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LED ZEPPELIN

Prog Related • United Kingdom


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Led Zeppelin biography
Founded in London, UK in 1968 - Disbanded in 1980 - One-off reunions in 1985, 1988, 1995 and 2007

Led Zeppelin formed in 1968 as a residue of The Yardbirds. Jimmy PAGE was the last remaining member and had to fulfill some concert obligations in Scandinavia. Page teamed up with John Paul JONES, with whom he worked with on previous session engagements, and they decided to form a band together, after contributing to Donovan's Hurdy Gurdy Man album , they started searching for a singer and a drummer to complete the band. Page went to see Robert PLANT on recommendation by Terry Reid (Terry didn't want to do the vocals, he also turned down DEEP PURPLE for that matter), and immediately loved his voice and stage appearance, Robert PLANT on his turn recommended John BONHAM for drums with whom he played before in his Birmingham based band "Band Of Joy". The band members hit it off immediately and together they went on the Scandinavian tour as 'The New yardbirds". Considering their intend of forming a rock band they needed a proper name. Keith Moon once commented on the New Yardbirds show "This band will go down like a lead balloon" and derived from that came the new name of the soon to be legendary band Led Zeppelin.

Over the years Led Zeppelin came in many guises, from the heavy blues rock that dominated their first two albums, to the folk and acoustics that made up half of their 3rd and 4th album, and the more funky, even slightly progressive Houses of the Holy, and the bombastically baroque Physical Graffiti to the classic rock that prevailed in their last two albums. Led Zeppelin can be categorized as a heavier continuation of what Cream set in motion, with blues drenched, folk inflected and guitar dominated rock, using all the different styles rock could be played in, from blues, to folk, funk, pop, classical elements, Rock and Roll and metal, with side-steps that even included country and reggae, as well as psychedelic and large portions of what can be considered progressive rock. Aside from being a great rock band, their influence was felt throughout the heavy rock spectrum.

Typical elements in Led Zeppelin sounds are the funky electric guitar drives, delicate and technical acoustic guitar pieces, sophisticated multi-layered arrangements, a fabulous rhythm section with heavy drumming from John ...
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LED ZEPPELIN discography


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LED ZEPPELIN top albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

4.05 | 1102 ratings
Led Zeppelin
1969
3.99 | 1041 ratings
Led Zeppelin II
1969
3.94 | 1003 ratings
Led Zeppelin III
1970
4.42 | 1336 ratings
Led Zeppelin IV
1971
3.95 | 971 ratings
Houses Of The Holy
1973
4.05 | 1001 ratings
Physical Graffiti
1975
3.38 | 719 ratings
Presence
1976
2.98 | 667 ratings
In Through the Out Door
1979

LED ZEPPELIN Live Albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

3.83 | 347 ratings
The Soundtrack from the Film - The Song Remains the Same
1976
4.29 | 195 ratings
BBC Sessions
1997
4.38 | 247 ratings
How The West Was Won
2003
4.54 | 169 ratings
Celebration Day
2012

LED ZEPPELIN Videos (DVD, Blu-ray, VHS etc)

4.01 | 170 ratings
The Song Remains The Same (Film)
1990
4.47 | 181 ratings
Led Zeppelin
2003
2.89 | 9 ratings
Rock Milestones Led Zeppelin's IV
2005
3.71 | 7 ratings
The Led Zeppelin In Concert (extract from 'The Song Remains The Same')
2005
4.14 | 7 ratings
Complete Rock Case Studies
2009

LED ZEPPELIN Boxset & Compilations (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

3.17 | 11 ratings
2 Originals Of Led Zeppelin
1974
2.48 | 330 ratings
Coda
1982
2.29 | 10 ratings
The 10 Legendary Singles
1989
3.97 | 64 ratings
Led Zeppelin (Box set)
1990
4.15 | 103 ratings
Remasters
1992
4.02 | 35 ratings
The Complete Studio Recordings
1993
3.96 | 30 ratings
Boxed Set II
1993
3.61 | 47 ratings
Early Days: The Best of Led Zeppelin Volume One
1999
2.94 | 44 ratings
Latter Days: The Best of Led Zeppelin Volume Two
2000
3.79 | 86 ratings
Mothership
2007

LED ZEPPELIN Official Singles, EPs, Fan Club & Promo (CD, EP/LP, MC, Digital Media Download)

3.45 | 27 ratings
Good Times Bad Times
1969
3.91 | 36 ratings
Whole Lotta Love
1969
4.11 | 28 ratings
Immigrant Song / Hey, Hey, What Can I Do
1970
3.00 | 4 ratings
Living Loving Maid (She's Just a Woman)
1970
3.50 | 4 ratings
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
1970
4.50 | 4 ratings
El Emigrante
1970
3.73 | 17 ratings
Black Dog/Misty Mountain Hop
1971
4.72 | 53 ratings
Stairway to Heaven / Whole Lotta Love
1971
4.13 | 23 ratings
Rock And Roll / Four Sticks
1972
4.00 | 2 ratings
Acoustically
1972
4.20 | 5 ratings
This Is Led Zeppelin
1973
4.33 | 6 ratings
Over the Hills and Far Away
1973
3.81 | 29 ratings
D'yer Maker
1973
4.00 | 3 ratings
The Ocean
1973
4.04 | 25 ratings
Trampled Underfoot
1975
4.40 | 5 ratings
Fool in the Rain
1979
3.68 | 18 ratings
Wearing And Tearing
1982
3.75 | 13 ratings
The Girl I Love
1997
4.14 | 21 ratings
Whole Lotta Love
1997

LED ZEPPELIN Reviews


Showing last 10 reviews only
 In Through the Out Door by LED ZEPPELIN album cover Studio Album, 1979
2.98 | 667 ratings

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In Through the Out Door
Led Zeppelin Prog Related

Review by VianaProghead
Prog Reviewer

4 stars Review Nš 740

By the late of the 70's, Led Zeppelin was starting to face the consequences of their own excesses. Guitarist Jimmy Page and drummer John Bonham were dealing with tough addictions, heroin and alcohol respectively, while singer Robert Plant was questioning himself about his own future in the music business after the death of his son, Karac. The music's situation was also having changes, pop music and the synthesisers were hitting the scene, and Led Zeppelin had to keep pace with the times and added some synthetic sound to their works. Thus was born "In Through The Out Door".

