LED ZEPPELIN
"They're wearing steel that's bright and true, they carry news that must get through"
General Rating: 3
ALBUM REVIEWS:
Disclaimer: this page is not written by from the point of view of a Led Zeppelin fanatic and is not generally intended for narrow-perspective Led Zeppelin fanatics. If you are deeply offended by criticism, non-worshipping approach to your favourite artist, or opinions that do not match your own, do not read any further. If you are not, please consult the guidelines for sending your comments before doing so.
This page also hosts comments from the following Certified Commentators: Rich Bunnell, Nick Karn, Joel Larsson, Philip Maddox, John McFerrin, Jeff Melchior, Fredrik Tydal.
Help me Lord! Drawing a deep breath, I set out on the treacherous path
of reviewing the Zepsters. I'm really a little scared about it, what with
them guys being really huge, huge, huge. By all accounts, they were the
Beatles of the Seventies - no, they didn't have the Beatles' vibe, and
the music didn't have anything to do with the Beatles at all, except
for maybe a ballad or two, but on the social and commercial levels they
certainly were the equivalent to the Fab Four. Not only did Led Zep symbolize
the Seventies - they started the Seventies. Their first record,
released in the fall of 1968, really and truly meant the end of an epoch
and the beginning of a new one: hard, heavy, dark and depressing, on one
side, bombastic, glamorous, showy and professional, on the other. The band
primarily epitomized the hard rock/heavy metal genre, along with Black
Sabbath, Deep Purple and other such gentlemen; but wouldn't we be right
in saying they were much more than an ordinary heavy metal band? They were
a prog band, whose complex arrangements and mystical lyrics were able to
compete with the creativity of such prog giants as Pink Floyd or Yes or
King Crimson (and I don't even mention the spooky, goofy videos). They
were a glam band, whose megatours, tons of effects and showing off, bizarre
costumes, make-ups and behaviours were on the same level with, if not superior
to, the workouts of David Bowie or Gary Glitter. They were a punk band,
with the crunching chords of 'Rock And Roll' certainly imitating punkish
nihilism. They were a folk rock band, with Jimmy Page being a big friend
of the acoustic guitar and old ballads like 'Gallows Pole'. And yet - primarily
they were Led Zeppelin: the dark, satanic, brutal monsters, capable of
driving their spikes right through the most obscure depths of your mind
and soul. 'Dark mystical sound' is what ninety nine percent of their songs
sound like, with even the more cheerful and optimistic ones ('The Rain
Song') sounding more like a prelude to a tragedy, a setting of the scene
after which comes 'No Quarter'...
My attitude towards Led Zep? I give 'em a rating of three. I admit
that it does seem a little strange after I'd called them the Beatles of
the Seventies. But let me explain. I've never cared especially much 'bout
the band just because they were a Seventies band. And, as is the usual
problem with so many Seventies bands, they weren't a hell of an original
band. The revolution they led was more about the mood and the attitude
than about the music itself. They did invent a new style, I'll admit (but
so have Genesis). Whenever they tried to step away from that style, though,
it led to total artistic disaster, like on Houses Of The Holy. And
milking the same cow on seven or eight albums just can't be that productive:
once again, if you adore the style, you'll like nearly everything they
ever put out. But if you just like their early albums for sounding fresh
and independent, you'll be heavily disappointed in their later career.
Maybe it was no slight coincidence that axeman Jimmy Page wasn't actually
a newly-emerged Seventies star, like the whole prog rock generation. Instead,
he was hanging around for the whole Sixties, doing almost nothing, and
even his short stay in the Yardbirds didn't help his career that much.
Sad, but true: he really had little songwriting talent, which, unfortunately,
is not a rare thing among great guitarists (take Hendrix or Clapton for
further proof). What he did real good was ripping off old bluesmen and
folksmen and giving their songs a new dimension, applying clever production
values and amazing guitar techniques. But let us save these discussions
for the actual reviews...
Anyway, regardless of all my critiques, they were a good lil' band, and
certainly thousands of times better than the swarms of braindead metal
crap bands they unconsciously bred and inspired. This, unfortunately, is
a bad point against them: being a good band, they were certainly
a horrible influence. But I'm sure everybody will sort it out for
themselves.
And a special note for the fans who are more than willing to flame me:
please don't bother. The Led Zeppelin issue is one of the few issues where
I'm not - and I mean NOT - budging an inch. I've had more than my
fair share of Led Zep expertise over the years, and I've learned all about
the reasons for which the band is so gruesomely overrated. (Several of
these are stated above). There's no way they can score more than
a three, and that's that. I'll post your flames, mind you, if they aren't
particularly offensive, but they'll be completely useless - and
yes, I'm well aware that there are at least a couple million loyal
Zepheads out there ready to tear me to pieces. Well, better save your breath,
gentlemen.
Lineup: Jimmy Page - guitar; Robert Plant - vocals; John
Paul Jones - bass guitar; John Bonham - drums. The line-up evocates
immediate connotations with The Who, of course, and indeed, Led Zep modelled
their image very much akin to that of their predecessors: with a wild,
frenzied guitarist, a mad drummer, a lion-maned, free-flowing vocalist
and a quiet, but highly professional bass player. This isn't a good point:
imitations are always cheaper than the originals. Little do I care about
Robert Plant's prototype heavy metal falsetto vocals, or about John Bonham's
vulgar drumming style (imagine a rednecky Keith Moon with twice as much
vodka but twice as little charm and intelligence). And, although Page's
guitar technique far outmatches Townshend's rudimentary soloing, his scenic
image was never as convincing. J. P. Jones was a really cool fellow, though.
And he played keyboards, too! And arranged strings (it was he who arranged
strings on the Stones' 'She's A Rainbow', for one thing). Probably my favourite
member of the band.
What do YOU think about Led Zeppelin?Mail your ideas
Your worthy comments:
<Joshsf@aol.com> (19.05.99)
Man, I HATE Led Zeppelin! "Stairway To Heaven" is boring and annoying, and made me not listen to the radio for about five years! I kno, people who like Zep, LOVE them, but personnally, they didn't do a thing for me.
<Zepphead75@aol.com> (25.08.99) 
Led Zeppelin is the best band ever. Not the Beatles because they were a pop band with not a lot of skill who had a lot of songs that sounded the same. There aren't 2 Led Zeppelin songs that sound nearly alike which is what set them apart from their peers. Robert Plant has the most amazing voice ever put on record and the composition of nearly every song is fantastic. They were an original band because they did not rely on the pop formula of verse/chorus/solo/verse/chorus or whatever makes the general public happy, instead they hardly ever had a chorus and had many extended, free-flowing arrangements. The "epic" Beatles song, "Hey Jude" drags on for way too long with the ridiculous "nah nah nah" line repeated over and over. Zeppelin created many songs near and over 10 minutes that hold your attention throughout, never seeming repetitive. So for you to say that Led Zeppelin wasn't "a hell of an original band" is proposterous since they created a style all their own that no one can ever match.
Simon Hearn <simon@leehearn.freeserve.co.uk> (07.09.99)
These guys ARE ROCK MUSIC. No other badd personifies hard rock than these guys. 'Stairway' is over rated, but the stuff on led zep 2 is so classy, all rock bands should bow down. 'Kasmir' is cool, but 'dazed and confused' and 'celebration day' are just tops. 'D&C' has to be the sexiest song in rock's cannon.
Glenn Wiener <glennjwiener@hotmail.com> (14.09.99)
Its hard for me to totally grab this phenomenon about Zeppelin. Whereas
their musical style does combine elements of rock, blues, and folk as well
as some occasional other influences, the overall sound can be quite irriating
especially Robert Plant's screetching caterwaling vocal style. Truthfully
I find Jimmy Page's guitar playing to be somewhat of a mixed bag. Some
of this riffing and solos are quite ear grabbing yet other times the sound
is too heavy to the point I need a couple of Tylenols. Bonham is an excellent
drummer no doubt and JPJ adds some creative touches here and there.
Whereas many of Zeppelin's songs have a very developed structure, especially
for a heavy metal band, this does not always work with the overall aggravating
mix between the instruments most notably Plant's variating screams. I'm
sure that I could fill out one side of a 45 minute tape with Zeppelin's
best work. However, none of their albums can consistently entertain me
from start to finish. Therefore, I am content to hearing them only when
Classic Rock Radio Stations overplay their music.
Nick Karn <glassmoondt@yahoo.com> (09.11.99) 
Zeppelin was essentially a derivative blues cover band at their essence, yeah, but they were the virtual essence of larger than life, epic, overblown and mysterious hard rock. Plus they were tremendous instrumentalists - I can easily overlook their lack of originality, occasionally unsatisfying melodies, and Plant's sometimes annoying vocals that turned me off to the band in the first place, because of their musical fire. Page, Jones and Bonham are all easily in my top 5 as far as greatness in their respective instruments, and that ability was what made their songs so powerful and legendary. They did have their weaknesses and their below average moments (no band is perfect), and I don't know if I'd give them a 5 on the band rating scale - a 4 will do for me, but a 3 would be too low.
<LedZep3206@aol.com> (21.11.99)
How can you give Led Zep a friggin' THREE??????? I'd give 'em a ten. All their albums are great (except for Presence), in my opinion, and next to the Rolling Stones, they are my absolute favorite band ever. 'Stairway To Heaven' was one of their best, but I'd have to say that 'When The Levee Breaks' is my favorite.
<JefMan33@aol.com> (20.01.2000) 
your reviews of every led zeppelin album suck. i suppose the fact they
are second only to the beatles in all time record sales doesnt mean a thing.
you obviously disdain led zeppelin. therefore how can you write an unbiased
review? they are one of the greatest bands in rock history and your lame
reviews won't alter the fact that millions of people, myself included,
love their music.
[Special author note: JefMan
is totally right about one thing. I don't give a damn about how many records
Led Zeppelin have sold. Try as they might, they still can't beat McDonalds.
Now WHO BOUGHT these records - that's an entirely different
thing.]
Matt Reyes <No1Yanks23@aol.com> (07.02.2000)
What is wrong with you Zep members overated....Wrong. Jimmy Page is
a spectacular guitarist second only to eddie van halen (personall prefrence)
and even though im 13 i have more knowledge then almost anyone about music
all genres all decades and hendrix, clapton, vai, satraini, beck.. all
great but page is a great blues guitarist and a great compisitionist (right
word?) i mean 'stairway to heaven' may not seem complicated but the best
song ever and his solos...'heartbreaker', 'stairway', etc.
Robert Plant... I dont know I think his vocals go very well with the songs.
John Bonham most likely one of the best drummers of all time you cant disagree.
John Paul Jones very underrated as a bassist. All there albums are great
(except presence which has its moments but then again... no) Zep overated
Zeps first six albums are masterpieces and the rest is good as well, even
presence sometimes. I mean albums I, II, III, IV (untitled), Houses
of the Holy and Physicall Graffiti great... no, spectacular
albums. Zep is one of the most talented bands ever and one of the most
influential and are my favorite
<B99Hoops@aol.com> (10.02.2000)
LED ZEPPELIN...............A FRIGGIN 3??????? I GIVE EM' A 9432984327+
and JIMMY PAGE DONT EVEN GET ME GOING WITH HIM....LIKE RAH!!!! HES THE
GREATEST !!!
[Special author note: whoah...
I presume I simply can't make the font size for the name 'Led Zeppelin'
a 9432984327+ on my index page. It would take B99Hoops an entire life to
get to the actual reviews!]
Steve Knowlton <knowltos@co.washtenaw.mi.us> (15.02.2000)
Here's the main thing that drives me crazy about Led Zeppelin: the song titles! How on earth are we supposed to remember the names of their songs when the titles don't have anything to do with the lyrics? Examples: 'Bron-Y-Aur Stomp', 'Hats Off to (Roy) Harper' (who puts parentheses in the middle of a song title?), 'Out on the Tiles', 'Black Dog', 'Four Sticks', 'The Crunge', 'D'Yer Mak'er' (I know it's a pun on the rhythm, but still...), 'Trampled Underfoot', 'Sick Again', 'Candy Store Rock', 'Carouselambra'... Aaargh! Who do these guys think they are?
<B99Hoops@aol.com> (02.03.2000)
Steve Knowlton maybe the names dont have anything to do with the lyrics but they are some of the greatest songs ever especially "black dog"........ and once again i dont know how you could give Led Zepplin a FRIGGIN 3 later
<Quarrymn@aol.com> (22.03.2000)
You might as well leave the country!
what the hell are you on. You know thats fine if you dont like Zepplin,
obviously everyone has the right to their own taste. But like that one
person said, how can you rate them if you dont even like them, just admitt
you dont and move on to someone else. It sure would limit all of those
death threats I am sure you are getting!
I love Zepplin, and I think they are second in talent, quality, sound only
to the Beatles, not f------bad huh.
Like I said before, thats fine if you dont like them, but you cannot deny
their talent and popularity, although heaven knows you sure tried....good
luck with the show!!??
John McFerrin <stoo@imsa.edu> (24.03.2000) 
Ah, good ole Zep, the band that if you say anything less than "THESE
GUYS WERE GREAT IF YOU DON'T LIKE THEM YOU SUCK ASS AND PROBABLY LIKE TO
DO YOUR DOG AS WELL" then you're not a fan (or maybe I'm confusing
them with AC/DC, but whatever). I can think of two major, major points
that need to be pointed out to most Zep fans, and whenever I've said these
things, I've never gotten a strong, solid argument to the contrary.
1. Too many people mix up the terms 'songwriting' and 'song-arranging.'
When I try and point out that Page and Plant weren't exactly great songwriters
and that they stole virtually everything they ever did, I always get an
argument along the lines of, "but they took it to a higher level,
they added the great guitar parts, etc. etc." STOP! Dammit, people,
that is ARRANGING, not WRITING. I'm not questioning the group's ability
to create great and interesting instrumental parts and to back them up
with solid production. Page and Jones were (are) VERY intelligent producers,
I'm not questioning that. But more often than not, they NEEDED the great
production and great playing to cover up their harsh, glaring weakness;
they simply weren't great songwriters. Which brings me to my second point.
2. Writing a great song or great songs does NOT make you a great songwriter.
I will fully agree that the best songs of Zep are simply fantastic, and
I am fully happy to listen to them. But the filler is often not just mediocre,
it's damn near unlistenable. Whether a banal ballad like 'Thank You' or
the shitty 'Misty Mountain Hop' or most of the second disc of Physical
Grafitti, this group consistently had FAR too much filler on their
albums for them to be considered 'the greatest band of all time.'
As an opposite example, look at The Beatles. Not that there's no filler
on their albums, but they are VERY rare and are the exception that proves
the rule. From Rubber Soul onward, I can count ... well, less than
five songs that I would consider even mediocre. And another thing; it bothers
the shit out of me when people say the Beatles sucked because all they
could do was write a catchy tune, obviously implying that that makes them
no better than today's pop shit. To that, I can only say that the beauty
of the Beatles' catchy tunes is that their catchiness was almost ALWAYS
balanced by some level of depth and, well, genius. If you can't understand
the genius and power behind the lengthy 'Hey Jude' coda and consider it
stupid, then you just don't get music.
In any case, Led Zep was a very good group which, while wanting to be otherwise,
was very limited. They did what they did best very well, and mostly struggled
in what they didn't. That's my story and I'm sticking with it.
<LBeastski@aol.com> (08.05.2000)
First off let me say that Led Zeppelin getting a 3 is not very fair to the band . For one they were far more talented than the Beatles , Dylan , or The Stones . They deserve a 5 just for what they brought into the world of rock . As for the members themselves Jimmy is a pretty impressive giutarist , although far from the best or the fastest (see Frank Zappa for that one) . His style cuold be pretty sloppy at times but that is what gives him gis luster I guess . But to say that Jimmy is not very creative is a lie , he wrote two of the best blues songs I have ever heard in my life ('Since I've Been Lovin You' and 'Tea For One') and many other original songs .Robert was a awesome vocalist and a good lyricist also .. JPJ was flat out the best musician in the band , and is still a great musician (check out hi solo album ZOOMA). He not only had some of the best playing out of the band he did some vrey beautiful song writing for the band .. Bonzo is awesome but a little overrated (check out Chad Wackerman or Keith moon) . I know I sound a little on the negative side in this but lets face it but zeppelin was not perfect . But none the less they had some of the best music of all time which has and will stand the test of time . They showed every other band how to be a rock star . Last of all if you want to hear a band that had a virtuoso on every instrument listen to Frank Zappa .
Mats Fjäll <mats.fjall@telia.com> (01.07.2000)
Well, I'm not a diehard fan, really.
But yet, there's something there that sounds really special to me. It's
not the drumming, since I don't care that much for drummers, you know,
Ginger Baker and Mitch Mitchell are a little bit to aggressive to me!
I don't care that much for the bass either, unless it's McCartney or Jack
Bruce...
Now Plant's vocals does not allways come together and sometimes Page is
just annoying! But as I said, there something there. For example: the things
the band does on the song 'Since I've Been Loving You' is just superb!
It may be their finest effort. Page delivers some marvoulus guitarplaying
while you really can hear Plant's pain in his singing... The chord pattern
is just great too, I love that song!
And since I'm not part of the genertion that heard 'Stairway' about a hundred
times a day, I really appreciate that one too, just love Plant right after
the guitarsolo!
The third fav song is 'Black Dog', the thing here is once again Plant's
singing style (by which so many been inspired by, check out Nazareth, AC/DC
and G'n'R), that turns me on.
And I really don't think it's fair comparing these guys to the Beatles,
they belong to two seperate genres, right? Compare 'em to, i don't know,
Cream? At least Zep's early stuff.. But since the debat is going I think
that the Beatles where superior Led Zeppelin when it comes to the guitar
riffs: 'Day Tripper', 'Hey Bulldog', 'Dig A Pony', 'Come together' (but
that one might be consider a bass riff...) I also do think that the Stones
should be a head Led Zeppelin on that list...
You know that doesn't mean that the Zep's bad, only that they ain't the
best...
And just a thing for the ones complaing bout the Beatles writing stupid
stuff like 'Hey Jude', check out 'Helter Skelter' or 'Yer Blues', pretty
far from 'Love Me Do' and 'All My Loving'...
I guess Led Zeppelin's rating on my scale would be 3½ - 4. But hey,
this is just me...
Philip Maddox <slurmsmckenzie@hotmail.com> (06.07.2000)
These guys are pretty overrated. They aren't bad, of course - they just
aren't as good as many people say. I can think of lots of bands from the
same era that were just as good or better (The Who could play Zep under
the table).
Personally, I think the main problem isn't their mystical lyrics or long
solos - it's the fact that a lot of their songs were just generic "rawkin'".
Few songs make me reach for the dial quicker than 'Whole Lotta Love' or
'In The Light'. And it's not because they're overplayed, mind you - I hated
these songs the first time I heard 'em. They wrote some classics, too,
of course. 'Stairway To Heaven' is a great song, no matter how overplayed
it is. 'The Ocean' rules in more ways than I can count. 'Fool In The Rain'
is easily one of my favorite songs. You see, I'm not saying they were a
bad band. They were a very good band. Just not as good as everyone says.
And certainly not good enough to have 2 songs played every hour on my local
classic rock radio station. I know this is off topic, but why do classic
rock stations always play the same 2 or 3 songs by every band (except Zep,
whose entire catalogue is played)? The entire existence of Yes is reduced
to 'I've Seen All Good People'. The Who? 'Won't Get Fooled Again' is all
they ever did. The Beatles? They were those one-hit wonders that did 'Back
In the U.S.S.R.', right? God, I HATE the radio. They play quite a bit of
Journey, though. WHY???
But back on topic, Zep was a very talented band. John Paul Jones was my
favorite member, too. He laid down some good bass lines and arranged strings
and such. He's still active, too - he arranged the strings for REM's Automatic
For The People album. John Bohnam was a good drummer, but no Keith
Moon. Jimmy Page was easily one of the best guitarists ever. Robert Plant
had a distinct voice, but I never really appreciated it. I guess I just
don't like his style of singing on cuts like 'Whole Lotta Love'. In no
way do 6 different Zep albums deserve perfect scores, though, like the
All Music Guide gave them.
Fredrik Tydal <f_tydal@hotmail.com> (16.07.2000)
Speaking of the similarities to The Who... According to Tony Fletcher's excellent biography "Dear Boy: The Life Of Keith Moon", John Entwistle and Keith Moon actually came up with Led Zeppelin's name. After the break-up of the Yardbirds, there was talk about building a super-group around Jimmy Page. Moon and Entwistle, both feeling slightly disappointed with The Who's lack of recent chart success (this was the pre-Tommy 1968 days), were approched and offered the parts of the rhythm section. During a late-night drunken discussion with former Yardbirds associate Richard Cole, Moon and Entwistle went as far as to suggest a name for the prospective band; "Lead Zeppelin", as in a group "going down like a lead ballon" after a bad show. The plans never materialized, though, and Page instead hooked up with Plant, Jones and Bonham... The name stuck, though - with a slight spelling change to avoid mispronunciation. Keith Moon and John Bonham later became good friends; Bonham was actually one of the few people who could keep up with Moon's partying and drinking pace. The two musicians also has ideas about doing a drumming album together, which regrettebly never went beyond the idea stage. In 1977 Moon also joined the Zeppelin on stage and shared Bonham's drum set for a 15-minute "Moby Dick" solo. Keith Moon even named his dog Bonzo, in honour of his fellow drummer.
Matt Foggon <fogz@salvos.com> (08.08.2000)
Lay off Led Zeppelin! They rock! All you people that hate em have no taste in music, you only like short, repetitive, computer-generated, songs the likes of the backstreet boys!! Crawl back under the rock you came out of you Teenyboppers and stay out of cool 70s sites like this one!!!
