Led Zeppelin were an elite studio band, employing the latest recording processes to assemble some of the all-time greatest sound sculptures.

As a live band, Led Zeppelin were an entirely different, rawer experience. On a stage, committed to their core instruments, before the time when computers could reproduce any studio arrangement live, the true Led Zeppelin was distilled: A dominating force of blues guitar, cartwheeling drums, banshee singing, and grooving, hyper-competent bass playing.

This "pure" Led Zeppelin made surprisingly few appearances on their actual albums. But there is "The Lemon Song."

"The Lemon Song" is Led Zeppelin sitting together in a mobile recording studio, in prime form during their first major concert tour, firing up the reel-to-reel, and bursting forth with essentially a live take for the ages.

The main blues riff is so sweet, lurking up the chromatic steps, the guitar getting up to those emphatic sevenths. The solo sections are just the most superlative kind of bombast, all three instruments going simultaneous stream-of-consciousness.

"The Lemon Song" is every member of Led Zeppelin doing their best thing in once place.

But I have to really take my hat off to the bass playing of John Paul Jones. The man keeps firing winner after winner of groovy bass runs unfazed, stone-faced, consistently for over six minutes. He produces continual brilliance within a swarm of drum salvos and guitar mania; he holds it down sick-steady in the middle breakdown. You all can pick your signature John Paul Jones song; "The Lemon Song" will do just fine for me.

Led Zeppelin was a fun band! Music wasn't such a heavy mission to them, at least early on. Inspiration is so light!