"In Through The Out Door" is the eighth and last studio album of Led Zeppelin and was released in 1979. The album marks a mixture of sounds and rhythms from different styles. It has a massive use of keyboards and synthesizers by John Paul Jones that excels beyond the chords of Jimmy Page. A fact that greatly marked the release of the album was the edition of six different covers because the scene in the bar was photographed by six opposite angles. It became also the band's final studio album, because it was released one year before the death of their drummer John Bonham.

"In Through The Out Door" has seven tracks. The first track "In The Evening" written by Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones is a very powerful song in the same line of the good old days. It's a classic Led Zeppelin's tune with a catchy riff and great keyboard lines. It's the second lengthiest song on the album and is a great song to open the album, respecting the good old tradition of their great opening musical numbers. This is one of the two highlights of the album. The second track "South Bound Saurez" written by Robert Plant and John Paul Jones is a song centred around John Paul Jones's piano, with strong vocals, and where is particularly noticed the almost absence of Jimmy Page. It's one of the only two Led Zeppelin's songs without the participation of Jimmy Page, in the song writing, in the history of the band. The other is "All My Love", also from this album. It's a piano oriented song with excellent vocals from Robert Plant, as usual. The third track "Fool In The Rain" written by Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones was chosen to be released as a single, with "Hot Dog" as the B side. It's a song dominated by piano and with a Latin touch. It's a song that spans several musical genres, and in the end, it has also a surprising samba section. It's an excellent song with a great drumming work that proves that John Bonham could play all type of music. The fourth track "Hot Dog" written by Robert Plant and Jimmy Page is clearly a song influenced by the country music. As you know, I don't like particularly of this kind of music, and you can remember, for sure, my negative observations about those songs written by Greg Lake for Emerson, Lake & Palmer. However, in this case and despite being the weakest song on the album, it's audible. The fifth track "Carouselambra" written by Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones is the other highlight on the album and stands alongside as one of the best and most progressive Led Zeppelin's tracks. It's the lengthiest song on the album and it's also their second lengthiest song ever. This is a fantastic song dominated by keyboards and with an incredible drum work, which soon became one of my favourite songs from the band. The sixth track "All My Love" written by Robert Plant and John Paul Jones was a song written in honour of Plant's son Karac, who died while Led Zeppelin were on their 1977's USA tour. It's a very beautiful ballad, one of the most beautiful ballads that I ever heard, and where the emotional lyrics are sung with a very sentimental feeling by Robert Plant. This is one of their finest ballads. The seventh and last track "I'm Gonna Crawl" written by Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones is a song heavily influenced by the American soul-blues. It's a very good song very well performed and where Robert Plant have, for me, one of his best vocal performances. It became, unfortunately, the Led Zeppelin's swan song.

Conclusion: I really always loved "In Through The Out Door". I always considered it their second most prog effort with "Houses Of The Holy". Still, "In Through The Out Door" was always the most controversial, unloved and misunderstood album of Led Zeppelin. So, it became an underrated album, one of the many underrated albums in the progressive rock history. "In Through The Out Door" is an album without weak points. It has two excellent progressive songs, "In The Evening" and "Carouselambra" and the rest of the album is very good, and even "Hot Dog" is good. "In Through The Out Door" is another album where Led Zeppelin changed their type of music. So, if John Bonham hadn't died so soon, I would be very curious to know what the musical path they would have followed in the future. Let's now write a few lines about John Paul Jones. I think he was placed in the shadow of the band, but he always was the quiet force of the group. He hadn't the charisma of Robert Plant, the virtuosity of Jimmy Page or the living force of John Bonham. Still, he is a very complete musician a basilar stone in the band. "In Through The Out Door" is essentially a John Paul Jones album. Though he had always contributed with songs to the group, on this album he confirmed he is a great songwriter, really.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

 Physical Graffiti by LED ZEPPELIN album cover Studio Album, 1975
4.05 | 1001 ratings

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Physical Graffiti
Led Zeppelin Prog Related

Review by VianaProghead
Prog Reviewer

4 stars Review Nš 736

By 1975 no one was bigger or heavier than Led Zeppelin. America and the world in general was punch drunk after the quadruple whammy of their first four albums, each supported by live tours that went from scene- stealing support slots to stadium-filling three-hour marathons, almost overnight. Even the slightly below average for critics and fans "Houses Of The Holy" hadn't dented their reputation one jot. The world, and its attendant pleasures, was theirs for the taking.

"Physical Graffiti" is the sixth studio album of Led Zeppelin and was released in 1975 as a double album. Recording sessions for the album were initially disrupted when the bassist and keyboardist of the band John Paul Jones considered leaving the group. After reuniting at Headley Grange, a former poorhouse in Headley, East Hampshire, England, which is best known as a recording and rehearsal venue in the 60's and 70's for bands like Led Zeppelin, Bad Company, Fleetwood Mac, Genesis, Peter Frampton, Pretty Things and Clover, the band wrote and recorded eight songs, the combined length of which stretched the album beyond the typical length of a single LP. This prompted the group to make a double album including previously unreleased tracks from other earlier recording studio sessions.