<EBDIGSIT@gateway.net> (08.08.2000)
Let me simply start by saying that... in my humble opinion ...that the
zepsters deserve better than a modest "3" rating...I respect
your opinion and I do often agree with your assessment of other "great"
groups such as The Beatles, The Who, Stones, etc...everyone has their tastes...I
still don't understand Grateful Dead fanatics...the Dead had some good
songs (i.e. Casey Jones) and were good musicians and nice folks, but I
don't get the understand the fanaticism....you may feel the same way about
Zeppelin fans...and thats ok
Having said that, here is my Zeppelin testimonial...I believe that Led
Zeppelin deserves to be in the same catagory as The Who , The Beatles,
Stones, Hendrix, Kinks, etc. As someone whose musical tastes continue to
expand and mutute, many of the bands I liked as a kid aren't as formidible
anymore when I hear them, even though I can still appreciate them...such
as Deep Purple, Cream, The Doors, The Animals,Ten Years After, Yes, ELP,
and so on.....As someone who now listens to everything from Frank Zappa,
Sonic Youth, The Meters, The Beastie Boys , Radiohead to John Coltrane...I
can still happily go back to the Beatles or Zeppelin and find new things
to marvel about. While it's true that Zep took alot( or ripped off as you
say) from the bluesman, the same can be said of any of the 5 star groups
(ie The Beatles--Buddy Holly, Little Richard or The Stones--Chuck Berry)
While I will readily admit that their song lyrics were often mere window
dressing, certainly not on par with Townsend, Davies, Mc and Lennon...It
is their music which continues to be special and still makes me shake my
head in amazement..I think Page, Jones, and Bonham were the most talented
collection of rock musicians in a single band...not to shortchange R. Plant,
whose range and writing contributions fair well when compared to a Roger
Daltrey or Steven Tyler. After Hendrix, Page has to be the most dynamic
guitar player ever. He did it all and he did it well...producing, arranging,
playing in many styles...(Page didn't sleepwalk through most of the Sixties
as you seemed to assert, being perhaps the busiest session guitarist of
the decade and being asked to replace Eric Clapton in the Yardbirds, before
Page refered them to Jeff Beck)....Jones was brillant as a bassist and
a clever muli-instrumentalist who played with more soul ( A James Brown
fan) than say a John Einwistle or Jack Bruce....Bonham was powerful, but
certainly not one dimensional..his playing could be deceptively subtle.
Led Zeppelin had the complete package....I can go on and on about their
instrumental prowess, but it all comes down to the songs...and what!!!
songs. While I agree that their early period (68 to 71) was their strongest...I
completely disagree with your assessment of their later work...Houses
of the Holy and Physical Graffiti are the sound of a band having
fun and taking chances...the results aren't always superb, but aside from
maybe 'Boogie with Stu' and one or two other tracks that are bit too long,
I find both of them to be quite satifying listens end to end, not potholed
with tossed off filler. If you like 'No Quarter' so much, I don't see why
'In the Light' is not worthy..'Ten Years After' is as wonderful as 'Babe
I'm Gonna Leave You'...Great/Good songs far outnumber the mediocre. I also
have to take issue with your opinion and others of Presence. If
you give it a chance I think you find two great songs ('Achilles'..and
'Nobody's Fault'..) and three other good songs ('For Your Life', 'Royal
Orleans', 'Hots On'...) only 'Tea For One' and 'Candy Store Rock' do I
find to be sub-par...I actually know people who rate Presence as
their 3rd or 4th favorite Zep record...Its a good record, give it a another
listen. Your opinion of Presence more closely matches my opinion
of The Song Remains the Same live album. If you are comparing The
Who live circa (67-70) to the Zeppelin heard on The Song Remains the
Same, then Townsend and Co. definately give "no quarter"
and blow them off the stage...But I've heard enough Zep bootlegs from the
1969 to 72 period that make me say "oh my God" and shake my head
in awe...that live Zeppelin is tough to beat, even with the help of exploding
drum kits and fingernail removing windmills. The BBC Sessions give
some hint to what I speak of, but just a hint since not all the the BBC
tracks truly "live in concert". I can gush on and on like a fanboy
about how "awesome" Zeppelin is and "how they Rule!!! Man!!!!!"
but I won't ...I am here to claim that I am of sound judgement and not
wallowing in nostalgia....When I listen to the Beatles, Bob Dylan, The
Byrds, The Stones on Sticky Fingers, The Who (pre 76) and Zeppelin
(1968-1977) I hear music that is exciting and fresh and that overused term
"timeless". I wish you could see that, but cest la vie. Thanks
for your time.
<Bmcpeter@aol.com> (24.08.2000)
Led Zeppelin three is awsome. I think everything by Zepplelin rocks, even 'Hotdog' on In through the out door. As A drummer myself John Henry Bohnam is the frigin man. In 'when the leave breaks' they used a 10 foot and a 5 foot mike on the drums to give it the ambience its just a mastermind of artist's createativity. Led Zeppelin RUles!!!
SRakestraw <rakestraw20@yahoo.com> (24.09.2000)
What hole did you crawl out of? You ratings on Led Zeppelin are completely
out of focus. Led Zeppelin are the *GODS* of rock-n-roll. Do you have
ears? Use them! Listen to "Ten Years Gone", "In The Light",
"Tea For One", "Since I've Been Loving You", "Tangerine",
"When the Levee Breaks", "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You",
"No Quarter".......and many more.......
Shit dude. I really pity you. You are missing out on the best music ever
recorded. Their music is INNOVATIVE. They constantly pushed the sleeve
of convention, their lyrics radiate passion, the guitar riffs are
experimental and bluesy. They didn't dwell in pop-rock and they certainly
didn't cater to what critics wanted to hear. They wrote and performed
their music with a style and class that only LED ZEPPELIN would render
and could duplicate. Not only were they the *KINGS* of cock-rock
but they were true to themselves and their music. They didn't play
the game of publicity/interviews. They RARELY gave them--unlike their opposition, the
Beatles. Led Zeppelin were NOT corporate sell-outs and they didn't
produce candy-pop guitar riffs. Each band member had their own
style and utilized it during their concert+s/album recording.
Every time a REAL Led Zeppelin fan turns on the radio, after only
listening for a brief second, they can immediately recognize Page's delicate,
yet forceful guitar style or Jones' rhythmic, soulful bass or Bonzo's thunderous
boom or Plant's creamy range of vocals. Led Zeppelin is NOT a nostalgia
band. They are a band that captures the proximity of time. They drill
a hole into your ears and force you to listen to the rhythmic beat
of their ideas, their lives, and their soul. They are steely, powerful
and mysterious.
They are the Gods Of Rock.
The Hammer Of The Gods has been thrown and the Gods are in total,
complete concurrence with me when I say that.......
"No one rocks harder and heavier than Led Zeppelin."
"Those who make the conscience decision to listen to Led Zeppelin
are among the musically elite and will dwell with me in eternal light."-------------God's
11th Commandment
[Special author note: I profoundly
apologize before this guy for having lost most of the decorative stuff
from the E-mail - you know, all kinds of beautiful bold, inspiring italics,
all kinds of font sizes and flourishes like that... a rabid fan's utter
delight. Oh well, in compensation I am not going to put the baby sigil
next to this comment. And for the notice, this is the first time I hear
somebody call Led Zep "kings of cock-rock" and take utter delight
in the fact; I used to think such an approach was limited to AC/DC fans.
Ah, well, never can tell with... sorry.]
<MattBeas@aol.com> (10.10.2000)
Say what you want about Zeppelin, but to say they weren't an original
band and giving them three stars is an absolute joke. Their music has totally
stood the test of time and their influence on many contemporary bands is
astounding. Speaking of Houses of the Holy, as a guitar player myself,
I have to say that "Over the Hills and Far Away" is one of the
best rock songs I have ever heard. It contains all the elements that made
them a great band...especially the acoustic, electric guitar mix, which
has never been equaled.. before or after.
Lastly, I will admit that the Beatles were just absolutely amazing. But
as for the Rolling Stones... sure they had some great records, but they
haven't done anything good in twenty years!! They have ruined their legacy
by these ridiculous tours to the point that serious fans just laugh at
them. I don't know exactly what your criteria is but I think that the way
a band handles their legacy matters. Page and Plant have been careful with
the Zeppelin legacy, which is why so many people are still in awe of the
band. And when they have toured they expanded the music with exotic influences
which most critics thought was really great. I'll take Page and Plant's
latest album, Walking into Clarksdale and it's beautiful "Shining
in the Light" over any of the crap the Stones have put out recently.
They are a total joke at this point.
[Special author note: I never
said Led Zep's music hasn't stood the test of time, I could care less about
their influence (which hasn't been any less than the Stones influence),
none of the truly serious Stones fans laugh at the Stones now (I subscribe
to a Stones mail-list, and it's pretty good and intelligent), the Stones'
current tours still show them as an amazing rocking band, and you simply
haven't bothered to listen to whatever the Stones are putting out now because
you have an Empire State Building-size bias against them. Have I missed
anything?
Oh, yeah. P.S.: I'm amazed at how many people speak in the 'legacy' terms.
Even if the Stones put out nothing but crap in the past twenty years (which
is definitely far from the truth), that doesn't diminish the glory of any
of their Sixties/early Seventies albums one iota. I'd take Let It Bleed
over the entire Zep catalog any time, and I don't care if its legacy has
been 'ruined' by a 'ridiculous tour'.]
Gary Lee <arlo0462@yahoo.com> (05.11.2000)
You make a lot of valid points about Led Zepplin, but I'd have to disagree
with your overall rating. It's a documented fact that Led Zepplin was a
commercial endeavor,(and an imitation of The Who), and that these guys
were not the most original artists to grace the airwaves. I couldn't begin
to guess at how many old blues songs were ripped off and stolen to compile
the Led Zepplin library. Just the same, I think the formula worked. Plants
power screaming vocals were never equaled by the glam rock pretty boys
that followed, and Pages guitar work was truely impressive. John Bonham
was an adiquite drummer, but John Paul Jones may have been among the best
session bassists of his time. It's true that Led Zepplin was a glitzy glam
band, but they did it better than anyone before or since.
I'd also like to point out the the "Satanism" that you mention,
or the "mysticism" is simply shades of J.R.R. Tolkiens "Lord
of the Rings" trilogy, a swords and sorcery fantasy story, full of
high drama and elves and whatnot.
I have to give you a great deal of credit for not pulling your punches,
but I think the differences between your opinion and mine is more of taste.
Remember, new and original does not necessarily mean good (the Beatles
come to mind). (Not to my mind - G.
S.).
It should also be noted that I'm not quite old enough to have seen these
guys live, so I'm only going by their studio material. True, they are a
bit overrated, but for my money, you just can't do better than a Led Zepplin
album. Any of them. I have yet to hear the Zep tune that I didn't like,
even though is wasn't original, even though it was concocted and staged,
even if it was just protoplasmic hair rock. When you compare them to other
mega-overrated bands, such as the Rolling Stones (dopey adolescent lyrics,
simplistic guitar work, and the worst vocals I have ever heard) or the
Beatles (see my above comment about "new and original"...maybe
too much LSD), Led Zepplin stands out as as a truly entertaining ensemble.
Even by your standards, they are at least worthy of a 6. I know that, as
a critic, you must be critical, but I think we might be seeing a case of
Top 40 backlash, something I've suffered from myself. I was very surprised
by your review, since I very much agreed with your assessment of Jethro
Tull, another of my old favorites.
[Special author note: I'd just
have to comment that there's no possible way for me to see in what way
the 'dopey adolescent lyrics' of the Rolling Stones are more disgusting
than the overblown cliched mystical ramblings of Led Zep, or why the 'simplistic
guitar work' is less attractive than Page's lengthy pretentious wanking,
or why should we enjoy Plant's endless wah-wah/ooh-oohs more than we enjoy
the 'worst vocals' of Mick Jagger. Mind you, this is called the 'ultra-subjective
factor' and I strongly advise more solid ground to base yourself on.]
Jeff Melchior <Jeffmoncheri@aol.com> (26.11.2000)
I think Mark Prindle said it best when he said "The middle-schooler
without a Led Zeppelin phase is a sorry middle-schooler indeed" (or
something to that effect). But if there is a major problem with Zep, it's
in that very statement - it's hard to appreciate beyond an adolescent frame
of mind. Now, I know everyone's sick of Zeppelin/Who comparisons, but I
think The Who can be enjoyed as easily at 17 as 27 or 37 or 47 or whatever
because they speak to feelings in the human spirit that aren't necessarily
limited to teenagerhood (although much of their lyrics are on that subject.
Zep do not enjoy this same definition because there really AREN'T any feelings
of substance. There's lust - of an adolescent nature. There's love - of
an adolescent nature. There's philosophy - of a middle-school nature.
That's not to say I don't enjoy Zep - in fact they're still within my fave
10 or so bands. But they do not move me as much as they did when I was
a teenager. Physical Graffiti will always rule, Two will
always be grossly overrated, Presence the most underrated and HOTH
the most controversial.
Incidentally, I think I'll always be a little disturbed by these guys'
personal history. The Stones had nothing on these guys for sleazy activities.
Think about it - I don't recall any of them vehemently DENYING the stuff
written about them in Hammer of the Gods - but they were sure pissed that
somebody wrote about it.
Jonathan Hutzley <johutz7r@gwis2.circ.gwu.edu> (12.12.2000)
In general, I can understand and sympathize with your complaints concerning
Led Zeppelin, especially concerning the lyrics. However, there are three
divisions in my mind as to why people like the bands they like: their ability
to play music, their ability to write great lyrics, and their ability to
play music AND write great lyrics. Those bands/artists that can consistently
do the latter of these (play music AND write lyrics) are the true paragons
of rock/pop. Of course, those would be The Beatles, The Who, The Stones
(alright, so much of their lyrics are on the same subject, but they do
it really really well), The Doors, maybe Pink Floyd and U2, and a few others.
Then there are those artists that people (or at least I) listen to for
their ability to write great lyrics. Chief among these, of course is Bob
Dylan, but there's also Bruce Springsteen (my personal favorite artist),
Neil Young, Peter Gabriel, possibly Tom Petty, and so forth.
lastly, there are those artists that I listen to primarily for their musical
prowress. At the top of that list are Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix. Jimi's
such an obvious choice that I won't belabor the point, especially considering
the fact this is a comment for the Led Zeppelin page. I don't know about
any of you, but when have you really ever listened to Led Zeppelin for
their lyrics? I mean, they are almost besides the point. That's not to
say that they shouldnt be taken to task for their failures in this realm.
However, I think Led Zeppelin is the one band that was able to rise above
their sometimes banal lyrics with their sheer musical ability. I have often
considered Jimmy Page to be the second greatest guitarist behind Jimi.
John Bonham, although he lacked some of the finesse of a Mitch Mitchell
or even Keith Moon, was nonetheless an extremely talented drummer who inspired
a legion of imitators. John Paul Jones' reticience from the spotlight could
not hide the fact that perhaps he was the musical genius of the band who
could pretty much play any instrument. Lastly, although Robert Plant's
vocal style can grate on my ears if I'm not in the mood, there's no denying
the fact that he inspired every hard rock/heavy metal frontman after him.
Thus, for their musical talent alone, I think Led Zeppelin should have
been given a four, much like Jimi was more or less for his prodigious musical
talent. After all, musically, Led Zeppelin basically pumped out six nearly
perfect albums from I through Physical Graffiti. (The occasional
"In the Light" notwithstanding) However, I'm not set on fire
by Led Zeppelin so much that I'm not willing to understand why you gave
them a three. Just wanted to add in my 3 cents worth. Thanks for letting
me "ramble on" a little. :)
David Lyons <d.t.lyons@btinternet.com> (15.12.2000)
Y'know, you'd save yourself a tonne of grief if you scored bands out of ten - the vast majority of incoherent complaints seemingly convinced you'd awarded them three out that same total, rather than out of five. No, I'm not particularly a fan either, although I have been known to enjoy the odd song (to the person who asserted that no two zep songs sound alike - hello? Did I miss something? If the albums didn't have different covers I'd be hard pushed to differentiate). However, although it physically pains me to type it, they did have the edge over The Who in one department. Drummers. No, no, no, stay your itching fists a moment and leave my head unpummelled, I don't mean bonzo was better Keith, far from it. I mean that they had the decency to split up the very day after bonzo's untimely demise, rather than replacing him with the trap rattling equivalent of David Gilmour (dentistry not being confined to guitars - just as proficient, but equally lacking in verve or impromptu inspiration). Okay, so they later recanted their split in pursuit of the pound, dollar, yen, franc, deustchmark and vietnamese dong, but lets not deny them their moment of touching humanity and solidarity, eh? Okay, you can hit me now. Oh and I'd give them 3.5 (I personally agree with the 3, but, given the legions of adoring masses, I have the nagging feeling I'm missing something - something that has to be worth a half a mark)
Year Of Release: 1968
Record rating = 10
Overall rating = 13
Heavy blues at its most uncompromised, sharp, bombastic, precise
and hard-hitting. Wow!
Best song: YOU SHOOK ME
Along with King Crimson's In The Court Of The Crimson King, this
is probably the only debut album by any band I'm familiar with that far
surpasses anything the band would put out since. I know that fans usually
prefer III or IV, and some fans don't even care much for
this debut album at all, but they're all nuts.
Unlike the Beatles, Led Zeppelin committed a revolution in rock only once.
Since then, all they were doing was securing its results. But the beginning,
and the major breakthrough, can only be found here. The heaviest album
up to that point (although certainly inspired a lot by Jeff Beck's Truth),
it's also hard-hitting and precise, if you know what I mean. All of the
band's good sides are there, and most of their bad sides haven't even yet
begun to show through.
Let's see. Side one features the most fantastic, awesome sequence of three
songs they ever managed to put together side by side. Although the album
begins with the rather throwaway 'Good Times Bad Times', with a silly pop
melody dressed in heavy chords, it's followed by the magnificent acoustic
ballad 'Babe I'm Gonna Leave You', an original and improvisatory rendition
of some traditional ballad, where for the first time we have Plant introducing
the 'human factor' that plagued his work ever since. What I actually mean
is the way Plant sings most of his parts: stuttering, wavering, inserting
lots of (quite often pointless) interjections, 'ah-ahs', 'oh-ohs' and suchlike.
In just a couple of years this would become totally unbearable, with songs
ruined and my personal patience abused, but here it works out just fine.
The ballad might be their finest, with Robert finding the perfect compromise
between hope and total despair of his personage. The gruff rhythmwork in
the middle only accentuates it, and the acoustic guitars throughout are
just marvelous. Strange enough, people usually quote III as the
beginning of Page's passion for folk; in my opinion, 'Babe I'm Gonna Leave
You' is much more effective than any of the 'folk' tunes on that album.
And the coda, with Plant's last wailing 'I... said... that's when... it's
calling me... baaack... hooooooooooooooooome...', and the plaintive little
chord at the end, is stunning. Nowhere, on no other Led Zep song will you
find such passion and care.
Heigh-ho! Next comes 'You Shook Me', a dazzling, head-spinning version
of some undistinguished classic blues tune. Jeff Beck did it on his Truth
album (with Rod Stewart on lead vocal), but you can see where it's most
effective. The band sounds like an immaculate, totally perfected, stone-heavy
(er, 'lead-heavy', to be exact) machine: Bonzo's thumping drumming and
Jones's spooky, 'prolongated' bass lines set the pattern, while Plant demonstrates
some of the most uncompromisedly raunchy singing (for 1968, at least),
and Jimmy almost mocks him by imitating every single change in intonation
on his guitar. The organ, harmonica and guitar solos are breath-taking
just as well, and the song closes with well-constructed vocal/guitar battle
that's sure to get you going. Again - never again would they achieve such
a fantastic, meticulous level of perfection!
Without any breaks at all we segue into the classic 'Dazed And Confused',
with some more examples of the band's early sharp, crystal clear and immaculate
sound. I like it prolongated, like on live versions; but the original is
brilliant as well, and, being the heaviest track on the album, it was probably
the heaviest song of the Sixties. The lyrics are hogwash, but the melody
is catchy, and the instrumentation is as good as can be. And, for those
of you who like the hard groove, there's a furious fast part with Bonzo
throwing in elephantic drum lines and Jimmy going like a madman. Moreover,
it's the first (and next to last) example of the bowed guitar on a Led
Zep album. The sound of bowed guitar on live versions is often unbearable
(that's the only weak point with live versions), but here it's just weird.
It's alright. Note, though, that all of the three mentioned compositions
don't really have much to do with Led Zeppelin: even 'Dazed And Confused',
although credited to Jimmy Page, was an old Yardbirds tune ripped off from
some old blues number. So their main strength is the arrangement
and the atmosphere they insert into the songs. Not the melodies.
Anyway, these three songs alone make the record such a terrific razzle-dazzle
that I give it a 10 without much afterthought. None of the other songs
even come close to this glorious triumvirate, but none of them are nasty,
either. Even the closing 'How Many More Times', a rather pedestrian blues
shuffle, goes down well, with more bowed guitar, Plant's wailings and a
mad mid section. 'Communication Breakdown' is breaknecky, 'Black Mountain
Side' is a gentle pretty acoustic easterny suite (more folk for you folks
who rave about III), 'I Can't Quit You Baby' is yet another fine
blues number, although certainly not as polished as the far superior 'You
Shook Me', and 'Your Time Is Gonna Come' is an okay throwaway despite some
mighty fine church organ playing by Jones in the beginning. All of these
numbers are listenable, but they really add little to the masterpieces.
