{"id":14566,"date":"2015-03-27T01:00:12","date_gmt":"2015-03-27T05:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southeastofheaven.com\/?p=14566"},"modified":"2022-01-06T19:38:04","modified_gmt":"2022-01-07T00:38:04","slug":"the-album-by-album-challenge-led-zeppelin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/?p=14566","title":{"rendered":"The Album by Album Challenge: Led Zeppelin"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome to another \u201cAlbum by Album Challenge.\u201d For those that are new here, the \u201cAlbum by Album Challenge\u201d is where I take a band\u2019s 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\u2019 face melting.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

This time around is probably my most daring challenge to date: Led Zeppelin. Why daring? Well, that\u2019s 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\u2026 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!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Led Zeppelin \u2013 I<\/strong>
\n Release Date:<\/strong> January 17, 1969
\nThe Good<\/strong>: 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
\nThe Bad:<\/strong>
\nThe Indifferent<\/strong>: You Shook Me,<\/p>\n

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 \u201cDazed and Confused\u201d and that \u201cYour Time is Gonna Come.\u201d This must have been a culture fuck of the highest degree as it appealed to those that just weren\u2019t buying into the peace and love bullshit.<\/p>\n

This album is such a pleasantly awesome listening experience. Right off the bat, \u201cGood Times Bad Times\u201d just kills it and sets the pace. \u201cBabe I\u2019m Gonna Leave You\u201d is such a monumental piece and \u201cYour Time is Gonna Come\u201d has to be one of the greatest songs of all time. This song is so good and it\u2019s surprising to me that it isn\u2019t considered one of Zeppelin\u2019s best pieces. The only song that just kind of left me feeling \u201cmeh\u201d was \u201cYou Shook Me.\u201d Yeah, I get it that it\u2019s the blues and all but this song just didn\u2019t seem to feel very natural or even all that necessary but man, \u201cHow Many More Times\u201d 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.<\/p>\n

===============================================<\/p>\n

Led Zeppelin \u2013 II<\/strong>
\n Release Date<\/strong>: October 22, 1969
\nThe Good:<\/strong> 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
\nThe Bad:<\/strong>
\n The Indifferent:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Man, you thought Led Zeppelin IV sounded like a \u201cgreatest hits.\u201d 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 \u201cWhole Lotta Love\u201d and \u201cWhat Is\u2026\u201d is like a much deserved cigarette after a good hard fucking. Pardon my French but it\u2019s true. \u201cHeartbreaker\u201d and \u201cLiving Loving Maid\u201d 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\u2019t. This is a great example of sequencing genius. \u201cRamble On\u201d is epic beyond all words and yes, even \u201cMoby Dick\u201d caught and grabbed my attention.<\/p>\n

I love that back in the day artists realized that less is more. This album feels like it could\u2019ve and should\u2019ve been longer but at the same time, it had me wanting more which is how it should be. I can\u2019t tell you the last time I listened to Zeppelin albums like this, start to finish and I\u2019m 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

===============================================<\/p>\n

Led Zeppelin \u2013 III<\/strong>
\n Release Date:<\/strong> October 5, 1970
\nThe Good:<\/strong> Immigrant Song, Friends, Celebration Day, Since I\u2019ve Been Loving You, Out on the Tiles, Gallow\u2019s Pole, Tangerine, That\u2019s The Way, Bron-Y-Aur Stomp, Hats Off To (Roy) Harper
\nThe Bad:<\/strong>
\n The Indifferent:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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. \u201cSince I\u2019ve Been Loving You\u201d melts my face in a way that I can\u2019t even describe. It\u2019s such an epic fucking song that as I\u2019m writing this I had to put it on again. I also love that on this album Zep expanded their horizons as player. \u201cGallows Pole\u201d 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.<\/p>\n

On III, I also love that Zeppelin picked up some acoustics to really add to that depth. On songs like \u201cTangerine\u201d, \u201cHats Off To (Roy) Harper\u201d, and \u201cThat\u2019s The Way\u201d, 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

===============================================<\/p>\n

Led Zeppelin \u2013 IV (Zoso)<\/strong>
\n Release Date:<\/strong> November 8, 1971
\nThe Good: Black Dog, Rock N\u2019 Roll, The Battle of Evermore, Stairway to Heaven, Misty Mountain Hop, Four Sticks, Going to California, When the Levee Breaks
\nThe Bad:<\/strong>
\n The Indifferent:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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 \u201cBlack Dog\u201d kicked in, I was zipped right back to the first time I heard this album in its entirety. By the time \u201cThe Battle of Evermore\u201d 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.<\/p>\n

Much like Pink Floyd\u2019s Dark Side of the Moon, Led Zeppelin IV is absolutely timeless and tireless. There isn\u2019t a single song on this album that I felt like I\u2019ve heard too much in my life. Even \u201cStairway to Heaven\u201d 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 \u201cFour Sticks\u201d to be a song that feel like gets sadly overlooked but it\u2019s so perfectly placed in the sequence. Again, there\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

===============================================<\/p>\n

Led Zeppelin \u2013 Houses of the Holy<\/strong>
\n Release Date:<\/strong> March 28, 1973
\nThe Good:<\/strong> The Song Remains the Same, The Rain Song, Over the Hills and Far Away, The Crunge, Dancin\u2019 Days, D’yer Mak’er, No Quarter, The Ocean
\nThe Bad:<\/strong>
\n The Indifferent:<\/strong><\/p>\n

