LED ZEPPELIN

Led Zeppelin was born from the ashes of The Yardbirds, who disbanded in 1968. The Yardbirds was an English rock band, formed in London in 1963. The band is known for starting the careers of three of the most famous rock guitarists, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck, all of whom ranked in the top five of Rolling Stone magazine's list of 100 greatest guitarists. Page, was the last of the guitarists of The Yardbirds. When Page was in the band, The Yardbirds became declining and took an end. Page, The Yardbirds' sole remaining member, was left with the rights to the group's name and contractual obligations for a series of concerts. For his new band, Page recruited John Paul Jones, Robert Plant and John Bonham and toured as The New Yardbirds. Later, Page changed the band's name to Led Zeppelin.

"Led Zeppelin" is the eponymous debut studio album of Led Zeppelin that was released in 1969. It was released and produced by all four members of the group and established the Led Zeppelin's fusion between the blues and the rock.

"Led Zeppelin" has nine tracks. The first track "Good Times Bad Times" written by Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and John Bonham was the song chosen from the album to be released as a single. It's a very powerful rock song with nice riffs and an amazing vocal work with excellent chorus. This is a very good song to open the album. The second track "Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You" written by Anne Bredon, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant is a folk song written by Anne Bredon, in the 50's, which was recorded by Joan Baez. This was the first song that Page played to Plant at their first meeting together. It's basically a ballad with heavy parts. This is an astonishing song with a magnificent fusion between the acoustic and the electric parts. This is a great version of the original song and one of my favourite songs on the album. The third track "You Shook Me" written by Willie Dixon and J. B. Lenoir is a typical blues classic song. It's a song based on a great guitar riff and where all band's members perform solos. It also deserves be mention the beautiful harmonica work performed by Plant. This is a song that shows perfectly the diverse and amazing skills of Jimmy Page on guitar. The fourth track "Dazed And Confused" written by Jimmy Page is a song that became a legendary song from the band. It's a very powerful song and one of the highlights of the album. It also became Page's favourite track on the live performances of the band, played much longer and with many adaptations, including one entire side on their first live album "The Song Remains The Same". The fifth track "Your Time Is Gonna Come" written by Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones is a very accessible and beautiful song. It's a song with nice vocals, good chorus, interesting organ work and a beautiful acoustic guitar performance. However, probably it represents, in my humble opinion, the weakest song on the album. The sixth track "Black Mountain Side" written by Jimmy Page is a short and very interesting instrumental acoustic song with great guitar performance by Jimmy Page. There isn't much to say about it, except that this is a very enjoyable song and I like a lot of acoustic guitar songs. The seventh track "Communication Breakdown" written by Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and John Bonham was the song chosen to be released as the B side of their single "Good Times Bad Times". It's a very powerful rock song, in the same vein of the opener song, with a great guitar riff and is also one of the few songs on which Page sang backing vocals. The song became one of the most popular tracks at the Led Zeppelin concerts. The eighth track "I Can't Quit You Baby" written by Willie Dixon is the other classic blues song performed on the album. It's, like the other blues song, a very powerful song and a showcase of the virtuosity of Page on the guitar. This is another excellent version of the original blues song, structurally very similar to the previous blues number, but for me, is inferior to "You Shook Me Up". The ninth and last track "How Many More Times" written by Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and John Bonham is my third favourite song on the album, with "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" and "Dazed And Confused". It's the lengthiest track on the album and one of the most powerful. It's an incredible end for the album with a fantastic Page riff, an extremely powerful rhythm section and a great vocal Plant performance.

Conclusion: "Led Zeppelin" is, without any doubt, an excellent and powerful debut album. In my humble opinion, it's a very strong and well balanced album without masterpieces but also without weak points, despite "Your Time Is Gonna Come" represent its Achilles' heel. It's true that "Led Zeppelin" isn't a progressive album and it's more a blues rock oriented album. However, we mustn't forget that we were in 1969, the album was released in 12 January, and the prog didn't exist in those times. Only in the end of that year, in 10 October, King Crimson come to release what is now regarded as the first progressive album, "In The Court Of The Crimson King". So, for a debut album, "Led Zeppelin" has a very interesting powerful collection of songs, full of originality and invention. Even the blues versions of the two Willie Dixon's songs are great, even for me. As you know, I'm not a great fan of blues. Thus, this is an excellent album.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

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