Ne'er mind, though. If you're going for diversity (like me), this is not
the band you're aiming at. But if you dig the style heartily, you're sure
to rave and rant all over the LP/CD until you're nearly breathless. Just
bear in mind: they never got any better than this, regardless of what all
'em critics say. They had songs which came close, but albums? All
rip-offs of their first record. Let's move on!
How many more times do I have to ask you to mail your ideas?
Your worthy comments:
Marco Ursi <zeppelinwho@hotmail.com> (23.08.99)
You hit it right on the button with this review. Well, almost. I definitely rank this as the best studio album Zep recorded. It's not so much the individual songs, it's the whole album. It's very difficult to explain. The overall sound is fantastic. The remixing and remastering did wonders. Bonzo's drumming shines on "Good Times, Bad Times" and pretty much throughout the entire album, Jimmy proves why he's considered one of the greats on the two blues tunes ("You Shook Me" and "I Can't Quit You Baby") plus the speedy solo in "Dazed and Confused", Mr. Jones' organ solo in "You Shook Me" is tremendous and his bass playing is solid throughout. And Plant is Plant. Wait, no Plant sounds better on this album than any other. The only quarrel I have with your review is your choice for best song. Sure, I like "You Shook Me" but it is only a blues tune after all. The honours should have gone to "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You". But everyone's entitled to their own opinion, even if it's not the right one (ie. MINE)
Nick Karn <glassmoondt@yahoo.com> (09.11.99)
Not exactly their greatest album in my opinion, but certain aspects
here would never be topped in the future again. The overall vocal passion
and desperation (yep, Plant deteriorated after this album) and tremendously
heavy acoustic breakdowns of "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" used
to be my favorite on the album, but I think the towering "Dazed And
Confused" (which features one of my favorite guitar solos of all time
- what a buildup!) and the dramatic "How Many More Times" (even
if it is essentially a ripoff of some old blues song, I love it - that
middle section is killer) are probably tied for my favorites. "Your
Time Is Gonna Come" and "Black Mountain Side" are more intimate
great moments that showcase successful attempts at diversity, while "Good
Times Bad Times" and "Communication Breakdown" (despite
weak and immature lyrics) are worthy rockers because of the great riffing
and soloing by Page.
As far as the two Willie Dixon covers, "You Shook Me" has a truly
memorable solo section (Plant on harmonica, Jones on organ, and Page on
guitar - what more do you need?) but the rest of the song does nothing
for me, and "I Can't Quit You Baby" (despite an amazing display
of drum fills by Bonham) is on the whole average. So it's because of those
weaknesses I can't give it a 10, so a 9 seems perfect for me.
Matt Reyes <No1Yanks23@aol.com> (25.02.2000)
This is the best Led Zeppelin album ever. I used to think Led Zep
IV was the best but this is definitly it. Unlike you I love 'Good Times
Bad Times'. The guitar interacts great with bonzo's drumming (does the
bass drum roll he does throughout this song only shine on the remastered
copies because its the best part of the song). 'Babe I'm Gonna Leave You'
is another great song and outshines almost all of Zeps acoustic. Everything
but 'Over the Hills and Far Away' from Houses of the Holy. 'You
Shook Me' is one of the best solos ever (Harmonica, Organ and that Great
Guitar). But I think it doesnt compare to 'I Can't Quit You Baby'. 'Dazed
and Confused' is abvouisly well known and the solo is great. 'Your Times
is Gonna Come' is an okay song but the worst on the album. 'Black Mountain
Side' is a nice 2 minute instrumental. 'Communication Breakdown' is a great
song (It shows early signs of the start of heavy metal as well, I know
you hate that). 'I Can't Quit You Baby' is probably the best Zep song besides
'Stairway to Heaven'. I like blues with this structure better, slow with
one line sung (very well i might add) and then a great guitar lick. And
then repeating that and doing guitar licks in between, thats what I think
is the best kind of blues (I.E. Stevie Ray Vaughn). The last song 'How
Many More Times', is another great track where Bonham's drumming is extraordinary.
Even if this track is a little to long it ends what is one of the best
albums ever.
Record: 10
Overall: 15
Ashwin Mani <ashwinkm@netzero.net> (04.03.2000)
Led Zep were the greatest band of all time- and this is my favourite album- they never managed to get that eerie tone that they achieved in this album ever again - Plant has a very distinctive voice- love it or hate it one must agree that it is different from any other singer that you've heard - and I think that it was one of the reasons that Led Zeppelin was different - other wise they would have just be a great heavy meatl band- credit must go to plant though he did change his voice in the albums to come - he sounds totally different on physical graffiti(although I prefer his earlier voice-maybe his voice broke!)but I have never heard another band perform aanything like 'babe im gonna leave you' which I think is one of the most amazing songs I have heard - the dynamics of light and shade as Page would say- there are countless heavy metal bands with countless heavy metal songs but not one single song comes close to the monster of them all 'whole lotta love' and plant screaming loooooove! Black sabbath and deep purple have been copied hundreds of times but there are countless songs like 'into the void' or 'highway star' but people have only tried copying led zep there is nobody who can perform 'dazed and confused' or 'kashmir' or 'Dyer maker' for example which is why I think zep are great- I agree people have tried to copy their attitudes and their styles but no one can copy their music - Led zep themselves couldnt do it if they were still there today and Plant and page definitely cant - even with jones- because it is just not the same without bonham - Long live Led Zeppelin and its music!
Fredrik Tydal <f_tydal@hotmail.com> (05.03.2000)
At first listen, I thought this album great. Yes, I was blown away by the magnificent trio of "Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You", "You Shook Me", and "Dazed And Confused". I guess I let those great songs override my judgement on the rest of the album. So, on the second listen I was not that impressed by the whole album anymore - even thought it had to be overrated. But, then, on further listens I came to my senses about the album and recognized the greatness of the first side while admitting the quality of certain parts of the second side. So, in the end, this is a solid album and a somewhat impressive debut. I would probably give it 7.5 or 8 out of 10.
Stadelman <mkstad@netzero.net> (09.06.2000)
Zep's debut is my favorite as well. This is one of those discs that sound excellent through headphones, particularly the opener 'Good Times Bad Times'. One aspect of this album that makes it unique is that Jimmy played his Yardbird-era Telecaster on the non-acoustic tunes, as opposed to the Les Paul and double-neck Gibson used on later recordings. I don't know much of anything about "gee-tars", but do like his tone on this one the most. 'Dazed And Confused' gets my vote as top song based on it's bass-enhanced ability to get my apartment shaking like it's on a giant-sized version of those 1950's vibration-based football games (does that make sense to anyone?). By the way, on the subject of debuts, The Cars never bettered theirs either.
Rich Bunnell <taosterman@yahoo.com> (01.09.2000)
Somebody played this album in my art class today as background music while everyone was drawing, and though as a result I can't connect a single tune to its name except for "You Shook Me," I'd have to say that my ears were listening and I was definitely impressed. The songs go on for a bit long, but the band already had a distinct, appealing style which made most of the songs both crunchy and catchy at the same time. As I said, I can't really name any other songs aside from aforementioned rock masterpiece, but my other favorite was probably that one that begins with the church organ intro. So I'm not being very helpful, not knowing song titles and all. But doesn't it say a lot in the first place that I was this impressed? A nine.
Joel Larsson <joel.larsson@privat.utfors.se> (03.10.2000)
Bought this record today, and listen through it right now, and hey! What a record! I only owned IV before, and I thought it just couldn't be better, but whoa! That Willie Dixon songs really shakes me, funny or not. And "Dazed and confused" is... and so on, so on. I'm listening to song #8 (Can't quit you baby) and the only quite weak song is "Your time is gonna come", but quite frankly I seldom likes ballads at the first listening. Now the 9th and last song begun. You who own the record know whats happening with me. Shakin' to much to press the right buttons on. So longgg.....
<EBDIGSIT@gateway.net> (06.10.2000)
I waver back and forth between LZ 1, LZ 2, and Physical Gaffitti as my personal favorite. Most often I'd have to give the nod to Led Zeppelin 1 ...it's an impressive record...it generally gets the nod because it contains two of my top four or five Zep songs..."How Many More Times" and "Dazed and Confused" are just brilliant....and they are bonafided foundation shakers, featuring Page riff-ology at perhaps it's best...Oh Rosie, this stuff is good....and then there's still "Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You", "Communication Breakdown" and Page's explosive solo on "You Shook Me". The rest ain't too bad either I must say..., even my least favorite "I Can't Quit You Baby" has its moments. This record must be played often and LOUD!!
Dag Larsson <dag.larsson@privat.utfors.se> (17.10.2000)
This might be the best Led Zeppelin ever did. And they recorded this godblessed record in only 10 hours! Just had to say this. Nobody else seems to know this detail about the album.
Jeff Melchior <Jeffmoncheri@aol.com> (01.12.2000)
Hate to say it, but the blues stuff bores the bejeebers outta me, and unfortunately, with this record, there isn't a whole lot otherwise. i really like 'Good Times, Bad Times' and 'Babe'... 'Your Time'... is a great breakup/revenge song. 'Love Communication Breakdown' - one of the few truly metal songs Zep ever performed.
Year Of Release: 1969
Record rating = 8
Overall rating = 11
Plant is already obnoxious, and Page is already satanic, but there's
still enough gas left. If you don't count all the rip-offs, of course.
Best song: WHOLE LOTTA LOVE
Well, there you go. They took that 'Dazed And Confused' heavy vibe and
milked it all through the album. It's so chock-full of riff-infested, dirty-sounding,
heavy rockers that any sissy pop lover will get a headache halfway through.
They're good, though. Gotta warn you, however, that some of the melodies,
not to mention lyrics, are certainly stolen - in fact, Led Zep II
probably holds the Zep record for uncredited rip-offs, as on all of the
bluesy numbers on here they successfully nip something off their betters
and as far as I remember, they were sued for both 'Whole Lotta Love'
and 'The Lemon Song', but ultimately, who cares? At least most of the riffs
were thought of by Page himself.
Thus, the opening 'Whole Lotta Love' is a dang classic about getting an
orgasm in full speed (er, maybe you dudes can find other connotations.
I can't at the moment), with quite a lot of these famous thingamajigs:
the famous riff that practically embodies heavy metal, the famous solo,
the famous wailing theramin passages, the famous orgasm-imitating part,
the famous smutty lyrics, er, well, there's so much famous about the guys
I think I need not discuss the song any more. It's been overplayed on the
radio, of course (like ninety percent of Led Zep stuff), but I wouldn't
know. I never listen to radio. Why do I have to depend on stupid programmers
when I can determine my own choice? Damn the radio! (As you can see, my
dislike of certain sides of Led Zep doesn't come from my overexposure to
them. I don't hate 'The Song Remains The Same' because it's been overplayed.
I just think it sucks, that's all).
Apart from that, you get your average misogynistic rocker with a riff that
sounds incredibly dumb when you first hear it but later you find yourself
so attracted to it it becomes really hard to get rid of it in your head
('Heartbreaker'); your average fast heavy rocker ('Living Loving Maid');
and your average slow heavy blues number - 'The Lemon Song', which is really
a medley of old blues fragments... well, 'medley' is not the proper word
here. Maybe 'pizza' would be better? Mind you, all of them are good! They're
bouncy, catchy and exciting, even if they all have the same guitar tone.
Yup.
The album even goes as far as to feature a magnificent ballad: 'What Is
And What Should Never Be' is, in my humble opinion, one of the few pretentious
ballads which they manage to pull off without sounding too, well, pretentious.
By that time Plant got totally immersed in Tolkien lyrics, which for the
most part ended up sounding like some bad fantasy writer's exercises in
providing his faceless characters with poetic excourses ('Battle Of Evermore'
is the climax, but it didn't stop at that). However, on 'What Is' the bad
lyrics are fully compensated with a brilliant memory and a guitar solo
of an exquisite gentleness never to be replicated again. The 'screaming'
part is not as good, but it still holds out.
Unfortunately, the other four tracks kinda suck, and in a bad way at that.
The other two ballads is the kind of faceless, nonsensical schlock the
band would soon be putting out in loads: 'Thank You' is egotistic and fake,
with lyrics that still make me fidget my feet in nervous distress ('Happiness,
no more be sad/Happiness, I'm glad') and a melody fit for Mr Humperdinck;
and 'Rambling On' just has no reason to exist in view of 'What Is...':
it has a worse melody, worse lyrics, but shares the same mood and subject.
Why? Curse me if I know. I can't stand the screaming either.
Bonham's solo spot 'Moby Dick' starts out fine, with yet another great
heavy riff taken from yet another old bluesy tune whose origins can be
found on BBC Sessions ('The Girl I Know She Got Long Black Wavy
Hair', I think that was the name?), but then degenerates into a boring
drum solo. I don't feel there was any serious need for drum solos after
Ginger Baker's 'Toad' (whose structure 'Moby Dick' replicates minutely),
which was, moreover, far superior technically; and Bonham vulgarizes his
Keith Moon legacy, 'cause Moon never did drum solos. Of course, compared
to the twelve minute version on The Song Remains The Same, this
is still a great number.
Finally, the album finishes on a horrendous note: 'Bring It On Home' boasts
a superb muddy production, with the band apparently trying to recreate
some kind of old Delta record. To do so, they make Plant sing while holding
his harmonica in his mouth (well, I couldn't say for sure, but sounds like
it), and the effect is ridiculous: if you want to listen to some authentic
Fourties blues, go and buy a Fourties record. Ew. What a great start and
what a letdown in the end.
Nevertheless, I still give the record an 8 because I feel it deserves it.
The obnoxiousness level is high, but the overbloated pretentiousness still
isn't there, and the blues legacy still hasn't been completely forgotten,
even if it sure is overabused, and Jimmy was still 'normal' at the time,
without too much Crowley influence. For many, too, this is Led Zep's crowning
moment, because as a transitional moment between the 'hardcore blues period'
and the 'later mystical period' it manages to combine some of the elements
of both and thus stands out as a defining statement in the whole metal
movement. But unfortunately, the uncredited rip-offs, the dirty production,
the obnoxious all-encompassing screaming and the ridiculous ballads, not
to mention derivative drum solos, prevent me from rating it as high as
the debut, even if you should definitely count me the last person to underestimate
its historical importance.
Bring it on home! Mail your ideas!
Your worthy comments:
John McFerrin <stoo@imsa.edu> (11.05.99)
Heh, I like the early comment about sissy-pop lovers getting a headache halfway through, cos that's exactly what happened to me the first few times I tried listening to this (in my pre Live at Leeds days, of course). Anyways, yeah, 'Bring it On Home' is very blech. And 'Moby Dick' bores, just like any drum solo. I guess that's why I like Keith Moon so much; he managed to impress without resorting to those damn solos. Back to the album. I really, really like 'Ramble On'. And 'Heartbreaker' is cool, even if it's not the greatest piece of song-writing in the world.
Simon Hearn <simon@leehearn.freeserve.co.uk> (09.09.99)
I have to disagree with your marking here, I'm afraid. This is the equal (if not better relation) of led zep 4. Zep 2 has better, rawer songs and the energy level is sky high. Any album that can start with THE stellar opening track 'whole lotta love' has to have respect! 'Heartbreaker' and 'Ramble on' are fine songs. I guess my main reason for liking this over zep 4 is that it contains less of the folky stuff that bogs down zep 4 (Battle of Evermore). Oh, and I like 'Moby Dick' too.
Nick Karn <glassmoondt@yahoo.com> (09.11.99)
Hmm... I guess it's the fashionable trend on every review site I've
seen to give this one an 8 because of it's 'muddy' sound, the 'crappy'
ballads, and the 'boring' drum solo. If you ask me, if any Zep album can
be defined as 'muddy' it's gotta be III. I mean, even if "Hats
Off To Roy Harper" is a joke, it's still AWFUL unfocusedness. At least
"Bring It On Home" makes up for its' intro (which is actually
amusing) by turning into an excellent closing rocker. As for "Whole
Lotta Love", it's been said before... this could very well be the
greatest achievement in the Zep catalog, or at least one of them. And yeah,
I actually like the lyrics and melody to "What Is And What Should
Never Be" (a true classic) and "Thank You" (which may not
be sincere, but is still majestic in its' atmosphere - I can truly picture
'mountains crumbling into the sea' listening to it).
And people don't call this one of the best bass albums of all time for
nothing - just listen to "The Lemon Song" (or anything else here
for that matter, but PARTICULARLY this song) and try to deny Jones. These
guys were definitely at their best doing 'evil' interpretations of the
blues. It's also a testament to the talent of Page and Bonham on "Heartbreaker"
and "Moby Dick" respectively as they are able to solo on their
respective instruments and not bore me for a single second, but rather
leave me in awe of their respective talent.
And as for the rest of the tracks, I like the way "Ramble On"
makes the transition from gentle ballad to rocker (quite a solid song)
and "Livin Loving Maid", while probably the only relatively uninteresting
track here, has a snappy riff and is at least direct and short. Doesn't
detract from the album's status at all... I'll have to give this one a
10.
Matt Reyes <No1Yanks23@aol.com> (08.02.2000)
Ok... I would give this record a 9. overall its a 14 because I think
Zep is the best ever. I agree with most of the comments, but I really like
'Thank You' and 'Ramble On'. I do feel that the last verse in 'Thank You'
(where they repeat the first verse) should not be there and would be better
without it. 'Ramble on', I love the chorus because theres a big climax
to it. 'Moby Dick', of course, should not be there unless they made the
drum solo about 3 times shorter. 'Heartbreaker' is of course great. 'Living
Loving Maid' is short and sweet. I happen to like 'Bring it on Home', its
a good way to end the album. So my review is
Record: 9
Overall: 14
Philip Maddox <slurmsmckenzie@hotmail.com> (06.07.2000)
Yipes! I wasn't too impressed by this record. Every metalhead seems
to love it, and lots of people rave about how it's one of Zep's best albums.
Personally, I think there are only 2 absolute classics here - 'Heartbreaker'
and 'Living Loving Maid' are glorious hard rock with great guitar, awesome
riffs, and a good melody, even if the lyrics are somewhat iffy. Elsewhere,
I like 'Ramble On' because of it's geeky Tolkien lyrics and nice folky
melody. The rest of this album is kinda patchy. 'Thank You' simply refuses
to stick to my ears no matter how many times I listen to it. 'The Lemon
Song' just sounds pieced together to me - not bad, but not great. 'Bring
It On Home' is pointless blues - like the first album, only not as good.
And I know it's considered a classic, but I've never cared for 'Whole Lotta
Love'. The opening riff is ok, but that middle section makes me wanna punch
somebody. It's just uninspired noisemaking. And sure, the song is famous
for being about sex, but so are lots of songs that came both before and
after this. I never feel the need to listen to this. But then again, everyone
else seems to love it. I'd rather listen to Black Sabbath's Paranoid
to be honest. As for Zep records, give me IV any day. I'd give this a 5.
P.S. I gave this a 5? I must have been in a particularly Zep-bashin' mood
that day. I've listened to it quite a bit lately and think it deserves
at least a high 7, maybe even a low 8. 'Whole Lotta Love' still doesn't
do too much for me, but 'The Lemon Song', 'Thank You', 'What Is' and 'Bring
It' all sound a whole lot better than I remembered. 'Heartbreaker' and
'Livin Lovin Maid' are still my favorites on here, though.
<EBDIGSIT@gateway.net> (15.10.2000)
This was the first Zeppelin album I think I ever heard...My dad owned
this one (the only Zep he had, he was more into the Allman Bros.)...anyway,
I remember looking at the gatefold brown jacket when I was a little kid....
this record is almost defies any unbiased comment I can make, so I won't
review it...but I'll make some comments anyway, for what it's worth....I
love this record, though I hestate to call it my current favorite...These
days, I tend to gravitate towards either LZ 1 or Physical Graffiti..."Whole
Lotta Love" is a great groove, or is that grind...the riff is just
classic. However, the middle freak-out section could be edited a bit...I
tend to like noise making, but I think the song would benefit if the 'middle'
section was a bit shorter. I just love "What Is and Should Never Be"
and "Ramble On"...I think two of their best ever songs and my
faves on the records...their penchant for being able to shift soothly and
quickly from acoustic chug to very 'plugged in' electrification, really
shines here. Jone's bass paying on "Ramble" is really terrific.
"Heartbreaker" is a working definition of 'hard' rock and the
Page 'acapella' solo is deliciously 'dirty'. "Living Loving Maid",
"Thank You", and "Bring It On Home" are all good to
ok, but a step below the perviously mentioned songs. "Moby Dick"?...hummm...I
have a mixed opinion of this one...I really dig Page's fat, dumb riff....
it's like one of those dumb but great Toni Iommi-Sabbath riffs. But recorded
drum solos that last more than say, 30 seconds, I just lose interest quick...whether
it's Ginger Baker, Neil Peart, or the peerless John Bonham. Bonham's a
super drummer, but Page's riff is the only reason I give "Moby Dick"
a listen. Ringo Starr's 'solo' at the end of Abbey Road may be my
favorite drum solo on record--short, simple, and punchy. Finally, John
Paul Jones turns a routine blues/boogie "The Lemon Song", into
head-bobbing bass candy...gotta love it!!!! ..Forget the "juice squeezing"
and give me The Funk...Go Jonesy, Go Jonesy, Go Jonesy....
Anyway, a great record....
<MattBeas@aol.com> (16.10.2000)
I agree with the fellow above this email... Led Zeppelin 2 or
the "Brown Bomber" ROCKS!! And describing what Jones did on the
'Lemon Song' as head bobbing bass candy!! That has to be the best description
I have ever heard for his playing on that song. I was listening to that
tune just today.. before I even saw this email and I was thinking how good
the bass sounds on that song. Such cool stuff. I agree .... Go Jonesy!!
