225. Led Zeppelin | Led Zeppelin IV (1971)

---

Wikipedia Entry

---

Tracks

1. Black Dog
2. Rock and Roll
3. The Battle of Evermore
4. Stairway to Heaven
5. Misty Mountain Hop
6. Four Sticks
7. Going to California
8. When the Levee Breaks

---

Note: There is no official title to Led Zeppelin's fourth studio album. Atlantic Records, Led Zeppelin's record label, often used the titles, The Fourth Album and Four Symbols to catalogue it. Other names that have been used are Led Zeppelin IV and Runes. Members of Led Zeppelin have referred to it as The Fourth Album and Led Zeppelin IV.

Led Zeppelin IV is an masterful album. The music is hard rock. Led Zeppelin has gotten even further away from their blues rock style. This album blends folk rock with hard rock which would suggest that the music is tempered, but it's not. This is one of the heaviest rock albums to date. This lyrics give this album a mystical and transcendent aura.

This is a relentless album.  Nowhere on this album is there a down period to recoup. The album just comes charging out of the gate with Black Dog and Rock and Roll which are two of the heaviest songs ever recorded. The album slows down but keeps charging ahead with The Battle of Evermore and Stairway to Heaven which feature the folkier side of the album. The album regains speed with Misty Mountain Hop and then goes into overdrive with Four Sticks which is not very different from the two opening songs. Going to California is another folkie song which slows down the pace just to prepare for the final burst of energy that comes from When the Levee Breaks.

Led Zeppelin has always had a timeless quality to their albums, this album especially. Logically, there is no reason why Led Zeppelin should have sounded any different from the English blues rock bands from the mid-to-late 1960s. A lot of great music came from that group, but none of them transcended their moment in time. Led Zeppelin did and I've always wondered why, as I'm sure many others have. I think this album reveals why. It's not the musicians or songs or group dynamics; it's Jimmy Page's album production. Jimmy Page is a master producer and it's his genius as producer for why Led Zeppelin transcends their moment in time.

This is a phenomenal album. It should be listened to and it belongs in every serious collection. This album deserves to be on the 1001 Albums list because of its timeless quality and also because it just extends the hard rock boundary so far that in some ways hard rock hasn't yet reached the boundary again.

Every song is brilliant. I would list them all as stand outs, but I would rather instead point out that When the Levee Breaks is the best song on the album. And I will never tire of listening to Stairway to Heaven. The final section will always make it worthwhile.

★★★★★★★★★★

187. Led Zeppelin | Led Zeppelin III (1970)

---

Wikipedia Entry

---

Tracks

1. Immigrant Song
2. Friends
3. Celebration Day
4. Since I've Been Loving You
5. Out on the Tiles
6. Gallows Pole
7. Tangerine
8. That's the Way
9. Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
10. Hats Off to (Roy) Harper

---

Led Zeppelin III is an exquisite album. The music is hard rock with many songs having an folkie (English folk) thread running through them. There are two straight up blues rock songs, an indication of their own song writing maturity.

This album works well on two levels. First, every song is dynamic. Each instrument is busy doing something at all times on each song. While it can sound complex, it's disciplined and not overwhelming. Second, the production quality is outstanding. It's not like there haven't been other talented and capable producers and audio engineers, but for Jimmy Page, the production is like another instrument. He really treats it as an art. (There's no doubt it's a big reason why Led Zeppelin sounds fresh decades later.)

This is a phenomenal and underrated album. It doesn't seem to rock as hard as Led Zeppelin II, but it does; it just has fewer riffs. This album is definitely worth listening to and owning. It certainly belongs on the 1001 Albums list.

Every song on this album is outstanding. Every single one is exciting and entertaining. My favorites are Immigrant Song, Since I've Been Loving You, Out on the Tiles and Gallows Pole. The one song that I've come to be more fond of recently is Hats Off to (Roy) Harper. It's a really strong adaptation of a blues song into rock song, without it becoming a blues rock song.

