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"The Rover" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin written by guitarist Jimmy Page and singer Robert Plant. Although mostly recorded years earlier, it was released on the group's 1975 double album, Physical Graffiti.

Recording and release

Writing for the song began in 1970 at Bron-Yr-Aur, a rustic retreat in South Snowdonia, Wales. Initially an acoustic piece, it took on a hard rock arrangement when recorded at Stargroves during the sessions for the Houses of the Holy album in 1972. The song was not included on the album, but after Jimmy Page added several guitar overdubs in 1974, it was added to Led Zeppelin's following album, Physical Graffiti. As the liner notes state, for the song, the "Guitar lost courtesy of Nevison salvaged by the grace of Harwood". Nevison has disputed this, claiming the band never brought tapes from previous sessions to him for playback and that "The Rover" wasn't one of the songs he recorded with them at Headley Grange.

Reception

In a contemporary review of Physical Graffiti, Jim Miller of Rolling Stone gave "The Rover" a mixed review, saying that while Page and Bonham "mount a bristling attack", the track "suffers from Plant's indefinite pitch."

In a retrospective review of Physical Graffiti (Deluxe Edition), Jon Hadusek of Consequence of Sound described Jimmy Page's guitar lines in "The Rover" as some of his most underrated guitar lines he's ever recorded.

Live performances

"The Rover" was never played live in its entirety at Led Zeppelin concerts, although the band played the opening bars as an introduction to "Sick Again" throughout their 1977 North American tour. However, the song was rehearsed in full, as can be heard on bootleg recordings of the band's soundcheck rehearsal at the Chicago Stadium on 6 July 1973. This rehearsal took place before the opening date of the second leg of the band's 1973 North American tour.

Personnel

According to Jean-Michel Guesdon and Philippe Margotin:

• Robert Plant – vocals
• Jimmy Page – electric guitars
• John Paul Jones – bass
• John Bonham – drums

See also

• List of cover versions of Led Zeppelin songs – "The Rover" entries

Notes

Citations

1. ^ Guesdon & Margotin 2018, p. 376.
2. Case 2009, p. 141: "The overlooked and under-heard 'The Rover', though begun as an acoustic sketch in 1970, had grown into Herculean hard rock with Page's wicked pentatonic riff in E".
3. ^ Popoff 2017, p. 147.
4. ^ Lewis 2010, eBook. sfn error: no target: CITEREFLewis2010 (help)
5. Doyle, Tom (October 2019). "Page 2: Classic Tracks: Led Zeppelin 'Kashmir'". Sound On Sound. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
6. Miller, Jim (27 March 1975). "Physical Graffiti". Rolling Stone.
7. Hadusek, Jon (19 February 2015). "Led Zeppelin – Physical Graffiti (Reissue)". Consequence of Sound.

References

• Case, George (2009). Jimmy Page: Magus, Musician, Man: An Unauthorized Biography. Backbeat Books. ISBN 978-0-87930-947-3.
• Lewis, Dave (1994). The Complete Guide to the Music of Led Zeppelin. Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-7119-3528-9.
• Popoff, Martin (2017). Led Zeppelin: All the Albums, All the Songs. MBI. ISBN 978-0-76035-211-3.

Bibliography

• Guesdon, Jean-Michel; Margotin, Philippe (2018). Led Zeppelin All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track. Running Press. ISBN 978-0-316-448-67-3.

• 1975 songs
• Led Zeppelin songs
• Song recordings produced by Jimmy Page
• Songs written by Jimmy Page
• Songs written by Robert Plant