One thing that I always notice about this record, especially when I have
not listened to it for a while, is that the music just explodes off the
album. I mean when you have been listening to other music for a while and
then you put this on, especially the album opener "Whole Lotta Love",
it is almost shocking to the way the song gets right in your face. I mean
the riff is great, but what about the drum sound!! Oh brother.. I mean
it sounds like Bonham is hitting the drums with a baton. But he sounds
precise as well. I get the same sensation when I hear the last half of
'Bring it On Home' and Page starts with the guitar riff. It just flies
of the record!! I don't understand the criticisms of the production of
this album. I mean Page, Bonham, Plant and Jones are great musicians, but
as producer Page deserves credit for creating the immediacy of this album.
I mean it was recorded while the band was tearing it up on the road in
69' and it is a raw and thick and almost desperate sounding album (Page's
unaccompanied solo on 'Heartbreaker' is good example of what I mean ).
But I mean that in a good way... almost as if the band were playing for
their lives. I guess some people don't like the somewhat muddy production,
but I think that is what Page was shooting for.
Finally, I don't understand some of the references to "ripping off"
old blues artists and the lack of song-writing skills and arranging versus
song-writing in the review and some of the e-mails. Firstly, let me say
that to not acknowledge using someone's riff or chord progression or whatever
is not cool. And for that I must say that Page used some questionable judgement.
But let's be honest, they were not the only band guilty of this. And I
have heard the original version of "you need love" written by
Willie Dixon, and while he should have been acknowledged... the Zep version
sounds totally different. But beyond all this... would it make any difference
in the way the music sounds if they had credited these musicians?? I once
heard someone describe the band this way ... Zeppelin is based in the blues..
but the guitars sound like they are from Mars. Page played loads of cool
riffs (most of which are his own....which some people have ripped off from
him!!!) in an exciting and innovative way.
I doesn't really matter whether Page and Plant were great songwriters or
great arrangers or whatever. I mean if you write great riffs, why wouldn't
you use lots of repetition. The music stands for itself. If you make great
music by synthesizing multiple influences and by combining it in a real
interesting and new way, isn't that every bit as impressive as being a
great songwriter?? I mean the light and shade elements of Zep's music are
by themselves a testament to the band's greatness. Their combination of
acoustic and electric sounds were absolutely brilliant. I don't say that
the Beatles were not a great band because they don't have loads of great
guitar solos in their music, or that they don't have Zep's dynamic light
and shade colourings. It's a totally different style. I happen to think
both bands are great.
Fredrik Tydal <f_tydal@hotmail.com> (25.11.2000)
Don't know about that 8... This album has never done much for me. Sure, there's "Whole Lotta Love" - great riff, of course; but the song would benefit from a shorter mid-section. But what were the guys thinking (or smoking?) when they did "The Lemon Song"?! Such a shameless rip-off of one of Howlin' Wolf's most famous numbers, with Robert Johnson's trade-mark lemon squeeze ripped off and thrown in for good measure. Did they think they could get away with anything? I have actually been thinking about this recently; what made Page and Plant so nonchalantly borrow and steal other people's material? Perhaps they were really trying to live the blues and fully assimilate its traditions. You know, borrowing and interpretating other performers' material were a central thing in the blues. You learnt songs from other people, added your own touches and made it your own. It's no secret that many Willie Dixon composition are just re-worked blues standards, which were just attributed to Dixon as he copyrighted them. Howlin' Wolf's "Sitting On Top Of The World" is just a standard folk blues melody, Muddy Waters' "Rollin' And Tumblin'" can be fully traced to a Robert Johnson song... The list goes on. So, perhaps Led Zeppelin were just following in the footsteps of the old blues masters - borrowing, adding their own ingredients to the mix and eventually making it into their own. That's my take on it, anyway. However, back to the album; I have to say that I prefer Bonham's "Moby Dick" to Baker's "Toad". Sure, ol' Ginger should have credit for pionjeering the extended drum solo, but I simply find "Moby Dick" more enjoyable (or rather less offensive). The riff in "Moby Dick" is better, even it was "borrowed" from Sleepy John Estes, and most importantly; it's shorter. However, don't get me started on that Bonham showcase in the Song Remains The Same film... The album gets a seven from me. Cool that it actually was released in the Sixties, though; who else sounded like this in 1969? Not Grand Funk Railroad, I'll tell you.
Jason McDaniel <jnmcda0@yahoo.com> (09.12.2000)
I'd give this album a 9. "Whole Lotta Love" and "Ramble On" are great. "Thank You" and "What is and What should Never Be" are classics as well. "Heartbreaker" and "Living Loving Maid" are okay as stand-alones, but when you play them back-to-back, they are awesome.
Year Of Release: 1970
Record rating = 7
Overall rating = 10
Don't get me wrong: this is not the beginning of the end, this is
just a lot of failed experimentation.
Best song: SINCE I'VE BEEN LOVING YOU
Well, there you go again! Further on down the road, they took
that 'Babe I'm Gonna Leave You' folk vibe and milked it all through the
album. Which eventually resulted in an 'elite fan' favourite and in my
personal disappointment. Page and Plant were probably getting bored of
having to fight off old bluesmen lawsuits all the time - not that these
lawsuits ever cured them of appropriating the songs' writing credits (I'm
quite sure that fat old manager, Peter Grant, had quite a lot to do with
the idea), but perhaps they spurred them on onto actually writing more
material themselves: Led Zep III is clearly 'self-dominated' in
that respect, with just a few blatant rip-offs like 'Hats Off To
(Roy) Harper' or 'Since I've Been Loving You' sticking out. Unfortunately,
that only makes the main problem stick out even more: these guys just didn't
have the songwriting magic to make any of their more 'melodic' compositions
true timeless classics. They write pretty acoustic melodies which are
existent - I can't accuse 'Tangerine' or 'That's The Way' of being umelodic
- but I can't bring myself to feeling the 'magic spice' in them. It is
quite possible that the main stumbling-block is not even the playing or
the production, but Plant's voice, that whiny pretentious cock-rocking
intonation that he manages to bring even into the most sensitive of ballads.
Whatever be, there is a stumbling-block here, it's just getting
hard to distinguish it clearly, a stumbling-block which takes out the 'majestic
mystical ballads' word combination out of my mouth and tends to replace
it with 'boring folk crap'. In any case, I suppose even the most rabid
Zep fans couldn't disagree with me in that nothing on here even comes close
to the power and emotional force of 'Babe I'm Gonna Leave You'.
For me, the album contains one absolute classic - the lengthy, slow,
noodling blues 'Since I've Been Loving You', and need I tell you the melody
is stolen as well (the classic Otis Rush song 'Double Trouble' is what
comes on my mind immediately, but not being a great blues specialist, I'm
sure there've been even closer sounding predecessors). Nevertheless, the
little plaintive chord sequences in between verses are enough to redeem
it completely. Just get Robert to sing instead of stuttering
('...working from seven, seven, seven to eleven eleven eleven...' - is
this supposed to sound, ahem, realistic?) and you get yourself a
tune worthy of Led Zep I. Hell, I even appreciate the powerful blues
solo, despite the fact that it's the typical kind of soloing appropriated
by Eighties' hair metal since then and rendered worthless and generic.
Unfortunately, the rest of the material ranges from merely good to merely
passable to plain crappy. The only true heavy number on here is the radio
hit 'Immigrant Song', a fast metal number with Sabbathy vocals and aggressive
viking lyrics. The riff is good, fast and powerful, but the song itself
inspired so many vomit-inducing metal rip-offs that I can't listen to it
without visions of 80's hair metal coming to my mind - again! Listening
to the songs on here really makes me wonder how come so many people think
that Led Zeppelin is a unique band in that nobody ever tried, or could
try, to replicate its sound. Fortunately, the song is just about two and
a half minutes long (the very similar 'Achilles' Last Stand' takes up ten,
for Chrissake!) Anyway, if you want a good viking song, 'No Quarter' should
be your bet - that's one number with a real 'Norse' atmosphere.
The other rocker, 'Celebration Day', sounds so paranoid, it gets me all
muddled and mixed up. It isn't a bad song, though, just not a classic:
'Communication Breakdown' made the point much more effectively. But I definitely
like Page's style on that one, playing those flashy flurries of sound like
he's never done before - the riff is perhaps one of the most complex in
Zep's history, and one of the most unpredictable. And 'Out On The Tiles'
is nothing but a generic, throwaway piece of boogie - leave that kind of
crap to Aerosmith or Nazareth.
The rest of the album is almost completely acoustic or acoustic-based,
and that's where the 'acquired taste' element comes in. Some dig all of
these numbers, some select a few, some just disregard them. Me, I'm mixed-up
- I've really grown to a stage where none of these numbers make me feel
sick, except for, possibly, the failed experimentation of 'Friends'. It's
not particuarly a rip-off of Cream's 'As You Said', because the melody
is different, but it's based on the same principle: the interplay between
acoustic guitars and specially distorted, 'ugly' violins (not to mention
Plant's whining throughout). Sometimes I don't mind 'ugliness' in music,
but this isn't any particular kind of ugliness. It's ugliness, that's all,
and my ears can't stand it. And oh so many people in this world are fans
of 'Gallows Pole', but hey, it's just a kind of 'neutral' folk song that
catches your attention in dependance on secondary factors like arrangement,
singing and suchlike. You'll like it if you like Plant's singing style.
If it were sung by Dylan, I'd probably like it, too; as it is, it just
goes on through me leaving no trace. Plant sings the rather realistic and
pessimistic lyrics as if he was still singing about Gollum and 'the evil
one'. Nadah.
The most difficult question is in evaluating the worthiness of 'That's
The Way' and 'Tangerine', the two obviously better ballads on here. Like
I said, I can't complain about the melodies, but something about the songs
just rubs me against the wall. Very significantly at that, and I
do suspect it has a lot to do with Mr Plant - I just don't see his voice
as fit for all those ballads. But that's certainly not an objective statement;
I'll probably have to agree with my opponents in that 'That's The Way'
is a very worthy tune, while 'Tangerine' is still being otherwise marred
by too much banal sentimentalism.
Another general complaint is that all of these songs showcase Page at his
best on acoustic guitar; but all of them set the same mood and atmosphere
of dark 'majesty', which makes the album seem severely monotonous. The
melodies are often worthy, but they all carry us to the same goal: bow
down before the dark majesties. And yeah, Plant's singing is getting more
and more offensive (the ending of 'Gallows Pole', for instance, is simply
untolerable). Even if you're a fan, you'll have to admit his unchanging
vocal style can get on some persons' nerves now and then. It was all right
first time around, but why do we have to go through it again and again
and again?
Oh! What is certainly offensive about the record is the album closer 'Hats
Off To (Roy) Harper'. What the real Roy Harper (a respectable blues/folk
performer) has got to do with this song, I really don't know. Maybe he
was invited to sing it, like Waters did for his 'Have A Cigar'? Come to
think of it, maybe he'd have done good if he did. Because the song itself
is a close replica of 'Bring It On Home', with the same affected vocals
and muddy production. It's a blues, of course, but it's a bad one, maybe
one of their worst efforts in that direction ever.
One good word in defense of the record, though - as much better as the
following album would turn out to be, Led Zep III at least beats
it with the 'intelligence' factor. On one hand, it has no obvious cock
rock anthems like 'Black Dog'; on the other hand, it has the pseudo-mystical
aspect of their career seriously toned down, with all the material being
pretty realistic and no hobbit ditties around. It's still flashy and pretentious,
of course, but I have to give the guys some credit for writing some decent
lyrics and managing to present themselves as a thinking, rational, positive
band rather than a bunch of drug-addled Aleicester Crowley disciples looking
for fuckmeat.
Friends! Mail your ideas! (Just don't crucify me!)
Your worthy comments:
Marco Ursi <zeppelinwho@hotmail.com> (02.05.99)
Sorry man, I love this one. But I can see why you hate it. Upon first
listen, I thought it to be a piece of garbage but it's really grown on
me over time. The folk stuff is awesome. I'll agree with you that Plant's
voice can get very irritating at times but his singing on "Tangerine"
and "That's the Way" is great. And I think "Gallows Pole"
is even better than "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You". Personally, I
believe this to be the band's second best album, right behind the first
one.
I give it an 8, a 9 on certain days.
Mike DeFabio <defab4@earthlink.net> (24.08.99)
Took me a while to like it, but I like it. Those acoustic songs are
GOOD, (long pause) MAN. 'Immigrant Song' may be metal, but I like it anyway
(see my comments on Physical Graffiti to see what I mean.) Actually,
I like all the songs on here, making this, not Physical Graffiti,
my favorite Zeppelin album. See my Physical Graffiti review down
there? Ignore the part where I say it might be my favorite.
A TEN!
Simon Hearn <simon@leehearn.freeserve.co.uk> (09.09.99)
I tend to agree with you on this one, George. Led Zep were ROCKERS not acoustic artists. They should have stuck to what they were best and who knows, they may have produced their finest album if they had done. On a roll, following 2 (in my opinion their best) they might have created their definitive work. I can see why people like this, it is a different side to Zep, but for me it does not cut the mustard.
José Humberto Mesquita Filho <humberto@fcm.unicamp.br> (30.09.99)
You have pointed the easier Led Zeppelin albums to listen: I, II and IV. Houses of the Holy is a more difficult listen, and III and Physical Graffiti are even harder. I don't think that III is their best album (as Prindle does) but I know for sure that it's a very underrated one. In fact, many of Jimmy Page's ressentments with the music press came from they trashing the album - they expected another hard-crunching-screaming-rock-oriented kind of work, but after spending some time in that Bron-Y-Aur place Zeppelin came up with a bunch of folk-oriented songs, and some of them are really great ("Gallows Pole" and "Tangerine" are killers! "That's the way" is kinda gorgeus, but it's one of the most gay songs I've ever heard). So, what do we got? "Immigrant Song" is tremendous, it really matters not the influences it generated; "Friends" is a nice little ditty, and Plant singing "it's very EEEEEAAAAASY" is actually a lot of fun; "Celebration Day" almost makes me horny - just like the Stones' "Honky Tonky Women". You know, "MAA-MAA-MAA-MAA I'M SO HAAPPY!" and then the dan-dun-deeeun riff... this is great music; "Since I've Been Loving You" is one of the most amazing blues pieces in music history - recorded pratically live on studio, with an absolutely improvised guitarwork, and killer vocals! (sorry man, I think Plant was one step ahead of Gillan - but ONLY one); "Out on the tiles" is just OK; "Bron-Y-Aur Stomp" is another fun ditty; "Hats off to Roy Harper" is a weird tune, so weird that I'm glad it's in the end of the album. Therefore, we got one shitty track, two or three OK songs (and by OK I mean: no harm done, but not much of ass-kicking either), and six or seven great songs (some of them orgasmic!). I'm not much into the rating stuff, but an 8 out of 10 is quite fair, and after all, they were a fantastic band - I'm sure I or you or 99% of the population of planet Earth couldn't pull it off better. I can't really play no instrument (just doorbells). So a little more respect, shall we?
Nick Karn <glassmoondt@yahoo.com> (12.11.99)
Not as worthwhile as the first two, but still quite impressive, even though I can't see anyone giving it a 10 for reasons other than "anti-hype" ("it's the least played on the radio!"). I mentioned "Hats Off To (Roy) Harper" in my last comment, and just for that song alone it should be deprived of a point. What an awful mess (an awful mess is a bad thing in this case, as for "When The Levee Breaks", that's a different story) - it's my least favorite Zep song to this point, but don't hold me to that cause I don't have Presence, In Through The Out Door or Coda. Anyway, I'd give this an 8 because in my opinion there are 4 "classics", 3 "very good" songs, and 3 "duffers", as you like to say. And they're spread out all over the album... talk about inconsistency! The classics to my mind are of course the blistering "Immigrant Song" (even if "No Quarter" eventually did it better), the ironically paranoid slidefest "Celebration Day", the dark blues ripoff "Since I've Been Lovin You" (which I didn't care for at first, but now it's one of my faves), and "That's The Way", one of the most beautiful acoustic songs ever written. Meanwhile, "Friends", "Out On The Tiles" and "Tangerine" could be at that level if they each didn't have a specific little defect (distorted violins, WAY too muddy bottom-sounding guitars, and an overly sappy atmosphere respectively). As they are, however, they're good songs. I can't say the same for that horrible closing track, the extremely corny "Bron-Yr-Aur" (Plant, SHUT UP!!), and the dull "Gallows Pole" (an average folk song).
<LedZep3206@aol.com> (21.11.99)
I'm sorry, I do have to crucify you on this review. The album is as
good as any of their previous. If you think that the Rolling Stones' Satanic
Majesties album was as good as their previous albums in the 60s, how
can you not like Led Zeppelin 3? Come on, all these songs are great
(except 'Hats of to (Roy) Harper, which is absolute crap).
[Special author note: the logic
of the Stones/Zep comparison here escapes me. Did the commentator hint
at III being a psychedelic album or something? After all this time,
I firmly stand by my opinion - the Zepsters are very, very average at covering
folk songs. Try, I dunno, the Byrds instead.]
Jeffrey A Morton <whitesnake5@juno.com> (15.06.2000)
I love Zep 3 (like most Zep albums for me) but the problem many people had with it was, when it was first released, it seemed to be some sort of dirty trick. Really. You fill one side with primarily hard rockers, and then lure people into the second side, which is something that, then, Zep fans were not used to. LZ was trying to be CSN&Y and they pulled a fast one over thier buying public. Still think it's great though...
<EBDIGSIT@gateway.net> (15.10.2000)
I really like this one too....a generally underrated collection. With
the notable exception of "Hats Off", the only truly unlistenable
song in the entire Zep cannon, Zep 3 is consistently good and enjoyable.
It's a bit misleading to call this the 'Quiet' Zeppelin album...I think
the first half moves pretty well=not quiet..."Immigrant Song"
,"Celebration Day", and "Out On the Tiles" are all
wonderful rockers. "Tiles" is frequently overlooked cut, unjustly
so...It's a little gem. "Friends" strikes a moody, slightly gothic
mood (a la 'No Quarter')...it doesn't 'rock' in usual sense, but a gentle
acoustic number it is not. "Since I've Been Loving" is a full
blown blooze number...Page really shines here.
The second half is quieter, but we're still not talking James Taylor or
Joan Baez here..."Gallows Pole" and "Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp"
jig and clap along nicely. "Tangerine" and "That's the Way"...are
gentle and genuinely 'pretty'...successful folksy numbers that demonstrate
additional strengths, but not really a new direction...Zeppelin had already
trod on similar ground on LZ 1 (see "Your Time is Gonna Come",
"Black Mountain Side", and even "Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You")
A wonderful record (which I think is better than LZ 4), if not Zep's
best.
Fredrik Tydal <f_tydal@hotmail.com> (25.11.2000)
What's up with the album titles? Who did they think they were - Beethoven? "Zeppelin's Third" - how pretentious isn't that? Oh, well; good album, actually. I think you underrate it a bit. To me, "Immigrant Song" is their best short rocker - a killer riff. I get no visions of Eighties hair metal at all; keep in mind that this was 1970 and rather pionjeering. Total agreement on "Since I've Been Loving You", though. "Gallows Pole" starts out good, but loses it towards the end. However, I have to say there is a fine unity on the album; it really flows all right. Most of the other songs are even and the only real stinker is the closing one, of course. Completely up to par with the previous album and if hard-pressed between the two, I'd choose this one.
Jason McDaniel <jnmcda0@yahoo.com> (09.12.2000)
I have to agree with you on this one. I don't see anything too spectacular on this album, although I do like the "Immigrant Song". I like "Since I've Been Loving You" as well, but I don't rank it among my favorite Zep songs.
Year Of Release: 1971
Record rating = 9
Overall rating = 12
The only thing that redeems this childishly mystique album is that
some of the songs are real good.
Best song: you know, that little ditty about the escalator...
What can I possibly say about the record that hasn't been said before,
as it's one of the most famous albums in rock history? Of course, it doesn't
deserve its reputation which is for the most part due to 'Stairway To Heaven':
the immense popularity of the song dragged the album along with it. It
isn't a bad album, of course, and if there is any such thing as a 'great'
Led Zeppelin album, this is probably their last one. Of course, it isn't
even a Led Zeppelin album: see, there's just nothing on the cover to guarantee
you it's Led Zeppelin. Ha! Ha! What proof do we have that these songs are
actually played by the band itself? They forgot to put their names on it!
I call the record IV since I like sequels, but in reality it can't
be called at all. You have to say, 'oh, that one with no name, with
the runes on the cover'. Actually, that's what most people do...
'Black Dog' opens the album on a high note: the tradition of breaking through
with an uncompromised dirty rocker isn't broken. Of course, the intoxicating
riff doesn't have anything to do with Jimmy Page, and the song construction
reminds me of both Fleetwood Mac's 'Oh Well' and the Who's version of 'Young
Man Blues', but, hell, maybe I'm asking for too much? Not everybody can
be original. And the atmosphere of the song certainly doesn't have anything
to do with the Who, not to mention Fleetwood Mac. It's just your average
dark, offensive cock rock, with the band in top form. 'Rock And Roll' follows
it with a Little Richard's 'Keep-A-Knockin'' drum intro rip-off and a sound
that sure gets me going: if it weren't for 'Stairway', this would certainly
be my pick for best song on here. Because nobody had ever done fast heavy
boogie-woogie before, certainly not The Who or Jeff Beck. Believe it or
not, but the more heavy classic rock and roll gets, the more exciting it
is. The song's nostalgic lyrics aren't very appropriate, of course, but
would you like to hear more of Plant's cockrocking? Guess not...
Breathtaking! Whoopee!
Next comes one of the two songs I absolutely can't stand on the album.
