The Led Zeppelin Discography Discussion: v. Everything still turns to gold

[Lowdz]

Ok, I was able to listen all the way through without switching it off. My kids loved it and their dancing and rock faces were awesome 

My problem with it is mainly the vocals. Just don't like that high wail all the time. The vocals have that 60s vibe to them that I don't like. I would prefer a straight up blues voice really. The music is excellent and several times I had the urge to plug the Yngwie strat in and wail away. Didn't like the hipy beatles-y song (YTIGC) and didn't like the folk instrumental.

As long as we can leave the 60s vocals behind I'm on board.

[hefdaddy42]

For me, LZ would be an extremely difficult band for whom to rank songs.

Albums would be easier.

[JayOctavarium]

I can't rank Zep albums. I & IV would be near the top if I did though.

[jingle.boy]

For me, LZ would be an extremely difficult band for whom to rank songs.

Albums would be easier.

I'm gonna provide my personal song rankings for each album with my song-by-song discussion post, and will do the albums at the conclusion of Coda.  But I too would find it difficult to rank all 80 studio songs.

[TAC]

Yeah, but surely everyone can come up with a Top 10 or 20. I'm assuming songs 20-60 would be all fairly close, like most bands.

[Podaar]

I love this album! All of it. I realise that has a lot to do with emotional nostalgia, but from the first "da-da" of the guitar in "Good Times Bad Times" to the falling off the stage ending of "How Many More Times" I'm in rock-n-roll heaven.

The sound of this record is still incredible to me and I find myself often spacing out while following JPJ bass as it weaves itself through the riffs. There are very few records where you can hear every note that a bass player hits but this is one of them. The clarity and power of snare and bass drum are the blueprint for heavy rock, in my opinion, and are only surpassed by Zeps later recordings.

My sister is five years older than me. I remember hearing a lot of Beatles, Beach Boys, and softer rock coming through the, paper thin, adjacent walls of our bedrooms until one day when her boy-friend lent her LZ II. It was a revelation for me and I'd sit on my bed and listen with rapt attention. It was exciting and I wanted more.

Not long after, while waiting for my mother to make a selection at Grand Central, I started browsing through the record rack and ran into Led Zeppelin. Being a stupid nine year old I hadn't realised, previously, that LZ II meant that there had to be a "I" so when I saw it was like finding buried treasure. I begged my Mom for the money to buy it and when we got home with it she put it on her huge Magnavox console stereo in the front room. I can still feel the soft, short-pile, green carpet under my elbows as I lay in front of the speakers while staring at the faces on the back cover.

I wonder what my Mom thought of it? She never complained, but I'm sure it was a shock to her as she put away the Andy Williams record that was on the turntable prior to us getting home. Marvelous poker player, my Mom. She just sat there on the couch with some paperback she was reading and never flinched.

[jingle.boy]

Cool story bro.  Seriously... not in the sarcastic internet meme way.

[GentlemanofDread]

Good Times Bad Times is a pretty good tune, although a bit short and it just seems to really.. go away quite randomly. I had to check if everything was okay! But it's not a special tune, really, I don't think. Just seems to be a tune they did. Babe I'm Gonna Leave You, however, is an incredible tune. I love Plant's vocal peformance as well as Bonham's drumming on it, but I think the real highlight of the song is Page's guitar work. It's pretty incredible to hear, and I'm impressed with how.. I don't know, how despairing that song really sounds with this performance.

The third track, You Shook Me seems like exactly what it is. A Blues Cover. Unlike Babe I'm Gonna Leave You, I feel like Led Zeppelin don't really try their hardest to make this song their own. I mean, the band performances on it is pretty good, but it doesn't sound.. I don't know. It just sounds like a blues cover. I can say I find the wails surprised me a bit, and it got a bit strange at the end there. The bass line on Dazed and Confused is fantastic. I really enjoy that slow plodding beat it starts. It's a pretty neat song that the band does quite well. Page really makes that guitar work under Plant's voice and over Jones' Bass Guitar.

