AnyBlogDotCom: Led Zeppelin album by album

I love Led Zeppelin. They were the first band I fell in love with, and boy did I fall. I was introduced to them by some cool kids at school who thought I was cool, and wanted to be friends with me. Funny how it goes. They assumed I already knew about Led Zeppelin, so, in order to remain cool in their eyes, I went out and got Zep's latest album, Led Zep III, and played "Immigrant Song". O my fucking god! That was it. I was in! When they did the Winter 1971 tour I asked my dad to get tickets for the Wembley show, but they had sold out by the time he got to the shop. So when they announced a second show I came down to London myself, and queued outside the Harlequin record shop in Oxford Street from 6 in the morning to get tickets. I got the tickets, and saw them four days after my 15th birthday. We had tickets for the fourth row so we were able to see the bulge in Robert Plant's trousers for chrissake And it was LOUD! The compere told us at the start: "For those of you lucky or unlucky enough to get tickets in the front rows, I have to warn you that we use massive amplification, so I advise you to go to the toilet, get some toilet paper, moisten it and stick it in your ears." What brilliant advice. I've done that ever since, and it works a charm. You still hear everything clearly, but you don't get that humming noise afterwards, and don't have to shout at each other to be heard!

Anyway. I got all the early albums, and endured the scorn of my closest proper friend who was an NME reader, and so kept telling me that Led Zep were simplistic, and that Quicksilver Messenger Service were by far the more accomplished and interesting band. Quicksilver who? I hear you say. Quite. Led Zep have stood the test of time, and are now widely acclaimed as one of the greatest rock bands of all time. While Quicksilver are not even a footnote. Boy that feels so good.

I didn't get all the albums. Houses of The Holy was for me a bit of a damp squib. I pre-ordered that when I lived in a commune in White Cottage in Tenby and was so excited to get it. But so disappointed to hear it. Hmm. And then they released Physical Graffiti. That was it for me. I bought no more. Now I know that many people think that Graffiti is the dog's bollocks, but for me the band at that point are too mannered, too cautious, and have lost their mojo. A bit too much John Paul Jones and not enough of the three giants who shook the world.

Anyway. I shall revisit the early albums. Listen again, more carefully to Holy and Graffiti, and give the other studio and live albums I never heard a go. Let's rock!

Background

Wikipedia:

Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist and keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are cited as one of the progenitors of hard rock and heavy metal, although their style drew from a variety of influences, including blues and folk music. Led Zeppelin have been credited as significantly impacting the nature of the music industry, particularly in the development of album-oriented rock (AOR) and stadium rock.

Evolving from the Yardbirds where Page was lead guitarist, and originally named the New Yardbirds, Led Zeppelin signed a deal with Atlantic Records that gave them considerable artistic freedom. Initially unpopular with critics, they achieved significant commercial success with eight studio albums over ten years. Their 1969 debut, Led Zeppelin, was a top-ten album in several countries and featured such tracks as "Good Times Bad Times", "Dazed and Confused" and "Communication Breakdown". Led Zeppelin II (1969), their first number-one album, included "Whole Lotta Love" and "Ramble On". In 1970, they released Led Zeppelin III which opened with "Immigrant Song". Their untitled fourth album, commonly known as Led Zeppelin IV (1971), is one of the best-selling albums in history with 37 million copies sold. The album includes "Black Dog", "Rock and Roll" and "Stairway to Heaven", with the latter being among the most popular and influential works in rock history. Houses of the Holy (1973) yielded "The Song Remains the Same" and "Over the Hills and Far Away". Physical Graffiti (1975), a double album, featured "The Rover" and "Kashmir".

Page composed most of Led Zeppelin's music, having a writing credit on every song apart from three tracks on the band's final album, while Plant wrote most of the lyrics. Jones occasionally added keyboard-focused contributions to compositions, particularly on the final album, In Through the Out Door. The latter half of their career saw a series of record-breaking tours that earned the group a reputation for excess and debauchery. Although they remained commercially and critically successful, their touring and output, which included Presence (1976) and In Through the Out Door (1979), declined in the late Seventies. After Bonham's death in 1980 the group disbanded, feeling that they would not be "Led Zeppelin" without him. Since then, the surviving former members have sporadically collaborated and participated in one-off concerts. The most successful of these was the 2007 Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert in London, with Bonham's son Jason Bonham on drums.

