Song Reassignment Surgery: Bold Covers, 2

Black Dog (Jones, Page, Plant), Franck Tortiller—Orchestre National de Jazz (2009)

Appropos of nothing but black: The Angriest Dog 
in the World by David Lynch

Led Zeppelin’s Black Dog (1971) was built on a dynamic of a call and response between singer and band—its format of start and stop a cappella verses was said to be inspired by Fleetwood Mac’s Oh Well (1969). According to Zep biographer Dave Lewis, the title references a nameless black labrador wandering around the studio at the time the band was recording. Otherwise, the dog had nothing to do with anything. The term black dog itself is often used as a metaphor for melancholy or depression. About half way in, after Robert Plant’s requisite rounds of salacious plaints, the song goes darker:

Didn't take too long ‘fore I found out/What people mean by down and out

The riff was devised by John Paul Jones. It would also be his first compositional contribution to the band (it was originally written on the back of a train ticket). The phrase was based on a reworking of a Muddy Waters riff. Its angular sound comes from its three measures of 3/4 (the first measure pausing a beat and a half before starting) and ending on a measure of 5/4. Drummer John Bonham ignores all of that and plays a straight 4/4 throughout. On the turnaround—a quirky 9/8—Bonzo accents with a cymbal crash that somehow smears it all together neatly. Jonesie thought the fraudulent beat was the necessary element that brought it all together: It managed to reach the Top 15 (U.S) singles chart. 

Those who’ve analyzed Zep’s rhythms and tempos know that they defy quantizing—i.e., while it sounds good, mathematically they’re a beautiful mess. The songs breathe.

Hearing that riff described through horns gives it a kind of stitched together polka feel. The song comes from an album of Zeppelin covers by French vibraphonist and bandleader Franck Tortiller.