LED ZEPPELIN II

Led Zeppelin II was released in the same year as the debut and I can't shake off the impression that it came too soon after that ground-breaking blast of an album. While II is a mostly pleasant blues rock album, there's little that rises above average, and the band never reaches a comparable level of intensity in their performance.

Whole Lotta Love has a real killer riff, one of the best known of rock history, but seriously overplayed. I also never heard much in the psychedelic middle section. The three tracks that follow are ok but nothing special and sure imply a diminished inspiration. Heartbreaker is better, if only for the heavily distorted bass work of John Paul Jones.

I didn't start this review expecting to end up with a 2 star rating but upon hearing this album for the first time since a few years I can't find any song that enthuses me here. Except for Ramble On. That sure is an exceptional song and one of the few innovating moments on the album. The folksy acoustic guitars would be further explored on the next two albums and the tasty lead guitar bit around minute 2 is strikingly spacey. But just one exceptional song doesn't make a good album, and no matter how astounding Jason Bonham is on drums, his drum solo spot on Moby Dick is shockingly boring. The smoky blues harmonica song at the end is ok.

2.5 stars. A bit low maybe but weighed against the debut it is indeed not even half as good. Measure up to the rest of Zeppelin's discography, it's sure amongst my least favoured albums. Only Houses of the Holy might be met with a similar dissatisfaction.