10 Amazing Rock Songs With No Lyrics

7. Moby Dick - Led Zeppelin

Drummers have a hard time of it, don't they? They're one of the most important components of any band, yet they're forced to sit at the back of the stage, often overlooked in favour of the more prominent members of their group.

Maybe this is why Led Zeppelin decided to give their drummer, John Bonham, his own showcase song.

Named after the Herman Melville novel (for some reason), Moby Dick from Led Zeppelin II came about when Jimmy Page overheard Bonham improvising behind his kit one day in the studio. Page decided to record this mucking about, before stitching together several takes to produce one epic drum solo.

Page's mad experiment worked a treat, as Moby Dick is regarded as some of the finest drum work in all of rock. It's not all skin-slapping though, as there's some guitar action at the beginning and end of the record, but the majority of the track is taken up by Bonham's mad antics.

A glorious ode to an oft-maligned instrument, Moby Dick is a win-win situation for all involved. Unless you're Robert Plant, who had to sit this one out.

Contributor
Contributor

Jacob Simmons has a great many passions, including rock music, giving acclaimed films three-and-a-half stars, watching random clips from The Simpsons on YouTube at 3am, and writing about himself in the third person.