Welcome to another “Album by Album Challenge.” For those that are new here, the “Album by Album Challenge” is where I take a band’s entire discography and listen to every album in order of release from front to back. With my unforgiving and well-aged ear, I call it how I hear it. In some cases, I find that what I once thought was good is actually pretty crappy and sometimes crap manages to age into something pretty kick ass. And in some cases, face melting is still just good ol’ face melting.
This time around is probably my most daring challenge to date: Led Zeppelin. Why daring? Well, that’s because Led Zeppelin is pretty much the holy grail of hard rock music to many people. In the eyes of diehard Zeppelin fans, this band can do little to no wrong so it was a real challenge to go into this. I have been a Zeppelin fan since for over 30 years but my love for Zeppelin pretty much ended at Physical Graffiti. Why? Well, because Presence, In Through the Out Door, and Coda were just albums that never made it into my collection… until now. It was really fun to not only revisit so many of these classic albums but even more exciting to hear these last three Zeppelin albums in their entirety, front to back for the first time. I hope you all will enjoy this challenge and as always, voice your opinions. I love to hear them!
Led Zeppelin – I
Release Date: January 17, 1969
The Good: Good Times Bad Times, Babe I’m Gonna Leave You, Dazed And Confused, Your Time Is Gonna Come, Black Mountain Side, Communication Breakdown, I Can’t Quit You Baby, How Many More Times
The Bad:
The Indifferent: You Shook Me,
What a monstrous fucking record. I can only imagine what this album must have sounded like to people in 1969. People were singing about peace and love and flowers in their hair and here come these four lads from England singing about being “Dazed and Confused” and that “Your Time is Gonna Come.” This must have been a culture fuck of the highest degree as it appealed to those that just weren’t buying into the peace and love bullshit.
This album is such a pleasantly awesome listening experience. Right off the bat, “Good Times Bad Times” just kills it and sets the pace. “Babe I’m Gonna Leave You” is such a monumental piece and “Your Time is Gonna Come” has to be one of the greatest songs of all time. This song is so good and it’s surprising to me that it isn’t considered one of Zeppelin’s best pieces. The only song that just kind of left me feeling “meh” was “You Shook Me.” Yeah, I get it that it’s the blues and all but this song just didn’t seem to feel very natural or even all that necessary but man, “How Many More Times” just might be one of the most bad ass album closers of all time. This album is a great start for a band who was paving the way for hard rock as we know it now.
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Led Zeppelin – II
Release Date: October 22, 1969
The Good: Whole Lotta Love, What Is and What Should Never Be, The Lemon Song, Thank You, Heartbreaker, Living Loving Maid, Ramble On, Bring it On Home
The Bad:
The Indifferent:
Man, you thought Led Zeppelin IV sounded like a “greatest hits.” II has just as many songs that generation after generation has come to hear on classic rock radio all over the fucking cosmos. This album, song for song, is just absolutely unstoppable. It opens so strong with “Whole Lotta Love” and “What Is…” is like a much deserved cigarette after a good hard fucking. Pardon my French but it’s true. “Heartbreaker” and “Living Loving Maid” back to back never disappoints. I remember when I was a kid I thought it was all one long song and was floored to find out it wasn’t. This is a great example of sequencing genius. “Ramble On” is epic beyond all words and yes, even “Moby Dick” caught and grabbed my attention.
I love that back in the day artists realized that less is more. This album feels like it could’ve and should’ve been longer but at the same time, it had me wanting more which is how it should be. I can’t tell you the last time I listened to Zeppelin albums like this, start to finish and I’m learning that these guys took a lot of care and pride in the sequencing of these tracks. There is such a great flow to this album and by the time it’s done you feel like you need to hear it again just to try and wrap your fucking head around it. This album is absolutely perfect.
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Led Zeppelin – III
Release Date: October 5, 1970
The Good: Immigrant Song, Friends, Celebration Day, Since I’ve Been Loving You, Out on the Tiles, Gallow’s Pole, Tangerine, That’s The Way, Bron-Y-Aur Stomp, Hats Off To (Roy) Harper
The Bad:
The Indifferent:
With LZIII, Zeppelin totally shows quite a bit of refinement and growth. I mean, those first 2 albums are fucking epic but III just feels like they kicked it all up a notch both performance and songwriting wise. I mean, holy fuck dude. “Since I’ve Been Loving You” melts my face in a way that I can’t even describe. It’s such an epic fucking song that as I’m writing this I had to put it on again. I also love that on this album Zep expanded their horizons as player. “Gallows Pole” with the banjo and mandolin playing just shows just what depth these guys had. In my opinion, this is the album that the musician in me fell in love with Led Zeppelin.