It was the first album released by Swan Song Records, the new label created by the group, and the album points to various styles and influences of music. "Physical Graffiti" is often cited as one of the greatest albums of all time. This album is one of the list of 200 definitive albums in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and it was also considered by Rolling Stone Magazine the 70th greatest album of all time. The album was a critical and audience success, reaching the top of the Billboard. Soon after the release of "Physical Graffiti", all previous released albums of Led Zeppelin returned to the list of 200 most listened albums. It went 16x platinum in the USA, in 2006, signifying shipments of eight million copies.

Often described as Led Zeppelin's definitive work, there's no denying that "Physical Graffiti" influential hold on the modern music acts. This is a double album that traversed many genres, blues, rock, roots, folk, metal, world- music, and that's just for starters. For many this sixth studio album of Led Zeppelin is arguably their pinnacle, their peak, their high rock worthy of its rating. This two record set, the product of almost two years' labour is the band's "Tommy", "Beggar's Banquet" and "Sgt. Pepper's" rolled into one. "Physical Graffiti" is the Led Zeppelin's bid for artistic respectability. Admittedly, a fair amount of "Physical Graffiti" was composed of offcuts and work- in-progress from their previous two albums, though those were offcuts startling quality. But what really shines out is the sheer genre defying eclecticism of it all. Far more than just a crowd pummelling hard rock act with the world's beefiest rhythm section, these boys were able to do everything from folk "Bron Y Aur" and blues "In My Time Of Dying", to country rock "Down By The Seaside" and barrelhouse Rock'n'Roll "Boogie With Stu". In fact, "Physical Graffiti" serves pretty much as a primer of the band's entire oeuvre. And amongst these flights of dexterity we get some of the band's best loved numbers of all time. "Trampled Underfoot", driven by Jones' stomping Fender Rhodes pulls off the remarkable trick of being both heavy and funky as hell. "Custard Pie" and "The Rover" are monster axe workouts, and of course "Kashmir" is still a juggernaut of incredible power, a blend of east and west inspired by Page and Plant's mystical wanderings and underpinned by Bonham's legendary rumble, famously captured in all its ambient glory in the huge hallway of Headley Grange Manor. And it all came wrapped in one of those fabulously intricate die cut sleeves that make all people of a certain age long for a return to the glory days of vinyl. In short, "Physical Graffiti" captures the whole experience of Led Zeppelin at the top of their game. "Physical Graffiti" is the sound of a group writing their identity across the popular culture, indeed.

Conclusion: Led Zeppelin returned from a nearly two years of a hiatus of time since their previous fifth studio album "Houses Of The Holy", released in 1973. This very ambitious double studio album treat many of the songs on "Physical Graffiti" as forays into individual styles, with only occasionally synthesizing sounds, notably presented on the second most extensive song on the album "Kashmir". In reality, "Physical Graffiti" is a real tour the force and a perfect test to Led Zeppelin's musical versatility. Thus, "Physical Graffiti" is a very difficult album to judge as a whole really, such is its musical variety. However, it's, in my humble opinion, a very essential album in the discography of the group, even it has only one essential track on it, "Kashmir". In reality it has only two truly great tracks on it "In My Time Of Dying" and especially "Kashmir". However and in general, this is an excellent Led Zeppelin's studio album, very good and cohesive enough. Led Zeppelin doesn't know how to make weak albums, really. "Physical Graffiti" is an album that reminds me too much "Living In The Past" of Jethro Tull. Both are essential albums to both bands but both are far way of being real masterpieces. Sincerely, for me, all the first five studio albums of Led Zeppelin are better than "Physical Graffiti" is.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

 Presence by LED ZEPPELIN album cover Studio Album, 1976
3.38 | 719 ratings

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Presence
Led Zeppelin Prog Related

Review by VianaProghead
Prog Reviewer

4 stars Review Nš 720

"Presence" is the seventh studio album of Led Zeppelin and was released in 1976. It was written and recorded during a tumultuous time in the band's history, when Robert Plant was recovering from serious injuries that he had suffered in a recent car accident. During the convalescence period in Malibu, California, Plant wrote some lyrics, and when Page joined him those compositions were finished. So, due to that, most of the album was composed only by Page and Plant.

Page and Plant had planned the album as a return to hard rock but on a new level of complexity. It marked a change in direction from Led Zeppelin to a bit less elaborate sound. While previous albums contained hard rock with acoustic ballads, "Presence" is the only album that uses no keyboards and no acoustic tracks. It's perhaps the most unusual Led Zeppelin's album with the last one "In Trough The Out Door", although each of their albums is quite distinct, really. The album received mixed reviews from critics and became the least successful album in the Led Zeppelin's catalog, commercially. However, "Presence" is the album that the band themselves considered to be their "most important" too.

