LA Drone
| LA Drone | |
|---|---|
| Appears on | How the West Was Won |
| Published by | Flames of Albion Music |
| Registration | ASCAP 421133697 |
| Release date | 27 May 2003 |
| Recorded | 25 June 1972 at The Forum, Los Angeles. Mixed at SARM West Studios, London. |
| Genre | Hard rock |
| Language | English |
| Length | 0 min 15 sec |
| Composer | Jimmy Page, Robert Plant |
| Label | Atlantic Records |
| Producer | Jimmy Page |
| Engineer | Eddie Kramer |
"LA Drone" is a short piece of music that the English rock band Led Zeppelin played as an intro tape on the second half of their 1972 concert tour of the United States. It began their concert performances from 15 June 1972 up until 28 June 1972.
Overview
The monotonous drone was produced by Led Zeppelin keyboardist John Paul Jones and guitarist Jimmy Page by playing an acoustic guitar with a violin bow in the key of F# and layering the various sounds it produced. The tape of this piece, played through the venue's PA, segued directly into the band's opening number, "Immigrant Song". The drone was intended to build a sense of suspense and anticipation in the concert audience.
The only official release of the piece has been a brief excerpt used as the opening track on How the West Was Won. This captures the recording of "LA Drone" at the Long Beach Arena on 27 June 1972. Despite being only 0:15 on the live album, it was usually closer to a 1:30 in live performances, as can be heard on a number of Led Zeppelin bootleg recordings.
"LA Drone" can also be heard on the Led Zeppelin DVD, being included on disc 2 at the introduction of the band's performance of "Immigrant Song". However, unlike How the West Was Won, the DVD does not include "LA Drone" on the track listing. Also, the DVD features a 0:25 version of the song which is eleven seconds longer than the album version.<re>The Garden Tapes: Led Zeppelin DVD</ref>
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