'Battle Of Evermore' is probably the most pretentious they ever got, at
least in this glorious early age. And you know I don't mind pretentiousness
if it's deserved pretentiousness. But nothing saves the song: neither Page's
mandolin strumming (was it a mandolin? I'm not too sure), nor Fairport
Convention member Sandy Denny's backing vocals manage to score when it
comes round to Plant's total and absolute ruining of what could have been
a passable medieval-style ditty. 'The Queen of Light took her bow'? Robbie,
I'm a big Tolkien fan as well, but I never humiliated myself to writing
talentless, ridiculous rip-offs of his meticulously elaborated poetry.
Gosh! And of course, the song is 'embellished' by multiple howlings, wailings
and laments until you get the feeling of standing in the midst of a funeral
ceremony. Sheez, people, if you're intelligent enough to distinguish genius
from parody, stay away from this song. It's almost as bad as Uriah Heep-patented
second-hand mysticism, and even worse.
Don't stay away from 'Stairway To Heaven', though. I mean, maybe it would've
been better if it were an instrumental (just like Spirit's 'Taurus' which
it was obviously ripped off from - well, maybe that's why they actually
did add on the lyrics), 'cause Plant's biblical allusions tend to evade
me, but at least he isn't obnoxious. Don't get me wrong: the song is gruesomely,
terribly, incredibly overrated. I could easily name tons of songs that
aren't any worse or are even better. The Who, for one thing, seem to hit
the same mark with 'Pure And Easy', and do it in a much more effective
way (although I'm not a great fan of its overbloated lyrics, either). The
general fuss and craze are certainly hyped up, carried along with that
long-haired, pot-smokin' Seventies spirit. But despite of all this, the
song is absolutely amazing, if only for the fact that it features Page's
first (if not the last) successful creative fiddling around with the acoustic
guitar: the melody is certainly his finest hour with the band. I still
don't know whether the 'heavy' part of the song fits in right, though,
although the solo is really really good. Unfortunately, this was the start
of all generic heavy metal ballads; talkin' about bad influences again!
The next two songs I could easily live without. 'Misty Mountain Hop' too
often ends up sounding like an Eastern mantra set to a heavy rhythm track
('wal-king in-the-park-jus'-the-o-ther-day-ba-by...', yech!). It's horrible,
and the fact that it immediately follows 'Stairway' kinda brings us down
on earth from heaven: yes, it's the same shitty band that did 'Immigrant
Song' a year ago! Nah, just kidding. 'Immigrant Song' is quite tolerable.
'Hop', on the other hand, is their first totally disastrous heavy metal
song. Bringing experimentation into hard rock? Stay away! 'Four Sticks'
is listenable, but hardly much better, the best thing about it being Bonham's
drumming (who uses four sticks, actually). Just a very bland and unmemorable
song.
Luckily for us and for critics (I mean, it saves their reputations), the
album finishes with a decent ballad ('Going To California', which starts
as a charming folk song and becomes yet another Tolkien-raving at the end;
fortunately, since the beginning is good, I'm not as troubled about the
end) and a wall-rattling 'When The Levee Breaks' which has no original
melody at all (c'mon, it's a blues), but has their most outstanding arrangement
ever: the surprising, almost poisonously bashing drums, vicious slide guitars
and electronically affected harmonicas make the picture bloody as hell.
Hey! It's a concept album! The first side ends with a 'heavenly' ballad
('Stairway'), and the second side ends with an 'apocalyptic' blues. Hmm,
never thought of it before. Oh, well, anyway, it's the band's songwriting
peak. Nowhere near as impressive as the debut album, mainly because that
one was genuine and youthfully enthusiastic, while this one is fake and
commercially pretentious, but the songs themselves cannot be beat. If you're
not a diehard, stop right here and go no further.
ROCK AND ROLL! MAIL YOUR IDEAS!
Your worthy comments:
John McFerrin <stoo@imsa.edu> (11.05.99)
I agree with you, for the most part. Yeah, 'Black Dog' is just generic cock rock, and 'Misty Mountain Top' sucks horribly. But I really like 'Battle of Evermore', even more than 'Stairway'. Yeah, I know deep down that it's a lame parody of classic Tolkien, but for some reason, I just find it gorgeous. And yeah, 'Levee' isn't a great melody, but I don't consider it their best song cos of the melody. I consider their best cos of the drums, guitars, and vocals are screaming out in perfect harmony with each other. I have never, ever heard every instrument complement every other instrument so well in a song. Anyways, I agree with the 9, despite the serious flaws at the start of each side.
Scott & Wendy <Scott_Merrick@bc.sympatico.ca> (27.07.99)
An excellent review. I concur.
What you neglected to mention was the fantastic production of this album.
I enjoyed the awesome sound when it was first released, and was
delighted to listen to the CD re-master which was supervised by Jimmy Page
himself.
Just listen to 'Rock and Roll' again and wonder at the impeccable balance
between drums, bass, vocals and lead. Nothing dominates. What a cooker!
Compare this production to the awful Beatles CD releases.
Whoever did these obviously was after a quick release for quick money.
The greatest instrument the Beatles had were their voices, which
have been mixed out of existence on their CD releases in favour of over-emphasising
the bass and drums.
This was more than likely to try and get a new generation, who are bass
and rhythm obsessed, to buy, buy, buy.
Even a crappy song was made great by the Beatles wonderful singing harmonies,
now lost to us.
Could you ask Jimmy Page if he would re-mix Abbey Road for us?
Mike DeFabio <defab4@earthlink.net> (24.08.99)
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh, this is the one with 'Stairway to Heaven' on it. Actually
that's not even my favorite song on here. It's got to be the most overrated
song in the world. It's a great, great song, but not worth all the hype
it gets. My favorite song on here, as it happens, is 'When The Levee Breaks'.
It has that really tubular (I'm weak with adjectives. So sue me.) drum
sound, and the whole song just does something for me that 'Stairway to
Heaven' doesn't do as well. I agree that 'Battle of Evermore' isn't very
good, but it's no 'D'yer Maker' either, so at least it's got THAT going
for it. I also agree that 'Four Sticks' is bland and unmemorable. But I
really like 'Misty Mountain Hop', so there.
I agree with the nine, for the most part.
Glenn Wiener <glennjwiener@hotmail.com> (14.09.99)
Whereas I do not have this record, I have heard every song on the radio so I feel that I can judge this product. Considerably overrated by critics and crazed fans. 'Black Dog' has a good opening riff but little else is developed from it. Therefore, the song disintegrates into boring repetition with Plant's annoying vocals driving me to the medicine chest. 'When The Levee Breaks' just drags and drags with Plant's moaning makes me feel like I'm experiencing a nervous breakdown. 'Stairway To Heaven' is a creative piece blending from acoustic to electric. However, the song is a bit too long in spots. A nice song yes, A Classic HELL NO! 'Rock N Roll' and 'Going To California' are pretty good songs. The rest is just sort of middle of the road. Maybe this isn't my cup of tea, but if you like heavy blues and rock with a somewhat annoying vocalist, go grab it. Zep Heads seem to love it.
Nick Karn <glassmoondt@yahoo.com> (12.11.99)
Now we come to the most sacred of all rock albums (if not, it's up there
in the top 5 at least). Good point about the band's name not being on the
cover. The minute Plant's vocals come in on "Black Dog" puts
an end to that conspiracy, though. Unfortunately. :)
Seriously, I can't see anything great about that opening number. To me,
it's just a generic, mostly directionless cock rock song. Consult the following
track on how quality "Rock And Roll" ought to be played. I can't
get enough of that one! I have to confess it's my favorite here - I don't
know what it is about it, but it strikes some sort of chord. As for the
"Battle Of Evermore", I don't pay attention to the lyrics (which
were never this band's forte anyway), and just listen to it as a really
beautiful acoustic song, enjoying it as a result. Then we come to that
ditty about the stores being closed - "Stairway To Heaven". It's
a great epic song, and an absolute classic, but the only thing is that
after such a great buildup to the solo, it ends too quickly for me. I'll
also say I'd need two hands to count the number of Zep epics (which to
me are defined as extended, challenging pieces over 6 minutes) that I like
more, and that's without hearing "Achilles Last Stand".
I'm ashamed to admit this, but I can REALLY get into "Misty Mountain
Hop". Yes, I thought the riff and melody was incredibly stupid at
first, and as a matter of fact, it actually is, but it grew on me big time,
and it's so addictive and enjoyable in my opinion because of it. Of course,
the album had to stall with "Four Sticks" (which has one of Plant's
more annoying performances), but that song is almost redeemed by the magical
guitar tone on the interlude section. "Going To California" is
another really relaxing and moody acoustic song that I love, while "When
The Levee Breaks" is just SICK... in a good way. John Bonham ain't
my favorite member for nothing. A 9 for this album, and a shade below the
debut which I gave the same rating - just a couple irritating songs short
of classic status.
Matt Reyes <No1Yanks23@aol.com> (08.02.2000)
Well we disagree on alot of Zep but 'Misty Mountain Hop' I like i dont
know why and i get why you dont like it. But 'Battle of Evermore' is a
great record overall your review is pretty good and i dont find 'stairway
to heaven' overated. Its not my favorite Zep but I couldnt live without
it.
Well this is my favorite album of all time. The first side (first four
songs) have all classics, including the 'Battle of Evermore' which I think
is very good. Of course 'Black Dog', 'Rock & Roll' and 'Stairway to
Heaven' are classics. 'Misty Mountain Hop' is bad I dont get bored listening
to it (This song is the only minor flaw). I think 'Four Sticks' is enjoyable
to listen to, 'Going to California' is a definate great song. Also 'When
the Levee Breaks', a classic way to end the album
Record: 10
Overall: 15
Rich Bunnell <taosterman@yahoo.com> (25.04.2000)
Duuuuhuuuuh this album is overrated!!! People like it, so I hate it!!!!!!
Pathetic attempts at mocking Zep-bashers aside, this is a really nice album.
I've heard the first five songs and "When The Levee Breaks" approximately
seventy-seven million times apiece, but they're all really good songs.
"Misty Mountain Hop" doesn't annoy me at all, and neither do
the lyrics to "Battle Of Evermore"-- who cares if they're Hobbit-inspired
ravings? You can barely understand the lyrics anyway! Criminy, it's like
people are -trying- to find a way they can bash these songs regardless
of key factors like good melody.
"Four Sticks" sort of rambles (in spite of that awesome groove)
and the constant instrumental breaks in "Black Dog" sort of annoy
me, but the rest is as good as good gets. I'd give it a nine.
Philip Maddox <slurmsmckenzie@hotmail.com> (07.07.2000)
This is easily my favorite Zep album (at least out of the ones I've heard). 'Black Dog' is a wonderful way to kick the record off - I LOVE when the dual guitar comes in toward the end. It's unpredictable, too. If you ask me, it's one of the best metal songs ever written. 'Rock and Roll', despite being overplayed, is still a really good simple rock tune. I LOVE 'Battle Of Evermore', almost as much as 'Stairway'. Sure, the lyrics are goofy, but so are all Led Zeppelin lyrics. The arrangement is creepy and foreboding, too. Finally, side 1 ends with 'Stairway', which I won't comment on except say that it's great. Side 2 isn't quite as good. I like 'Misty Mountain Hop' too, though. The weird melody and rhythm is groovy, and the guitar solo is great, too. 'Four Sticks' is really boring, though. It never goes anywhere. Yawn. 'Going To California' is a good acoustic song, but it's not as good as 'Evermore'. It isn't bad, or course - in fact, it's quite good. I just like 'Evermore' better. Finally, 'When the Levee Breaks' is a good blues song - a little too long, but it still kicks. I love the "apocalyptic" feel to it. This gets an easy 9. I feel safe describing every song on the album, as there isn't a human alive that hasn't heard every song on this album. You don't need to buy it, in fact - just listen to a classic rock station for a day and you can probably tape the whole thing. I've never heard 'Four Sticks' on the radio, but I don't like that song anyway.
Ed Bayley <bayley@thethinker.com> (13.08.2000)
Yes, I think that 'Stairway to Heaven' is overrated, but that's probably
'cos I've played it to death over the last 15 years.
I can't agree with you about 'The Battle of Evermore' for me, it's the
best song they ever did (along with 'Kashmir'). It's hauntingly beautiful
and evocative and sounds like no other song performed before or since by
anyone, anywhere.
But my favourite moment on the album has to be that moment on 'When The
Levee Breaks' when the song pauses for the phased guitar chords followed
by the slide guitar. Amazing!
All in all, definitely one of the greatest rock albums ever.
Paul Stadden <paul@stadden.com> (03.09.2000)
So, after dumping on rock classics such as Black Sabbath's Heaven and Hell, you've moved onto the ones that sold 15 million copies. I loved this album, and I can't stand 'Stairway to Heaven'. It was good the first trillion times I heard it. 'Black Dog' is another one of those fantastic little Rock n' Roll diddies that are great for bangin' one's head to. 'Rock n' Roll' is timeless, and 'Battle of Evermore' was great, despite what you say. 'When the Levee Breaks' is one good thumper, the bass drum part shakes the floor at high volume. 'Misty Mountain Hop' is my favorite song off here.
<EBDIGSIT@gateway.net> (15.10.2000)
"Black Dog" may be cock rock...but generic?...compared to
what?...We're talking about 1971 here....What before 1971 sounded like
this? Not even Zeppelin itself...the stop and start structure was a new
wrinkle...the hoard's of bands imitating "Black Dog" may sound
generic... but I don't think that makes "Black Dog" generic(guilty)
by association. It's probably not among my top 20 Zep songs, but it's still
quite good. "Levee Breaks.."and "Four Sticks" are my
current faves on 4, and I'm still pretty keen on "Stairway",
even after it's billionth radio airplay. "Rock and Roll" does
what its title suggests. "Misty Mountain Hop" is a lazy, but
ok rocker... it does not "suck horribly" John McFerrin...my spelling
sucks horribly sometimes...but doing the misty hop does not. The acoustic
numbers are pretty, but I tend to prefer similar tunes on LZ 3, to these.
May be Zeppelin's definitive record, but in my humble opinion not their
best. Pretty darn good though.....
[Special author note: I should
note here that "the stop and start structure" was anything BUT
"a new wrinkle" - as I already pointed out in the review, it's
borrowed from songs such as Fleetwood Mac's 'Oh Well' and the Who's live
arrangement of 'Young Man Blues' (about the same time). That said, I would
refrain from calling the song 'generic' as well, as it does sound fresher
and more interesting than just about any other, including Zep's own, attempts
at cock rocking.]
<HORTON77954@aol.com> (31.10.2000)
You're comment about "Black Dog" is absolutely correct. I've heard that Mr. J.P himself has said that it was a "tribute" to Peter Green (of Fleetwood Mac, MK I). "Rock and Roll" was a hint to Little Richard. But they were (still are I think) big fans of 50's rock. ( You have permission to post this if you like)
<ScreamingIgor@cs.com> (19.11.2000)
All I can say is that Sandy Denny's talents are wasted on "Battle Of Evermore"
Jason McDaniel <jnmcda0@yahoo.com> (09.12.2000)
"Black Dog" may be "cock rock", but this song ROCKS!
"Black Dog" and "Rock and Roll" are the definition
of hard rock. "The Battle of Evermore" is probably the worst
song on the album and even that isn't too bad.
Then there's "Stairway to Heaven". I know it's overplayed, the
lyrics don't really make sense, and it had all the controversy about the
backmasking, but I still say it is one of the greatest songs ever. "Stairway"
sounds like a epic poem from the days of yore. It has a kind of medieval
sound to start off, then it progressively moves toward a faster, soft rock
sound before it erupts into a hard rocking classic Zep sound. It's one
of the few songs that can make it as both easy listening and hard rock
at the same time.
Moving on...I like "Misty Mountain Hop". The lyrics are stupid
and chopped up, but I still like it...don't ask me why. "Four Sticks"
isn't one of my favorites, but it's listenable. "Going to California"
is very tranquil and calming. "When the Levee Breaks" is a good
way to end the album. It's definitely my favorite Zep album.
Year Of Release: 1973
Record rating = 7
Overall rating = 10
The album that amply demonstrates all of the band's creative limitations.
Some of it rules, though.
Best song: NO QUARTER
What the hell: Led Zeppelin trying to expand their musical boundaries?
This ain't hard rock at all, I mean - AT ALL! Certainly the band's most
diverse record, Houses captures the band in a rather strange, almost
hilarious, groove; rumour has it that it originated at a particularly boozy
period in the band's life, when they were just having a good time and playing
everything that came into their head (rather like the Stones' Black
And Blue). Whether this is a good or a bad thing, though, you'll just
have to decide for yourselves. As for me, I consider the album a sure letdown
in quality, and that's a pity, because it shows Jimmy Page could really
go no further than heavy blues or dark acoustic ballads with any hint of
success. Funk? Reggae? Doowop? Yeah, they're all here, but they really
shouldn't.
Nevertheless, the album still has enough high points to guarantee it at
least a 7. More exactly, its main advantage is featuring a breathtakingly
well written and perfectly performed anthem that neatly summarizes all
the good sides of their pretentious mysticism and manages to evade its
bad sides. You must have guessed already. 'No Quarter' is the ultimate
Led Zep song, certainly one of their best and for me - the last truly great
song ever written by any member of the band. It's a slow, majestic and
very realistic viking epic, whose sound is mostly due to an ingenious use
of synthesizers by J. P. Jones; the sound he achieves fits in with the
lyrics almost miraculously, recalling the severe, snowy, cold and vast
panoramas of the North, with all those dragon-headed ships sailing, wow,
forget that stupid 'Battle Of Evermore'. This might be the song Peter Gabriel
lusted for in his Trespass period, but never found. Don't think
that keyboards and lyrics are the only thing that make up the song, though:
the growling guitar riff is one of Page's most complex and terrifying,
not to mention majestic - for all my money, its stately majesty and power
overshadows everything else Jimmy ever wrote. (The guitar solo bit, though,
is not as inspiring as the marvelous solo on the Song Remains The Same
live version, which is even better than the original). And it ain't blues!
It's just a lengthy, moody piece of dark magic. The more I listen to it,
the more I really believe in their genius...
...which, unfortunately, escapes me on much of the remaining material.
As usual, one song, shattering as it might be, still isn't enough to make
up a great album. And none of the other songs live up to the Scandinavian
ditty. The good news first: 'The Rain Song' is a mighty fine ballad, with
nice touches of orchestration, and Plant sounding more sentimental and
somewhat more sincere than ever before, but it's nevertheless overlong
for a song with such a languid, slowly dragging melody. 'Over The Hills
And Far Away' is a pleasant enough rocker, too, in the classic style, merging
intelligent acoustic shuffling with more familiar hard rock territory.
But that's about it.
I know I'm gonna disappoint a lot of Led lovers, but the album opener,
the number that gets the most airplay, yeah, 'The Song Remains The Same',
I mean, has never done jack (or jill, for that matter) for me. It's just
pointless. It's very complex, with Page certainly going for something different
than just a simple blues riff and even turning into Steve Howe for a couple
of seconds; but that's just the problem. The result is a very Yes-ish song,
with Plant leading a gentle, but meaningless lyrics 'attack' against the
gruff rhythm track, and I can't help but ask: why? The song ain't really
dark, but it ain't bright either; it ain't sad, it ain't funny, and it
doesn't even get me going 'cause it's too complex. It's boring, anyway.
It also has no structure I'm aware of, although this ain't no point for
you atmosphere lovers. Yuck.
And the experimentation? The messing around with the new and the unknown?
Well, 'The Crunge' is just weird, with Plant sounding either like he's
going mad or like he's imitating Leon Russell (maybe both). Funky, but
hookless. You can dance to it, of course, but that ain't the only thing
I require of Led Zep. As much as I hate the sneering comments of the "white
boys doing black music" type (in ninety-nine percent of the cases,
they are issued out by people who are simply not eclectic enough to appreciate
different stylistics), I have to admit this is a perfect example: in this
particular case, Plant spoils the entire picture with his obnoxious 'looping'
vocalization. And the reggae number 'D'yer Maker' is funny, but sounds
so completely and totally out of place among Zep songs that I can't help
feeling nervous about Plant singing 'oh oh oh oh you don't have to go'.
Come to think of it, both of these numbers aren't really offensive. It's
just that these first experiments weren't followed by further innovations
(on Physical Graffiti the band firmly returned to the basics of
the first albums), and it's hard to perceive them as independent compositions,
judging them by just their musical merits. Maybe if they were done by Mick
Jagger, I'd have treated them less harshly...
Hey, I know what you must be a-thinkin'. You're a-thinkin': 'Okay, first
he complains they weren't a diverse group, and when they finally got around
to being diverse, he says it was a mistake. The guy's biased!' Not at all.
If they experimented on Houses, what stopped them from experimenting
further? Shucks. They were obviously caught in a spontanenous groove while
recording the album, that's all. This spontaneity also results in the murky
'Dancing Days', with one of the most ear-hurting rhythm tracks they ever
did. I hate this song and hope so do you. Don't you? And, as I've already
mentioned everything but one song, I'll go ahead and say that 'The Ocean'
doesn't impress me that much (does anybody else feel that the riff in the
intro is an inferior re-write of Paul McCartney's 'Oo You'?), but the middle
accappella part is pleasant. Okay, at least we must be thankful to the
guys for finally putting a name on an album. Strange enough, the title
track wasn't released on this one at all, but appeared on Graffiti
two years later.
P.S. One last remark: 'The Crunge' sucks, but it also features Zep's only
moment of genuine, brilliant humour, when after what seems like ages of
endless 'vocal looping' Plant starts screaming out: 'I'm just looking for
the bridge, has anybody seen the bridge?', and then somebody (Jimmy?) adds
'where's that confounded bridge' and they interrupt the song. Now here's
a good snicker at unconventional song structure!