THAT ORGAN. Your Time Is Gonna Come starting with that real church organ sound is amazing, and it works so very well with Plant's voice. I think that this is the most comfortable Plant performance on this album. Seems like a song he really had practiced for. That ending with the guitar over the top of it to lead into Black Mountain Side really seemed to catch me off guard, but it's some neat acoustic guitar work, with a cool drum pattern to go with it. Nothing special as an instrumental, although it was interesting for the first minute or so, before I was waiting for Plant to come in with vocals and got a bit impatient.

Communication Breakdown is amazing. Simply put, it's the band working at full power to make a rockingly good short song. Not my favourite I've heard on this first spin, though. I have the same problem I had forYou Shook Me I have for I Can't Quit You Baby. It very much just sounds like a blues cover. It's still good, just, I don't know. It's just good. Nothing too special. I might be pissing people off with repeating that, but that's just how I feel! The Page solo is godly, though. I'll give it that. The notes just flowing from those fingers, I love it. 

For the last track, How Many More Times, yet again, praise for the bass. John Paul Jones does yet another one of those walking style bass lines, and I love it. It's a really good drumming performance, actually Bonham steals this song and makes it awesome, especially during the spacey section. It's an amazing song to end this album, really. It went from simply good to great with this song alone, I feel. It's a strong debut album, certainly. If I was ranking it with number, I'd say it's a 8/10.

[Ultimetalhead]

LZI kind of reminds me of Rush's debut. It's a nice rock album with some awesome songs (Good Times, Babe I'm Gonna Leave You, and Communication Breakdown). The rest are rather forgettable though. This is a great blueprint for what LZ would become.

[hefdaddy42]

Good Times, Bad Times is one of my favorite rock songs ever.

[senecadawg2]

I don't have much to add that hasn't already been said, but I just gave the album a couple listens. The more bluesy stuff is really enjoyable when I'm in the mood for it (as I am now) and the back to back of You Shook Me and Dazed and Confused was my favorite part of the album. I think my reaction to those two songs can best be summarized by this: 

I have high hopes moving forward

[CrimsonSunrise]

Kinda late, but I read somewhere in a wiki page that Peter Grant used his imposing powers to ask the concert promoters to give the band 90% of the revenue of the shows they drew.  In today's age, that's kinda insane to fathom with so many variables that goes into touring.

He did... and that was absolutely unheard of.  Normally bands got like 50-60% of the revenues back then.

Anyone who saw my top 50 knows my #1 was LZ 1.  Anyone who uses the word mediocrity in the same sentence with Led Zeppelin 1 should be flayed and dipped in a pool of lemon juice!  Oh wait...lemons..that's the next album!   LZ 1 is an absolute masterpiece.  Yes some of the material was rehashed YB's tunes, but played by Page,Plant, Jones, and Bonham took those tunes straight into legendary status.  Remember in Wayne's World where they're rocking out in the car to Bohemian Rhapsody?  That was me and my Buddies...except with Dazed and Confused.  When they shift into high gear on that song...HOLY SHITBALLS!!  THAT is early LZ at their absolute best, the definitive.  THAT's what differentiates them from anyone else around at the time and shoved the world back on it's heels.  Babe I'm gonna leave you...absolutely brilliant.  Like everyone else I'll hold album and song rankings till the end.

[jingle.boy]

Kinda late, but I read somewhere in a wiki page that Peter Grant used his imposing powers to ask the concert promoters to give the band 90% of the revenue of the shows they drew.  In today's age, that's kinda insane to fathom with so many variables that goes into touring.

He did... and that was absolutely unheard of.  Normally bands got like 50-60% of the revenues back then.

Actually, it wasn't even as high as that... more like 10%-20%.  Promoters screwed bands, and Grant/Zeppelin were probably the first to start and change that.

[TAC]

Kinda late, but I read somewhere in a wiki page that Peter Grant used his imposing powers to ask the concert promoters to give the band 90% of the revenue of the shows they drew.  In today's age, that's kinda insane to fathom with so many variables that goes into touring.

He did... and that was absolutely unheard of.  Normally bands got like 50-60% of the revenues back then.

Actually, it wasn't even as high as that... more like 10%-20%.  Promoters screwed bands, and Grant/Zeppelin were probably the first to start and change that.

And he took it in CASH, right?

