One of the few Led Zeppelin songs released as a US single, “Over The Hills and Far Away” has become a classic rock radio staple ever since their 5th album, Houses of the Holy hit shelves in 1973.
Perhaps its durability can be credited to its length: at 4 minutes and 51 seconds its not necessarily the shortest song on the radio, BUT at the time of its release, Led Zeppelin’s popularity was at today’s Justin Bieber levels and DJ’s were looking for anything radio friendly after the success of "Stairway To Heaven".
Or maybe it’s due to the fact that this song has much of what "Stairway To Heaven" has, embodying both the acoustic and the electric side of the band.
Written at Bron-Yr-Aur cottage in Wales, it was originally titled “Many, Many Times”. Robert Plant’s lyrics were again heavily inspired by the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, this time telling the story of The Hobbit and detailing Bilbo Baggins’ journey through Middle Earth.
The opening guitar riff has Jimmy Page’s Celtic roots at its core. Jimmy begins with a 6-string acoustic guitar and then switches at the 26 second mark to a 12-string acoustic. For those who have never seen a 12-string played, it’s basically held like it has 6 strings, but next to each string is another, much smaller string that can be held down at the same time with one finger. The result is each note is played at multiple octaves, creating a richer, fuller sound. If my description doesn’t paint a picture, click here to see it played upclose. It’s pretty cool.
Shortly after Robert Plant comes in with his opening lines, Jimmy Page plays what I consider his greatest transition from song section to song section. At 1 minute 18 seconds he moves from his classic intro riff to a fast paced strumming pattern that seems to speed up the pace of my head bobs every time I listen to it.
As the rhythm section enters and John Bonham and John Paul Jones can be heard, it becomes a full blown hard rock song.
Plant’s vocals are at the top of his range throughout the entire song. As time passed, Over The Hills and Far Away became a staple at their live sets and you’ll have a hard time finding a recorded version that showcases Plant’s vocal abilities to the extent the studio version does. On the live album, How The West Was Won, there is an early version of the song played in 1972 where he hits every note with ease. By the following year, Plant would be singing much of the verse at a lower octave, due to the strain his voice had been enduring from constant tours.
Regardless, Plant could often be heard switching phrases and changing words each time the song was played. Commonly singing “Acapulco Gold!” after the phrase “a pocket full of gold”, referring to a popular 70s strand of marijuana. Somewhat of a cheap way of engaging the crowd, but was as effective as it was indicative of the times.
“Over The Hills and Far Away” is still heavily played on classic rock radio stations nationwide. It is a timeless piece off of arguably their strongest album at the peak of their career. There are few songs from their catalog that have endured the test of time as this has and for that reason, it has made my top 3.
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