Led Zeppelin are one of the best-selling music artists of all time; their total record sales are estimated to be between 200 and 300 million units worldwide. They achieved eight consecutive UK number-one albums and six number-one albums on the US Billboard 200, with five of their albums certified Diamond in the US by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Rolling Stone magazine described them as "the heaviest band of all time", "the biggest band of the Seventies", and "unquestionably one of the most enduring bands in rock history".^[2] They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995; the museum's biography of the band states that they were "as influential" during the 1970s as the Beatles were during the 1960s.^[3]

AllMusic:

What the Beatles were to the '60s, Led Zeppelin were to the '70s: a band so successful and innovative they wound up creating the prism through which their entire epoch was seen. Zeppelin ushered in the era of album rock -- they refused to release singles off their albums, even when they were garnering massive radio play -- and of arena rock, playing ever-larger stadiums as their ticket sales skyrocketed. Other bands played on a similar field but Led Zeppelin carried a unique mystique cultivated by cryptic album art, distance from the press, and, of course, their music. Drawing upon postwar electric blues, early rock & roll, and psychedelia, Zeppelin created a titanic roar in their earliest days but even then they weren't merely heavy. Underneath the wattage, there was a strong undercurrent of folk-rock and the quartet would soon thread in world music, funk, country, and synthesizers, creating an adventurous body of work that had a long, lasting influence on hard rock, heavy metal, and alternative rock.

Albums

Led Zeppelin (Jan 1969)

The debut album is surprising tight given the short time the band had been together - this was recorded in Sept 1968, a month after the band first rehearsed together on 19th August, and - though still retaining some essence of the Sixties British blues, and having a fairly thin production (done quickly and cheaply by Jimmy Page himself) - is remarkably modern and more than holds up today. Pretty much everything that Zeppelin were to represent - the skilful musicianship, the desire to progress the boundaries of blues rock, the shades of light and dark, the changes in tempo, the instinctive musical closeness of the band, the elements of folk blended in with rock, Plant's awesome voice, Bonham's loud, rhythmic, and adventurous drumming, Page's heavy riffs and screeching guitar, the love of old blues, the quest for new musical ideas, the raw sexuality, the sweaty masculinity, it's all here. Over 50 years old, and this album still bristles with energy and ideas, and throbs with excitement. It feels so fresh.

Related albums which were released around this time: Steppenwolf - Steppenwolf (Jan '68); Boogie With - Canned Heat (Jan '68); White Light / White Heat - Velvet Underground (Jan '68); Live Yardbirds - Yardbirds (Mar '68); Vincebus Eruptum - Blue Cheer (Apr '68); In-A-Gadda-Da-Vidda - Iron Butterfly (Jun '68); Truth - Jeff Beck Group (July '68); Wheels Of Fire - Cream (Aug '68); The Book of Taliesyn - Deep Purple (Oct '68); Electric Ladyland - Jimi Hendrix (Oct '68); Beggars Banquet - Rolling Stones (Dec '68); S. F. Sorrow - Pretty Things (Dec '69); Near the Beginning - Vanilla Fudge (Feb '69); Kick Out The Jams - MC5 ((Feb '69); Yer' Album - The James Gang (Mar '69); Spooky Two - Spooky Tooth (Mar '69); Taste - Taste (Apr '69); On The Double - Golden Earrings (Apr '69); Johnny Winter - Johnny Winter (Apr '69); Tommy - The Who (May '69); Beck-Ola - Jeff Beck Group (June '69); Mountain - Leslie West (Jun '69); The Stooges - The Stooges (Aug '69); On Time - Grand Funk Railroad (Aug '69); Sea Shanties - High Tide (Oct '69);

"Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" - early recordings by Anne Bredon (1959) and Janet Smith (1961)

Joan Baez version, 1962; The Plebs version 1964; The Association version 1965; Quicksilver Messenger Service version 1968 The band played it a lot in 1969, once in 1970, and never again.