The song remains the same,so mail your ideas
Your worthy comments:
Mike DeFabio <defab4@earthlink.net> (24.08.99)
Not bad... not great. 'The Song Remains The Same' is a good one. 'The
Rain Song' is good. 'Over The Hills And Far Away' is good. 'The Crunge'
is... STUPID but good. 'Dancing Days' is good. 'No Quarter' is REEEAL good.
REAL REAL REAL REAL good. And 'The Ocean' is good. So... since these songs
are all good... why do I not like this album so much?
Maybe it's because 'D'yer Maker' is a piece of worthless crap! That'll
bring the grade down a bit! There's only SEVEN good songs on here, dangit!
That bugs me a little, so I give this an eight.
Glenn Wiener <glennjwiener@hotmail.com> (14.09.99)
Again every song I'm familiar with from classic rock radio. I will admit that this is probably their best effort in my humble opinion. 'No Quarter' is undoubtedly my favorite song with a stunning guitar riff and an eerie mood. Even Plant gives one of his better vocal performances. 'Dyer Maker', 'Dancing Days', and 'The Crunge' have pretty catchy riffs as well.'Rain Song' is a little long but it has some pretty arrangements. Gosh, I actually said positive things about five of the eight songs on the record. The others are definitely toelrable. Who knows, maybe this will be my one and only Zep Purchase. 'No Quarter' is one great song!
José Humberto Mesquita Filho <humberto@fcm.unicamp.br> (03.10.99)
And then they were huge. Biggest rock and roll act in the face of Earth.
The Beatles of the Seventies. They could do whatever they felt like. And
so they did.
The strange cover with some naked children under a orange sky is strangely
inviting - you just don't have a clue of what this piece of plastic could
contain. Could be anything. And as you kick it in, a fierce guitar drops
your head to the ground. One, two... seventeen loud distorted guitars playing
fast different sequences with perfect harmony, like an orchestra. Looks
like we got the Berlin Philarmonic playing Gibson electric guitars through
lots of amps. It's rock at its full greatness, kicking our sorry mortal
asses. And they go up and they go down like a Roller Coaster (or Russian
Mountain, as we call it over here in Brazil), and they take us round the
world, many many times. It's the Zeppelin - it's "The Song Remains
the Same". And those guys are ferocious - J. P. Jones bass is tense,
loud. Bonham's drumming is all guts. Plant's not singing, he's howling
and inviting the listener to go round the Earth. And Mr. Jimmy Page is
the conductor and the responsible for all this flow of violent emotions,
sending cold cold chills down our spinal cords. "as we go down SLIDING
SLIDING SLIDING..." - what the hell does that mean? I dunno, I'm sliding
too fast and just can't think straight now. It's too fast, waay tooo faaast....
And then, one gentle yet powerful acoustic guitar chord breaks our fall.
"The Rain Song" gets in, softly but firmly. It's pure beauty,
Page and Plant are making their music go straight to our hearts. "Upon
us all, a little rain must fall.". Indeed. That takes us to track
three, which best describes the 'light and shade' aspect of Led Zeppelin's
sound. It's lyrics are simple, just very simple, and the folkish melody
is gorgeous .Then a heavy riff enters. Just turn up the volume and open
the car window. Allow that wind to blow your hair. The song ROCKS.
The sequence described above is enough to make an album a classic - a TRUE
classic, that is. They showed one little thing, which is TALENT. These
are very gifted musicians. Only the great (Beatles, Stones, Who) can put
their souls into the music. And what music!
But there's more. Altough "The Crunge" is just a pain in the
ass, and "Dancin' Days" is an OK rock 'n roll song (but oh-so-repetitive),
we got something different here. There's a reggae song that could annoy
us weren't for Bonzo's brilliant drumming. It's strong, it's party time.
If you don't like reggae, any kind of reggae (even some great Bob Marley
songs), skip this one. It's not meant for you. It's meant for that legion
of 'empty-headed' people that happen to enjoy a little boogie, you know.
Or those 'nasty pot smokers'. After you go past it, here comes the epic.
Sir John Paul Jonesy is taking us to some heavenly state with his keyboards.
Robert's telling us a tale of some nordic men who have a mission which
I just don't have a clue. Might sound silly, but it's too late to think
about it know, cause this damned band has already surrounded us with a
dark atmosphere. Picture this song live, picture Jones playing with his
eyes closed and lots of dry ice on the stage. And then Page's mastodontic
guitar wakes us up from this strange sleepiness, just to add to the dramatic
scandinavian adventure. Man, I just love those 70's excesses. What happened,
was everybody crazy?
"The Ocean" is the last song here, and it's a good honest rocker,
with remarkable guitarwork. Maybe not that fast. But at this point there's
a smile that refuses to get off our faces, and as The Group leaves the
spotlight, they know their job is done. We surrender.
Nick Karn <glassmoondt@yahoo.com> (16.11.99)
This album was the first letdown in the Zeppelin catalog for me - it
does have its' spectacular moments, certainly, but it's quite patchy. The
band tries to be diverse, and comes up with a few too many failed experience.
Like you, "The Song Remains The Same" has never done 'jack (or
jill) for me' either. The song gets particularly disappointing when this
great, fast, introductory guitar riff turns into a forgettable slow, melodyless
verse with weak vocals. With the orchestration, "The Rain Song"
sounds too dated and not very beautiful to me as some think. It's a bit
too long as well. "The Crunge", however, is easily the worst
of the lot - an uninteresting and horrid attempt at funk. And "Dancing
Days", despite that interesting Eastern-sounding riff, isn't that
strong because it just sounds, I don't know, too standard for them.
The rest of the songs, however, save the album. The reggae of "Dy'er
Mak'er" (or however you spell it) may be out of place, but it's entertaining,
"Over The Hills And Far Away" has one of the greatest acoustic
intros ever, and the rest of the song delivers on it, "The Ocean"
is one of Zep's best rockers, with that riff, the accapella (sp?) section,
and the fantastic ending, and "No Quarter"... wow. I won't say
anymore about this one, cause you just explained it all. I have to admit
its' my favorite here as well, and a complete package (without relying
on blues!). Curiously, on the Zep tribute Encomium (which is terrible
BTW), a few members of certain bands who contributed to it were asked certain
questions about Zeppelin in the liner notes (if Zep were a country, where
would they be? where were you when you first heard Zep? etc.), and Todd
Park Mohr (of Big Head Todd And The Monsters) was asked what his least
fave Zep song was and why, and his response was, "'No Quarter'...
it is too long." Again, absolutely unbelievable how people's tastes
can differ. :) Oh, and my rating for this album? I give it a 7 - too inconsistent
to get anything higher.
Rich Bunnell <taosterman@yahoo.com> (25.04.2000)
This is a REALLY weird album. I like most of the songs, but it's funny
to note that due to the stylistic diversity, the songs that people hate
are wildly different from person to person (with the exception of "Over
The Hills" and "No Quarter" which everyone loves). The tunes
here that sort of annoy me are "The Ocean" and "The Crunge,"
both halfway-decent yet sort of irritating and formless. Regarding the
latter, I like funk, but I don't like aimless funk with no hooks. I like
everything else, eclectic as it is. "D'yer Maker" is stupid,
sure, but the guitar snippets really save what would normally be a dippy
reggae number. And "The Rain Song" is barely there, but it's
really pretty.
Why the hell does everyone hate "Dancing Days"? It rules! Did
someone sign a pact saying that track 5 on Zep albums has to be the one
constantly derided and slammed? Actually, I'm just basing that on this
and the previous album. Two instances signifies a trend! ("Did you
know that disco record sales were up 400% for the year ending 1976? If
these trends continue...Eeeeeeey!" -Disco Stu from The Simpsons) I'd
hand this one a low eight (eleven overall scale)-- I used to think it was
the band's masterpiece, but closer listens have made it seem a trifle weaker.
Still good, though.
Fredrik Tydal <f_tydal@hotmail.com> (11.07.2000)
I don't care for the Zeppelin's fifth album that much. Yes, I was quite let down by it. "The Song Remains The Same" lacks direction, "The Crunge" leaves me puzzled, "Dancing Days" gives me a head-ache and "D'yer Mak'er" is a bizarre throw-away. Thankfully, the album has its redeeming moments in the understated (gee, never thought I would use that word to describe a Zeppelin song) "The Rain Song", the splendid "Over The Hills And Far Away" and the somewhat amusing "The Ocean". I am a bit torn on "No Quarter", though - it's brilliantly arranged and all, but I feel there's something lacking. And what's up with the album cover? Seems like people got away with a lot of questionable covers in the seventies; Sticky Fingers, Blind Faith...
<EBDIGSIT@gateway.net> (15.10.2000)
I guess it's inevitable that I make comments about every Zep record, so I'll get on with it so I can move on to another band. Houses of the Holy falls somewhere near the middle of the pack as for as Zep records go...Not quite as good as LZ1, LZ 2, LZ 3, LZ 4, and Physical Graffiti, but somewhat better than Presence and much much better than In Throught the Out Door, Coda, and the live The Song Remains the Same. It does contain two of their best ever tracks, "Over the Hills" and "No Quarter"..."Over the Hills" is a fine complement to the earlier and equally fine "Ramble On" from LZ 2. "No Quarter" finds them dark-prog state of mind...Jone's keyboards and Plant's vocals manage to create a genuinely creepy atmosphere...very nice indeed. I actually like "The Song Remains the Same", though the mellower bits linger perhaps too lazily for too long. "The Rain Song" contains some pretty guitar work, but once again bits of it linger and linger and start to loss my interest. "The Crunge" is a musical joke/testominal to their love of James Brown and Funk, not a serious attempt at the genre...and for that reason it is an enjoyable tangent...Plant's soul crooning/belting actually comes off better than one might initially anticipate. "Dancing Days" has never done much for me...neither has "Dyer Maker" for that matter...it's ok and fun sounding, but I'd much rather listen to Bob Marley or Jimmy Cliff than any psedo-reggae novelty. "The Ocean" closes affairs on a positive note with a catchy riff and a chorus of "nah nah nah's" to carry you home smiling.
Year Of Release: 1976
Record rating = 8
Overall rating = 11
Almost no bad songs on here, but some of the good songs aren't treated
the right way...
Best song: DAZED AND CONFUSED
A soundtrack to a somewhat kinky movie featuring Led Zeppelin onstage
and Led Zeppelin in their sick medieval fantasy sequences, this wasn't
released until in 1976, already after the release of both Physical Graffiti
and Presence, but this is where it belongs chronologically, because
all of the material was filmed and recorded on the Houses Of The Holy
tour. I hated the movie totally and uncompromisingly, but now I realize
it was primarily because of the fantasy sequences (my God, these guys managed
to combine utmost banality with childish horror games. Ehh. If, according
to Cameron Crowe's liner notes, through these sequences we can really 'view
the images in Page's mind during "Dazed And Confused"', I suppose
I'd better set up my own images.) The live material is actually quite strong,
although rumour has it that none of the band members ever liked their level
of performing at the actually filmed shows. Whatever. The material is good.
What might put you off is that this is a double album with but nine tracks,
most of them approaching or exceeding the ten-minute limit, and one going
far beyond twenty minutes! Apparently, Led Zep were worthy disciples of
Cream and worthy concurrents of Yes and Genesis. More the former, though,
as the lengthy tunes are mostly filled to the brim with sparkling Page
solos. If you didn't like these solos in the first place, you'll dance
on the album; if you did enjoy the studio versions, but hate lengthy solofests
in general, you'll listen to it once and shove it onto the racks. But if
you, like me, respect Page the guitar man better than Page the dark songwriter,
you'll be thrilled by a large part of what you'll hear.
The track selection draws heavily on Houses, certainly, plus evergreens
like 'Stairway To Heaven', 'Rock And Roll', 'Dazed And Confused', 'Moby
Dick' and 'Whole Lotta Love'. However, again in the Cream tradition, the
songs don't sound at all similar to their studio originals. 'Rock And Roll'
is raw, dripping with energy and distorted power chords a la Pete Townshend,
and it could even surpass the original were it not for Plant's muddy vocals:
not only isn't he in top form, he's also mixed very badly. But this is
all rendered unimportant as long as you realize the great virtuosity of
Page who is able to carry on the brontosauric riffage and add some pretty
fine staccato solos on top of that. 'The Song Remains The Same' and 'Celebration
Day' are unimpressive, although Page's guitarwork is again superb. But
from then on, everything goes just fine: 'The Rain Song' manages to recreate
the gentle 'orchestral' feel of the original, with J. P. Jones playing
some masterful and moody Mellotron instead of the strings.
And then there's 'Dazed And Confused'... what can I say about this twenty
seven minute long version of 'Dazed And Confused'? Well, the lengthy bowed
guitar part makes me jump up in my chair as if it were a dentist's one,
but apart from that, the tune's good, with Page ripping out all kinds of
solos and even throwing in a line from 'If You're Going To San Francisco'
for no special reason. Of course, no song deserves to be twenty-seven minutes
long, but once you get used to it, you'll also get drawn in, sure as hell.
The introduction section alone is well worth it: Jones' bassline is given
the full potential of blossoming (and sending rows of uncontrolled shivers
and small furry animals down your spine), while Page masterfully increases
the tension by playing a chaotic, apocalyptic pattern. And then, after
all, one mustn't forget the finger-flashing technique: 'Dazed And Confused'
was the most self-indulgent Jimmy ever got, and this is one case of self-indulgency
I can easily tolerate. (Trivia bit: did you know that 'Dazed And Confused'
got thrown out of the setlist each time Page jammed his fingers? Which
happened at least twice, if my memory serves me well).
And well, the second disc is pretty much flawless. 'No Quarter' is as good
as the studio counterpart and maybe better; it's given a somewhat harder
treatment, but that doesn't spoil it none, and this is also the only track
on the album where Plant's vocals are really superb (the refrain was strangely
muddled on the studio version). 'Stairway To Heaven' is okay, with a much
lengthier and more climactic solo; 'Moby Dick' is horrible just like any
twelve-minute drum solo would be, but there's nothing particularly offensive
about it; and 'Whole Lotta Love' is breathtaking, with Page engaging in
battle against the theramin and then suddenly turning the song into a frenetic
boogie-woogie before returning back to the menacing riff for the closing
part.
Truly, I don't know why some fans lament here, claiming this live album
to be a letdown. Go listen to Who's Last for a letdown. Go listen
to Live At Leeds for a 'best-of' live album. This one is just normal:
flawed, but listenable. In fact, strange as it might seem, this is the
Led Zep album I listen to most of all, just because it substitutes a greatest
hits collection for me. The rare case of a Led Zep album with no bad songs
at all ('cept the title track, of course). In fact, the only major complaints
I can skedaddle out of myself is the sound quality (the mix is often poor
- particularly on the first several songs) and Plant's vocals, which are
getting super-obnoxious. The man feels a necessity to adlib anything,
and anywhere, and sometimes he gets so carried away he starts adlibbing
even in those spots where he's actually supposed to, you know, like, sing.
Otherwise, there's no reason to detest the album. That said, The BBC
Sessions are still a better bet for your first live Led Zep experience
in almost every respect - except that there's no 'No Quarter' on 'em.
Dazed and confused about this review? Mail your ideas
Your worthy comments:
<EBDIGSIT@gateway.net> (14.08.2000)
If any Zeppelin album is truly "flatfooted" it is this one. The Song Remains the Same isn't poor, but the sound and intensity just isn't there often enough for me. For anyone trying to discover what all "the hype" is about , start with any of the first seven studio albums, before you touch this....If you want to hear some 'live' Zeppelin, check out the fine BBC SESSIONS before heading for T.S.R.T.S. Hopefully, more and better live Zeppelin will find their way to official release someday...
<ScreamingIgor@cs.com> (19.11.2000)
An 8? Man, you're generous. I don't think TSRTS even makes it
to 5. With the exception of "No Quarter", this album surely ranks
as one of the most boring live albums in rock history. I had the chance
to hear a bootleg of Zep live in Texas (I believe) 1969. It makes an excellent
comparison. On the bootleg the band sounds hungry where America was starting
to get to know them. Page plays like his ass is on fire, Bonzo is downright
explosive, Plant's voice is still in awesome form, and JP sounds interested
in the music being created. The songs, although long, are electric and
vital sounding
On TSRTS they sound like rock stars. Very bored and disinterested
in the concert. Page is at his near sloppy worst (his live tone sucked
since '71), Bonzo can barely get the fire stoked, Plant's voice is shot
and JP seems at times to prop the others up. The music is long winded,
lame and proforma. On the whole this is dreadfully boring after the first
listening. Stick with The BBC Sessions or various early boolegs
Year Of Release: 1975
Record rating = 7
Overall rating = 10
A double album of cock rock and flatfoot heavy metal? I'll pass,
thank you.
Best song: IN MY TIME OF DYING (but only a little part of it!)
Some consider this the pinnacle of Zeppelinism - a double album that
sends to hell all these funk/reggae tendences of Houses in favour
of Page/Plant's more traditional hallmarks: heavy riffs and devilish screaming
abound on this record, Bonham pounds as if his life depends on the effort
he puts in his drums, and Jones mostly sticks to bass if you don't count
an occasional organ solo now and then (which, by the way, he used to do
since the very beginning). Everybody's in top form, in short. But in the
end, maybe it's just that fact that makes the record unlistenable to a
large extent. Now I'm not willing to lower this record in the eyes of the
fans: everybody who worships Page more than Budda will get his load of
kicks from this record. But for me, who likes Led Zeppelin just like 'one
more great Seventies band', this is a real pain in the neck, I mean, c'mon
people, how can you really sit through the entire record?
That said, Physical Graffiti has always been a critical favourite,
and one of the trendiest things to do is to include it in numerous 'Top
100' or even 'Top 10' rock records of the last four thousand years (which,
by the way, is an occupation comparable to defining the 'Top 10 Writers
of the Western Hemisphere', i.e. fun, but with a zero percent intellectual
value.) It's easy to see why: it's a double album, it has a wide range
of styles, and it sounds acceptable. Double albums have always suffered
that fate - when released by a notorious artist, they were either complete
failures, or else they were halfway decent, in which case the critics raved
up and proclaimed them 'encyclopaedic masterpieces'. Such is the case with
the Stones' Exile On Main Street; absolutely the same case is with
Physical Graffiti. Except that Led Zeppelin were a less talented
band than the Stones (ah, come on all you fans and throttle me - I'm ready
for that!), so, naturally, Physical Graffiti is an even worse album.
Encyclopaedic it may be, but it is also regressive, limited in its superficially
'wide' scope, and, yeah, right, boring. To some extent.
First of all, I'm not at all satisfied with the way they begin to sound
from now on. In my humble opinion, Graffiti initiates the 'late
Zeppelin' period when their hard rock (aka heavy metal) songs suddenly
lost all traces of freshness and began sounding totally generic.
Maybe it's the low production value that's responsible (although I couldn't
accuse Jimmy of not paying attention to production). Maybe it's because
of the overall 'jamming' atmosphere of the album: most of the songs sound
raw and totally unpolished. But most probably it's because Jimmy overabuses
distortion and power chords, sounding from time to time like a bad parody
on Pete Townshend. Maybe there's some other kind of reason. But when I
hear 'Custard Pie', the by now familiar cock rocker that opens the album,
I just can't help saying: yup, the magic is gone. This is just your average
heavy metal band that thinks of itself as sitting on top of the world while
in fact what it does is rehashing the elder classic standards with all
the diligency expected from a piece of used carbon paper. The witty Mark
Prindle once remarked that some of these songs sound more like Grand Funk
Railroad than Led Zeppelin, and to me, that's definitely not a compliment
- GFR are one of the most conservative and unimaginative hard rock bands
to have ever existed. And the mighty Led Zep, once the kings of scary,
jerky tension, have now degenerated to Mark Farner level? Come on now!
And I'm not even mentioning their age!
Not that it ain't really enjoyable, this 'Custard Pie': it's a good piece
of heavy boogie, and you can play air guitar and sing along and tap your
foot and do everything. But what the heck - it doesn't even have the power
of 'Black Dog'! It has the crunch, but it doesn't have the angst and it
doesn't have the menace of that song - 'Custard Pie' is nothing
to scare your parents with. More examples of the same include the ridiculous
closing number 'Sick Again' with its hideous jam at the end; and even the
more or less classic 'Wanton Song' that could have been inserted into 'Custard
Pie' without anyone noticing the substitution, since the riffs are nearly
identical (not that Page is plagiarizing himself for the first time, but
never before was it so obvious). Decent songs, all of them, but not even
a little bit better than the contemporary efforts of Aerosmith or AC/DC
or whoever. Or Grand Funk, yeah. The Led Zep chemistry that made the early
albums so groovy, even if they were still patchy, is gone - almost entirely.
Of course, not all is lost, because on certain other numbers Jimmy tries
steering the band into different directions and introducing new gimmicks
to the sound - I'm ready to admit that. In doing so, he produces two of
the weirdest tracks the band ever did. 'In My Time Of Dying' opens with
a terrific slide guitar melody, and when Plant comes in with his lyrics
it seems for a couple of moments that they almost succeed in recreating
the fascinating guitar/vocals battle of old, especially on the oddly-sung
line '...so I can die eaaaa-a-a-asy...' And 'Kashmir', with its famous
Eastern-tinged melody, is deservedly a fan favourite. Are these violins
that play throughout the song, or synthesizers? I'm not too sure, but that
majestic ascending line is really something. On the other hand, not even
good ideas can save Jimmy from fuckin' up - 'In My Time Of Dying' exceeds
all limits of decency by turning into a stupid jam just after four minutes
and refusing to shut up for what seems like ages (moreover, at the very
end some voice says 'this is gonna be a long ending', did they reprise
it once again?), and 'Kashmir' soon turns out to be just a background setting
for that violin line; it certainly does not deserve to be more than eight
minutes long. And did I mention such laughable monsters as 'Ten Years Gone'
or 'In The Light'? The first one easily defines 'filler', as the riff it
is based upon is moderately good, but nothing is ever done to properly
unveil the song's potential - too soft and feeble for a rocker, but too
cold and restrained for a ballad. What the hell? And 'In The Light'...
okay, I give: the intro to the song is moody and effective, with J. P.