My God! \u201cThe Song Remains the Same\u201d 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\u2019m quickly reminded of it. \u201cThe Rain Song\u201d is still hands down one of the greatest songs of all time and \u201cOver The Hills\u2026\u201d is just as awe inspiring as it ever was. All that said; let\u2019s talk about \u201cThe Crunge.\u201d Holy shit this song is whack as all fuck but what a great song. It\u2019s so fucking hilariously awesome. How can you not laugh when hearing this song at the ridiculous awesomeness of this tune? Zeppelin rippin\u2019 out the funk. At this point, Zeppelin has shed their \u201ctraditional\u201d 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.<\/p>\n

With the exception of \u201cThe Crunge\u201d, 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\u2019s such a great listening experience. In all honesty, I didn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n

===============================================<\/p>\n

Led Zeppelin \u2013 Physical Graffiti<\/strong>
\n Release Date:<\/strong> February 24, 1975
\nThe Good:<\/strong> 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
\nThe Bad:<\/strong>
\n The Indifferent:<\/strong><\/p>\n

The only way I can really describe Physical Graffiti is that this seems to be Zeppelin\u2019s most mature sounding and darkest album to date. This is definitely a moody album. As a young Zeppelin fan, it\u2019s 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 \u201cHouses of the Holy\u201d isn\u2019t on Houses of the Holy but on Physical Graffiti? I never really got that one.<\/p>\n

Also, \u201cTrampled Under Foot\u201d and \u201cKashmir\u201d just may be one of the greatest one-two punches in rock n\u2019 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, \u201cDown By The Seaside\u201d 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\u2019t 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 \u201cgo to\u201d album for me. It\u2019s a really deep and dark record and you have to be in that mindset to truly grasp it and connect with it.<\/p>\n

===============================================<\/p>\n

Led Zeppelin \u2013 Presence<\/strong>
\n Release Date:<\/strong> March 31, 1976
\nThe Good: Achilles Last Stand, For Your Life, Royal Orleans, Nobody’s Fault But Mine, Tea for One
\nThe Bad:<\/strong>
\n The Indifferent:<\/strong> Candy Store Rock, Hots On For Nowhere<\/p>\n

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: \u201cAchilles Last Stand\u201d and \u201cNobody\u2019s Fault But Mine.\u201d Those two particular songs still kick so much fucking ass but I have to say that this studio version of \u201cAchilles\u201d didn\u2019t 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. \u201cCandy Store Rock\u201d is a pretty lame tune as was \u201cHots on for Nowhere.\u201d The latter almost kind of sounds like it was just cutting room floor jams from the \u201cIV\u201d sessions with silly lyrics just thrown over the top of it. \u201cTea For One\u201d on the other hand was a real gem that totally made listening to this album totally worthwhile. What a fantastic, epic piece.<\/p>\n

While it was cool to hear this album in full for the first time, I can\u2019t shake the feeling that I just didn\u2019t 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\u2019m wrong) was written and put together while Robert Plant was recuperating from an accident. Either way, this album just didn\u2019t feel like a cohesive, unified effort. It sounds very \u201cput together\u201d 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\u2019t feel I really need to revisit much with the exception of \u201cAchilles Last Stand\u201d, \u201cNobody\u2019s Fault But Mine\u201d, and \u201cTea for One.\u201d<\/p>\n

===============================================<\/p>\n

Led Zeppelin \u2013 In Through the Out Door<\/strong>
\n Release Date:<\/strong> August 15, 1979
\nThe Good:<\/strong> In The Evening, South Bound Saurez, Fool in the Rain, Hot Dog, Carouselambra, All My Love, I\u2019m Gonna Crawl
\nThe Bad:<\/strong>
\n The Indifferent:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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 \u201cIn the Evening\u201d, \u201cFool in the Rain\u201d, and \u201cAll My Love.\u201d As for the rest of this album, I absolutely fucking loved it. \u201cSouth Bound Saurez\u201d is such a fantastic song which totally reminded me of something that could\u2019ve been on \u201cHouses of the Holy.\u201d As for the song \u201cHot Dog?\u201d Wow. Just wow. Fucks given by Led Zeppelin: big fat ZERO. That\u2019s what I love about Zeppelin. These guys just didn\u2019t give a rat\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cCarouselambra\u201d is a song that I had never heard. The minute it started I was like, \u201cOh my god those awful keyboards!\u201d but all of the sudden I was 6 minutes into this song and I couldn\u2019t 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\u2019t have done it better than to close out with \u201cI’m Gonna Crawl.\u201d 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.<\/p>\n

===============================================<\/p>\n

Led Zeppelin \u2013 Coda<\/strong>
\n Release Date:<\/strong> November 19, 1982
\nThe Good<\/strong>: We\u2019re Gonna Groove, Poor Tom, I Can\u2019t Quit You Baby, Walter\u2019s Walk, Ozone Baby, Darlene, Wearing and Tearing,
\nThe Bad:<\/strong>
\n The Indifferent<\/strong>: Bonzo’s Montreux<\/p>\n

So even though Coda isn\u2019t really a proper album of new material, I can see what a great lil collection this is to just kind of cap off Zeppelin\u2019s 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 \u201cthank you\u201d 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 \u201982 there was no such thing as the internet and torrents so I\u2019m sure this nice collection of rare shit had Zeppelin fans foaming at the mouth.<\/p>\n

In my opinion, I feel like this one is really only necessary to own if you\u2019re a completest. While it is a really great and well done collection, I\u2019d 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\u2019t have this one you\u2019re really not missing out on anything.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Welcome to another \u201cAlbum by Album Challenge.\u201d For those that are new here, the \u201cAlbum by Album Challenge\u201d is where I take a band\u2019s 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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[277],"tags":[233],"class_list":["post-14566","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-music-news","tag-led-zeppelin"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14566","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14566"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14566\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19524,"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14566\/revisions\/19524"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14566"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14566"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14566"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}