Released	12 January 1969
Recorded	September–October 1968
Studio	Olympic, London
Genre	Hard rock, blues rock
Length	44:56
Label	Atlantic
Producer	Jimmy Page

Side one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Good Times Bad Times"*	Page , Jones , Bonham , Plant	2:46
2.	"Babe I'm Gonna Leave You"*	Anne Bredon, Page, Plant	6:42
3.	"You Shook Me"	Willie Dixon J. B. Lenoir	6:28
4.	"Dazed and Confused"*	Page, inspired by Jake Holmes	6:28

Side two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Your Time Is Gonna Come"	Page, Jones, Plant	4:34
2.	"Black Mountain Side"	Page	2:12
3.	"Communication Breakdown"*	Page, Jones, Bonham, Plant	2:30
4.	"I Can't Quit You Baby"	Dixon	4:42
5.	"How Many More Times"	Page, Jones, Bonham, Plant	8:27

The Guardian

Wikipedia

AllMusic: 10
Score: 10

Led Zeppelin II (Oct 1969)

The debut album was a blast of tight energy - mixing folk, blues, and rock in an exciting manner. This follow up is less tight, and the scope seems narrower. When I was a young teen I absolutely adored this album, and for years it was my favourite Zep album. Sometimes, even, my top favourite album of all artists. I think a large part of the appeal is the narrower focus, and the emphasis on the shade side of Page's desire to have light and shade. It is a dark and heavy album, and tracks like "Heartbreaker" are doom-laden and crackling guitar solo driven, giving rise to the heavy metal sound.

I think, however, most of that affection rests on the opening track - an audacious version of the Muddy Waters / Willie Dixon "You Need Love" (1962) - though taken from the Small Faces 1966 version "You Need Loving". It remains one of Zeppelin's most popular and most respected songs, and is a shining example of not only how creative Zeppelin could be with the Blues, but how inventive, varied, and exciting hard rock could be. Outside of "Whole Lotta Love", the album struggles a bit with creativity, especially in comparison to the debut.

"What Is And What Should Never Be" is a strong song, employing Page's light and shade approach to music composition. It is well constructed, and displays the individual and collective strengths of the band, though in itself is not an advance on the tracks on the debut album - and employs some of the backing pop chorals that were used on the debut in a manner that dates it to the Sixties. I love it. Probably the second best song on the album.

"The Lemon Song" is based largely on "The Killing Floor" (1964) by Howlin' Wolf (Chester Burnett), which takes ideas from Skip James' "Hard Time Killing Floor Blues" (1931). Some lines are taken from Robert Johnson's "Travelling Riverside Blues" (1937). Hendrix played a fast version at Monterey in 1967. Electric Flag opened their debut album in 1968 with a strong version. It's a typical Zep song - blues based, hard, exciting, sexy and sleazy.

Released	22 October 1969
Recorded	April–August 1969
Genre	Hard rock, blues rock
Length	41:38
Label	Atlantic
Producer	Jimmy Page

Side one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Whole Lotta Love"*	Bonham, Willie Dixon, Jones, Page, Plant	5:34
2.	"What Is and What Should Never Be"	Page, Plant	4:46
3.	"The Lemon Song"	Bonham, Chester Burnett, Jones, Page, Plant	6:20
4.	"Thank You"	Page, Plant	4:50

Side two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Heartbreaker"*	Bonham, Jones, Page, Plant	4:14
2.	"Living Loving Maid (She's Just a Woman)"	Page, Plant	2:39
3.	"Ramble On"	Page, Plant	4:34
4.	"Moby Dick" (instrumental)	Bonham, Jones, Page	4:20
5.	"Bring It On Home"	Bonham, Dixon, Jones, Page, Plant	4:18

Robert Plant – vocals
Jimmy Page – guitars
John Paul Jones – bass
John Bonham – drums

Wikipedia

AllMusic: 10
Score: 9 1/2

Led Zeppelin III (1970)

I love this album. It may be my second favourite. This was my first Zep album, and I was hooked from the moment that "Immigrant Song" started. I may, as a result be somewhat biased toward it. Playing it tends to take me back to 1970, when I was 14 years old and quite thrilled to be hearing serious grown up music. I recall listening to it in while laying down in the dark. Listening to it with friends as we pretended to be Led Zeppelin and played air guitar and drums. Then, later, when I was 15 and living on a commune in Wales with an older woman, playing it in our room while smoking marijuana and chatting half the night.... So, yes, I have fond nostalgic memories. And it was a seminal album for me. But, even so, now as an adult I can appreciate how varied and skillful and emotional the album is. How well played it is. How progressive it is. This is a leap forward from the heavy electric blues of II and the psychedelic heavy rock of I. It's a confident and assured album that embraces heavy rock, progressive Chicago blues, British R&B, and British folk and treats them all with respect, energy, creativity and originality.

