Tony’s “Amazing Led Zeppelin Experiment”

(But do it later, when you have finished with the official albums - so much great stuff to discover! )

BTW, do you intend to listen to the live albums, as well?

 

Tony

nice experiment - at the very least you get to listen to some great music

I'll echo BrianH's comment about Jones + Bonham; and unlike Bonzo John Paul Jones is usually underrated

Hard to imagine a period in the late 70's when Zep, Floyd and Yes were considered "dinosaur bands" and extinct

p.s didn't see porcupine tree amongst the recent bands... there's another one to pick up

 

Hey! I've been on this boat!

cool thread tony!

i actually pretty much went through the same ordeal here on the forums last year.. pretty cool reading:


http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=113974

 

Okay Tony - Just keep in mind that for LZII they imagined their audience would be stoned (like everyone at that time) hence the guitar panning.


Sonny Boy - too bad he wasn't listed on the credits

 

I admit to never sitting down to listen to the whole album from start to finish, and that is probably because the first one or two songs do not impress me.

 

I've been thinking about doing just that.

 

I'm five years older, but I didn't grow up hearing LZ except, like you what turned up on the radio. I like what was on, but didn't get interested until just a dozen years ago.

 

Got it! Ewww...that's bad. n:

 

Nice avatar, Grant! Fitting.

As for the thread topic, I am following along with Tony. This is actually quite fun. And what everyone says about the rhythm section is absolutely true! Even on the war-horse radio cuts, Bonzo and JPJ are fabulous!

 

one thing to note on Zep 2, is the subtlety of Bonzo's hi hat. Listen to how he shuffles the hats on Whole Lotta Love and Heartbreaker, he doesnt play straight eighth notes like most rock drummers would've. Keeps those songs swinging instead of just being sludgy riffs.

 

That's what a lot of people miss when hearing Bonzo, sure he was a power
drummer but he could get that "swing" feel into it. And he would change it
up a bit too. Chech out "Darlene" on Coda, just masterful drumming all the
way through!

 

Wow Tony, you're a better man than I. I feel the same way about Zeppelin as you do/did, so it was a feat for me to plunk down $10 for the Barry Diament mastered PHYSICAL GRAFFITI CD recently. There are probably only a handful of Zep songs that I really like, and most of them are on that disc. But I don't see myself going any farther into their catalog unless I magically find some well-kept LPs under $3, but that doesn't seem to happen at the stores near me.

Hope you discover something new in the process and have some fun doing this.

 

I just found the Led Zeppelin III mastered by Barry for 5.99 and it was worth it for 'The Ocean' alone. Man that is a great song.

 

The Ocean is on Houses of the Holy.

 

Then perhaps it's worth it for "Friends".

 

I'm anxious to hear your LZ II review. Awesome, awesome album by the way. It's different than LZ I. It's harder and not quite as bluesy. I think you'll enjoy very much.

 

D'oh. See, there really are some Led Zeppelin newbies left

I'll have to give that one a listen... I do like 'That's the Way' though.

 

What is a "RL" LZII?

 

"RL" is for Robert Ludwig, who mastered the original (1969) album.
If you can find a copy with the "RL" etched in the deadwax (runoff area)
of the record, and it's in good condition, you will hear a pretty good
sounding album - very dynamic! There are some threads about this
on the forum where it is discussed thoroughly.

 

OK, I haven't forgotten about this. I ended up moving to Arkansas and all of my "stuff" is still boxed up. Hopefully, I will get back on track soon. I did listen to LZII while driving, but I haven't written down any thoughts yet. I will say that I felt like it was a step forward from the first album, and I am interested in seeing how they bridge the gap from LZII to ZoSo (which I used to own). It is kind of like waiting for Episode 3 after already knowing what happens in Episode 4! Well, sort of...

I will return!

 

Yeah Tony!!

Your review is about right on to what Zep I has meant to me since I first heard it on 8-track 20 years ago! When ever I spin that one, it's for the Jones and Bonzo's work on that. Robert's singing is a bit of a turn off, but after a while you'll be able to overlook that. To be fair, Plant has said that he doesn't much care for his singing on that album as well.

Zep II was the first album that hooked me on them (also first heard on 8-track). I had 4 on vinyl for years before that and it didn't do a whole lot for me then. It's better now. So keep rockin'. (Can't wait till you get to 3...)