★★★★★★★★★★

157. Led Zeppelin | Led Zeppelin II (1969)

---

Wikipedia Entry

---

Tracks

1. Whole Lotta Love
2. What Is and What Should Never Be
3. The Lemon Song
4. Thank You
5. Heartbreaker
6. Living Loving Maid (She's Just a Woman)
7. Ramble On
8. Moby Dick
9. Bring It On Home

---

Led Zeppelin II is a thundering album—even the quiet songs are loud. From this album onward, rock and roll gets louder and heavier. John Bonham hits the drums not as if he's trying to play them, but as if he's trying to destroy them. Jimmy Page has also decided to turn his guitar up to eleven and Robert Plant is finding his wail.

Don't be deceived, though. This isn't a noisy album. John Paul Jones lays down the most lyrical bass lines so far and Jimmy Page has decided to play more riffs on one album than found in total on all the albums on the list so far.

Another really nice thing about this album is the variety of songs. Although they are blues-based, they all sound quite different from each other, yet complement each other quite well.

This album is essential for any serious collector. There's no need to list the stand out songs since they are all extraordinarily great. Most bands would be hard pressed to come up with just one of these, never mind nine of them.

★★★★★★★★★★

155. Led Zeppelin | Led Zeppelin (1969)

---

Wikipedia Entry

---

Tracks

1. Good Times Bad Times
2. Babe I'm Gonna Leave You
3. You Shook Me
4. Dazed and Confused
5. Your Time Is Gonna Come
6. Black Mountain Side
7. Communication Breakdown
8. I Can't Quit You Baby
9. How Many More Times

---

Led Zeppelin is a timeless album. This songs are heavy blues-based rock and roll. It's some of the most loudest and heaviest sounding music up to this point of the 1001 Albums list.

There's an intangible quality about both Led Zeppelin, the album, and Led Zeppelin, the band. Like, the Beatles, Led Zeppelin seems to transcend their contemporaries. However, where the Beatles were mostly way ahead of their time, Led Zeppelin was not;  they transcend by creating a mood, an atmosphere, an attitude, an aura that makes the music timeless and mysterious.

How does this transcendence emerge?

John Bonham and John Paul Jones are another reason. No one hits the drums harder than John Bonham does or hits as many drums at once. Well, Keith Moon might, but Keith Moon is a wasteful and erratic drummer. John Bonham was very conservative and utilized fills smartly. John Paul Jones is also someone who played his instrument smartly and conservatively. Together, they form a rhythm section like no other.

Robert Plant sings classic blues lines which themselves are eternal and he sings lyrics that are abstract enough and non-contemporary that they can transcend. It would have been curious if Rod Stewart had been the singer rather than Robert Plant. Rod Stewart is just as good, if not better, and has a similar style.

Jimmy Page isn't the most technical, talented or graceful guitarist, but he played what was necessary and nothing more. Jimmy Page was a smart producer. The album is serious and gets to the point immediately. It also stays focused and doesn't stray from it's purpose: which is heavy blues rock. There's nothing extraneous on the album. There's no idle banter, no pointless introductions, and no songs that were half-baked.

Also, the music sounds very compact almost to the point of being claustrophobic. Jimmy knew how to record the instruments. John Bonham is a great drummer, but the drums are recorded just the right way to enhance their power. The music doesn't sound like it was even recorded in a studio. Rather, it emerged from the infinite deep of space.

I don't know if that's how or whether it's all just a bullshit explanation. But, I've thought about it for a long time and that's all I have.

Needless to say, I love this album. I think it's an essential album in any serious album collection. There's not a bad song. It's hard to list any stand outs. I don't believe any stand out more than any other, but certainly Good Times, Bad Times, Babe I'm Gonna Leave You, You Shook Me, Dazed and Confused, Communication Breakdown and How Many More Times are the most likely candidates.

★★★★★★★★★★