"Presence" has seven tracks. The first track "Achilles Last Stand" written by Robert Plant and Jimmy Page is the third longest studio song released by Led Zeppelin, after "In My Time Of Dying" and "Carouselambra". It's an amazing epic track full of complex guitar work by Page, a famous Bonham's powerful drumming, a Jones's galloping bass line and a wonderful and one of the most remarkable vocal works by Plant. This is one of the most powerful and amazing tracks ever made by the band and one of my favourite tracks too. The second track "For Your Life" written by Robert Plant and Jimmy Page is a very good song but doesn't represents one of the greatest songs on the album. It's a song influenced by blues with plenty of energy through all over the song and with a very pleasant riff. Despite all I said before, it's a very pleasant and interesting song on the album. The third track "Royal Orleans" written by Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and John Bonham was the song chosen to be the B side of their only single from this album "Candy Store Rock". It's the only band's composition on the album and it's also one of the two weakest songs on the album. It's a very funky influenced track with a nice drumming performance on it. This is, in my opinion, a very weak song for the Led Zeppelin's usual quality standard. The fourth track "Nobody's Fault But Mine" written by Robert Plant and Jimmy Page is clearly a song with its roots in the blues and in the rock, the formula that made Led Zeppelin so famous. It has a great vocal performance, a great guitar performance, a great bass riff and a great harmonica work. It's another superb song that represents the second highlight on the album and that soon became a classic Led Zeppelin's track. The fifth track "Candy Store Rock" written by Robert Plant and Jimmy Page was, as I wrote before, the song chosen to be the single of the album. The track was made in the style of a 50's Rock'n'Roll musical number. It's a monotonous and a boring song, which is, without any doubt, the second weakest song on the album. Like "Royal Orleans" it's also a very weak song for a Led Zeppelin's track. The sixth track "Hots On For Nowhere" written by Robert Plant and Jimmy Page isn't also one of the greatest songs on the album. However, this is a very decent and catchy track, with a nice and cool vocal melody. It isn't a masterpiece or even a highlight, but there are some interesting and nice things to hear on it. The seventh and last track "Tea For One" written by Robert Plant and Jimmy Page is another great song and the third highlight on the album. It's a great slow blues epic track that recalls the earlier Led Zeppelin song, in sound and style, "Since I've Been Loving You". It came from the desire of the band to return to their initial roots. This is, in reality, an exceptional track where Plant's vocal work is absolutely tremendous, one of his best in the history of the group, really.

Conclusion: There is a common point on the two last studio albums from Led Zeppelin, "Presence" and "In Through The Out Door". They aren't a collective effort by all bands' members but almost an effort of two of them. "In Through The Out Door" features much greater influence of Plant and Jones because Page and Bonham often not appeared on time in the studio sessions with Page suffering from heroin problems and Bonham suffering from alcoholism problems. "Presence" features much greater influence of Plant and Page because the car accident of Plant in Malibu. As I said before, this can be explain by the fact that the majority of the songs were made at Malibu, where Page had initially joined to Plant, but no Jones and Bonham were present. By the other hand, they're two completely distinct musical works. "Presence" is a guitar based album where the keyboards were totally removed and "In Through The Out Door" is the opposite, a keyboard based album with keyboards on all tracks that pushes Page's guitar into the background on several songs. However and despite both albums represent two completely different musical proposals, they are both, in my humble opinion, two much underrated albums. Sincerely, in my opinion, all Led Zeppelin's albums are excellent.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

 Led Zeppelin II by LED ZEPPELIN album cover Studio Album, 1969
3.99 | 1041 ratings

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Led Zeppelin II
Led Zeppelin Prog Related

Review by VianaProghead
Prog Reviewer

4 stars Review Nš 692

Between the release of the band's eponymous debut album and this one, their second studio album, Led Zeppelin had completed four US and UK tours. So, "Led Zeppelin II", by necessity, was recorded on the road in the States and while it received many tweaks before it reached the shops it still has a live feel that few rock albums have ever come close to.

So, "Led Zeppelin II" is the second studio album of Led Zeppelin that was released in 1969. On it, the group developed the ideas presented on their debut studio album, creating a work which became most acclaimed and influential than its predecessor. With elements of blues and folk music, it also exhibits the band's evolving musical style of blues derived musical material and their guitar riff based sound. Generally, "Led Zeppelin II" is considered the band's heaviest album.

The album's cover shows a sleeve design with a poster based on a photograph of the Jadstaffel 11 Division of the German Air Force during WWI, the famed Flying Circus led by Manfred von Richthofen, the famous Red Baron. The picture was tinted and the faces on the sleeve were airbrushed, including the faces of the four members of the band.

"Led Zeppelin II" has nine tracks. The first track "Whole Lotta Love" written by Willie Dixon, Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and John Bonham is a song that was released in the United States and Japan as a single. It's a song basically driven by a simple, typical but very effective guitar riff performed by Page. It has in the middle of the song some parts of "Dazed And Confused" taken from their debut album. This is an excellent song that represents for me the highlight of the album. The second track "What Is And What Should Never Be" written by Robert Plant and Jimmy Page is basically a ballad with nice guitar work and great vocal performance. It's a very interesting song, clearly influenced by the blues and with some funny moments in its lyrics. The third track "The Lemon Song" written by Howlin' Wolf, Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and John Bonham is a typical blues song with a fantastic performance by all band's members. As I wrote before, I never was a great fan of blues but, in this case, I must confess that the musical performance of this song is absolutely brilliant. The fourth track "Thank You" written by Robert Plant and Jimmy Page is a ballad where seems to have been the first Led Zeppelin's song that Plant wrote all the lyrics and is a tribute to his then-wife Maureen. It's a very beautiful song with an excellent guitar performance by Page, a delicate organ played by Jones and where Plant has a nice vocal performance, he sings with all his heart. The fifth track "Heartbreaker" written by Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and John Bonham is a classic Led Zeppelin's track with a heavy rock tune, great guitar riffs and where Page shows his incredible technique of playing guitar. This track became famous for its memorable guitar riff along with its unaccompanied guitar solo, the best on the album. The sixth track "Living Loving Maid (She's Just A Woman)" written by Robert Plant and Jimmy Page was the song released as the B side of their single "Whole Lotta Love" and, in reality, both songs become part of a whole and are often heard together. It's a short song, very catchy, with a nice guitar riff and good vocal work. The seventh track "Ramble On" written by Robert Plant and Jimmy Page is a song whose lyrics were influenced by "The Lord Of The Rings" by Tolkien. It's a very good based folk song with a fantastic magic acoustic guitar work, a beautiful bass line and an amazing vocal performance. This is one of my favourite songs on the album. The eighth track "Moby Dick" written by Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and John Bonham is the only instrumental track on the album. It's a typical rock song of the band with a great drum solo in the middle, so typical on the albums from the 70's, on which Bonham also plays the drums with his hands as he did very often in the live versions of the song. The ninth and last track "Bring It On Home" written by Robert Plant and Jimmy Page is a tribute from the band to Sonny Boy Williamson, the first artist to record this song, in 1963. It's another typical blues song that starts calm and nice with Plant singing and playing harmonica, which suddenly changes to a great rock song. This is a song with an amazing second part. This is a great way to close this excellent musical work.