[masterthes]

Man, do I love Babe, I'm Going to Leave You. I don't have a lot of keepers on this album stored on my iPod, just that, Good Times Bad Times, Communication Breakdown, and Dazed and Confused

[LudwigVan]

I'm with KevShmev, I don't detect any mediocrity on LZI. Yes a lot of the blues numbers are basically covers, but they're absolutely transformed into something else entirely by the playing and the sound the band gets. There's no underestimating the impact of this rhythm section. Having JPJ and Bonham playing for your band is like cheating. I get sentimental when I listen to this album.

[TAC]

I'm with KevShmev, I don't detect any mediocrity on LZI. Yes a lot of the blues numbers are basically covers, but they're absolutely transformed into something else entirely by the playing and the sound the band gets. There's no underestimating the impact of this rhythm section. Having JPJ and Bonham playing for your band is like cheating. I get sentimental when I listen to this album.

I used the term "mediocrity". Maybe it's not the right word, but for me, there's 7 other Zeppelin albums that I'd go to before this one. It's young and unabashed and all, but for the most part, a lot of it gets a big yawn from me, especially compared to the many songs in their catalog that really appeal to me much more.

[jingle.boy]

I'll clarify my use of mediocre as well... it's in direct relation to what I enjoy.  So, I'm with Gord AND Tim... As far as talent, relevance, impact, and performance goes - there's no mediocrity here.  As far as how I perceive these songs in relation to other Zeppelin songs/albums... towards the back of the bus for me.

[CrimsonSunrise]

That's it...you're both outta the will!! 




 

[LudwigVan]

I'm with KevShmev, I don't detect any mediocrity on LZI. Yes a lot of the blues numbers are basically covers, but they're absolutely transformed into something else entirely by the playing and the sound the band gets. There's no underestimating the impact of this rhythm section. Having JPJ and Bonham playing for your band is like cheating. I get sentimental when I listen to this album.

I used the term "mediocrity". Maybe it's not the right word, but for me, there's 7 other Zeppelin albums that I'd go to before this one. It's young and unabashed and all, but for the most part, a lot of it gets a big yawn from me, especially compared to the many songs in their catalog that really appeal to me much more.

If you compare I with what came after, then yeah, maybe you can call it that. I still think it stands on its own as an excellent Zeppelin album. Again, maybe it's just the sentimental in me that let's me think it's better than it really is? All I know is I get this fantastically warm fuzzy feeling whenever I listen to this album. It's like coming home again after a long journey.

[TAC]

I'm with KevShmev, I don't detect any mediocrity on LZI. Yes a lot of the blues numbers are basically covers, but they're absolutely transformed into something else entirely by the playing and the sound the band gets. There's no underestimating the impact of this rhythm section. Having JPJ and Bonham playing for your band is like cheating. I get sentimental when I listen to this album.

I used the term "mediocrity". Maybe it's not the right word, but for me, there's 7 other Zeppelin albums that I'd go to before this one. It's young and unabashed and all, but for the most part, a lot of it gets a big yawn from me, especially compared to the many songs in their catalog that really appeal to me much more.

If you compare I with what came after, then yeah, maybe you can call it that. I still think it stands on its own as an excellent Zeppelin album. Again, maybe it's just the sentimental in me that let's me think it's better than it really is?

I believe you were the one that once called me a sentimental old soul. haha

I think if you're a Zeppelin fan, there's tons to jump into here. When it comes to Bonham and Jones, you really cannot get enough. It has a rawness that once you get into Zeppelin's later years, all but disappears.

I don't think there's anything wrong with anyone thinking this is a great album.

That's it...you're both outta the will!! 

Considering all I was getting was LZ I, I'm fine with that!



And we haven't even gotten to the most overrated rock album ever LZ II.
 

 

[CrimsonSunrise]

And we haven't even gotten to the most overrated rock album ever LZ II.
 

HERESY!!!!!!!



 

[TAC]

I was just kidding...kind of. I will take it over the first album, though.

[King Postwhore]

My favorite album will not be any one on this thread.

I forgot to tell the story of my buds band playing in a Battle of the Bands in out high school.

I helped roadie for them and my buddy asked me to work his pedals from behind and they opened up with Good Times....


