16)
Led Zeppelin,
Led Zeppelin II (1969)
Took long enough for my favorite band to show up. Ya know, there are just some albums, songs, riffs, lyrics that leave a mark on you in such a way that every time you hear it, you are brought right back to the primal feelings you had the first time you heard it. The opening riff from this album does it every time. I don’t remember exactly when it was, but I remember being in my bedroom around 14 or 15 years old, and having just gotten this CD, plopped it in the player, and the opening riff just opening up an unbridled awe within me. 25 year later, that riff still brings back that feeling every time I hear it. Now,
Whole Lotta Love isn’t my favorite song on the album, but man, that riff. So simple. So raw. So pure. The rest of the album just expands on those themes. Simple… the soft and mellow side of tracks like
Ramble On,
Thank You, and parts of
What Is and What Should Never Be; Raw… albums just aren’t made this way anymore (and this was their SECOND album released in 1969). Zeppelin wrote this entirely while on tour, and recorded/mixed/produced each song in separate sessions in separate studios in the UK and North America. Jimmy coaxes some very raw sounds and licks from the guitar like in
Hearbreaker and the
The Lemon Song (wow… that instrumental breakdown!); Pure… just the tremendously smooth flow that you feel in the melodies from
Living Loving Maid and
Bring it on Home. There isn’t much that you can say about Plant’s vocals other than that he’s one of the best ever. Zeppelin expanded on the variety of styles they deliver, incorporating their ever present blues and folk side, but also some psychedelic, atmospheric and pop musings. Its popularity and anticipation in ’69 was so huge, that it knocked
Abbey Road from the top spot from the charts … twice. Zeppelin I was a helluva debut, but Zeppelin II cemented their place, and the mark they would leave in music history.
Fav Songs –
Ramble On, Bring it on Home, The Lemon Song