Conclusion: As I wrote before when I reviewed "Houses Of The Holy", I said that "Led Zeppelin II" and "Houses Of The Holy" were my musical introduction to Led Zeppelin, in the middle of the 70's. In those times, I bought a vinyl copy of each album, but unfortunately I ended up selling my copy of "Led Zeppelin II" to a very close friend, who plays bass and was a great fan of the band. So, I only bought another copy some years ago, this time a CD copy. Despite I like very much of "Led Zeppelin II", I must confess that I always liked much more of "Houses Of The Holy" and "Led Zeppelin IV", which are probably my two favourite studio albums from them. However, I consider "Led Zeppelin II" an excellent album, very well balanced and without weak points. It has, in my humble opinion, many great songs, especially "Whole Lotta Love", which is the big highlight of the album. So, "Led Zeppelin II" deserves to be rated with 4 solid stars, really.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

 Led Zeppelin IV by LED ZEPPELIN album cover Studio Album, 1971
4.42 | 1336 ratings

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Led Zeppelin IV
Led Zeppelin Prog Related

Review by VianaProghead
Prog Reviewer

5 stars Review Nš 668

"Led Zeppelin IV" is the fourth studio album of Led Zeppelin and was released in 1971. Like the other three previous studio albums, no title is printed on the album too. It's usually referred to as "Led Zeppelin IV", following the name standard used by the band's first three studio albums. However, the album has alternatively been referred to as "The Fourth Album" or "Four Symbols", due to the four Runes used by each member of the band on the cover of the album.

Upon its release, "Led Zeppelin IV" was a big commercial and critical successful album. It's one of the best selling albums worldwide and became as one of the best albums released until now. It's also considered as one of the most important Rock'n'Roll albums. This is an album that demonstrates their subtlety and restraint as much as their stadium-filling grandstanding and it confirmed their superstar rock status and put Led Zeppelin into homes around the world.

"Led Zeppelin IV" has eight tracks. The first track "Black Dog" written by Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones is a song also released as a single in the United States and Australia with "Misty Mountain Hop" on the B side. It's a fantastic and very powerful song with a blues/rock riff and where Plant has one of his best vocal performances. Soon it became considered as one of the greatest songs of all time and one of the most recognizable Led Zeppelin's tracks. The second track "Rock And Roll" written by Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and John Bonham was another song chosen to be released as a single, this time with "Four Sticks" as the B side. We are in presence of a fantastic straight typical Rock'n'Roll number with great drum and guitar work. This is another great track and it's, for sure, one of the accountable tracks that made of Led Zeppelin as one of the best Rock'n'Roll bands ever. The third track "The Battle Of Evermore" written by Robert Plant and Jimmy Page is another incredible song, this time influenced by the folk rock. The song is very well known because the vocal duet between Robert Plant and Sandy Denny and also because the beautiful musical performance of the acoustic guitar and mandolin. This is, in my opinion, one of the most innovative and progressive songs of the band. The absolutely fantastic vocal performance of the duet and the entire musical atmosphere all over the song, made of this song truly a masterpiece and one of my favourite songs of them. The fourth track "Stairway To Heaven" written by Robert Plant and Jimmy Page is a song that doesn't need any kind of presentation and is often referred as one of greatest rock songs of all time and it's also one of their most progressive songs too. The song is composed of several sections, which increase in tempo and volume as the song progresses. The song begins as a slow acoustic folk song and the final section is a high-tempo hard rock section with an intricate and fantastic guitar solo by Page. This is the focal point of this album. The fifth track "Misty Mountain Hop" written by Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones is, as I said before, the B side of the single "Black Dog". With this song, the album reduces its highest quality level, while maintaining also a very good level. It's a great song that represents a very good rock moment but that unfortunately hasn't the energy of "Black Dog" and "Rock And Roll", or the creativity of "The Battle Of Evermore" and "Stairway To Heaven". The sixth track "Four Sticks" written by Robert Plant and Jimmy Page is in the same line of the previous song. It's the B side of "Rock And Roll" and like "Misty Mountain Hop" it's also an excellent song but isn't at the same quality level of the four first songs of the album. The seventh track "Going To California" written by Robert Plant and Jimmy Page is another song like "The Battle Of Evermore" composed in a folk style type, returning with acoustic guitar and mandolin. With this song, the album returns to its highest quality level. The song represents a tribute to Joni Mitchell by Plant and Page. The eighth and last track "When The Levee Breaks" written by Memphis, Minnie, Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and John Bonham is a version of a blues song originally written and first recorded by Joe McCoy and Memphis Minnie in 1929. The lyrics in Led Zeppelin's version were partially based on the original recording. This is another incredible song that closes the album beautifully.

