LED ZEPPELIN III

Zeppelin III is just as good as the previous one,but for totally diferent reasons.While the strenght of II lied in the rocking grooves and refreshed english rock simplicity,this one has flavours of folk and twelve-string guitar work.And,divided in two parts as it is,it's strenght and symbolism is undoubtly found in the second half,an acoustic twenty minutes long trip through folk and classic arrangements.Not that the first side is bad,by any means.

After all,the album kicks of with one of the band's ultimate clasics,no other than Immigrant Song.A very heavy tune(actually quite close to a primitive form of heavy metal)which lasts around two minutes,and grants the album a very strong opening.It is followed by the indian-flavoured Friends,with multiple vocal tracking by Robert Plant and exotic driving strings by Jimmy Page.I'm not sure,but maybe there's a mellotron lost somewhere in the rich arrangement.

Celebration Day is a very famous Zep song,but I happen to find it....just nice.Maybe it's overshadowed by great tracks in the album,but it still a good song.Following the line of the latter,there's Out On the Tiles,a decent track,but completely lost and out of place in the album.

And there is Since I've Been Loving You,one of th best blues numbers I've ever heard.A ten-minute jam with stunning guitar work by Jimmy Page(he truly gives another lesson of guitar playing here),and classic vocal performance by Plant.I've always believed in the incredible musicianship of all the members of the band,but the truth is that in this album,Page and Plant are the spotlights.

And we're off to the acoustic half.My absolute favourite track here is Gallows Pole,a classic English song arranged by Page and Plant in old folk fashion.I just love the way this song grows gradually,and how the multiple strings just start to appear out of nowhere.A totally forgotten track,unfortunately. The great success from this acoustic songs is Tangerine,also a very nice ballad playd in a twelve-string guitar by Page.There's really not much to it,other than a very simple verse/chorus structure with a short break halfway through,and a great intro. Follows a sequence of pleasently relaxing acoustic guitar pieces,which serve almost as a background for Robert Plant to show his love for classic folk. Unfortunately,the album's closed with one of the worse songs the band ever wrote.Hats Off to Roy Harper is a weird slide acoustic guitar track,with annoying volume pitches bubbling all the time. The album has it's flaws and it's maybe not for everybody,but I still think it is a bit underrated in the site.A solid 5 stars somewhere else simply for being Led Zep at it's prime,but here,four stars will have to do(again).

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