Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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86 of 96 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Overlong and Devoid of True Scholarship, September 1, 2004
Like picking a scab, I forced myself to finish this book because I have been a Led Zeppelin fan since 1975. I found the book to be simplistic, overlong, entirely too autobiographical, and to suffer from a serious lack of editing - much like other vanity published works from evangelical Christian literalists. Fallen Angel is repetitive, loaded with constant unfulfilled promises of the shocking "proof" to come, full of tedious personal anecdotes about the author's rather mundane pre-conversion drug use, and obviously suffers from Friend's inability to distinguish fact from fantasy. This is a book to scare the parents or anyone ignorant of the areas Friend covers - But Friend is clearly no expert on any subject he addresses. His understanding of Crowley is the typical reactionary response that Crowley himself actively sought to produce in Christian literalists - Friend doesn't understand ritual magick, what it is or what it's really for, and fails to understand that Crowley said things to scare and offend people just like Friend. In truth, Crowley worshipped no person or thing except himself. Friend also displays a complete ignorance of traditional blues idioms - Zeppelin didn't invent this stuff or get it from an evil British mystic - it came from very early black american folklore. Zeppelin's very liberal lyrical borrowings from Howlin Wolf, Willie Dixon and Robert Johnson is ignored. Blues idioms are instead attributed to coded Crowleyisms designed to instill a love of Satan in the unsuspecting listener. Friend also fails to note the heavy influence of Tolkein and Celtic mythology on Zeppelin's lyrics. Battle of Evermore is not about Armageddon, it's about the Lord of the Rings and Welsh history. In order to make his "thesis" work, Friend forces Zeppelin lyrics to mean what he wants them to mean through selective paraphrases which in some cases are obviously taken out of context (coveniently, he claims he was legally unable to print any actual quotes from Zep songs). He repeatedly denies factual statements made by others where they contradict his conclusions - for instance, he refuses to believe that "Black Dog" was named for a dog concluding that nobody would let a dog wander around in a studio - he apparently forgets the use of country cottages and the Stones' Mobile studio to record much of Zep III and IV. Friend also relies on a ludicrous belief that Peter Grant was a satanist but offers absolutely no support for this key contention. He also engages in his own amateurish interpretations of Hebrew and occult symbolism (disagreeing with experts far more studied than himself) and offers such examples of evident satanism as the fact that the Page/Plant band all wore black at their gigs. All in all, the book suffers from the same sort of force fitting approach that spawned the "Paul is Dead" phenomenon. If you truly look hard enough, you can see and hear all sorts of nutty things and then the patterns start to form....Neither are Friend's arguments all that new or novel - the same sort of sensationalistic "Occult Curse on Zeppelin" nonsense was hugely popular in the late 70's - whole magazines set out to prove that selling your soul to the Devil was the only way a band could have gotten so big and that death and destruction was the ultimate price. Yes, Jimmy Page was interested in the occult, but so were a lot of people in the 70's. There really is no basis for his conclusion that Page, Plant and Peter Grant tried to use the band to convert all the world's children to devil worshippers. People who want to believe such a nutty claim will love this book. Anyone who knows anything about the subjects covered in the book will be sorely disappointed. And, unfortunately, the book does not stand up well as entertainment due to the flaws in style, repetitiveness and length.
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35 of 44 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
A Real Stretch of the facts, September 18, 2004
What is very clear in this book is that Thomas Friend is serious about all 4 members of Led Zeppelin being satanists. Not only satanists, but Satan's soldiers, recruiting souls for the Devil. Most big fans of Jimmy Page and LZ already know of Page's affection for the occult and his fondness for Aleister Crowley. But, Friend has woven a tale here that paints a very disturbing picture of evil intentions. But , alas very unconvincing. His overall knowledge of Zep lyrics, Crowley writings and Biblical teachings are commendable. But there are many ridiculous assumptions he presents, that are clearly wrong, and someone with his knowledge should be ashamed to have written. One of his most adamant arguments, which he claims is his most important fact proving Zep was recruiting souls, was how Plant demanded the listener to sell his soul to the devil during "Dazed & Confused" on the CD and DVD "Song Remains". When the lyrics he claims are Plants Satanic orders are clearly the lyrics from the song's studio version. "You hurt and abuse, telling all of your lies", is misconstrued to be an order to sell your soul !!! His twisting of those lyrics, for someone who knows Zeppelin so well, is laughable. And since he claims it to be the "linch-pin" to his argument, the whole book then becomes laughable. Page was into some strange stuff, Plant was always intrigued with Nordic, Celtic, Tolkein imagery. They clearly thought it sounded mysterious and cool. And their fans evidently agreed and found it very entertaining. I am, and I know, dozens of huge Zeppelin fans, and none have become satanists from LZ music... So if Friend is correct, They were lousy recruiters anyway.
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24 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Needs An Editor; Reads Like A Term Paper, November 29, 2004
Friend presents an interesting, well-researeched theory regarding Jimmy Page and the other 3 members of Led Zeppelin being devil-worshippers with an implicit conversion agenda manifested through their music. He's done his homework, particularly with respect to Crowley and his writings. HOWEVER...this book is one laborious read. He goes on and on and on and on, citing all sorts of evidence for his theory, some plausible, some bordering on the ludicrous. No editor is mentioned or indicated, and I would bet my bottom dollar that the work was not redacted in any way, shape, or form prior to going to press. As a result, it suffers. This book could be pared down to half its weighty 600-plus page length and make a better read without sacrificing any of the author's premise. As it is now, you better have a pot of coffee brewing before you sit down with this tome.
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