Conclusion: "Led Zeppelin IV" is in general considered the great masterpiece of Led Zeppelin and is also considered as one of the best albums ever released, until now. "Led Zeppelin IV" is almost a perfect album. The first four songs, the A side of the LP, are absolutely perfect and can be considered four truly masterpieces. The B side of the LP isn't as perfect as the A side, but it can be considered also excellent. "Going To California" and especially "When The Levee Breaks" are also two fantastic and incredible songs. Concluding, "Led Zeppelin IV" and "Houses Of The Holy" are probably my two favourite studio albums from Led Zeppelin. However, "Led Zeppelin IV" is better than "Houses Of The Holly" is, because is more balanced and hasn't weak songs, too. So, "Led Zeppelin IV" can be considered as one of the best Rock'n'Roll albums of all time and it was made, probably, by one of the best Rock'n'Roll bands that ever existed.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

 Led Zeppelin III by LED ZEPPELIN album cover Studio Album, 1970
3.94 | 1003 ratings

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Led Zeppelin III
Led Zeppelin Prog Related

Review by VianaProghead
Prog Reviewer

4 stars Review Nš 665

"Led Zeppelin III" is the third studio album of Led Zeppelin that was released in 1970. It represents a maturity on the band's music with great emphasis on the folk and acoustic sounds. Although acoustic songs are featured on its two predecessors, this an album that is widely acknowledge for showing that Led Zeppelin was more than a merely conventional rock band and they could go out into a new musical territory. That surprised many fans and critics, and upon its release the album received rather indifferent reviews. However, "Led Zeppelin III" is praised and acknowledge as representing an important milestone in their career. It's generally considered one of their best and most fine works.

"Led Zeppelin III" has ten tracks. The first track "Immigrant Song" written by Robert Plant and Jimmy Page is one of Led Zeppelin's few single releases, having been released against the band's wishes. It's a very short track and the only one with a very fast tempo beat. This is a great opener to the album that introduces and help to create the unique and great musical atmosphere of the album. The second track "Friends" written by Robert Plant and Jimmy Page is one of the few Led Zeppelin's songs that include strings, arranged by John Paul Jones. It represents the beginning of the acoustic musical experience on the album. This is a great acoustic song with a brilliant acoustic guitar work and a soft and nice delicate drumming. It has also great synthesizer and vocal works. The third track "Celebration Day" written by Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones is a more traditional Led Zeppelin song. It's a very good solid rock song with a great and nice riff and an excellent bass line. Despite being a very good track I think it's a little bit lost and out of the place on the album. Sincerely, I really think that it belongs more to "Led Zeppelin II". The fourth track "Since I've Been Loving You" written by Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones is the lengthiest track on the album and is an epic blues song with great feelings and is very emotional too, and where Robert Plant sings wonderfully and unforgettably. Who usually read my reviews knows that I'm not a great blues' fan. However, this is a perfect song, one of the best blues' numbers I've ever heard, with an incredible musicianship between all band's members. The fifth track "Out On The Tiles" written by Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Bonham is one of the most aggressive songs in the band's catalogue and closes the first side of the LP, the most heavy part of the all album. This is another great rock song with good guitar riff, nice bass line, excellent heavy drumming and strong vocals. The sixth track "Gallows Pole" is a traditional song arranged by Robert Plant and Jimmy Page. It's an acoustic song with a simple guitar rhythm and where the mandolin, the electric bass guitar, the banjo and the drums are all added to it. This is a great song where the instrumentation builds up to a crescendo, increasing in tempo as the song progresses. The seventh track "Tangerine" written by Jimmy Page, has its origins in an old The Yardbirds' song, like several Led Zeppelin's songs written by Jimmy Page. The song begins with a false start, after which Page pauses to set the right tempo. It's a beautiful song in which during its length, the song continually changes tempo. The eighth track "That's The Way" written by Robert Plant and Jimmy Page is another acoustic song and like several other tracks on the album. It became as one of the most gentle and mellow compositions in Led Zeppelin's catalogue. As the previous song, this is one of the most calm and beautiful songs ever made by the band. The ninth track "Bron-Y-Aur Stomp" written by Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones was named with that name because Bron-Y-Aur was the house in Gwynedd, Wales, where the band wrote much of the stuff of "Led Zeppelin III". This is another great and fabulous song that despite being an acoustic song its rhythm is completely frenetic, complex and electrify. The tenth and last track "Hats Off To (Roy) Harper" is a medley of fragments of several blues songs and lyrics written by some blues veterans. The song is a tribute to the contemporary folk singer and very close friend of the band, Roy Harper. This is a very weird song, which, in my opinion, the collage of the excerpts of the old blues' songs, doesn't work very well. It represents the weakest track on the album.

Conclusion: "Led Zeppelin III" remains as one of the best and most fine musical works released by the band. It shows, as I mentioned above, that Led Zeppelin was much more than a traditional rock and blues band. With this album, Led Zeppelin proves that they were one of the best and most complete rock bands in the world. It also proves that Robert Plant was one of the best singers in his era, that Jimmy Page was much more than a great hard rock guitarist, that John Bonham was a complete versatile drummer that could adapted to any kind of music, and finally, that John Paul Jones, behind an excellent bassist, could be a complete and great player able to perform any kind of music instruments. While not the towering achievement of its brothers in numerology, "Led Zeppelin III" remains one of the great albums in rock history, significant for its role in establishing the legend of this band that would become a fact with "Led Zeppelin IV".