"Tangerine" started out as a Yardbird's song "Knowing That I'm Losing You", sung by Keith Relf who some assert wrote the lyrics.

Released	5 October 1970
Recorded	November 1969 – August 1970
Studio	Rolling Stones Mobile Headley Grange, Hampshire Island and Olympic, London
Genre	Folk rock
Length	43:04
Label	Atlantic
Producer	Jimmy Page

Side one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Immigrant Song"*	Jimmy Page Robert Plant	2:26
2.	"Friends"	Page Plant	3:55
3.	"Celebration Day"	Page Plant John Paul Jones	3:29
4.	"Since I've Been Loving You"*	Page Plant Jones	7:25
5.	"Out on the Tiles"	Page Plant John Bonham	4:04

Side two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Gallows Pole"	Traditional (arr. Page and Plant)	4:58
2.	"Tangerine"*	Page	3:12
3.	"That's the Way"	Page Plant	5:38
4.	"Bron-Y-Aur Stomp"	Page Plant Jones	4:20
5.	"Hats Off to (Roy) Harper"	Traditional (arr. Charles Obscure)	3:41
Total length:			43:04

Robert Plant – vocals
Jimmy Page – guitars, pedal steel guitar, banjo, bass on "That's the Way", production
John Paul Jones – bass, keyboards, mandolin, string arrangement in "Friends"
John Bonham – drums, percussion

Wikipedia

AllMusic: 10
Score: 9

Led Zeppelin IV (1971)

"When The Levee Breaks" was written and performed by Memphis Minnie and Kansas Joe in 1929. It's a good song. But when Zeppelin get hold of it, it becomes a gigantic song.

Released	8 Nov 1971
Recorded	Dec 1970 – Feb 1971
Studio	Rolling Stones Mobile at Headley Grange, Headley Island Studios, London Sunset Sound, Los Angeles
Genre	Hard rock
Length	42:37
Label	Atlantic
Producer	Jimmy Page

All tracks are written by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, except where noted.

Side one^[101]
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Black Dog"*	Page Plant John Paul Jones	4:55
2.	"Rock and Roll"*	Page Plant Jones John Bonham	3:40
3.	"The Battle of Evermore"* (with Sandy Denny)		5:51
4.	"Stairway to Heaven"*		8:02

Side two^[101]
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Misty Mountain Hop"	Page Plant Jones	4:38
2.	"Four Sticks"		4:45
3.	"Going to California"		3:32
4.	"When the Levee Breaks"*	Page Plant Jones Bonham Memphis Minnie ^[d]	7:08
Total length:			42:31

Robert Plant – vocals, harmonica
Jimmy Page – electric and acoustic guitars, mandolin, production
John Paul Jones – bass, electric piano, mandolin, recorders, synthesiser
John Bonham – drums

Additional musicians

Sandy Denny – duet vocals on "The Battle of Evermore"
Ian Stewart – piano on "Rock and Roll"^[5]

Wikipedia

AllMusic: 10
Score: 10

Houses of the Holy (1973)

I remember being hugely disappointed when this came out. Listening now, it's even worse than I remembered. I haven't played this for years. And no wonder. There's nothing here that really stands out. Nothing to compare with the four albums that have gone before. This is the beginning of the end.

"No Quarter" is the best song on the album. It's moody, almost proggy. It's not a great song, but it does have an atmosphere, and the band perform it well.

Released	28 March 1973
Recorded	December 1971 – August 1972
Studio	Rolling Stones Mobile (Stargroves and Headley Grange) Island and Olympic (London)
Genre	Hard rock
Length	40:57
Label	Atlantic
Producer	Jimmy Page

Side one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"The Song Remains the Same"	Jimmy Page Robert Plant	5:32
2.	"The Rain Song"	Page Plant	7:39
3.	"Over the Hills and Far Away"	Page Plant	4:50
4.	"The Crunge"	John Bonham John Paul Jones Page Plant	3:17

Side two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Dancing Days"	Page Plant	3:43
2.	"D'yer Mak'er"	Bonham Jones Page Plant	4:23
3.	"No Quarter"*	Jones Page Plant	7:00
4.	"The Ocean"	Bonham Jones Page Plant	4:31

