Classic Rock Album of the Day- Led Zeppelin II (1969) *****
Part of the fun of doing these reviews, is taking the time and in one setting listening to these in a pristine focused manner. Which is counter to normally what you would encounter on a Pandora Station, or Spotify, Classic Rock Station, or other pre-packaged manner of listening. I have literally listened to this album 100's of times in my life, and it never grows old. As ground breaking as the first Zep album was, I always felt that I was configured by Page to lure his Yardbirds fans into the snare. It was so bluesy, though spectacular, and there was no doubt Rock and Roll history was made, and it was the band/album that officially knocked the Beatles off the throne.
II, OTOH, redefined hard rock, but had so much of a well entrenched and enough blues to appease the older fans. To me this album is as fresh and powerful as it was the first time I heard it soon after its release. There is good reason that the meme through the years for Led Zeppelin was Hammer of the Gods. Not only is there no filler on the 1st 4 Zeppelin albums, all the stuff in them are utter and overwhelming classics. In production of Led Zeppelin II we are watching Page work magic in transforming this band into rock iconic status,.... forever. The 3 core musicians are legends. Page and Bonham are easily on almost all top 5 all time in lists of excellence. And JPJ? To me among the most underrated of all. And in II, I feel that the overall chemistry and blending of all parties just works as good or better than 90% of all other Zep product. This is clicking on a songwriting basis in the umpteenth degree.
The fact that this is the 3rd album to review, and in order of favorite , behind IV, and III kind of drives home the fact few did it better than them. This album even early on was wildly successful. I seriously doubt many rock fans back in the day did not have this one their collection. And with this success came some bravado. I think the fold out of this LP, may have been one of the first out there. And even to that, the center album art had a large golden Zeppelin hoisted above what appears to be the Pantheon. That took some balls to make such claims. And they delivered.
But enough of the side stuff. Enjoy 40 minutes of a rock classic.
Fun Fact: Kind of an oddity, but the 9 songs on the album were recorded in 6 different studios. (1) Olympic Studios- London, (2) Mirror Sound- Los Angeles, (3) Morgan Studios- London, (4) A & R Studios- New York, (5) Juggy Sound Studio- New York (6) Atlantic Studios- New York. Apparently, in the rough and tough busy world of rock and roll, they had to record around touring. Which from a production perspective, would also seem to predicate some problems with album progression continuity. But as Captain Obvious would say...... "Not a problem"
Side 1-
----------
Whole Lotta Love- There have been many discussion about the most iconic opening guitar riffs in rock and roll history. Yeah, Layla and Smoke on the Water belong near the top, but Whole Lotta Love has to be. up there too. From the opening Plant cough, this epic rocker jars the listener into reality, and shows the world that Led Zeppelin now is officially ruling the world of hard rock. Page showed so many new and innovative ways to get sounds from his Les Paul that were here and not heard from before. From the down fret sliding, to the almost FX sounding guitar speaker bending fare? The song epitomized the sexual experience, complete with an ******** guitar solo at the end. No doubt this was rock and roll sexual innuendo at its epic best. 1
What is and What Should Never Be- Don't be fooled by slower pace. More Page wizardry, and and very interesting deep barrel sound blues/rocking mix that really works. Might be one of the weakest songs on the LP, but it is like a sports All Star Game, This would be an absolute classic hit for another band. 8
The Lemon Song- Talk about some innuendo. Band can't hide it this time. Some incredible JPJ bass work, and stealthy super difficult percussion work from Gonzo if you listen close enough. This is PG-13 stuff though and I have vivid memories having to keep the volume down so my parents didn't hear. But you gotta confide, how many of us 13 year olds at the time thought about the Lemon squeezing.
7
Thank You- Easily in the top 3 of the most beautiful tunes Zeppelin ever made. This is such a huge change of pace, and you are amazed that this band could turn this thing on a dime so spectacularly. Eery and chilling in its delivery, and unlike almost anything else Led Zeppelin created- 4
Side 2-
----------------
Heartbreaker/Living Loving Maid- I am sorry, I know these are listed as two songs, but to me it is pure sacrilege on a radio basis NOT to play these in tandem. Just wouldn't be prudent, they go together. HB is a fabulous blues blasting solo fare. Page at his best. At the "HEART" "break" song interphase- LLM slaps you with down beat cymbal crashes and more really more standard type rock fare. Plant wails at his very best and this song screams CLASSIC. 2
Ramble On- Another lighter angled number that alternates with nicely done di-opposing hard hooks. 6
Moby Dick- There are benchmark songs for certain instruments. Moby Dick is one of those for Drummers. Much like Tom Sawyer, White Room, and My Generation. Air Drummers, rejoice. 5
Bring it on Home- One of my all time favorite Zep Blues Numbers- Page and the guys create a impeccable Mississippi Blues Delta blues sound complete with era correct harmonica, and that Black like annotation and slurring that hallmarked the great blues guys of the '40s. How Page then took the hook lines and transitioned them into a hard rocking classic is remarkable. Zeppelin caught a lot of flack for plagiarizing the blues stuff from that era. I didn't see it that way. To me, these were not really truly just covers. They were a variative tribute to the genre. They took a good product, and made it better for the masses. 3
Part of the fun of doing these reviews, is taking the time and in one setting listening to these in a pristine focused manner. Which is counter to normally what you would encounter on a Pandora Station, or Spotify, Classic Rock Station, or other pre-packaged manner of listening. I have literally listened to this album 100's of times in my life, and it never grows old. As ground breaking as the first Zep album was, I always felt that I was configured by Page to lure his Yardbirds fans into the snare. It was so bluesy, though spectacular, and there was no doubt Rock and Roll history was made, and it was the band/album that officially knocked the Beatles off the throne.
