That Bonham isolated outtake has been out there, along with other songs from the 'In Through the Outdoor' sessions. The drums were heavily gated which helped reduce any background noise. Hilarious how much noise he made, but what a SOUND from the kit it produced! :0

I grunt and groan when I play. I checked with the wife and verified. Yup. Grunts, groans, and an occasional wheeze. I used to burp and cough a lot, but I've since matured out of that phase. Pharts are a common occurrence, but who doesn't? Right?

Apparently, it's a "genius" habit. I remember learning about a pianist named Glenn Gould in college, and we watched footage of him playing piano for a recording session, and he sang along and grunted and moaned while HE played as well. He was psycho-analyzed, and it has something to do with complex, higher-level thinking.

...which is comforting, because I do it, too, when I practice. It helps me process information/parts/stickings. When I play live, I have to consciously stop myself. It's only when I play drum set, though...not mallets, guitar, bass, or anything else. Weird.

The hit I get from it is; it's his way of keeping time and tracking the changes. Like he's 'singing' his way through the number in grunts and groans. Listen carefully, his grunts mirror what he's playing. Those are not 'random' grunts and groans. He is kind of, 'speaking the rhythm' as he plays it, in sounds. I say he's 'singing along' without actually singing.

Remember 'counting out loud' when you first started playing? That's the sort of thing I think he's doing, only on a more advanced level than merely keeping a simple count.

Did that make sense?

John

i do the same thing. and i thought i was the only one who did this. i also hum at times to be able to hear myself over the amps at times. i never asked other drummers if they did it as well. i just figured i was kooky.

as for the grunts on the official albums... i never heard any, only the squeaky pedal on some songs. but i also have not tried to hear them. if they are in there somewhere, they're really buried and couldn't be heard once it went thru the final mix.

i do have alot of rough mixes and alt takes of songs, and you can hear some grunts in some songs. and if you wanna dl them, as well as unreleased live stuff, check out this cool site:

http://starship.gotdns.com/zeppelin/beauty

Exactly most people do something to keep time and he could be just listening to headphones and playing the track working out all the time changes etc I do the same but i hum sometimes loudly but hey whatever works.. right?

I play with a guy who is an excellent guitar player. When he solos he makes all kinds of sounds. If you listen very carefully you realize he is singing the horn section parts. That's how he keeps his place in the song while soloing.

Here ya go, the Glenn Gould De-Vocaliser. If it could stifle Gould, John Henry shouldn't be a problem

http://www.davegrossman.net/gould/

BTW Gould's mum apparently told him early on to sing everything he played and he did thereon.

I do sorta the same thing when I play. I tend to hum a lot. It's involuntary and I have tried to stop doing it, but I cant....