On III, I also love that Zeppelin picked up some acoustics to really add to that depth. On songs like “Tangerine”, “Hats Off To (Roy) Harper”, and “That’s The Way”, the band dialed it down enough to prove to any of the naysayers of the time that that they were a truly talented, melodic, and extremely versatile band. Song for song this album is so solid and for me, it’s Side II where everything really got cooking. If side 1 was the appetizer, side 2 was a main course that left me feeling full, content, and satisfied.
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Led Zeppelin – IV (Zoso)
Release Date: November 8, 1971
The Good: Black Dog, Rock N’ Roll, The Battle of Evermore, Stairway to Heaven, Misty Mountain Hop, Four Sticks, Going to California, When the Levee Breaks
The Bad:
The Indifferent:
According the Wiki page, this album is one of the best-selling albums worldwide at 37 million units, and with a 23-times platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America, it is the third-best-selling album in the United States. This should be no surprise at all to anyone who can attest to the greatness of this album. Matter of fact, on paper, this album is so played out that I was looking forward to this album the least of them all but the minute “Black Dog” kicked in, I was zipped right back to the first time I heard this album in its entirety. By the time “The Battle of Evermore” played I felt the chills, the goosebumps, the sheepish grin take over my face. Hearing this album was just as exciting and magical as it was the first time I ever heard it.
Much like Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon, Led Zeppelin IV is absolutely timeless and tireless. There isn’t a single song on this album that I felt like I’ve heard too much in my life. Even “Stairway to Heaven” is every bit as mind blowing and magical as it was the first time I ever heard it. I even found the obscure track on this album “Four Sticks” to be a song that feel like gets sadly overlooked but it’s so perfectly placed in the sequence. Again, there’s the art of sequencing once again. This album has such an amazing flow to it that it is a true listening experience unlike any other. Without a doubt this album is totally worthy of any and all praise it ever got and ever will get. To me, this is the perfect starting place for anyone who has never heard Zeppelin before as I feel that it covers all the bases and shows the versatility of this band more so than any album up to this point.
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Led Zeppelin – Houses of the Holy
Release Date: March 28, 1973
The Good: The Song Remains the Same, The Rain Song, Over the Hills and Far Away, The Crunge, Dancin’ Days, D’yer Mak’er, No Quarter, The Ocean
The Bad:
The Indifferent:
My God! “The Song Remains the Same” just may be one of the greatest album openers of all time. That song just comes bursting out of the speakers like a horse out of the gates and what a dynamic ride this song is. I tend to forget the greatness of this song but every time I hear it I’m quickly reminded of it. “The Rain Song” is still hands down one of the greatest songs of all time and “Over The Hills…” is just as awe inspiring as it ever was. All that said; let’s talk about “The Crunge.” Holy shit this song is whack as all fuck but what a great song. It’s so fucking hilariously awesome. How can you not laugh when hearing this song at the ridiculous awesomeness of this tune? Zeppelin rippin’ out the funk. At this point, Zeppelin has shed their “traditional” blues sound/style and has totally forged a sound all their own; a sound that would go on to inspired a million bands from here on out.
With the exception of “The Crunge”, Houses of the Holy is much like IV in that this one plays like a greatest hits. I mean, how many fucking times have we heard these songs on the radio? This album is absolutely brilliant and it’s such a great listening experience. In all honesty, I didn’t find it as moving or as powerful as IV but that could be because of sentimental reasons. That being said, this album is solid as fucking rock and front to back does not disappoint. Matter of fact, I found myself enjoying this one all the way through way more than I remembered doing so back in the day.
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Led Zeppelin – Physical Graffiti
Release Date: February 24, 1975
The Good: Custard Pie, The Rover, In My Time of Dying, Houses of the Holy, Trampled Under Foot, Kashmir, In The Light, Bron-Yr-Aur, Down By The Seaside, Ten Years Gone, Night Flight, The Wanton Song, Boogie with Stu, Black Country Woman, Sick Again
The Bad:
The Indifferent:
The only way I can really describe Physical Graffiti is that this seems to be Zeppelin’s most mature sounding and darkest album to date. This is definitely a moody album. As a young Zeppelin fan, it’s greatness was somewhat missed on me but listening to it now I hear a band that has grown immensely and also kind of found themselves in some darker times. With that being said, there are still plenty of melodic songs on this album. I almost feel like this album is somewhat bi-polar as it seems to really hit a lot of emotions. Also, can we just talk about how fucked up it is that “Houses of the Holy” isn’t on Houses of the Holy but on Physical Graffiti? I never really got that one.