Robert Plant – vocals
Jimmy Page – guitars, production
John Paul Jones – bass guitar, piano, Mellotron, organ, synthesiser, backing vocals on "The Ocean"
John Bonham – drums, backing vocals on "The Ocean"

Wikipedia

AllMusic: 10
Score: 5

Physical Graffiti (1975)

Houses of the Holy was disappointing, but this album was worse - this was the point at which I completely lost interest. I bought no more Zeppelin albums after this one. It felt tired, repetitive, and totally lacking in the fresh excitement of the early albums. Sure, some of the tracks actually had been recorded at their peak in the early Seventies, but they were the tracks rejected, and stuffing them into an album at this point seems odd. Coming at it again I first had to overcome my prejudice. I found it difficult to listen to the album with an open mind - my emotions were rebelling at the album, engrained as they were with my tainted memories and negative associations. But I have been coming back at it with more tolerance. "Kashmir" is a tremendous song - one of the band's best. However, while there are all the elements of Led Zep in this album - the strength and dexterity, Plant's shrieks and yowls, Bonham's thundering drums, Page's hot licks and chunks, the overall thrust of all four boys working together, it all sounds crude and at times clumsy. A lot of the fun and joy has gone. This feels like they are working at it rather than enjoying it. And there's a lack of the musical ideas they had on the first four albums - a lack of the sheer joy of making music together. Much of this sounds like AC/DC - it's OK, it's loud and proud, but it sounds like rock-music-by-numbers: a thumping simplicity, which rock music critics had always said was the totality of Zeppelin; well, at last, what they were saying is right. Ironically, by this stage - after being clued in on what the band were about by Led Zep IV, particularly "Stairway To Heaven", they were saying sweet things about the band and this album. This is well behaved hard working Zep. And that, it seems, is what most people want. The rawness, energy, sexuality, sheer fun and joy of the early albums has been smoothed out into loud but neat songs. There's little unexpected here.

"In The Light" is a track the band are proud of, but never played live. It contains some Zep elements - Plant's whoops, Page's skills, Bono's thumps and trills, Jones' orchestral arrangements, but it's all a bit proggy and dull without much variety other than the band's by now almost cliched light and shade approach in which the music is sometimes soft, sometimes loud.
"Bron-Yr-Aur" is a minor acoustic instrumental left over from III, and should have remained left-over. Pleasant, but very trivial.
"Down by the Seaside" sounds like a Rolling Stones track from Exile - there's a country twang to it. This is a IV left-over, so has more energy, ideas, and twists than the rest of the album. But, decent though it is, it is not a top Zep track. A cheap guide book wrote in 1994 that it was influenced by Neil Young, and then someone wrote on Wikipedia that it was influenced by Young's "Down By The River" - this unverified and somewhat absurd comment has been taken up by lazy journalists as gospel, and I have read a few articles which repeat that piece of obvious trolling ("Down by the Seaside" = "Down by the River" - ho, ho, ho!).

Side one
No.	Title	Date and location	Length
1.	"Custard Pie"	January–February 1974, Headley Grange, Hampshire	4:13
2.	"The Rover"	May 1972, Stargroves (Houses of the Holy outtake)	5:36
3.	"In My Time of Dying" (John Bonham, John Paul Jones, Page, Plant)	January–February 1974, Headley Grange	11:04

Side two
No.	Title	Date recorded	Length
1.	"Houses of the Holy"	May 1972, Olympic Studios, London (Houses of the Holy outtake)	4:01
2.	"Trampled Under Foot" (Jones, Page, Plant)	January–February 1974, Headley Grange	5:35
3.	"Kashmir"* (Bonham, Page, Plant)	January–February 1974, Headley Grange	8:37

Side three
No.	Title	Date recorded	Length
1.	"In the Light" (Jones, Page, Plant)	January–February 1974, Headley Grange	8:44
2.	"Bron-Yr-Aur" (Page)	July 1970, Island Studios, London (Led Zeppelin III outtake)	2:06
3.	"Down by the Seaside"	February 1971, Island Studios, London (Led Zeppelin IV outtake)	5:14
4.	"Ten Years Gone"	January–February 1974, Headley Grange	6:31

