Come Together Play Led Zeppelin II delivers everything a music obsessive in thrall to the original band could wish for.

This is the second time the Come Together ensemble have fired this beast up and opened out the throttle. Last year came their triumphant show to the classic Led Zep IV Zoso album.

The core band of stellar New Zealand musicians from various other projects over the long haul, take their place tonight.

Jol Mulholland guitars and musical director, Brett Adams guitars. Matthias Jordan keyboards, Mike Hall bass, Alistair Deverick drums.

Singers are recruited from a loose pool of familiar faces and matched to whoever is best suited to deliver any specific song.

It is Seamus Johnson (Seamouse) who gets the prize spot of leading out Whole Lotta Love. He possibly stole the show at last years Led Zep outing with his vocal firepower. Maybe closest to the original incendiary style of Robert Plant.

The band lock in immediately with the celebrated menacing intro riff, with the singer sailing in to break the hold with the wail of you need cooling/ baby I’m not fooling.

The spacey, psychedelic, avant-garde bridge must be coming from the keyboards, until Mulholland breaks the spell with some perfectly played rescue guitar licks.

The music is pure malevolent and driven Rock’n’roll fury. The roll is there from the engine room bass and drums.

The recent Becoming Led Zeppelin documentary by British film-maker Bernard McMahon is the most insightful in giving the history of this band from its Sixties roots.

This is the only documentary authorised by the surviving band members, which in essence means that was authorised by Jimmy Page, who maintains a tight control on their legacy to this day.

That song had its genesis when Robert Plant latched on to the opening lines of Willie Dixon’s You Need Love, as first recorded by Muddy Waters.

Led Zeppelin had their debut album out a year prior, and they were putting in the hard work, touring extensively through a gruelling American circuit, making the connection to the audience they sensed was out there in the homeland of Americana.

The second album was the product of a heavy touring schedule; the songs built up on the road. The debut album was heavily Blues and R’n’B orientated. For the next one, they wanted to broaden and extend the palette.

The music of Zeppelin is a culmination of myriad influences and musical styles.

Page was a session guitarist who lived and thrived in the confines of a recording studio. John Paul Jones was a multi-instrumentalist including a church organist. Plant was a folkie and a hippie. John Bonham drew from the drummers of the Big Band era, and the four-on-the floor discipline of the James Brown Revue.

What are the elements that go into the middle passage of Whole Lotta Love? Similar to the sonic experimentation of Hendrix, which may have consciously (or unconsciously) entered Page’s head.

Led Zeppelin II then opens the vision and the vista, from which their later celebrated works emanated from.

EJ Barnes (the daughter of Jimmy Barnes) takes the lead vocal on What Is and What Should Never Be, and this Blues is given some soulful female power, whilst the note-bending guitars transform the Delta atmosphere.

The Lemon Song is fronted by Milan Borich (Pluto). Adapted from Howling Wolf’s song, but it is a broad theme in Black American music, including Skip James’ Hard Time Killing Floor. A killing floor is an abattoir, and it is also a metaphor for the lowest point of degradation for a man.

The band invest the song with some Boogie energy, Borich channelling the original vocals remarkably well. From the bridge the guitars become incandescent. Squeezing the lemons (‘til the juice runs down my leg) is not confined to Robert Johnson.

Jennie Skulander (Devilskin) is wearing a long flowing hippie skirt as she sings Thank You. Churchy keyboard tones predominate on a sunny pastoral song.

Heartbreaker is an absolute stone delight. Johnson channels the best Plant original vocal for the night. The band are locked in and keep surging with tension. An Adams guitar shred breaks the tension for us. Then segue straight into Living Loving Maid.

Julia Deans (Fur Patrol) takes her first solo spot and Ramble On may have Folk overtones, but the vocal pushes it to Power Pop. Halfway between Stevie Nicks and Bonnie Raitt.

The Come Together ensemble are certainly not a covers band. They do not mess with the original arrangements, but they add a remastering type of shine.

Moby Dick is where the drummer Deverick is unleased. This was Bonham’s moment in concerts, where legend has it the longest was 40 minutes. (Maybe that recollection was drug-enhanced).

This one tonight is 15 minutes of stunning virtuosity which seems to have origins in the rapid-fire styles of Buddy Rich and Gene Krupa. Hands are used for an African talking drums effect. The cymbals crash like gongs. Amazing the energy generated and many in the audience stand in appreciation.

Bring It on Home is Rockabilly with the train coming down the tracks. Reminds me of Train Kept A-Rollin’ when played by the Yardbirds when both Page and Jeff Beck were in the band briefly.

That is the great Led Zeppelin II album, given a monumental re-boot by this great ensemble.

A dozen songs follow which takes us to the places that Zeppelin developed after their conquest of the first two years.

There’s an acoustic set of Gallows Pole and Battle of Evermore which serve to remind us of their deep traditional Folk roots.

Skulander is wearing a shirt adorned with skulls for Stairway to Heaven. Adams plays a twin-neck 12-string and six-string. Would be unthinkable not to cover this for the Boomer audience, all in thrall tonight.

It looks like Come Together have picked enough of the back catalogue to satisfy the broadest range of fans.

Immigrant Song, No Quarter, Song Remains the Same, Good Times Bad Times, Since I’ve Been Loving You.

They all come back to rage and bring the dance energy with Black Dog and Rock and Roll.

Come Together Play Led Zeppelin II. It was magnificent, better than we could have imagined.

Rev. Orange Peel  

A stunning set of photos by Den. Click any icon to view the full gallery