Jones drawing on a mighty fine and scary 'kozmik' synth line. The rest
I could easily live without.
Did I mention 'The Rover' yet? Sounds nice until you realize that its most
'emotional' parts are almost directly copied from the 'heavier' parts of
'Stairway To Heaven', with that descending riff near the solo section.
Other 'novelty' moments include outtakes from earlier albums, such as the
blatantly-pop-disguised-as-heavy-rock 'Houses Of The Holy', or the pretty
short acoustic instrumental 'Bron-Y-Aur' (not to be confounded with
'Bron-Y-Aur Stomp'!!). There's a funny boogie-woogie piano shuffle with
Ian Stewart, the 'sixth Rolling Stone', at the piano ('Boogie With Stu'),
and a totally out of place country rocker ('Black Country Woman'). But
these are more or less tiny curious islands amidst a sea of pedestrian
heavy riffage and mind-boggling jamming. Track after track goes on and
on and on, until you're really beginning to wonder if these guys planned
a double album simply because of lack of dough. And mind you, I said I
really don't dislike Page's solos by pumping up the rating of The Song
Remains The Same. But the fact is, he's not really soloing: most of
the time, he just delivers crunchy guitar lines that don't suit his classic
style at all. Compare Jimmy the guitarist in 1968 and Jimmy the guitarist
in 1975 and you'll see that he's vilified his own techniques. Even worse,
the kind of sound he developed on here serves mostly to mask the lack of
truly creative musical ideas. The album really looks like an anthemic chef-d'aeuvre
on the outside, but upon opening the nut one can easily ascertain that
it's almost hollow. Isn't it? Sure is!
I originally gave it a 6, but it has grown on me enough to guarantee a
relatively high seven, just because I'm rarely offended by those
songs from this album that do not exceed six minutes (plus, I have finally
gotten the point of 'Trampled Underfoot', which is indeed one of the band's
best attempts at a high-volume, high-energy funk rocker). Still, I wouldn't
want to spend the rest of my life listening to 'Down By The Seaside' or
'The Wanton Song'. I just see no point, thanks.
Sick again? Then bash this review with your sagacious ideas!
Your worthy comments:
John McFerrin <stoo@imsa.edu> (22.05.99)
Thank you for having the guts to say what I have at least somewhat felt since I first heard this album. Yes, the guitar style is _much_ more generic sounding now than in the first few albums, and that hurts the album a lot. And the filler, OH THE FILLER. Still, I don't really mind most of the songs too much, but I'm not particularly glad to hear a lot of them. Like 'In my Time'... . Or 'In the Light'. Or a bunch of the other songs on disc 2, I can't remember them, they're all boring (except 'Bron--Aur', that rules). That being said, 'Trampled Underfoot' is very enjoyable for me, I like 'Kashmir' a lot, and I really like 'Houses Of The Holy' (I also like 'The Rover' quite a bit). I'd give the album a 7 personally, cos despite all of the garbage on board, there are some real gems, though drastically different from what they did in the early albums. I can understand the 6, tho.
Mike DeFabio <defab4@earthlink.net> (24.08.99)
Hmm. I really really like this one. Might be my favorite Zeppelin album. Who knows? But I STILL don't think it's heavy metal. It's as heavy as anything they ever did, but it's still not quite metal. 'Cause if it were metal, I wouldn't like it. I hate heavy metal. 'In My Time Of Dying' is the only really weak song on here, but if it were shortened, it'd be good too. I give it a nine.
Nick Karn <glassmoondt@yahoo.com> (16.11.99)
Count me in as one who can EASILY 'sit through this entire record' -
several times in fact. I'd go as far to say that this album, not IV,
is the quintessential Zeppelin release because it captures everything about
them so well (at least in my opinion). I really don't hear anything that
appropaches filler or generic status here - other than "Boogie With
Stu" and "Black Country Woman", but even those I can really
get into because they show a great band just having fun playing, but that's
just me. "Custard Pie" easily tops "Black Dog" in energy,
and has a massive drum performance going for it. "The Rover"
and "Houses Of The Holy" are also two of my favorite riff-based
Zep tracks because the sound is so huge and they're really really catchy.
And any weaknesses on "In My Time Of Dying" (mostly length) is
made up for by Bonham's performance, and the slide guitar part totally
rules. "Trampled Underfoot" is disco-sounding in a cool way with
that keyboard part, and it's infectious, but it is a song I'd cut a couple
minutes off of. I agree that "Kashmir" is maybe a bit too long
as well, but it's so magical and epic that I don't care, even though I
wouldn't vote for it in the "Kashmir - Stairway To Heaven" debate.
Most people seem to think that the first disc is where most of the great
stuff is on this release, but I think the first four songs on disc two
win my vote as the greatest side out of any album I've ever heard. "In
The Light" is more majestic, beautiful, eerie, and powerful than I
could possibly put into words. And "Bron-Yr-Aur" is the absolute
perfect bridge as an acoustic instrumental from "In The Light"
to "Down By The Seaside", which I myself wouldn't mind spend
the rest of my life listening to - it's my favorite Zeppelin song, because
it truly lives up to its' name with the atmosphere and mood the band's
playing creates. Just an incredible song. "Ten Years Gone" has
more incredible expression in its' instrumental section than most songs
with lyrics are capable of, "Night Flight" has a beautifully
uplifting 'night feel' in its' music, melody and lyrics, while "The
Wanton Song" and "Sick Again" are dirty and explosive hard
rock at its' best.
Sorry for getting all worked up over this album - I feel Zeppelin is overrated
in many aspects, but this is the album that in my opinion deserves any
recognition it gets and more - truly one of the greatest musical statements
of all time. I give it a 10 in my sleep without any second thought... just
doesn't seem possible how our opinions can differ so much. Then again,
there are actually living people NOT born before 1940 (Brian Burks reference)
that hate the Beatles. Very, very odd.
<LedZep3206@aol.com> (21.11.99)
Oh my God, does this review STINK. Physical Graffiti is thier best, in my opinion, and I think it's the greatest hard rock album in history. I, for one, can sit through this just fine, thank you very much.
Eric Kline <Eric.Kline@BestBuy.com> (15.02.2000)
I just couldn't resist commenting on this one - one, because it's one
of my favourite all-time albums and two, because yours is like so many
other physical graffiti reviews.
all too often double albums are dismissed for being pretentious, overdone,
etc. such criticism is well-deserved alot of times (smashing pumpkins siamese
dream, clash sandinista). some double albums, however, had to
be double albums. that is, the musician(s) were, at that point in time,
that prolific and that creative and that insatiable that anything less
would just not do. in other words there are some albums that are necessarily,
thankfully double-length: exile on main st., songs in the key
of life, trout mask replica, and yes, physical graffiti.
while the material on PG is culled from various sessions spanning
aprox 3 years, it sounds completely natural and cohesive. the range is
astonishing (lulling 'down by the seaside' to bone-crunching 'custard pie').
maybe most significant in regard to PG, especially in looking at
the zep legacy, is the drumming of john bonham - the 10 min+ 'in my time
of dying' doesn't even seem like it's half that long thanks to bonzo's
barrages and fills (this is his real signature and not the commonly referred
to but ultimately inferior 'achilles last stand').
this is the greatest zeppelin album as well as the last great zeppelin
album (although presence has always been underrated) - the culmination...
the apex... the swan song, as it were.
in short, the album would not be the same if even one of the songs had
been left off.
This is essential, inspired, pioneering, beautiful rock and roll - X2.
Jeffrey A Morton <whitesnake5@juno.com> (15.06.2000)
Er, you lost me on this one George. Some of the album is not good ('Down by the Seaside', and 'Boogie with Stu') but the rest is superb. 'In My Time of Dying' is ok, but 'Kashmir' is classic, and 'Houses of the Holy' may be the catchiest thing the band EVER wrote (should've been on it's parent album). Maybe they streached it too far, but the way it is...well, that's fine with me
Philip Maddox <slurmsmckenzie@hotmail.com> (06.07.2000)
I'd give this an 8 for the same reason you gave The Wall a 7 - the first album is nearly perfect, but the second half doesn't hold up. Disc 1 might be the greatest disc Zeppelin ever did - the classics just pile up. 'Custard Pie' and 'The Rover' are great riff fests, 'Houses Of the Holy' is a great pop song, 'Trampled Under Foot' is extremely funky (and probably my favorite track here), 'Kashmir' is very epic sounding with the string accenting the weird melody and an eastern flair, and 'In My Time Of Dying' doesn't get boring for one minute - it's one of my favorite guitar jams ever. Disc 2, however, isn't nearly as good. Some tracks ('Boogie With Stu', 'Black Country Woman', 'Down By The Seaside') are pleasant throwaways, but some just suck (I'm looking at 'In The Light' here in particular, one of the most boring songs ever). The only great song on disc 2 is 'Bron-Yr-Aur', which is a beautiful acoustic song. With one great song, one bad song, and a bunch of ok songs, I usually only listen to disc 1. Disc 1 would get a 10, but disc 2 would only get a 6. Add 'em up, divide by 2, and there's your 8. This record sounds like they were really pushing for a double album. Like almost all double albums (with a few notable exceptions), there is way too much filler here. At least they were kind enough to split the "cool" stuff and the "boring" stuff on to separate discs.
Paul Stadden <paul@stadden.com> (03.09.2000)
You're doing it again. It is NOT generic heavy metal. It's not even heavy metal for crying out loud. This album had some of the greatest rock songs of all time on here. 'In My Time of Dying', 'Trampled Under Foot', 'Kashmir', 'Ten Years Gone', 'Night Flight', all great. You must realize that repetition is cool. I like having the same timings over and over again. I want to hear 'Whole Lotta Love': parts 1 through 5. The Beatles used standard blues timings and the verse/chorus/verse/chorus/solo/verse/chorus pattern during the first 3 years of their career. Yet you praise them. What's the deal?
<RichardMelchior@aol.com> (23.09.2000)
George, for crying out loud, no one this early in the 21st century even
uses the term "heavy metal" anymore, much less apply it to the
work of Led Zeppelin. It wouldn't matter if Jimmy Page strummed the same
root-5 chord for an entire song, Zep were never, and never could have been,
a generic heavy metal band. And this is certainly not generic riffing -
I don't think you even mentioned "In The Light" with its unique
descending (ascending?) guitar lines and brilliant organ bridge.
And let's say Zep were a "generic" heavy metal band. You've never
really provided any reason why "heavy metal", if you wanna call
it that, is such a bad form of music anyway. You're sounding a little too
much like some washed-up Rolling Stone critic from the early '70s, and
being a youngster you should really know better. Sorry to be hard on ya,
but you're treading on sacred ground here. [Ah, I love the
"sacred ground" kinds of arguments. What a better way to point
out the absolute uselessness of a site like this - G.S.]
Eric B. <EBDIGSIT@gateway.net> (16.10.2000)
As Nick Karn says, count me in as someone who CAN listen to this entire
record. May not be the pinnacle of Zeppelinism (see LZ 1 or 2),
but you can at least spit on the summit from here. I think it is among
their top three. I tend to enjoy Physical Graffiti more than Houses
of the Holy or LZ 4 and I suppose I'd give it a slight edge
over LZ 3. It does have a dirtier sound the earlier stuff, with
Page in particular employing more distortion. As someone who discovered
the early stuff first, it did take a few listens before I got into most
of the record. I immediatiatly latched on to "Kashmir" and "Ten
Years Gone", but the other cuts took time to sink in. Now, I find
most of it to be first rate. Of the heavy rockers, "The Rover"
is perhaps the most satisfying...the sound is a bit sludgy and muddy...but
I call me part pig, because I like it. "Custard Pie", "The
Wanton Song" and "Sick Again" are similar...I must admit
that certain sameness pervades these tracks, but I like the recipe...so
for me it's a Zep buffet. "Ten Years Gone" remains my personal
favorite...Page's arrangement and sound on this one is truly top notch..similar
in some respects to "Stairway". I won't add to what everyone
else has said about "Kashmir", other than to say all the attention
is justified. George, I actually like "In the Light"...I find
it almost as satisfying as "No Quarter"...the Middle-Eastern
flourishes and guitar orchestra sound wake up my inner prog-rocker...a
just have a thing for icy keyboards..it's incurable I'm afraid. "Houses
of the Holy" ,a fun rocker, is poppier than the others, it's sort
of like "The Ocean", but with only half the calories (not surprising,
it being an outtake from the hippie-happy Houses of the Holy sessions).
"In My Time of Dying" clears my sinuses pretty well, but gee
whiz.. my nose has never been that stopped up...some editing would improve
this one. It has some great passages though. "Down By the Seaside"
and "Night Flight" are pleasant enough to keep things moving
along(ie-not filler). Physical Graffiti is frequently accused of harboring
fugitive filler, but I find this criticism a bit overblown. The only offenders
I find that resemble anything close to filler is "Black Country Woman"
and "Boogie With Stu", but even in those cases it's only a misdemeanor
offense (just my opinion). I even like that little acoustic ditty "Bron-Yr-Aur"...
A great collection of cuts that emerge the more you listen...
In rereading my comments concerning Physical Graffiti, I noticed
(besides, my need to hire a proofreader to fix my knack for omitting entire
words or leaving words that don't belong) that I forgot to mention "Trampled
Underfoot". Other than "Kashmir", it seems to get more airplay
than any song on the record. I think this is somewhat unfortunate, since
I think there are at least four or five songs (besides 'Kashmir') that
are finer songs. However, I have a sunnier opinion of the cut than you
seem to George. Unlike their fun, but tongue-in-cheek stab at funk, "The
Crunge", "Trampled Underfoot" seems to be a more serious
attempt to incorporate those funky grooves into their existing sound...the
influence of Stevie Wonder's "Superstition" seems to be present
and fairly undisguised...
I think the track is somewhat successful in that attempt..it does groove.
It's not great, I'll agree with you on that one.... but it's OK, it's acceptable...I'd
never call it "ridiculous" though. For me it sort of mirrors
my attitude towards the Stones attempt at a disco sound in the mid to late
70's...I'll always prefer stuff like "Gimmie Shelter", "Happy",
"Can You Hear Me Knockin", and "Stray Cat Blues"...but
I don't mind "Miss You"(I actually like it) or even the not quite
as successful "Emotional Rescue" ...I don't think they are anymore
ridiculous than "Trampled Under Foot".
<ScreamingIgor@cs.com> (19.11.2000)
Lurking within that double album is one great single album. Way too much dead weight on that one.
Year Of Release: 1976
Record rating = 5
Overall rating = 8
A single album of cock rock and flatfoot heavy metal? Together with
'Physical Graffiti', that makes a triple horror.
Best song: ACHILLES' LAST STAND
Time has altered my opinion of this album - only slightly, but altered
it. Initially I was convinced that there was only one more or less good
song here; now I'm convinced that there are at least three 'decent' creations
here. However, time has also worsened my position towards the bad stuff
on here: where it's bad, it's horrendous, close to unlistenable or way
beyond it. The worst offender in the Zeppelin catalog, this is one album
that should have never happened, and given the conditions in which it was
written, it really had a chance of not being released - and yet
it was.
Unfortunately, these very conditions are not the true reason behind the
album's murky, faceless image. Yes, that was a bad time for Led Zep: tax
exiles, Page's heroin addiction, Bonham's alcoholism, and above all, Plant's
broken legs and the ghost of the eternal wheelchair did threaten the band's
existence. Unlike the Stones, Led Zeppelin never really did get a kick
out of poor circumstances - they tended to work better under excellent
conditions. Okay, so maybe the very fact that they started recording at
that period saved the group from disbanding, helping it to limp along for
four more years. But the end product wasn't satisfactory at all, and did
suggest that perhaps disbanding would have been a better alternative at
the time.
So what is this end product? Simply put, it suffers from the inevitable
change of attitude that already began during the recording of Physical
Graffiti. Any of these songs could have easily fitted on that album,
because the style is the same. Generic heavy metal chords; abuse of power
chords; primitive, stupid guitar riffs; booming drumming; Plant's wailings
and screaming - nothing has changed since last year. It only got worse.
The 1968-73 years, whatever my criticism of this period might have been,
were spent under the sign of experimentalism and innovation; Physical
Graffiti cemented the Zep legacy together - not in the best way possible,
but tolerable; Presence is just an inferior take on some of the
PG themes, a morose and mostly melody-less collection of inferior
metal tunes that has absolutely no reason to exist, and is justifiably
loathed even by a large proportion of Led Zep fans.
Sure enough, just like Graffiti had its fair share of good songs,
so does this album. The opener, 'Achilles' Last Stand' (that should have
been 'Atlantes' but was changed at the last minute for obscure 'well-sounding'
reasons; so much for a scientific approach to art), is a massive tour de
force, and probably Zep's last fairly successful stab at an epic song.
Overlong as it may be, it still has that fantasti-wasti riff that has Page
escaping from the routine of heavy metal guitar punching for the last time:
the song is as far from vomit-inducing cock rock as you'd thought they
would never get again. If you ask me, it is fairly reminiscent of 'The
Song Remains The Same' (same type of lead guitar/rhythm section interplay),
but better, adding a certain amount of pessimistic depth and - more importantly
- a tolerable and even enjoyable lead vocal from Robbie.
'Nobody's Fault But Mine', on the other hand, is mostly saved by Plant:
the song deals with heroin addiction and is probably Page's confession
(his analog of Lennon's 'Cold Turkey', except that Jimmy certainly had
much more direct experience). Robert truly does a good singing job on this
one, recreating the pain and above all the confusion ('n-n-n-no-no-no-nobody's
fault but mine' he sings), while Jimmy hammers out some more of these weird,
'poisonous' guitar tones he'd exploited so well in the first section of
'In My Time Of Dying' on the previous album. And finally, the album closer,
the slow blues 'Tea For One' is an inferior, but still slightly different
rewrite of the classic 'Since I've Been Loving You': the lyrics are more
sophisticated, but the effect is more or less the same, only withought
the delightful, sorrowful guitar lines of the former. It's okay - if you
dig slow heavy blues, and 'Since I've Been Loving You' in particular, you'll
like it. Just be sure to play it in the middle of the night.
Don't hold your head up high, though. We dealt with the better ones; now
comes the time to whip the naughty. There are four more songs here, amounting
to a full side of material, and they're as bad as a pile of canine droppings,
if not worse. Four more lame parodies on classic heavy boogie-woogie. What
happened, I repeat, what happened to the skill of old when they could pull
off 'Communication Breakdown' and 'Rock'n'Roll' and get away with it? 'Royal
Orleans' and 'Candy Store Rock' are the worst offenders of the lot: they're
not funny, they're not angry, they're just a bunch of crude, dorky, distorted
riffs that could have easily done by any average heavy metal band
at the time. Of course, if you're into heavy metal, this one's for you.
If you like your Led Zep for creating intelligent, moving, penetrating
music, don't even think about putting it on. 'For Your Life' is little
better: generally speaking, it's just a clumsy mess, like the second part
of 'In My Time Of Dying'. And 'Hots On For Nowhere' is just hots on for
nowhere. The band is trying to get funky again, like they did on some of
the previous records, but Led Zeppelin simply can't play good funk
- this requires more than just one guitar holding down the rhythm, and
it also requires getting rid of Mr Plant, who sounds even more self-parodic
on these numbers than usual.
A sad thing, how the once mighty have fallen. Yet totally predictable -
the band's limitations were always seen from the very start, and once they'd
exhausted the restricted amount of innovative ideas they once shared, there
was nothing left to do but to keep on pumping out this muck. They didn't
even have the strength nor the will to experiment - a thing that saved
the contemporary careers of other 'dinosaurs' such as the Stones or the
Who. They just kept redoing the same record like trying to squeeze out
the last possible drops of the same overused tea bag. Stay away from it
if you value your life.
Nobody's fault but mine if I'm wrong. So tell me what YOU think!
Your worthy comments:
<EBDIGSIT@gateway.net> (14.08.2000)
Ok....This album really is underated guys. If you think Houses of the Holy and Physical Graffiti are already the sounds of a Zeppelin in descent, then I see why you find Presence to be about six eggs short of a dozen. But I happen to think both of those records are very good and Presence is only a slight disappointment in comparison....it's a good record, plain and simple...not the best, but certainly better than In Through the Out Door, Coda, and The Song Remains the Same. 'Achilles Last Stand' and 'Nobody's Fault'...are top shelf Zeppelin...."For Your Life" is tasty too (an underated gem)...Of the other songs, only "Candy Store Rock" and "Tea For One" are a bit underwhelming...the first is too generic-rock...the second one sports an overly sleepy tempo and is much too damn long. Those flaws aside, I'd recommend this record to any hard rock fan....a must for any Zeppelin Fan.
<RichardMelchior@aol.com> (24.09.2000)
Here we go again with the "generic heavy metal" accusations - but to be fair to ya George, this probably is as close to that description as Led Zeppelin ever got. But is it as bad as you describe? Not even close, kids. Sometimes a good riff can exist for its own sake - let it be.
Year Of Release: 1979
Record rating = 5
Overall rating = 8
Weird swan song, and even though it doesn't sound a bit like the
1975-76 albums, it's not much of an improvement.
