The Crunge


"The Crunge" is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin from their 1973 album Houses of the Holy. The song is a takeoff on James Brown's style of funk similar to the group's attempt at reggae with "D'yer Mak'er". It was also released as the B-side of "D'yer Mak'er" in the US.

Composition and recording

The song evolved out of a jam session in the studio. John Bonham started the beat, John [Paul Jones (musician)|John Paul Jones] came in on bass, Jimmy Page played a funk guitar riff, and Robert Plant started singing. For the recording, Page played a Fender Stratocaster guitar and it is possible to hear him depressing a whammy bar at the end of each phrase.
The song is primarily in 9/8, giving its distinctive, off-kilter rhythm. It has a relatively unique structure, comprising verses and a chorus but lacks a bridge or middle eight, common in most forms of Western popular music. Because of this, Plant asks where the bridge is by imploring in the final bars, culminating with
"Have you seen the bridge?"
"I ain't seen the bridge!"
"Where's that confounded bridge?"

Personnel

Personnel taken from album sleeve
In a contemporary review for Houses of the Holy, Gordon Fletcher of Rolling Stone gave "The Crunge" a negative review, calling it a "naked imitation", along with "D'yer Mak'er", as well as "easily" one of the worst things the band has ever attempted.
Fletcher added, " reproduces James Brown so faithfully that it's every bit as boring, repetitive and clichéd as 'Get on [the Good Foot|Good Foot]'. Yakety-yak guitar, boom-boom bass, astoundingly idiotic lyrics — it's all there. So is Jones' synthesizer, spinning absolutely superfluous electronic fills."