The song has a 6/8 time signature. All I hear is 1-2-3 1-2-3, like a waltz. I tried following this video but got distracted by the hostess. Perhaps Sixty could explain 6/8 in layman terms. Like he did for the song "Whipping Post" off the same classic album.
The song features unusual uses of silence. First is the full stop around the 3m20s mark. And then how they let the song flicker and almost go out near the end. And lastly how the stunned audience pauses at the very end before applauding -- almost like they weren't sure it was over.
The video is short and not at all a hagiography. Credit due is paid up front. What I really like is that it gets to what I've been trying to say here previously regarding Bonham. The musical notation in the video makes several points quite clearly, if you can keep up.
The song has a 5/4 time signature which is unusual for rock. It's more common in jazz -- for example, as in Dave Brubeck's Take Five and also the Mission Impossible theme song.
Not a fan of the Allmans, they always seemed to be dying.
I had never paid attention to the 11/4 intro until I read about it yesterday - they called it "the elevens". Very nice - 1,2,3, 1,2,3, 1,2,3, ONE TWO - once you hear it in those terms it is unforgettable.
Sixty was referring to the song "Whipping Post" by the Allman Brothers. He's right -- in those terms, it's unforgettable.
I want to take this KLEM FM series in a slightly different direction: unusual time signatures in rock.
First up is "Manic Depression" by the Jimi Hendrix Experience. Unfortunately, the Hendrix family has purged YouTube of any studio versions of the song, but there's a VIMEO version here if you need a refresher. I looked at the Wiki page for the song and learned that it was in 3/4 time, which is the same time signature as most waltzes. Heh. That doesn't help. The main drum groove is said to be represented as follows:
Well, I still didn't get the feel for it -- not how Sixty described the 11/4 beat in "Whipping Post." So I turned to the online drum scholars. This guy gave me my "ah ha moment." See particularly beginning at 2 min 25 sec.
