Led Zeppelin I - Led Zeppelin

This album, Led Zeppelin's 1969 debut begins with the crunching bare chords of "Good Times, Bad Times". This heavy start to the album gives it the jump start it needs to belt out more rock classics further up the track listing and sets the tone for Zeppelin's brand of guitar based rock. "Is that all there is to expect from this album?" I hear you say. Well, as soon as the second track "Babe I’m gonna leave you" begins Led Zep's dual-pronged acoustic/heavy rock approach is fully exposed to the listener. The classic from this album to most fans is "Dazed and Confused" - a Jimmy Page written piece which starts with a brooding riff from John Paul Jones' bass then ...  Read the complete review

This debut album was recorded within their first weeks together after testing the songs while on tour to Scandinavian audiences under the name of the New Yardbirds. Rehearsed and arranged ahead of their arrival in the studio, the nine tracks took only 30 hours to record over nine days and for a reputed cost of £1,782. The four members of the band were, Guitarist - Jimmy Page, Vocalist - Robert Plant, Bassist - John Paul Jones and Drummer - John Bonham. Jimmy Page chose the black and white cover illustration of the Hindenburg airship going down, as The Who’s Keith Moon had put it, like a "Lead" Zeppelin. Track 1 – Good ...  Read the complete review

The first album was recorded in less than 30 hours just a few weeks after Led Zep's formation. This album contains a old song named "Dazed & Confused" which starts of as a ballad blues number and becomes fused with metal riffs, a classic song. "Dazed & Confused" and "How Many More Times" were leftovers from Page's last days with the Yardbirds. "Good Times Bad Times" combines funk with rock and was created alongside "Communications Breakdown" from their initial rehearsals. "Black Mountain Side" was based on folk guitarist Bert Jansch's Black Water Side. "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" starts ...  Read the complete review

The year 1968 was a pivotal one in music. The lighter pop sounds of the earlier decade had started to give way to a harder-edged, heavy blues, typified by Cream and its spin-off Blind Faith,. Across the Atlantic a band called Iron Butterfly had blown up a storm with their In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida, an album which had a foot in both camps, consisting of one 17-minute heavy blues composition and lighter pop material. In Britain a guitarist called Jimmy Page had set new standards when he joined the Yardbirds, somehow ending up owning the name of the band but having no-one in it left to play with. Page had a keen ear for what were the prevailing music trends and ...  Read the complete review