The Reasons Why Led Zep’s “In The Light” Was Never Played Live

The sheer mightiness of Led Zeppelin as a live performer cannot be surpassed by anyone; for a decade that they’ve been together as a band, almost anyone who saw them would remember the intensity and enormity that they have felt on each of the band’s performances. But while they’re best known for that, little did anyone know that they were among the performers who weren’t too keen on replacing their setlist.

Inside Led Zeppelin’s active days on performing in front of people are their ever-famous “Whole Lotta Love” and “Train Kept-A-Rollin’,” some of the band’s most recognizable tracks in their early days. As they progressed album-by-album, they’ve incorporated some of the favorites such as “Kashmir,” “Achilles Last Stand,” “All of My Love,” some formidable ones like “The Rain Song,” and “Trampled Under the Foot.” For many years, the band’s repertoire looked like this, and even though newer and better songs have already emerged on their catalog, it wasn’t considered a risk worth taking to change.

While some songs don’t fit on each of the member’s taste, such as John Bonham’s hatred towards “D’yer Maker” or Jimmy Page’s dislike on “Living Loving Maid,” there were, after all, some few decent ones that the members liked but still haven’t considered to become a part of their setlist. Among those is “In The Light,” from their album Physical Graffiti.

“In The Light” contained a marvelous orchestration paired with its inspiring lyrics. It was said that the members liked the song, but for some reason, they never saw it as a “concert material.” Robert Plant admitted that “In The Light” was one of the band’s “finest moments,” and, just like the rest of us, puzzled with why it was never performed live. Fortunately, Plant is now keen to bring life to the song, performing it occasionally inside his solo tours.