From the opening thunderous guitar riff, and what is arguably Plants most soaring vocal moment, Immigrant Song gives us another sub 3-minute track grabs you by the short and curlies, and never let's go. And of course, the source of the subsequent reference to the band and their sounds as the "Hammer of the Gods", and the title of one of their better biographies. With the heaviness of the music, and the mystical Norse mythological lyrics (inspired by their recent shows in Iceland, and Plant's love of Celtic history), this album opens just like the previous two albums, but then ...
Wait ... Where did the metal go? Completely acoustic led, with bongos for the beat, and string accompaniment, Friends is the first of the many 'not like anything else we've ever done' songs on Zeppelin III. On display here is the band's influence from the far east, and an attempt by Page at psychedelia. The Moog outro provides a link to ....
Originally, one of John Bonham's drum tracks was to be used in the intro of Celebration Day, but an engineer accidentally erased the recording (and apparently fled the studio in fear of his life). Unable or unwilling to re-record it, the synthesizer drone outro from the end of "Friends" was used to fill up the gap. The song is a very harsh and abrupt transition from the mellow-ness of Friends. It's like the band got a little schizophrenic, retreating back to a rock/metal sound, though this one still throws in a few new and creative sounds with a monotonic drone created by Jones on a Moog synthesizer, with Plant's lyrical inspiration coming from his impressions of New York City.
In my opinion, Since I've Been Loving You is the band's flagship blues song. It's not influenced by the blues, this IS the blues. Page makes the guitar absolutely cry and wail, and I dare say there is more emotion coming out of Page on the guitar than there is from Plant on the mic. To steal a line from my good pal RJ, the solo that Page lays down could stop a bar fight. I personally think it's the 2nd best solo in their entire catalog. Jones provides some wonderful mood music on the organ and the bass throughout, while Bonham shows us he's capable of absolutely anything.
Possibly the most obscure track on the album (I think I could count on one hand the number of times I've heard it on the radio), Out on the Tiles definitely the most metal. I really adore ping pong, back-and-forth, up-and-down rhythm of the main riff, which is dominated by Jones. In Japan this was mistakenly placed on the B-side of the Immigrant Song single, rather than Hey Hey What Can I Do. Those copies are now rare collector's items. This intro was frequently used as an introduction to live performances of Black Dog.
With Gallows Pole, Page brings out all the axes here... 12-string, 6-string, banjo, and electric. You can feel the protagonist's desparation during the buildup, then the outright fear and panic during climactic conclusion as the hangman shows no quarter (ooooh... nugget!). Page would create the foundation of the song pretty much spontaneously when he started experimenting with Jones' mandolin, an instrument he had never before played.
Page had been playing a version of Tangerine all the way back in his Yardbirds days, but never got it to the point of recording. Now, combined with the vocal melodies from Plant, it breathed new life into the track. Page added a pedal-steel guitar accompaniment having not included anything of the sort before. Structurally, some thought that it points the way to the future ... the acoustic guitar intro can easily be seen as an early template for 'Stairway to Heaven'".
That's the Way is one of my all time favorite Zeppelin songs. The simple nature, charming and heart-warming lyrics pontificating childhood innocence (though some lyrics reflect the band's treatment during their early American tours), and enveloping guitar tone all come beautifully together.
Plant's dog, Strider (reportedly named after Aragorn from LOTR), who refuses to do anything, is some of the message behind Bron-Y-Aur Stomp - the song's title having been misspelled on the album cover during initial printing. Bonham adds castanets and spoons to the recording, giving it a feel like no other song in the Zeppelin catalog. I remember a friend once referring to it as "Country-Zeppelin". Seems about right.
What do I love about Hats of to (Roy) Harper? Pretty much nothing. There are two songs in the Zeppelin catalog that I actively dislike, this being one of them. As I mentioned, had it been replaced with the B-side from Immigrant Song (Hey Hey, What Can I Do), this would be my number 1 Zeppelin album. But I sadly have nothing good to say about this song. Page's slide work, and Plant's echo-y vocals just aren't a good combination in my opinion. And this year's remaster made it even more difficult to listen to - with Page burrowing exclusively into my left ear, and Plant's hollow vocals echoing in my right.
Jingle.boy ranking:
That's The Way
Gallow's Pole
Immigrant Song
Since I've Been Loving You
Out On The Tiles
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Friends
Celebration Day
Tangerine
Hats of to (Roy) Harper (A VERY distant 10th)
Poll
Topic: The Led Zeppelin Discography Discussion: v. Everything still turns to gold (Read 56044 times)