Led Zeppelin II or III?

Of the first 4 LZ albums, III is my favorite.

Friends, Tangerine & That's The Way, all beautiful songs.

And Gallows Pole - those guys had a sense of humor. "Your brother brought me silver. Your sister warmed my soul. But now I laugh and pull so hard and see you swinging on the Gallows Pole." OK they didn't write it, but its a great rendition.

There's not a bad song on the album (true in essence for all their albums, IMO).

The powerful Immigrant Song, the haunting Since I've Been Loving You, the driving ferocity of Out On The Tiles. A truly Herculean effort - still just as powerful and enjoyable today was it was in 1970.

 

Edited by A'swepe

zep 3 for sure. Zep 2 has some crappy songs :)

Zeppelin is my favorite band, so this is extremely hard.

I think III, because I love Zeppelin's acoustic songs, and that album is a well balanced collection of hard rock and acoustic songs.

III

Stiefel wrote: but of all led zeppelin albums, i prefer the first

Of course, Led Zeppelin I is THE breakthrough!! There is rock before it and rock after it.

Next, Led Zeppelin II is a follow-up of Led Zeppelin I with more mature, more "solid" songs. Next is IV, and only then III. OK there is "since I've been loving you" and "Immigrant Song" on it. But the rest, if good music anyway, is not genuine Led Zeppelin.

Led Zep III would be my choice. Led Zep II pretty much defined the heavy metal sound for the next decade and its influence can't be overestimated. Having created a monster like that, most bands would have settled for sticking to a winning formula, but Zeppelin never stopped moving on - IMO every album up to Physical Grafitti was an advance on the one before.

Edited by Syzygy

M. B. Zapelini wrote: Both albums are so good, it's difficult to choose one. I'll probably pick Led Zeppelin III, maybe tomorrow I'd choose II... IMHO, both are better than Led Zeppelin "IV" (the one which starts with "Black Dog" and ends with "When The Levee Breaks").

Ohhhhhh. But you can't DENY 'When The Levee Breaks' is the best track off of IV.  Or maybe you can.  I hope you can't, though. Because I like that song.  And 'Battle of Evermore'. 

Both albums are so good, it's difficult to choose one. I'll probably pick Led Zeppelin III, maybe tomorrow I'd choose II... IMHO, both are better than Led Zeppelin "IV" (the one which starts with "Black Dog" and ends with "When The Levee Breaks").

For me it's no problem to choose III  ! I've always loved the acoustic side from Led Zep and the compelling blues song Since I've Been Loving You is the finishing touch on this album for me, what a solo and grand finale .. ! FORZA LEDDA  ZEPPA!!

RANK TIME!!! 

• Physical Graffiti
• Presence
• In Through the Out Door
• Led Zeppelin I
• Houses of the Holy
• Led Zeppelin II
• Led Zeppelin IV
• Led Zeppelin III

It is my opinion that this band got better as they went along.  The first two sides of PG are just absolutely brilliant.  The second has some extra filler towards the end, but as a grand statement, it just towers over the rest of the band's output.  Presence makes the number two slot because "Achilles Last Stand" is the greatest thing they ever wrote.  In through the Out Door is underrated as hell, "Carouselambra" being an attractive experimental romp, and the entire album given the sparkling treatment (it's the best sounding of all of their albums).

As per the rest...  Zep I has some astounding songs, as does Houses of the Holy.  II is certainly rocking, but nothing really stands out as particularly extraordinary.  IV is ranked so low because of overexposure, although "Black Dog" has a MONSTER of a riff that, despite radio's best efforts, has held up extraordinarily well over the years.  III is ranked at the bottom, and although it has a sort of a mystic wonder, and "Immigrant Song" is a highlight, but I think it's the least memorable of their output.

Great band all in all... in order, the first three albums I've ranked get 5 stars, the next two get 4, and the bottom three get 3.