II, OTOH, redefined hard rock, but had so much of a well entrenched and enough blues to appease the older fans. To me this album is as fresh and powerful as it was the first time I heard it soon after its release. There is good reason that the meme through the years for Led Zeppelin was Hammer of the Gods. Not only is there no filler on the 1st 4 Zeppelin albums, all the stuff in them are utter and overwhelming classics. In production of Led Zeppelin II we are watching Page work magic in transforming this band into rock iconic status,.... forever. The 3 core musicians are legends. Page and Bonham are easily on almost all top 5 all time in lists of excellence. And JPJ? To me among the most underrated of all. And in II, I feel that the overall chemistry and blending of all parties just works as good or better than 90% of all other Zep product. This is clicking on a songwriting basis in the umpteenth degree.
The fact that this is the 3rd album to review, and in order of favorite , behind IV, and III kind of drives home the fact few did it better than them. This album even early on was wildly successful. I seriously doubt many rock fans back in the day did not have this one their collection. And with this success came some bravado. I think the fold out of this LP, may have been one of the first out there. And even to that, the center album art had a large golden Zeppelin hoisted above what appears to be the Pantheon. That took some balls to make such claims. And they delivered.
But enough of the side stuff. Enjoy 40 minutes of a rock classic.
Fun Fact: Kind of an oddity, but the 9 songs on the album were recorded in 6 different studios. (1) Olympic Studios- London, (2) Mirror Sound- Los Angeles, (3) Morgan Studios- London, (4) A & R Studios- New York, (5) Juggy Sound Studio- New York (6) Atlantic Studios- New York. Apparently, in the rough and tough busy world of rock and roll, they had to record around touring. Which from a production perspective, would also seem to predicate some problems with album progression continuity. But as Captain Obvious would say...... "Not a problem"
Side 1-
----------
Whole Lotta Love- There have been many discussion about the most iconic opening guitar riffs in rock and roll history. Yeah, Layla and Smoke on the Water belong near the top, but Whole Lotta Love has to be. up there too. From the opening Plant cough, this epic rocker jars the listener into reality, and shows the world that Led Zeppelin now is officially ruling the world of hard rock. Page showed so many new and innovative ways to get sounds from his Les Paul that were here and not heard from before. From the down fret sliding, to the almost FX sounding guitar speaker bending fare? The song epitomized the sexual experience, complete with an ******** guitar solo at the end. No doubt this was rock and roll sexual innuendo at its epic best. 1
What is and What Should Never Be- Don't be fooled by slower pace. More Page wizardry, and and very interesting deep barrel sound blues/rocking mix that really works. Might be one of the weakest songs on the LP, but it is like a sports All Star Game, This would be an absolute classic hit for another band. 8
The Lemon Song- Talk about some innuendo. Band can't hide it this time. Some incredible JPJ bass work, and stealthy super difficult percussion work from Gonzo if you listen close enough. This is PG-13 stuff though and I have vivid memories having to keep the volume down so my parents didn't hear. But you gotta confide, how many of us 13 year olds at the time thought about the Lemon squeezing.
7Thank You- Easily in the top 3 of the most beautiful tunes Zeppelin ever made. This is such a huge change of pace, and you are amazed that this band could turn this thing on a dime so spectacularly. Eery and chilling in its delivery, and unlike almost anything else Led Zeppelin created- 4
Side 2-
----------------
Heartbreaker/Living Loving Maid- I am sorry, I know these are listed as two songs, but to me it is pure sacrilege on a radio basis NOT to play these in tandem. Just wouldn't be prudent, they go together. HB is a fabulous blues blasting solo fare. Page at his best. At the "HEART" "break" song interphase- LLM slaps you with down beat cymbal crashes and more really more standard type rock fare. Plant wails at his very best and this song screams CLASSIC. 2
Ramble On- Another lighter angled number that alternates with nicely done di-opposing hard hooks. 6
Moby Dick- There are benchmark songs for certain instruments. Moby Dick is one of those for Drummers. Much like Tom Sawyer, White Room, and My Generation. Air Drummers, rejoice. 5
Bring it on Home- One of my all time favorite Zep Blues Numbers- Page and the guys create a impeccable Mississippi Blues Delta blues sound complete with era correct harmonica, and that Black like annotation and slurring that hallmarked the great blues guys of the '40s. How Page then took the hook lines and transitioned them into a hard rocking classic is remarkable. Zeppelin caught a lot of flack for plagiarizing the blues stuff from that era. I didn't see it that way. To me, these were not really truly just covers. They were a variative tribute to the genre. They took a good product, and made it better for the masses. 3