Also, “Trampled Under Foot” and “Kashmir” just may be one of the greatest one-two punches in rock n’ roll. These songs show just what a hard hitting band these guys were. Both of these tunes have this relentless driving groove with Robert Plant just laying down vocals that could peel paint off of walls. Also, “Down By The Seaside” pretty much sounds like it could be just why The Black Crowes even became a band. Physical Graffiti is a really pretty magical album that I found myself really loving way more. As a kid, I didn’t really get it but as long time Zeppelin fan I get it now. This is a really special album that shows a band growing and changing. This is such a mature sounding album and in all honesty not sure if I would call this a “go to” album for me. It’s a really deep and dark record and you have to be in that mindset to truly grasp it and connect with it.
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Led Zeppelin – Presence
Release Date: March 31, 1976
The Good: Achilles Last Stand, For Your Life, Royal Orleans, Nobody’s Fault But Mine, Tea for One
The Bad:
The Indifferent: Candy Store Rock, Hots On For Nowhere
Wow. What a fucking treat to hear this album in its entirety for the first time. Before going into this album I only knew two songs from this album: “Achilles Last Stand” and “Nobody’s Fault But Mine.” Those two particular songs still kick so much fucking ass but I have to say that this studio version of “Achilles” didn’t come close to capturing that electrifying groove that they put out live. The vibe of this album also seems to be a lot more loose and light feeling coming off the heels of the uber moody Physical Graffiti. “Candy Store Rock” is a pretty lame tune as was “Hots on for Nowhere.” The latter almost kind of sounds like it was just cutting room floor jams from the “IV” sessions with silly lyrics just thrown over the top of it. “Tea For One” on the other hand was a real gem that totally made listening to this album totally worthwhile. What a fantastic, epic piece.
While it was cool to hear this album in full for the first time, I can’t shake the feeling that I just didn’t seem to miss anything by not having this album. It sounds very thrown together and not even really well sequenced or thought out. Apparently a lot of this album, if not all of it (correct me if I’m wrong) was written and put together while Robert Plant was recuperating from an accident. Either way, this album just didn’t feel like a cohesive, unified effort. It sounds very “put together” and just seems to lack that passion and that undeniable connection that the guys have with each other on previous efforts. This is one that I don’t feel I really need to revisit much with the exception of “Achilles Last Stand”, “Nobody’s Fault But Mine”, and “Tea for One.”
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Led Zeppelin – In Through the Out Door
Release Date: August 15, 1979
The Good: In The Evening, South Bound Saurez, Fool in the Rain, Hot Dog, Carouselambra, All My Love, I’m Gonna Crawl
The Bad:
The Indifferent:
Wow. I really had no clue of what to expect from this album in full. The only songs I really knew going into this album was “In the Evening”, “Fool in the Rain”, and “All My Love.” As for the rest of this album, I absolutely fucking loved it. “South Bound Saurez” is such a fantastic song which totally reminded me of something that could’ve been on “Houses of the Holy.” As for the song “Hot Dog?” Wow. Just wow. Fucks given by Led Zeppelin: big fat ZERO. That’s what I love about Zeppelin. These guys just didn’t give a rat’s ass about what anybody thought. They made the music that they loved and that they felt at the moment without any kind of care or concern. That is a quality that very few bands today possess and these guys did it regardless of the outcome.
“Carouselambra” is a song that I had never heard. The minute it started I was like, “Oh my god those awful keyboards!” but all of the sudden I was 6 minutes into this song and I couldn’t stop listening. What an epic fucking masterpiece of absolute weirdness. Again, just one of many things that made Led Zeppelin the masters and legends that they are. Zeppelin loves closing albums out on a mellow/somber note and they couldn’t have done it better than to close out with “I’m Gonna Crawl.” That song just kills me and I loved it so much I had to listen to it again. All in all, this is a solid fucking album that, unlike Presence, I will definitely be revisiting again.
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Led Zeppelin – Coda
Release Date: November 19, 1982
The Good: We’re Gonna Groove, Poor Tom, I Can’t Quit You Baby, Walter’s Walk, Ozone Baby, Darlene, Wearing and Tearing,
The Bad:
The Indifferent: Bonzo’s Montreux
So even though Coda isn’t really a proper album of new material, I can see what a great lil collection this is to just kind of cap off Zeppelin’s career. Released two years after Zeppelin called it quits (RIP John Bonham), Coda is just a nice, tastefully done collection of rarities that I feel almost serves as a “thank you” to the fans for all the years of support. The tracks on this album are absolutely stellar but in this day and age of the internet, you can find literally any and all Zeppelin bootlegs/rarities covering so much more ground than this one. Back in ’82 there was no such thing as the internet and torrents so I’m sure this nice collection of rare shit had Zeppelin fans foaming at the mouth.
In my opinion, I feel like this one is really only necessary to own if you’re a completest. While it is a really great and well done collection, I’d much rather hit the web and find a more cohesive collection of rarities such as full live shows and what not. A great album but if you don’t have this one you’re really not missing out on anything.
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