Side four
No.	Title	Date recorded	Length
1.	"Night Flight" (Jones, Page, Plant)	January 1971, Headley Grange (Led Zeppelin IV outtake)	3:36
2.	"The Wanton Song"	January–February 1974, Headley Grange	4:06
3.	"Boogie with Stu" (Bonham, Jones, Page, Plant, Ian Stewart, Mrs. Valens)	January 1971, Headley Grange (Led Zeppelin IV outtake)	3:51
4.	"Black Country Woman"	May 1972, Stargroves (Houses of the Holy outtake)	4:24
5.	"Sick Again"	January–February 1974, Headley Grange	4:43

Robert Plant – vocals
Jimmy Page – guitars
John Paul Jones – bass
John Bonham – drums

Wikipedia

AllMusic: 10
Score:

Presence (1976)

Mostly quite boring and devoid of ideas or, ironically, actual presence. The bluesy "Tea For One" recalls the feel of some early Zep blues, and is worth returning to.

Released	31 March 1976
Recorded	November 1975
Studio	Musicland, Munich, West Germany
Genre	Hard rock, blues rock
Length	44:19
Label	Swan Song
Producer	Jimmy Page

All tracks are credited to Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, except where noted.

Side one
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Achilles Last Stand"	10:26
2.	"For Your Life"	6:21
3.	"Royal Orleans" (Page, Plant, John Paul Jones, John Bonham)	2:58

Side two
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Nobody's Fault but Mine"	6:27
2.	"Candy Store Rock"	4:10
3.	"Hots On for Nowhere"	4:42
4.	"Tea for One"	9:27
Total length:		44:19

Robert Plant – vocals
Jimmy Page – guitars
John Paul Jones – bass
John Bonham – drums

Wikipedia

AllMusic: 7
Score:

The Song Remains The Same (Sept 1976)

The band's only official live album released before they broke up. It doesn't capture the band at their peak, but it's quite listenable.

Released	22 October 1976
Recorded	27–29 July 1973
Venue	Madison Square Garden, New York City
Genre	Hard rock
Length	99:45 (1976 release) 131:55 (2007 reissue)
Label	Swan Song
Producer	Jimmy Page

Robert Plant – vocals
Jimmy Page – guitars, gizmotron, production
John Paul Jones – bass guitar, keyboards
John Bonham – drums, percussion

Wikipedia

AllMusic: 6
Score: 4

In Through the Out Door (1979)

Probably the least liked Zep album, though I think people are a bit hard on it. Sure it's not classic Zep, but then neither is Graffiti, and this at least has the benefits of a) not being a double album filled out with tracks rejected from previous albums, and b) being quite upbeat in a classic AOR stylie. It's quite poppy and melodic and easy to listen to. There's a hint of the 80s about it, like an 80s Genesis album or something. I can't see myself listening to it again after this, as there's nothing worthwhile here, unlike "Kashmir" off Graffiti, to be fair, but when it's on the turntable it's an acceptable, varied and pleasant listen. Actually "All Of My Love" is a decent song, with some of the feel of Led Zep III and IV.

Released	22 August 1979^[1]
Recorded	November–December 1978
Studio	Polar, Stockholm, Sweden
Genre	Hard rock art rock
Length	42:35
Label	Swan Song
Producer	Jimmy Page

All tracks written by John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page, and Robert Plant, except where noted.

Side one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"In the Evening"		6:48
2.	"South Bound Saurez"	Jones Plant	4:11
3.	"Fool in the Rain"		6:08
4.	"Hot Dog"	Page Plant	3:15

Side two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Carouselambra"		10:28
2.	"All My Love"	Jones Plant	5:51
3.	"I'm Gonna Crawl"		5:28
Total length:			42:35

Deluxe edition (2015)

[edit]

2015 deluxe edition bonus disc
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"In the Evening" (Rough mix)		6:53
2.	"Southbound Piano" ("South Bound Saurez", Rough mix)	Jones Plant	4:15
3.	"Fool in the Rain" (Rough mix)		6:08
4.	"Hot Dog" (Rough mix)	Page Plant	3:16
5.	"The Epic" ("Carouselambra", Rough mix)		10:48
6.	"The Hook" ("All My Love", Rough mix)	Jones Plant	5:51
7.	"Blot" ("I'm Gonna Crawl", Rough mix)		5:33
Total length:			42:54

Robert Plant – vocals
Jimmy Page – guitars, gizmotron, production
John Paul Jones – bass guitar, keyboards
John Bonham – drums, percussion

ClassicRockReview
Wikipedia

AllMusic: 7
Score: 5

Coda (1982)

Released after the band had broken up following Bonham's death, it's a compilation of live tracks from early in the band's career, along with tracks recorded for albums but never used, most of the rejects are from In Through the Out Door, which is odd, as that album contained rejects from previous albums. Anyway. There are some good tracks, but this lacks focus.

