mail: daniel_fjall@hotmail.com
|
led zeppelin led zeppelin II led zeppelin III (untitled) houses of the holy
Led Zeppelin I The impact Led Zeppelin had on modern music, and still have, can hardly be expressed in words. One can argue that Cream was the first band to lay the foundation of heavy metal, but whilst they fulfill the criteria of being a technically skilled, hard and riff based band they never quite went all the way through to be a full blown metal band. They may have opened the door, but Led Zeppelin was probably the first band to walk through it. Led Zeppelin was, just as Cream, very much rooted in the blues, but was a bit nastier. Both in music and image. Sex, drugs and rock and roll was not a new concept in the late 60’s, but Zeppelin seems to define the myth. The white noise vocals made by the excellent Robert Plant (whose influence clearly can be heard in a lot of bands, Nazareth and Guns N’ Roses among others.) gave the band a head start on other bands. No singer at the time seemed to have even considered sounding like Plant did. Maybe Deep Purple’s Ian Gillan was able to match him, but Plant did it first. On the debut, Zeppelin already have found their style. The members had spent years in other bands and guitarist Jimmy Page was, despite his young age, a well experienced studio musician, engineer and producer. It was by no means an ordinary band making their first record. They mix hard rock with acoustic folk music-inspired elements and classic blues. No matter which style they approach, it is always at least enjoyable. I adore the acoustic and very dynamic “Babe I’m Gonna Leave You”, but with nearly seven minutes, it does tend to drag occasionally. A problem the group usually have. The songs are a bit too long, or takes too long to heat up, but if you just stay away from the F.FWD-button and be patient the band will probably shock you by throwing in a couple of surprises. This a minor complaint, though. The band is at their best when sticking to the more traditional blues format, even if they never perform the blues as John Mayall or Muddy Waters would have preferred. “You Shook Me” and “I Can’t Quit You Baby” are extremely successful and clear highlights. The band usually works as a unit rather than individuals showing off, but on Led Zeppelin I Jimmy Page is in top form and his guitar playing is sharp and takes “Good Times Bad Times” and “Dazed And Confused” to hights they first appeared unable to reach. By the way, listen carefully during the hard rocking part in “Dazed And Confused”. There’s a riff there that sounds suspiciously similar to Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid”, which is interesting. When people criticize Zeppelin, one of the main arguments is how they stole/borrowed a lot from old blues records without giving the original artist the credit he/she rightfully deserved (later this has been changed and most blues artist gets some royalty or financial compensation). People seem to forget that not only did Zeppelin borrow stuff, they gave a lot in return too. Fresh ideas and a new dimension to music, and even if they didn’t give money to their inspirational sources, they exposed and mentioned their names as soon as they got a chance. Ever heard of Tommy Johnson? Well, if you have, you should probably thank Robert Plant for that.
Led Zeppelin II The second album, recorded between tour dates, was put together so quickly that the band didn’t have the time to come up with a decent, or at least a somewhat imaginative, title for it. Instead, they focused on the music and ended up with a stronger album than the debut. Whilst the sound is not changed much compared to the debut, Led Zeppelin II is more eclectic and diverse. The arrangements shows Led Zeppelin’s fantastic feel for dynamic, especially in the fantastic “What Is And What Should Never Be” and “Ramble On”, but also the opening and experimental “Whole Lotta Love”. The song starts off as any other Zeppelin highlight, but is turned into some kind of noise/sound experimentation fest. I can definitely see why some people would be turned off by it, but it serves a purpose. The noise and far out stuff going on for a while, and suddenly Bonham attacks the drums with a couple of fast strokes and introduces Jimmy Page’s splendid guitar solo. See, the monotonous moments during the experimental part sets things ready for a feeling of relief and happiness when Page finally arives. The result is quite impressive. The only track you’d want to skip on this, otherwise great, album is “Moby Dick”. It has earned a cult and nearly legendary status since it is basically a one man performance by Bonham. Ironically, the short guitar line that leads into the drum solo is the highlight of the song. I for one canot see why it should be more rewarding to listen to “Moby Dick” than say, Cream’s utterly boring and more universally despised “Toad”. It doesn’t make much of a difference for the general impression, though. A strong album, including some absolute classic songs delivered a by a great band near it’s peak.
Led Zeppelin III Led Zeppelin’s third album is often regarded as the soft album, or the acoustic album, or at least being very different than their two first releases. Surely, there are some acoustic numbers, and the folk blues in Leadbelly’s “Gallows Pole” in particular is successful with acoustic guitars and even a banjo, hidden far away in the background. Whilst Led Zeppelin III is not quite as heavy as its predecessors and do have a folk music touch to it, it’s not the mellow and calm record the legend claims. And the band is not doing anything here they didn’t do on the previous albums. Acoustic stuff in “Gallows Pole” and “That’s The Way” reminds of “Babe I’m Gonna Leave You”, “Black Mountain Side” and the verses in “Ramble On”. If there has been a change, I would point towards the obvious pop influences. “Celebration Day” and, in particular, “Tangerine” are amongst the most melodic songs the group had done, and are therefore the most commercial sounding too. I don’t complain, though, because the band somehow manages to combine their previous hard, white blues noise with the silly melodies in the choruses. Thumbs up from me. Now, when the band sets focus on their trademark blues rock in opening “Immigrant Song” they’re unlikely to be topped, or even matched, by anyone in the genre. However, the true highlight of the album is the amazing, dynamic and electric dark blues ballad “Since I’ve Been Loving You”. Page’s guitar work ranks among his finest ever, but yet, it is mainly Plant’s show. His vocal performance is truly mind blowing. He is clearly improvising a lot and his interplay with Page is extraordinary. Also credit to drummer Bonham whom, in difference to his drumming peers (Keith Moon, Ginger Baker, Mitch Mitchell), has a great feeling for when to be quiet and when to make his drum kit roar like thunder. Thinking about it, he is probably one of the main reasons why Led Zeppelin successfully was so dynamic and managed to fill their songs with contrasts. Not to put down Page’s arrangening ability in any way, though. Anyway, the third Zeppelin album is not quite as strong as the earlier records, but it has its moments of pure magic. Hats off.
