative music" genré of chamber music is a string quartet specializing in rock music and other popular styles, playing serious chamber music arrangements of songs using classical composer influences and frequently...
(The Hampton Rock String Quartet: All Zeppelin) - 2010: SoulflySoulflySoulfly is a heavy metal band formed in 1997 based in Phoenix, Arizona. The original lyrical content revolved around spirituality and religious themes, with later albums encompassing other themes including war, violence, aggression, hatred and anger. Soulfly is led by former Sepultura frontman Max...
(OmenOmen (album)-Personnel:*Max Cavalera - vocals, 4-strings guitar, sitar*Marc Rizzo - guitar, flamenco guitar*Bobby Burns - bass*Joe Nunez - drums, percussion*Branden Krull - keyboards*Greg Puciato - vocals on "Rise of the Fallen"...
)
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