"Candy Store Rock" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin, released in 1976 on their album Presence. It was also released as a single in the United States, but it did not chart.
| "Candy Store Rock" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
German single picture sleeve | ||||
| Single by Led Zeppelin | ||||
| from the album Presence | ||||
| B-side | "Royal Orleans" | |||
| Released | 18 June 1976 (1976-06-18) (US) | |||
| Recorded | November–December 1975 | |||
| Studio | Musicland, Munich, Germany | |||
| Genre | Rock and roll[1] | |||
| Length | 4:10 | |||
| Label | Swan Song | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Jimmy Page, Robert Plant | |||
| Producer(s) | Jimmy Page | |||
| Led Zeppelin singles chronology | ||||
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The band recorded the song at Musicland Studios in Germany. Plant sang from a wheelchair because he was recovering at the time from a car accident he had sustained in Greece. Plant considers "Candy Store Rock" to be one of his favourite songs from Presence.[2] Jimmy Page's guitar solo is short and measured, coming in halfway through the song.[2]
"Candy Store Rock" was never performed live by the band at Led Zeppelin concerts,[2] except for a brief riff by Page at Riverfront Coliseum in Cincinnati, Ohio, on 20 April 1977. However, a one-minute improvisation was played live in concert by Page and Plant as a "Black Dog" introduction on 26 July 1995 at Wembley Arena. The song was also played live in Montreux by Page and Plant on 7 July 2001.
In a contemporary review for Presence, Stephen Davis of Rolling Stone described "Candy Store Rock" as "perfectly evoking the Los Angeles milieu in which the Zep composed [Presence]."[3] He further described the song as sounding like "an unholy hybrid in which Buddy Holly is grafted onto the quivering stem of David Bowie."[3]
In a retrospective review of Presence (Deluxe Edition), Andrew Doscas of PopMatters described "Candy Store Rock" as sounding like "the prequel to 1971's "Rock and Roll"" from their fourth album.[4]
Singer Robert Plant later described "Candy Store Rock", along with "Achilles Last Stand", as the "saving grace[s] of Presence".[5] Plant said the song's rhythm section was inspiring to him, partly due to the album's tumultuous recording sessions.[5]
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| Led Zeppelin | |
| Led Zeppelin II | |
| Led Zeppelin III | |
| Untitled (Led Zeppelin IV) | |
| Houses of the Holy | |
| Physical Graffiti | |
| Presence | |
| In Through the Out Door | |
| Coda | |
| Other songs | |
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