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

 Houses Of The Holy by LED ZEPPELIN album cover Studio Album, 1973
3.95 | 971 ratings

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Houses Of The Holy
Led Zeppelin Prog Related

Review by BrufordFreak
Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

5 stars Houses of the Holy was a landmark album for my brothers and I back in the mid-1970s as it was the first album that all four of us had universally high opinions of (though for often disparate reasons). Though I enjoyed music/songs from the band's previous four albums, Houses of the Holy felt different in that this was NEW music--the band was taking a big step out of/away from the blues, blues rock, and folk-rock songs that they were belting out before; with Houses of the Holy it felt as if the band had stepped into a new dimension--a new universe--that included many more effects, keyboards, and stylings that lent themselves more toward a pervasive feeling of psychedelia. Also, these two sides were album sides that we would play start to finish, over an over, without ever feeling the need or desire to skip over ANY of the songs. To this day, I cannot play one song without wanting to hear the song(s) before and/or after it. Though several songs have definitely grown in my esteem over the years, none have diminished in the charge of excitement and amazement that I felt in those teenage years. And now, 50 years later, I can still say that Houses of the Holy is by far my favorite album from the greatest rock 'n' roll band of all-time. There are very few albums from my youth that stand up so well--Days of Future Passed, Demons and Wizards, Remember the Future, Relayer, Trick of the Tale, Crime of the Century, Romantic Warrior, Hamburger Concerto, Imaginary Voyage, I Robot, and Aja are the others that immediately come to mind, but Houses of the Holy definitely belongs in this group.
 Houses Of The Holy by LED ZEPPELIN album cover Studio Album, 1973
3.95 | 971 ratings

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Houses Of The Holy
Led Zeppelin Prog Related

Review by VianaProghead
Prog Reviewer

4 stars Review Nš 642

"Houses Of The Holy" is the fifth studio album of Led Zeppelin that was released in 1973. It follows the same basic pattern as "Led Zeppelin IV". The album's title is a dedication by the group to their fans who appeared at venues called "Houses Of The Holy". It was the first Led Zeppelin's album to be officially titled with a real name. It was also the first band's albums to be composed completely by original material. It represents a musical turning point for Led Zeppelin, as they began to use more layering and production techniques in recording their songs. During the promotional tour of the album, two live shows were filmed giving the live album and the film "The Song Remains The Same". This was also Led Zeppelin's final studio album which was released on Atlantic Records before the band forming their own record label, Swan Song, in 1974. "Houses Of The Holy" was ranked 148th on Rolling Stone Magazine's Top 500 Albums List.

The art cover for "Houses Of The Holy" was inspired by the Arthur C. Clarke's novel "Childhood's End". It's a collage of several photographs which were taken at the Giant's Causeway, in the Northern Ireland. The inner sleeve photograph was taken at the Dunluce Castle near to Causeway. The art cover of the album was considered as one of the greatest albums' covers of all time, and it was also nominated for a Grammy Award in the category of best albums package ever.

"Houses Of The Holy" has eight tracks. The first track "The Song Remains The Same" written by Robert Plant and Jimmy Page is a very powerful rock song and a great opener for the album, and soon became one of the trademarks of the band. All band's members are brilliant making of this song one of the highlights of the album. Originally, it was an instrumental track which was given the title "The Overture". The second track "The Rain Song" written by Robert Plant and Jimmy Page is a lengthy ballad were the melody of the song was originally constructed by Jimmy Page at his home and where Robert Plant composed the lyrics and John Paul Jones added the Mellotron, which is giving the final orchestral effect. So, the final result is a fantastic song with beautiful guitar work and a majestic Mellotron sound. The third track "Over The Hills And Far Way" written by Robert Plant and Jimmy Page was one of the songs chosen to be released as a single. This is another great song on the album, this time with a fantastic acoustic guitar performance by Page. It's a very interesting song that mixes perfectly the beautiful acoustic ballad style with the hard rock style. The fourth track "The Crunge" written by Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and John Bonham is a funky song that seems to be a tribute to James Brown. Sincerely, I never particularly liked of this song, and even today, I still don't like it very much. So, this is, in my opinion, one of the two weakest songs on the album. The fifth track "Dancing Days" written by Robert Plant and Jimmy Page was the song chosen to be released as the B side of their single "Over The Hills And Far Way". It's probably the most commercial song on the album, and despite being a good song, definitely better than "The Crunge", it's, in my opinion, inferior to the other three previous songs. The sixth track "D'yer Mak'er" written by Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and John Bonham is the other weak song on the album. It's also a song chosen to be released as the A side of a single, with "The Crunge" as the B side. It's clearly a song influenced by reggae. It isn't a bad song but it's, in my opinion, completely out of the musical context of the all album. The seventh track "No Quarter" written by Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones soon became to be considered one of the best songs made by the group and also became a centre piece of all Led Zeppelin's live concerts. It's the epic song on the album and it can also be compared to "Stairway To Heaven". It's undoubtedly one of their most progressive tracks and one of their most beautiful songs too. The eighth track "The Ocean" written by Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and John Bonham is a very good song. It refers to the sea of fans seen from the stage at Led Zeppelin's concerts, to which the song is dedicated. It's an excellent rocker with a great riff, a nice way to close this great album,

Conclusion: I know "Houses Of The Holy" since the 70's. It's with "Led Zeppelin II", one of the first two albums I heard from the band. In those times, I wasn't a big Led Zeppelin's fan and due to that I decided to sold "Led Zeppelin II" to a great friend of mine. So, "Houses Of The Holy" became my oldest album from the band in my vinyl collection. "Houses Of The Holy" always was one of my favourite albums from Led Zeppelin. It marked a change into their music, to a more elaborated and sophisticated sound, because the use of keyboards, especially Mellotron and synthesisers. It has also four of my favourite songs from them, "The Song Remains The Same", "The Rain Song", "Over The Hills And Far Way" and especially "No Quarter", which is probably their most progressive song. "The Ocean" is also a great song. However, "Houses Of The Holy" has its Achilles' heel. "The Crunge" and "D'yer Mak'er" are two weak songs. So, "Houses Of The Holy" has some inconsistencies. So, and unfortunately, for me, I can't rate it with more than 4 stars.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

 Stairway to Heaven / Whole Lotta Love by LED ZEPPELIN album cover Singles/EPs/Fan Club/Promo, 1971
4.72 | 53 ratings

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Stairway to Heaven / Whole Lotta Love
Led Zeppelin Prog Related

Review by Boi_da_boi_124

4 stars Review #93!

