The Battle of Evermore

 

Guest vocalists are another common feature of rock albums and rock concerts.  The only time Led Zeppelin used one was when Sandy Denny gave a stirring performance as the second vocalist on "The Battle of Evermore" on their landmark fourth album, Led Zeppelin IV; she even got a special symbol by her name in the musician credits to go with the "ZOSO" symbols used by the four bandmembers.  For those of you who know her only from that song, you owe it to yourself to check out her ground-breaking work on the early albums of Fairport Convention, particularly Liege and Leaf, which is generally considered to be the greatest English folk album of all time.  Her alto voice had a purity and a piercing clarity that even most opera divas can't muster.  

 

(August 2011)