LED ZEPPELIN II

The album of un-mistakable riffs is born! Although it may be their least prog album ever (and one of the least on this site!), I can't hold that against them because this is truly one of the greatest pieces of music my ears have ever heard. Review time!:

The album kicks off with the absolutely epic "Whole Lotta Love", and the riff parade begins. Plant's vocals shine and Bonham's drumming is intense, but the main focus is on Jimmy Page (as it will be throughout the whole album). "What Is And What Should Never Be" is, in my opinion, the best song on this album. Look what an honor that is, seeing as how every song on this album is great. Plant has a very melodic feel to his voice in this song, which he sometimes loses during other songs. The chorus here is amazing, and one of the most captivating things I have ever heard. Once again, Page is a power performer. "The Lemon Song", longest song on the album, is probably the weakest for me. Still an amazing track, I think it would fit better on their next album. Some of you Hendrix fans might recognize the lyrics however? "Heartbreaker" is next, and it is the song every non-Zeppelin fan talks about. The single greatest riff in rock and roll history peaks with an intense solo in the middle, and Bonham plays better here than he does on his own solo track.

"Thank You" is a nice little change of pace, with the greatest ballad to ever come out of the Zeppelin recordings. Some ten friends of mine said this song would work well as their choice for a wedding song! "Livin' Lovin' Maid (She's Just A Woman) is played as a second part to "Heartbreaker" on radio stations, but really that doesn't do a justice to the song, being completely different in itself. In my opinion, these two tracks just don't flow together good enough to be played back to back. It takes away from the prestige of the individual song. "Ramble On" was another attempt at a ballad, but once they started rehearsing it in the studios they quickly scrapped the idea and made it completely bursting with more famous Zeppelin riffs. "Moby Dick" is the small scale equivalent to Ginger Baker's "Toad". They both feature some work in the background, although center stage is the drummer, pounding away on a truly amazing solo. Bonham at one of the finest points of his career. The album is wrapped up with "Bring It On Home", which starts off poorly with a soft acoustic intro and one of Plant's worst vocals ever, but then goes from a 1 star moment to a 99 star moment the second Jimmy Page comes in with that unforgettable guitar work. Truly an amazing second half.

So there you have it. Certified masterpiece in every way. Every guitarist on the planet aspires to play this album, and I am no exception. This is just bursting with unforgettable riffs! Even if heavy guitar isn't your forte, there is still some acoustic work and some nice touching balladry. 5 stars, no doubt!