They killed it.  Right after that they went into Steal Away The Night by Ozzy and he forgot to change his battery for his Flanger pedal and I had to be the fast roadie and change it mid song.  This roadie killed it.

[TAC]

[jingle.boy]

Well Gord and Greg, you're a couple of the few around here that might have actually bought/listened/heard Zeppelin I on as it happened in '69.     It was probably the 4th or 5th album I got into from them... I think it went IV, III, Houses, II, then I for me.  In Through The Out Door might have been before I, but I'm not sure.  Then PG... Presence and Coda were (fortunately) last.

[TAC]

Well Gord and Greg, you're a couple of the few around here that might have actually bought/listened/heard Zeppelin I on as it happened in '69.    

You can say that again!

[King Postwhore]

 

Thanks to my AOR lovin' cousin I got into Zep, Kiss, Kansas Areosmith ect.  I still kid him that he buys nothing but remasters and never ventures into new music territory.

[CrimsonSunrise]

Naw Chad, I'm about with you, think it was about 75, first exposure was to IV, then 1-3 in order, then houses, and by that time PG came out.  I was only 5 1/2 when LZ 1 came out...I'm diehard, but not that diehard...

[ThatOneGuy2112]

Am I already late to this?

Like many, there's really nothing on the debut I would label as "bad" or "mediocre". The only somewhat-skippable tracks for me would be "You Shook Me" and "I Can't Quit You Baby", but tracks like "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You", "Dazed and Confused", and "How Many More Times" are absolutely fantastic and make this record totally worth checking out. Yeah "Communication Breakdown" might be a tad overplayed, but on the flip-side, I feel like "Your Time Is Gonna Come" is quite underplayed. I guess there's not much I can say that hasn't already said about this album. It's not their best, but definitely a good starter for what's to come.

[jammindude]

Wow.   I'm just amazed by the mehlin going on for this album. 

The only songs I find to be just OK (but they are so short that they don't overstay their welcome, so I don't skip them) are Communication Breakdown and Good Times, Bad Times.  I guess that Your Time is Gonna Come doesn't really do that much for me either...but it's worth it to hear Black Mountain Side. 

The call/response section at the end of You Shook Me (as well as that harmonica solo!!!  ) may be my favorite moment of the entire album.   But the ending of How Many More Times is right up there as well. 

So I guess (for me) both "sides" begin with a sortof "very good...but only just that" and then just hit it out of the park.    The one-two-three punch of Babe I'm Gonna Leave You, You Shook Me and Dazed and Confused is one of the most amazing three song runs on any LZ album period.

[jingle.boy]

Naw Chad, I'm about with you, think it was about 75, first exposure was to IV, then 1-3 in order, then houses, and by that time PG came out.  I was only 5 1/2 when LZ 1 came out...I'm diehard, but not that diehard...

I wasn't even a glimmer in my daddy's eye when Zeppelin I came out, bud.   

So I guess (for me) both "sides" begin with a sortof "very good...but only just that" and then just hit it out of the park.    The one-two-three punch of Babe I'm Gonna Leave You, You Shook Me and Dazed and Confused is one of the most amazing three song runs on any LZ album period.

That's something I'm amazed to hear.  There are a whole lot more 3-song runs I'd put above those.

Might post my song-by-song commentary later tonight.

[LudwigVan]

Just a fun bit of trivia:

"Most LP editions of the album also incorrectly list the running time of "How Many More Times" as 3:30, which is what Page did in order to trick radio stations back then to play the song."

[jingle.boy]

Just a fun bit of trivia:

"Most LP editions of the album also incorrectly list the running time of "How Many More Times" as 3:30, which is what Page did in order to trick radio stations back then to play the song."

Awww.... you're stealing my thunder!!!    Guess I can strike that from my writeup. 

[jammindude]

So I guess (for me) both "sides" begin with a sortof "very good...but only just that" and then just hit it out of the park.    The one-two-three punch of Babe I'm Gonna Leave You, You Shook Me and Dazed and Confused is one of the most amazing three song runs on any LZ album period.

That's something I'm amazed to hear.  There are a whole lot more 3-song runs I'd put above those.

I did say, "ONE of..."