'Stairway to Heaven'. The Zeppelin track that most could go the rest of their life without hearing again. This is probably the closest Led Zeppelin ever got to a sidelong epic. Delicate guitar playing, poetic lyrics, and some outstanding Bonham drumming was just some nice 'meaningful' crap that I could use to try to explain this song. But the truth is that this song cannot be explained. It can only be experienced, felt, lived. Eight minutes feels like two to the trained ear. The B-side's nice too, I guess.

I'm joking.

'Whole Lotta Love' is proof in itself that Led Zeppelin was vital to the birth of metal. And prog! Long sections with ear- piercing sound effects practically screams "Moonchild: The Illusion!" (Apologies for the esoteric reference). This track is fun as hell and I appreciate the fact that it is the B-side to 'Stairway to Heaven' years after its original release in 'Led Zeppelin II'.

Both of these tracks hold up horrifyingly well after all these years. Wonderful, beautiful, schmeautiful. See, there I am again, trying to explain things that can't be. Either way, these are some of the best songs in history by one of the best bands in history. Prog on.

 Stairway to Heaven / Whole Lotta Love by LED ZEPPELIN album cover Singles/EPs/Fan Club/Promo, 1971
4.72 | 53 ratings

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Stairway to Heaven / Whole Lotta Love
Led Zeppelin Prog Related

Review by alainPP

5 stars LED ZEP if there were to remain only one, an OMNI yes, an airship even more!!! So we attack hard, since we don't know if it's prog.... but I don't care! The only album where I can put a track on replay for a whole day, good when my girlfriend is at work, we agree!!! Lets' go!

1. 'Black Dog' or the ultimate rock, the one that leaves your c... on the chair; a voice, a riff, a rhythm, everything is there, the guitar twirls, it's simple, it's raw; I must have listened to that a few years ago, I've lost count, but it's one of the musical pygmalion titles; well we are far from the prog and again, see further. Ah ah, ah ah yes when you scratch and you get the substantive marrow, you get there. Who hasn't tried strumming that extra solo and waddling over it? 2. 'Rock and Roll' for Robert's chest in front, John's destructured and destructuring drums and this riff from Jimmy, because yes the hard, proto metal prog invented the sound with a hero guitar, that's how it is ; good don't forget the other John who asserts with his bass the direction to take; good rock? Just for the final drum solo yes! 3. 'The Battle of Evermore' and the 1st progressive piece, this delicate, heady, repetitive arpeggio; these choirs coming from I don't know where, the repetition of one with the other; the crescendical rise as I like to write it, a mini rock bolero to put you in a trance, to make you travel, to engrave one of the foundations of prog rock... progression, of course. How to associate trance with rock, India and its wisdom with English madness, how to engulf oneself in these musical furrows... by listening. 4.' Stairway to Heaven' when I listened to 'Hotel California' I thought of Stairway; when I heard the flute, I thought of GENESIS; also disappointed by this primary but so sensual stereophonic game; when I heard Robert, I understood that it was going to be beautiful; when they passed the second, I was already swooning with joy; having the guitar warming up, the voice languishing, that's it, I knew I had the ultimate piece 'ROCK PROGRESSIF' in front of me. When the battery kicks in halfway through, who's still standing? who knows what was going to happen? who knows that the progression was still going to go up, to open up towards the divine? When the solo comes, who knew it would be perfect, that it was going to rock you all over the room? Who knew he was going to bring you to this apocalyptic moment where rock, prog, hard merged and where you would have to wait after too much time to have this concept of progressive metal, the only title that would be worth 6 in my opinion; well I'm not telling you about excellence with this final return to the beginning, ah if I just did it! 5.' Misty Mountain Hop' after this ecstatic moment, we return to a primary rock sound where the choirs do the 'battle' with the still high voice of Robert; OK, I'll admit it, I have a lot of trouble with titles other than Stairway, but as an inveterate prog, I force myself to listen to everything; even if here it is too repetitive, too garish, too overrated; well it's also probably on titles of this ilk that I started to love the guitar solo moment, it's already not bad; and then 1971 anyway. 6. 'Four Sticks' where how the drums can be put forward and bring the title, how to realize that the crazy drummer was Bonham before Moon; apart from our national Jimmy Pallagrosi who can also be taken as a crazy drummer after Portnoy, we are in France anyway; slow digression with chanted, howled, belched voice. 7. 'Going to California' yes the crystalline arpeggio, on an Indian air, we guess Ravi with his sitar but no, finally if we guess; good, a bucolic title, an air where the notes spurt out from the guitars, an air that can also put you in a trance, that could last, last. A moment when Robert shows that he really has a nice cheesy organ? (thanks Ange for the fact!) 8. 'When the Levee Breaks' for the second 'great title', which confirmed to me at the time that it was not rock, but something else; good the harmonica I had trouble, but the riff I loved; the organ in the background reminds me why I loved 'In the Evening' afterwards; bewitching, simple, catchy and this harmonica that seduces me now, incredible as the sound can transport. What about 'When' except that it goes up, it goes up and it transports, nothing else, come on I'll let you listen, but it doesn't stop. A crescendo before its time again?

LED ZEPPELIN released an OMNI album for Stairway, for the varied, differentiated, ultimate sound, which does not correspond to any musical code; it had to be told here, for posterity, for those who are not yet 50 years old and who do not yet know! (5 for 'IV' of course!)

Thanks to Tuxon for the artist addition. and to Quinino for the last updates

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