Led Zeppelin [Original recording remastered]

"Communication Breakdown" is the one "single" from the album because from the very beginning Led Zeppelin's best tunes were just too long for airplay. "Dazed and Confused" is 6:27, Page's acoustic arrangement of "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" is 6:40 (the second best track on the album) and the final track, the under-rated "How Many More Times" is a heck of a lot longer than the "3:30" that is listed in the liner notes (go figure). The album begins with the introductory hard chords of "Good Times Bad Times" but also features the acoustic guitar and tabla drums on the folksy "Black Mountainside" as the group mixes and matches music styles. At this point Robert Plant is just handling the vocals, with Page, Jones and Bonham responsible for the new songs.... For good measure they toss a pair of Willie Dixon's blues tunes, "You Shook Me" and "I Can't Quit You Baby," to reveal the exact nature of the group's musical roots even as they were on their way to being the definitive heavy metal band.

Everything that comes afterwards in the musical career of Led Zeppelin all comes back to the ground they claim on this album. Future albums will vary the calculus in terms of how much hard rock, acoustic, or blues appears on a given album, but you will find the template for the group's success laid out on this self-titled debut effort where they establish their album-oriented perspective. This is guitar rock beyond what we had heard in the distorted electric blues of Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck, and Eric Clapton. Ultimately, what makes it a great debut album is that Led Zeppelin continues to build on those foundation in eight more classic heavy metal albums over the next dozen years. This is one of the few albums that I still as vinyl (object d'arte), cassette (emergency use if the CD player in the car breaks down), and CD. If I get stuck on a desert island, guess what album I want... Read more ›

In the latter half of the sixties, Jimmy Page was left without a band since his previous one, The Yardbirds, had disbanded. However, he wasn't about ready to be done rocking and rolling. He put together a new band with vocalist Robert Plant, bassist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. He appropriately called this new band The New Yardbirds. However, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out this isn't a very good band name. Fortunately, the band received inspiration from The Who drummer Keith Moon. He had an expression - "This gig is going down like a lead Zeppelin." Liking this term, they changed their name to Led Zeppelin. And in 1969, one of the great years in rock and roll history, these four young men released their self-titled debut album. How does it measure up? Read on and see.

The first two Led Zeppelin albums are considerably more bluesy than the later ones, but this is not a bad thing. Good Times Bad Times opens the album. It's a solid, classic hard rocking tune, with a slight bluesy touch. The most underrated member of Led Zeppelin is John Paul Jones, and his bass here really must be heard to be appreciated. Babe Im Gonna Leave You is a slower, mostly acoustic tune about heartbreak. Every musical artist, regardless of genre, has to do a few heartbreak tunes - and here Led Zeppelin serves up one of the finest the world has ever seen. You Shook Me is a cover song. To put it simply, this is a slower track, but it's still a hard rocker. I'm not too crazy about this one, but it's still a decent song. Dazed And Confused features the band serving up an excellent example of classic psychedelic hard rock. This is one of the most popular songs that can be found on the band's debut album - and why not? This song ROCKS!... Your Time Is Gonna Come kicks off with an organ solo by Jones, which is nothing short of excellent. It's not long before we have a melodic rocker that almost certainly won't fail to please. This here is what we call an underrated masterpiece. Black Mountain Side is short but sweet acoustic instrumental. Jimmy Page is a guitar god, but the acoustic stuff he does never seems to get the proper credit for some odd reason. Communication Breakdown is straight-up classic hard rock, this one is a premonition to the heavy metal that would slowly begin to surface in the seventies. This one is arguably my favorite song on the album. I Cant Quit You Baby is another cover song. This here is a slower, bluesy rocker featuring some excellent guitar riffs by the one and only Jimmy Page. The bass is also excellent, and it really makes me wonder why John Paul Jones is the most underrated person in the band! How Many More Times is yet another cover song. To put it in the simplest terms possible, this is a slow rocker - but it's still hard rock. It's a shame this track never got the proper credit, because the band couldn't have finished the album off with a better track!

There have been numerous issues of this album released over the years, but really, they're all the same other than their packaging. Don't bother shelling out the extra cash to get one of those foreign LP-style replica packages - it's just not worth it. The domestic versions are exactly the same and cost considerably less. Or better yet, just shell out the extra bucks and get the Complete Studio Recordings box set - it may appear pricey, but in actuality, it's a great value.

Led Zeppelin's self-titled 1969 debut is one of classic rock's essential masterpieces. Even after all these years, it still stands the test of time. If this little gem is missing from your rock and roll library, I suggest you add it as soon as possible. I don't know if I can call this the band's finest album (it's tough playing favorites with these guys), but it's damn fine nonetheless - and well worth purchasing. Read more ›