Best song: I'M GONNA CRAWL
Here's ample proof that both Page and Plant were creatively exhausted
by the time. Most of the songs here are either written by J. P. Jones or
at least sound as if he was the most interested person in the studio. However,
don't expect 'No Quarter'! Jones had certainly soaked up some current keyboard
pop and New Wave influences, and apart from the retro 'Hot Dog', all of
these songs sound quite 'contemporary'. Unfortunately, Jones' enthusiasm
was far, far insufficient to make the record truly exciting. Anyway, how
could it be exciting? Plant was still lamenting over the untimely death
of his son, Jimmy was still only half-cured of heroin addiction, and Bonzo
was half-dying of alcoholism. Kinda like the Who in 1978, but while the
Who were still being pulled through by Townshend's songwriting, there was
no Townshend to help salvage this record.
The overall sound is murky, draggy and tired. Bonzo drums with maybe only
about a third of his former potential, this being probably the only
record where he could just as well be replaced by an average session player
without anybody noticing. Jimmy is hard to notice at all behind the keyboards:
either his drug affair had messed up his hands or he was just tired of
guitar heroics, so he mostly sticks to simple, unremarkable riffs and generic,
not very exciting solos. Oh well, at least there's no banal metal melodies,
at least. And Plant's voice is but a shadow of his former self. Maybe I
get this feeling because of the horrible mix, but apart from a couple brilliant
workouts, like on 'I'm Gonna Crawl', I just don't notice him at all. The
good side is that I don't notice the 'oh-ohs' and 'ah-ahs' either.
The actual songs aren't crappy, but for the most part they work on a zero
level for me: slow-paced, mid-tempo 'rockers' that, as usual, go on and
on and on without anything to lift their heads up from the ground which
they mostly stick to. The ten-minute 'Carouselambra' is practically impossible
to listen to in one sitting without being distracted by a million things
outside the window. And what's with that horrible disco part at the end?
Did Led Zeppelin really plan to become a disco band in the near future?
Well, it's a good thing they disbanded a year later then...
Want to hear a prescription for an average ITTOD song? Lift off
any of the longer tracks from Physical Graffiti. Eliminate or at
least muffle down all the guitar solos. Add a synthesizer background that
keeps replaying a boring sequence of a handful of chords for ten minutes.
Gag Plant and put Bonzo on the drums in the midst of a heart attack. And
there you go - why, 'In The Evening' is just that kind of clone
(off of 'In The Light', of course). It drags on and on, without an inch
of power they once had, and it would be pure hypocrisy to try and find
anything that redeems this number. Or 'Fool In The Rain'? C'mon, 'Fool
In The Rain' is a good song? It's a power pop monster! And I think I already
said all I think about 'Carouselambra'.
The record is salvaged partially by three tracks, although none of them
sound like Led Zeppelin either. 'Hot Dog' is a cheerful three minute country-western
groove that's the only happy song on the whole album and so would sound
much better in the context of Houses Of The Holy. 'All Of My Love'
(probably the best known song off the album) is decent synth pop, and it's
at least motivated (it's dedicated to the death of Plant's son, so Robbie
really sounds moving on it; however, I'm not sure as to whether the mid-80's
Elton John-style synth solo really pleases the average Led Zep fan). The
best song, however, and the only one which I'd put on the Led Zep 'golden'
list, is the closing 'I'm Gonna Crawl': a desperate love ballad where,
for one single glorious moment, the synth backing, the economic guitar
licks and the emotional singing combine in that glorious alchemy that made
Led Zep so entrancing in the first place. Even Jimmy delivers the only
truly engaging guitar solo on the whole record. Funny how the song reminds
me of 'Babe I'm Gonna Leave You' from the debut record in its desperation
and plea. Could we say that the circle has closed? I guess we can...
You know, somehow I feel that even if Bonzo hadn't died within a year after
the album's release, it would still be the band's last one. The death of
Bonzo wasn't a tragic incident that cut apart the fortune of a glorious
rock band in its prime. It was just a suitable excuse (no offense, John)
for ending a band that really didn't want to drag on and was only happy
to be dissolved. Had they continued, they would have become a miserable
parody on themselves, like the Who and the Stones in the Eighties. In
Through The Out Door already began that process...
I'm gonna crawl if you don't mail your ideas
Your worthy comments:
John McFerrin <stoo@imsa.edu> (02.06.99)
It's strange. I agree with you, but I still kinda sorta like this album. You're right that this has no resemblance to the Led Zeppelin that we grew to know and love. But that's part of it's charm for me. I've grown to actually like 'Carouselambra', believe it or don't. And 'Fool In The Rain' is just power pop, but it's good power pop. And 'All My Love' is very nice. Even tho none of these songs really sound like vintage zeppelin. And 'In The Evening' is kinda weak, yeah, but it's got this wierd creepy feeling to it, especially in that middle part with the quiet solo. It's just kinda neat to hear how Zep would sound not being Zep. Thank goodness that they broke up before it got really annoying.
Marco Ursi <zeppelinwho@hotmail.com> (10.09.99)
Not bad. Jones certainly makes better use of the synthesisers than Townsend and the Who. It's the bands most understated and fun record, also the most poppy. The musicianship ain't all there as Bonzo was losing it fast and Jimmy's guitar is overshadowed by the keyboards all over the place but than again, musicianship isn't always that important.
<RWBurson@aol.com> (20.10.99)
I am a large fan of In through the out door, but can respect your review. But, John Paul Jones plays the keyboards and synthesizers, not Page. Also, this is different than any Zeppelin album by having blues, country, hard and soft rock, some reggae in 'Fool In the Rain', and the dark sounds of 'In the Evening', which stem from Page's work on the Lucifer Rising Soundtrack.
<Jabtot@aol.com> (06.02.2000)
George,Maybe I am way off base here,or I just dont know what I am talking about.I love this album!From "In The Evening" right thru to the last track,I am totally engrossed.Maybe all the superhyped expectations I had when it came out are finally fullfilled.The older I get the better this sounds.'Im Gonna Crawl' is one of my all time Zep favorites.I think those who pan the album expected too much,Take it for what it is,the swansong of rocks heaviest metal!
Philip Maddox <slurmsmckenzie@hotmail.com> (06.07.2000)
To me, this just sounds like disc 2 of Physical Graffiti - lots and lots of filler. This record almost seems like it's all filler, though - there is no reason for 'Carouselambra' to last longer than 4 minutes, much less over 10. 'In The Evening' and 'South Bound Saurez' just sound like name-brand Led Zeppelin rockers - not bad, but not exciting enough to merit digging the record out to listen to them. 'All My Love' is an ok synth ballad, but it's really nothing special. In fact, the only song here that really stands out for me is 'Fool In The Rain'. I think that's a great song! The melody is pretty, the middle part is a fantastic groove, and the guitar solo is good, too. Sure, it's power pop, but if all power pop sounded like that, I'd like power pop! It's easily one of my favorite Zep songs (no fooling!) 'I'm Gonna Crawl' is ok, too, though it's a bit too long. I would give this a 5, but I love 'Fool In The Rain' enough to boost the rating to a 6. I don't see why so many people dislike that song. I had no expectations going in to this record - all I knew was that 'Fool In The Rain' was on it. Needless to say, I was disappointed.
<PDigug3606@aol.com> (07.09.2000)
George, I think maybe you were drinking some of the same stuff Mr Bonham was drinking the night he called it a life. Your comment that this doesn't sound like any other Led Zepplin album was probably the whole point of making the album sound unlike any other Led Zeppelin album. Time to move on, try something different. I have to agree with you on 'I'm Gonna Crawl'. One of THE best Plant vocals in the entire Zeppelin catalouge. I've probably played that song more than any other song off the album. 'Fool In The Rain', and 'All Of My Love', are songs that could have been played on MOR radio, and just might have been. As for 'Carouselambra', I've always dug that dare I say it, discoey, is that a word???? ending. An overlooked gem, in my opinion, in the Zeppelin discography. 'In The Evening' had a muddy mix, which was only slightly improved on the remaster. I like it a little better now. Overall, I'd give it an 8...It's still better than 99% of the Zeppelin wannabees that are out there today.
<EBDIGSIT@gateway.net> (02.10.2000)
In Through the Out Door is hand's down the poorest Zeppelin studio album...."Fool in the Rain" is an enjoyable cut, "In the Evening" and "South Bound Saurez" are ok. The rest is truly mediocre or worse.....or worse would include your favorite cut "I'm Gonna Crawl"....a boring number...a synth meets the blues...no thanks...more aptly titled "We're Gonna Lay Down and Slip Into a Coma" Jimmy's solo isn't bad, but unfortunately it was kidnapped by the rest of the song. From comments they've made through the years, I think J. Page and R. Plant wish they could have a 'do over' with I.T.T.O.D.....oh well, can't be brilliant all the time... If you are about to hand over some tokens your first Zep record... do yourself a favor and get all the other studio albums first.
Year Of Release: 1982
Record rating = 3
Overall rating = 6
Seriously, this is just a collection of crappy outtakes that depicts
Led Zep as a banal cock rock band. Which they were - sometimes, but not
always.
Best song: WE'RE GONNA GROOVE
Either Jimmy was out of money or nostalgia was grabbing him by the throat,
but truth is: it's hard to imagine an album that could shatter Led Zeppelin's
reputation more than Coda. What's interesting is that a large number
of these outtakes date from a relatively early period in the band's career,
before their slump into the vulgarized power metal style. And yet, most
of these songs are totally, unlimitedly, un-com-pro-mi-sing-ly unlistenable,
at least for me. Lovers of generic heavy metal will dig it, but not me.
There are exactly three songs on here that I would rank as 'trying to approach
'decent''. The cover of B. B. King's 'We're Gonna Groove' ranks along with
their more moderate Graffiti product like 'Custard Pie': fast but
not melody-less, and bluesy which is a bonus. While one might get tired
of the overall bluesy style of their first albums, on PG and Presence
I simply can't wait to hear a blues like 'Tea For One' or 'In My Time Of
Dying' because it always elevates the playing. This one's good, too, but
an incredibly deceptive beginning for an album.
Then there's a strange countryish ditty called 'Poor Tom' which, although
credited to Page - Plant, is an obvious rip-off from some obscure 'classic'
song; what it does painfully remind me of is the Stones' cover of 'Prodigal
Son', only augmented by a full-blown rhythm section. The mix is bad (BTW,
the mix is mostly bad throughout the album), but if you're diligent enough
you just might like it. At least, in this context it's OK. It's easily
understandable, too, why it never could fit into any of the 'regular' albums:
while there is indeed a 'minor' atmosphere on the song, it's nowhere near
as overblown as some of their acoustic balladeering ('Thank You', for instance),
and it's nowhere near as gloomy as some of their other acoustic
balladeering ('Gallows Pole', anyone?). This is why I find it particularly
delicious.
Finally, the third track that is somewhat interesting to me is the instrumental
'Bonzo's Montreux', a mostly drum-driven boogie that could be called an
extended drum solo, but in reality it isn't: it's just Bonzo banging away
a complicated rhythm track on a battery of doomed drums. Or, well, maybe
it is a drum solo, but in that case I always loved drum solos that
are rhythmic and constitute a real solid groove (like Ron Bushy's solo
on 'In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida'), and this one's one of the best in the genre.
It sounds absolutely mind-blowing, what with all the force he puts into
his blows (the coda is especially shattering), and it's probably the best
requiem they could put on record for him. One complaint, though: why couldn't
they record a track like this instead of the stupid drum solo on 'Moby
Dick'?
This is, however, where the scarce praisings end and the garbage dissection
comes in. For me, it was hard to imagine anything worse than the songs
they put on Presence; boy, was I ever mistaken. In fact, 'Wearing
And Tearing' is a worthy candidate for Worst Song in my more than 500-CD
catalogue. 'Ya know, ya know, ya know, ya know...' Ya know what? If I heard
a song like this played by KISS or Scorpions or Iron Maiden, I'd probably
just turn off the radio/TV and walk away without much afterthought. But
hearing this lifeless, gross, profanized piece of noise-making played by
Led Zeppelin, a band which I like and generally respect in spite of all
the critique on this site, it's really a pain in my heart. Actually, it's
not even heavy metal, it sounds more like very poorly executed hardcore
punk - and that's not even music.
Of course, none of the other songs can hope to be as bad as that (I
ditched the rating one special point for that horror), but that's small
consolation. 'Ozone Baby' is a ridiculous fast-tempo ballad with strong
punk connotations (bad punk connotations) again, and 'Darlene' looks
like a Houses Of The Holy outtake cuz it sounds as most everything
on that album: in a different style from their usual one. They attempt
to record something like 'heavy dance music' on that one, but they fail
because these two things don't fit in properly, not to mention that Plant
sounds especially self-parodic. Sometimes it seems to me (don't laugh)
he's trying to pull a Captain Beefheart, with similar hoarse vocalization;
but it takes a lot of brawn to match the vocal skills of Mr Van
Vliet. The hookless rocker 'Walter's Walk' is just as forgettable (it reminds
me of all those weak cock-rock numbers on Physical Graffiti), and
the live rendition of 'I Can't Quit You Baby' (why that one?? why not 'Stairway
To Heaven' at least?) has long since been superated by the better versions
on the BBC Sessions.
In all, my reaction is a total yuck. I understand that in 1982,
when the album was released, it was certainly acceptable when judged by
any lesser bands standards. But in retrospect it almost looks like a dead
dog's droppings: if you played me 'Wearing And Tearing' without my knowing
the author, I'd never even suggest Led Zeppelin; I like the band too much
for even being able to suggest such an atrocious thing. Why Jimmy allowed
the band's reputation to be flopped and flapped around in such a miserable
way is beyond me, and I'm pretty sure they still have loads of better material
in the vaults. Or maybe I'm wrong? Maybe speaking of 'loads of better material'
is more like prattling about goblin gold? Well, anyway, like I said: better
dream of goblin gold than sniff a dead dog's droppings.
We're gonna groove, just mail your ideas
Your worthy comments:
<LedZep3206@aol.com> (21.11.99)
Now THIS review caught me totally off guard. All the outtakes on this album are GREAT, and I think your opinion of Led Zeppelin is really crappy.
<EBDIGSIT@gateway.net> (16.10.2000)
Oh the pain!!..Make it stop mommie....Coda? Why Jimmy? Why? Only "Ozone Baby" and "Darlene" rescue this one from complete wretchedness...These two boogie rockers from the In Through the Out Door sessions could have improved that record somewhat, but here they are...banished to Coda. Don't get me wrong now, these two songs are really just OK...it's just that the rest is way less than good, some of it down right stinks...."We're Gonna Groove" and the live "I Can't Quit You.." are tolerable, but that's the best thing I can say..."Walter's Walk" was wisely left unused the first time, the second time isn't the charm..."Wearing and Tearing" and "Bonzo's.." just stink.. As I mentioned in my comments about the BBC Sessions, I wished "Wavy Long Hair", "Traveling Riverside Blues", and even "Something Else" could have used instead...The great B-side to "Immigrant Song", "Hey Hey, What Can I Do" would have been a fine addition as well...But, oh well..what do I know...
Year Of Release: 1997
Record rating = 9
Overall rating = 12
An amazingly good live selection that's gonna please even the casual
fan.
Best song: YOU SHOOK ME?
Lord bless the BBC! For years now they've been putting out these cute
little compilations, and they all range from amusing to great. This one's
one of the most recent, devoted to unveiling before us the grandiose live
powers of what was formerly known as 'the ultimate hard rock band'. Needless
to say, this is a must for everybody with even a passing interest in Led
Zep. Whatever complaints I may hold towards separate original albums, there's
little to complain about as for what regards this package. The songs are
all from the early years - they don't go any further than IV, and
so much the better (even though I would dearly love to see a live version
of 'No Quarter' here as well). The one major flaw is that several of the
songs are repeated in two, sometimes even three versions - personally,
I don't see why I should patiently tolerate three similar takes on 'Communication
Breakdown' or two nearly similar takes on 'I Can't Quit You Baby'. This
makes me ditch a point - sorry, guys, even if there was nothing else interesting
left, you'd have done better to eliminate some of these versions. After
all, nobody asks you to increase the running time to seventy plus minutes
if there's nothing substantial to increase it with. However, some
of the doublets do seem motivated - there is, for instance, an early version
of 'Dazed And Confused' and a later version of the same, so that one can
compare the original tight, relatively short hard rock number with the
grandiose twenty-minute metal symphony it evolved into later. So the problem
is not really as serious as one could have supposed.
But never mind the problems! Why don't you enjoy the good sides instead?
From the early days, there are two kick-ass versions of 'You Shook Me'
the first one of which comes close to surpassing the original in what concerns
the level of 'hardness' and sparkling energy - if this dates from the band's
first recording sessions on the BBC, I really suppose Jimmy made a solemn
vow to make a non-forgettable introduction of the band to the radio-loving
public. There are also some interesting blues numbers you won't find on
any other official release, like the riff-fest 'The Girl I Love She Got
Long Black Wavy Hair' which main riff later got re-worked (that's another
synonym for 'stolen', of course) into 'Moby Dick', or the fast, jammy 'Travelling
Riverside Blues'. The playing is nearly always exceptional, except that
Plant often gets as obnoxious as ever, with endless wailings and insertions
of the line 'squeeze my lemon 'til the juice runs down my leg' in every
possible place - whenever the line could be expected or whenever it couldn't.
But I guess that is no big surprise for those who are at least vaguely
familiar with Mr Robert's style.
Apart from that, on the first disc you also get your 'How Many More Times'
(good, but a little bit too long) and 'What Is And What Should Never Be'
(cool! The guys on the BBC have guessed my taste! They knew
exactly how to please me! To think they could have put on 'Rambling On'
instead!) So, if you don't count the excessive live versions of 'I Can't
Quit You Baby' (one should be enough) and 'Communication Breakdown' (one
should be too much), the first disc is totally glorious. The second one
does have a couple misfires, though. First, what the heck is 'Thank You'
doing on here as the closing song? That's one of the lamest ballads they
ever did! Anyway, I don't care much - it being the last song, I can simply
stop the CD earlier than needed. Second, why choose such an unsatisfying
version of 'Since I've Been Loving You'? Mind you, I loved the song
on III, but the performance on this disc is simply sloppy - Plant
doesn't bother to sing at all, and Jimmy doesn't seem to notice that Plant
doesn't sing and instead of compensating it with great guitarwork, gets
loose himself. I wonder if they were drunk in the recording studio or what?
Yuck! And finally, I never liked 'That's The Way'. But, the rest
is a totally different matter: 'Dazed And Confused' and 'Whole Lotta Love'
(this time going into a medley of old blues numbers and coming out again)
are as polished as ever, 'Stairway To Heaven' is actually better than the
live version on Song Remains The Same, and the generic cock rock
just does what it is supposed to do - get you in a groove and make you
forget all your troubles ('Black Dog', 'Heartbreaker').
So, simply beautiful. Indeed, I heartily recommend this album as the place
to start with Led Zep - forget all these hit packages, they're just for
navel-gazing jerks! Real music lovers should only get hit packages after
getting all the original albums, I say! Instead, invest your hard-earned
pay into this little 2-CD package and witness the world's greatest heavy
metal band (yup, you heard right; the world's greatest hard rock band is
The Who) at their very, very, very best, before they just turned into a
hit-making hair metal machine. Long live the BBC!
Thank you beforehand for your ideas
Your worthy comments:
John McFerrin <stoo@imsa.edu> (15.08.99)
Just a note: The second disc, unlike the first, is not a hodge podge of recordings; it's an entire concert, taken from the Paris Theatre, London, on January 4, 1971. In fact, it's especially notable in that it's the first time Led Zep ever performed 'Stairway' live. Anyways, that is why we get a medicore 'Since I've Been Loving You' and 'Thank You'; because they happened to be in the setlist of a historically important concert.
Mike DeFabio <defab4@earthlink.net> (24.08.99)
World's greatest HEAVY METAL BAND? Um... no. Led Zeppelin were not at
any time heavy metal. When are people oging to realize that? If the Who
were the world's greatest hard rock band, then Led Zeppelin weren't the
world's greatest anything. Okay. Onto the review.
IT'S TOO LONG!!! This needs some serious trimming. I'd be happy with only
one version of each song, thank you! But even if they trimmed it down to
the way I'd want it, it would still be two discs, so you'd be paying just
as much for no filler as you are for filler. So the filler content doesn't
bother me if I remember to program fat out.
John McFerrin <stoo@imsa.edu> (04.09.99)
It is true that by today's standards of what defines "heavy metal," Led Zeppelin does not fit. But by the definition of 70's Heavy Metal, which included Black Sabbath and Deep Purple, they most certainly were. There is also the fact that so many groups which are classified as some sort of Metal draw/drew tons of their inspiration from Zep, and even if Led Zep wasn't purely Metal, they were close enough for these other groups.
<EBDIGSIT@gateway.net> (16.10.2000)
A great alternative to the mediocre Songs Remains the Same live record. The band is energetic on this one...Some cuts are repeated too much, but I like all the versions of "Communication Breakdowm" just fine....Both of the versions of "Dazed and Confused" are great and different enough to find interesting points of comparison. The single versions of "Immigrant Song" and "How Many More Times" are stand outs as well. "Wavy Black Hair..", while lyrically repetitive, is still an enjoyable extra..why wasn't this, "Travelling Riverside Blues", and "Something Else" used on Coda...instead of some of the junk the used on there.....anyway, I digress..the then fresh "Black Dog" and "Stairway" are interesting in their proto-type versions, but both sound a bit hesitant....Still, all in all this collection is a very welcome addition to their discography.