We’ve seen earlier with performances by HIro (larzgallows) and Jun (of Virtual Zeppelin) that the Japanese take their Zeppelin very seriously. Well YouTube’s Osaka Zeppelin, a 4 man Zeppelin cover band from the Kansai district of Osaka formed what became known as Osaka Zeppelin in 1995 and operated as a band there until around 2009 when it appears they departed company with their singer and put the band on hiatus. During its tenure Osaka Zeppelin was one of many Osaka based Zeppelin cover and tribute bands (including Hiro’s band Larz Gallows), and if my Japanese is correct (ok – if google translate is correct – I don’t speak Japanese) it appears that they often co-headlined or played together on multi-band bills and special Zeppelin festivals hosted by Larz Gallows which appears to be the scene leader of the day.
Now why was there such and interest in Zeppelin in Japan, and specifically Osaka that saw the formation and support of several Zeppelin tribute and cover bands? I think the answer to that lies in the fact that Zeppelin was one of the first Western Rock bands to tour Japan, touring there twice (1971 & 1972) while arguably at the height of its creative power, doing 2 shows each tour (for a total of 4 shows) in Osaka’s famed “Koseinenkin Kaikan” or Festival Hall (as it is known in English). I can only speculate the kind of impression this would have made on the population, and 1995 sounds about right for the kids of those original concert attendees to be forming their own bands.
This version of Stairway is instrumental and looks to be recorded after the band lost their singer. I’m not entirely sure that the three remaining members all play on the track – it may only be Isao Fuji the bass player who appears to be the driving force behind the band, but I do appreciate how fine this version is. It would appear from various social media feeds that Isao-san is still involved in Zeppelin performances in Japan. Some nice surprises were the recorders being played live (there are 4 different recorders on Led Zeppelin’s original studio recording (a bass, an alto, a tenor, and a soprano); here Osaka Zeppelin plays two real recorders and uses a keyboard to cover the other two parts. Also nice was seeing the guitar player use a Nashville tuning strung guitar (see previous article) for the electric guitar part. The only thing they missed here was the fact that the electric guitar part is actually different than the acoustic guitar part in Zeppelin’s original Stairway but that doesn’t take away from this at all – this is still a fantastic version of the song and attempt to capture the spirit of the studio recording. Everything else is all very solid about this version and it’s a real pleasure to both watch and listen to.
I’m super curious about the Osaka Zeppelin connection and the connections between the various Zeppelin cover bands on the scene at the time. Hopefully we’ll get to explore this in future articles as we unpack the mystery. We’ll edit or footnote articles as we go to reflect what we’ve learned but let’s make sure we enjoy these guys and their commitment to celebrating and playing the music of Led Zeppelin. If anyone out there knows more about them feel free to drop us a line and fill us in: admin@thestairwayproject.com.
Feature image credit: unknown source (scan of Zeppelin concert ticket from Japanese tour)