(untitled) Led Zeppelin doesn’t completely abandon their folk music influences that was present on Led Zeppelin III, it is present in “The Battle of Evermore”, “When The Levee Breaks” and even in the epic centerpiece of the album, “Stairway To Heaven”. But as Plant says in the very appropriate titled song, “Rock And Roll”; ‘Been a long time since I rock and rolled - let me get back, baby where I come from’, and so they do go back to where they came from and rock your ass off. At least for a couple of songs. “Rock And Roll” and “Black Dog” following the traditional 50’s rock format, but they are obviously heavier and harder than anything Bill Haley did, if you get my drift. And given the fact that Plant is in top form through out the album doesn’t exactly make it worse. “Misty Mountain Top” rocks on pretty decently too, and we all know the rocking part in “Stairway To Heaven” (which sounds quite similar to Hendrix’s rendering of “All Along The Watchtower”). “When The Levee Breaks” is a return to the dark and heavy blues influences heard mostly and best on the debut album. The intro is actually quite scary and for people claiming the Rolling Stones’ “Gimme Shelter” scares the living daylight out of them will wet their paints hearing the great drum sound of Bonham and how bassist John Paul Jones is hanging on the notes, creating a great groove, with Robert Plant’s thriller harmonica playing on top of it. The song is very long, though and I can see why some people would be bored towards the end. It is still fantastically arranged and has a spooky atmosphere. Together with the classic “Stairway To Heaven” it makes the foundation of the album. “Stairway To Heaven” might be overplayed, but it belongs to the sort of songs that actually deserves it’s attention. It’s a great, ambitious song that successfully combines sections of different styles into one big manifestation for rock and all it’s possibillities. The two opening adrenaline rushing rockers, “Stairway To Heaven” and “When The Levee Breaks” surely makes a good album, with the acoustic ballad “Going To California” as a bonus. Unfortunately does the album (commonly known as Led Zeppelin IV), also include the disappointing folky “The Battle of Evermore”. It it is not annoying or particularly bad, but neither does it contribute anything positive to the album. It’s filler material. “Misty Mountain Top” and “Four Sticks”, however, are annoying and ranks among the worst songs the band ever did. The overall excellency of the album cannot help but being narrowed because of those two numbers. Without those, Led Zeppelin’s fourth album would have been a strong candidate for a perfect 10/10 score. If you want a second opinion, I am happy to direct you the web site belonging to the American poet Scott Floman
Houses of The Holy Houses of The Holy is a very diverse album, arguably the most diverse in the entire Led Zeppelin catalogue. The acoustic folk influences is far from as present as on the previous albums, even if “The Song Remains The Same” could be mistaken for electrified Celtic folk, but with a Pete Townshend touch. Looking back at all the bands albums so far, only “The Ocean” is fully comparable to anything they did before. The heavy riff based rock makes it a song that would easily have fitted like a glove on Led Zeppelin II along side with “Heartbreaker”. Other than that, Zeppelin refreshingly mixes all their styles with new, not as obvious influences. “No Quarter” finds the group making something they haven’t done before. It is a very atmospheric song, and whilst atmosphere isn’t something groundbreaking for the band, “No Quarter” still is. They take a nearly Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd attitude to it. Perhaps a little out of date for 1973, but still performed well and definitely not something expected from this band. “The Crunge” is a stab at funk, with lyrics filled with references to the great soul singer Otis Redding. Not exactly my favorite song, but yet again it is interesting to find them trying something new. Filler material indeed, but it passes you by without annoying you too much. “D’Yer Mak’er” is another new approach for the band. Catchy pop-reggae on a nearly Peter Frampton level, but it works. In fact it works so well that I would have called it the best song on the album if it wasn’t for “The Rain Song”. “The Rain Song” is a tender, air-floating ballad, mostly built around some acoustic guitar runs. It is beautiful and surely a candidate for the best song Led Zeppelin ever did. The title really is spot on, because the song has a rainy, melancholic and drifting feeling, but still is focused and direct. Somewhere along the line Houses of The Holy has been forgotten and is less celebrated as Zeppelin’s first four records. I don’t really understand why, though, as this is a very competent, fun and enjoyable album. Just because the band doesn’t do their trademark blues rock doesn’t mean they are worthless. Houses of The Holy is worth attention and some respect.
|