Jake

 

Well.....

I remember reading an interview or maybe an article about Robert Plant in the early 70's, wherein he stated his favorite album was 'Forever Changes.' I thought, who is this Love band? If it was good enough for Plant I knew I had to hear it too...so.... that was how I 'discovered' that album!

 

Can't quite understand that one, as his singing is brilliant. If you don't believe me, try singing along with the same amount of crunching power and loudness. Bet your voice breaks and/or misses the notes!

 

Well Plant thought he was over singing on the first album (or 2).

I get a kick out of listening to the first 2 records because his voice is so WOW over-the-top.

He was on the Zeppelin ship and saying "Oh my God I can't believe this is happening!!" through his singing. It's cool.
Plus he's only, what 19? it's ridiculous that a kid could sing like that at that age!

 

OK, I am finally back with my thoughts on LZII…

Led Zeppelin II

“Whole Lotta Love” – I think the guitar riff is great, but what propels this song for me is the powerful drumming. The middle sort of psychedelic bit almost ruins the whole song for me. It probably worked much better in a live situation than it does a minute and a half into the opening track on the album. The guitar solo that brings the song back to Earth is well done, and again the drums kick butt once the song comes back. I love the fairly slow tempo which works great here. Overall, a great album opener if you can forgive the silly middle bit.

“What Is And What Should Never Be” – The panning of the guitar bothers me on this track, but the song is decent enough. It is one that I will listen to if it comes on the radio. I like JPJ’s playing on this track. Page has some nice moments, too. The vocal effect is interesting and not overdone. I like the gong.

“The Lemon Song” – What can I say about “The Lemon Song”?? It is probably my least favorite of all LZ songs. The lyrics are so bad that I never make it past the juice down the leg part. A true stinker in every possible way, in my opinion. I forced myself to listen the the whole thing for this “review”, but it was tough. Definitely a 6 minute and 19 seconds endurance test for me.

“Thank You” – This one is just OK. The acoustic playing is a great relief after the previous song, and I really like the organ bit at the end, but other than that it is just OK.

“Heartbreaker” – I had no idea what the name of this song was. This track gets played to death on classic radio, which doesn’t help. The guitar solo really blows it for me. It is one thing to break out like that in concert, but I don’t think it works in a studio. It gets a little better when the band kicks back in, but still not one that I like. The sudden ending is cool.

"Living Loving Maid (She's Just A Woman)” – I have always liked this song. A definite “toe tapper” as my friend Bob would say. I like just about everything about this song. It would definitely make a list of my favorite LZ songs. They keep things short and sweet on this one, and it works great. I have no complaints about it at all.

“Ramble On” – JPJ shines on this track. This is another song that I like enough that I won’t change the station when it plays on the radio. The acoustic guitar is a nice touch.

“Moby Dick” – I like it when it is a song, but I am not crazy about drum solos on studio albums. I bet this one kicked booty in concert when it was good. It sounds like they could have pretty much done anything they wanted to do with it on any given night. I’d like to hear some of the LZ live shows that are in circulation after I hear all the albums. I collect Jethro Tull live recordings, and it only made me a bigger fan to be able to hear the various tours over the years. As far as this particular studio version of the song, it is only OK. Sure, it is a nice enough solo, but definitely something I would skip over while listening to the cd. I would probably even get up out of my chair to skip it on an LP.

“Bring It On Home” – This starts off sounding like something from “This Was” by Jethro Tull, then it blasts off into a LZ blues thing. I actually like this one pretty good. The drums are mixed too far into the background for my liking, and the guitar is too loud, but it is still a keeper. I like the way they go back to the beginning to end it. A cool way to end the album!

Overall, I like LZ II much better than LZ I. They have certainly started heading into a direction that will give them their own sound that will stand out from everything else in the early 70s. My favorite songs here are “Living Loving Maid”, “Ramble On”, “Whole Lotta Love”, and “What Is And What Should Never Be”. Those are four pretty solid tracks to come from just one album. It has been really interesting to hear the first two albums from start to finish. I have heard a lot of fans say that LZIII is their favorite, so I am very excited to hear it next. Hopefully, it won’t take me a month to do it…