bob
01-17-2003, 09:34 PM
My second favorite band, and just a hair's breath behind The Beatles, Led Zeppelin is really the first band (along with the who, although Zeppelin released their first rockin' album in 69, The Who released theirs in 70) that just played as loud as humanly possible. So, for your enjoyment, I offer analysis of most of their albums.
Led Zeppelin: My least favorite album. I was never really a fan of their blues covers in the studio, so this album mostly is a strike-out for me. My favorites are "Good Times, Bad Times", "Communication Breakdown", and "How Many More Times".
Led Zeppelin II: A substantial improvement. Ditches blues for more balls-out rock. Has a surprisingly good pace, with the stretch of good songs running tracks 5-9 broken only by that crappy drum solo in "Moby Dick". Overall, one of their better (and more famous) efforts. The guitar solo in "Heartbreaker" is classic. Features one of their best one-two punches in "Heartbreaker" and "Living Loving Maid".
Led Zeppelin III: A reviled effort, for no apparent reason. It definitely lacks the same pace as II, but it makes up for it with more just straight up good songs. "Immigrant Song" is a great opener, "Celebration Day" and "Out on the Tiles" are nice rockers, "Gallow's Pole" is a traditional song Zepplified with nice results, and "Bron-Y-Aur Stomp" is my favorite acoustic tune they made.
__________ : Good, but I think overrated. "Black Dog" and "Rock and Roll" is another great one-two punch, but "Stairway to Heaven", IMO, just isn't a good song, and is saved only by the fact that the highly energetic "Misty Mountain Hop" follows it. Ends with three good, but not great songs.
Houses of the Holy: This is the point where Zeppelin started to get really genius. "Over the Hills and Far Away" is a nice acoustic/electric mishmash, and "The Crunge", "Dancing Days" and "D'Yer Ma'Ker" follow it, making it a one-two-three-four punch! Ends superbly with "The Ocean" another great hybrid tune.
Physical Graffiti: My favorite Zep album. I think it's brilliant almost from start to finish, with "Kashmir" being the only real weak spot. But disc one boasts a 1-2-3-4-5 punch with great rockers "Custard Pie" and "The Rover" being followed by my all-time favorite song, "In My Time of Dying", which is tailed by the upbeat "Houses of the Holy". "Trampled under Foot" funkifies things a little bit, but there's nothing wrong with that. Disc two is just as good, with "In the Light", "Bron-Y-Aur", and "Down by the Seaside" as a nice opener. It also sports many other great tunes, notably "Boogie With Stu", "Black Country Woman", "The Wanton Song", and "Night Flight".
In Through the Out Door: Kind of disappointing after Physical Graffiti, but has, IMO, Zep's all time best song combo with "Fool in The Rain" followed by "Hot Dog" (am I the only one who loves that song). "In the Evening" and "South Bound Suarez" are also good, but it ends unremarkably with 3 poor tunes.
So, that's it. And please, don't disregard my opinions because I dislike their two most famous songs.
Led Zeppelin: My least favorite album. I was never really a fan of their blues covers in the studio, so this album mostly is a strike-out for me. My favorites are "Good Times, Bad Times", "Communication Breakdown", and "How Many More Times".
Led Zeppelin II: A substantial improvement. Ditches blues for more balls-out rock. Has a surprisingly good pace, with the stretch of good songs running tracks 5-9 broken only by that crappy drum solo in "Moby Dick". Overall, one of their better (and more famous) efforts. The guitar solo in "Heartbreaker" is classic. Features one of their best one-two punches in "Heartbreaker" and "Living Loving Maid".
Led Zeppelin III: A reviled effort, for no apparent reason. It definitely lacks the same pace as II, but it makes up for it with more just straight up good songs. "Immigrant Song" is a great opener, "Celebration Day" and "Out on the Tiles" are nice rockers, "Gallow's Pole" is a traditional song Zepplified with nice results, and "Bron-Y-Aur Stomp" is my favorite acoustic tune they made.
__________ : Good, but I think overrated. "Black Dog" and "Rock and Roll" is another great one-two punch, but "Stairway to Heaven", IMO, just isn't a good song, and is saved only by the fact that the highly energetic "Misty Mountain Hop" follows it. Ends with three good, but not great songs.
Houses of the Holy: This is the point where Zeppelin started to get really genius. "Over the Hills and Far Away" is a nice acoustic/electric mishmash, and "The Crunge", "Dancing Days" and "D'Yer Ma'Ker" follow it, making it a one-two-three-four punch! Ends superbly with "The Ocean" another great hybrid tune.
Physical Graffiti: My favorite Zep album. I think it's brilliant almost from start to finish, with "Kashmir" being the only real weak spot. But disc one boasts a 1-2-3-4-5 punch with great rockers "Custard Pie" and "The Rover" being followed by my all-time favorite song, "In My Time of Dying", which is tailed by the upbeat "Houses of the Holy". "Trampled under Foot" funkifies things a little bit, but there's nothing wrong with that. Disc two is just as good, with "In the Light", "Bron-Y-Aur", and "Down by the Seaside" as a nice opener. It also sports many other great tunes, notably "Boogie With Stu", "Black Country Woman", "The Wanton Song", and "Night Flight".
In Through the Out Door: Kind of disappointing after Physical Graffiti, but has, IMO, Zep's all time best song combo with "Fool in The Rain" followed by "Hot Dog" (am I the only one who loves that song). "In the Evening" and "South Bound Suarez" are also good, but it ends unremarkably with 3 poor tunes.
So, that's it. And please, don't disregard my opinions because I dislike their two most famous songs.