LED ZEPPELIN

Yeah, this went over like a lead zeppelin all right ! What a debut ! There is no doubt that the old blues masters were a huge influence on the music of LED ZEPPELIN, in fact they cover two Willie Dixon songs on this their first record. These guys just seemed to click the first time they played music together, and that magic lasted for some 10 years selling more records then anyone.

The opening song "Good Times Bad Times" was released as a single with "Communication Breakdown" as the "B" side of it.The highlight of this opening song is the guitar solo a minute and a half in. "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" opens with acoustic guitar and they do a nice job of contrasting the mellow passages with restrained vocals, with the instrumental outbursts with emotional vocals that occur throughout this great song. I love the lyrics as well. "You Shook Me" is a Willie Dixon song that features some good organ, while Robert does a good job on the harmonica. There is some great vocal / guitar interplay in this one.

"Dazed And Confused" is experimental sounding at times and has some really dark BLACK SABBATH-like sounds as well. The heavy instrumental parts are great ! A nice extended guitar solo from Jimmy 4 minutes in. "Your Time Is Gonna Come" is one of my favourites on the record, opening with organ and it features some really good blues style lyrics. "Black Mountain Side" is an instrumental that has some intricate guitar melodies and some tabla drums. "Communication Breakdown" is a straight ahead rocker that features some amazing guitar in it. "I Can't Quit You Babe" is the other Willie Dixon song, and I love the bluesy guitar. "How Many More Times" is the longest song and again features blues style lyrics with a dark, atmospheric soundscape to match.

There is plenty of variety in this classic album that is a must have.