Robert Plant – vocals
Jimmy Page – guitars
John Paul Jones – bass
John Bonham – drums

Wikipedia

AllMusic: 7
Score: 4

BBC Sessions (1997)

Material recorded for the BBC in 1969 and 1971. Re-released in 2016 with additional material from the same sessions. These are good recordings. My main quibble is that at nearly 3 1/2 hours this is excessively long, and is more for collectors and obsessives than the general public. Rather than have several versions of the same song, it would work better to select the definitive or more interesting version, and to release a powerful, compact album that could be played again and again. I doubt if anyone would frequently play this as it stands, but would more likely select their own favourites and make up their own disc. This, as it stands, is not an album, but a collection of recordings stored on disc. Shame, because some of these recordings are very revealing of Zeppelin at their peak. Strong, tight, creative, exciting. This is the essential Zeppelin.

Disc one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"You Shook Me"	Dixon, Lenoir	5:14
2.	"I Can't Quit You Baby"	Dixon	4:22
3.	"Communication Breakdown"	Bonham, Jones, Page	3:12
4.	"Dazed and Confused"	Page, Holmes	6:39
5.	"The Girl I Love She Got Long Black Wavy Hair"	Zeppelin, Dixon, Estes, Johnson	3:00
6.	"What Is and What Should Never Be"	Page, Plant	4:20
7.	"Communication Breakdown"	Bonham, Jones, Page	2:40
8.	"Travelling Riverside Blues"	Johnson, Page, Plant	5:12
9.	"Whole Lotta Love"	Bonham, Dixon, Jones, Page, Plant	6:09
10.	"Somethin' Else"	Bobby Cochran, Sharon Sheeley	2:06
11.	"Communication Breakdown"	Bonham, Jones, Page	3:05
12.	"I Can't Quit You Baby"	Dixon	6:21
13.	"You Shook Me"	Dixon, Lenoir	10:19
14.	"How Many More Times"	Bonham, Jones, Page	11:51

Disc two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Immigrant Song"	Page, Plant	3:20
2.	"Heartbreaker"	Zeppelin	5:16
3.	"Since I've Been Loving You"	Jones, Page, Plant	6:56
4.	"Black Dog"	Jones, Page, Plant	5:17
5.	"Dazed and Confused"	Page, Holmes	18:36
6.	"Stairway to Heaven"	Page, Plant	8:49
7.	"Going to California"	Page, Plant	3:54
8.	"That's the Way"	Page, Plant	5:43
9.	"Whole Lotta Love"/"Boogie Chillun'"/"Fixin' to Die"/"That's Alright Mama"/"A Mess of Blues"	Zeppelin/Hooker/ White/Crudup/Pomus, Shuman	13:45
10.	"Thank You"	Page, Plant	6:37

Disc three
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Communication Breakdown"	Bonham, Jones, Page	3:00
2.	"What Is and What Should Never Be"	Page, Plant	4:14
3.	"Dazed and Confused"	Page, inspired by Holmes	11:08
4.	"White Summer"	Page	8:22
5.	"What Is and What Should Never Be"	Page, Plant	4:44
6.	"Communication Breakdown"	Bonham, Jones, Page	4:54
7.	"I Can't Quit You Baby"	Dixon	5:26
8.	"You Shook Me"	Dixon, Lenoir	4:10
9.	"Sunshine Woman"	Bonham, Dixon, Johnson, Jones, Plant, Page	3:06

Robert Plant – vocals
Jimmy Page – guitars
John Paul Jones – bass
John Bonham – drums

Wikipedia
AllMusic:
Score: 5

The Best of Led Zeppelin (1999/2000)

Out of print. Replaced by Mothership.

How The West Was Won (2003)

Official release of the famous bootleg, Burn Like A Candle (1972), a recording of a concert at the Los Angeles Forum on June 25, 1972. The official release is a bit muddy, but is a tidier and more powerful recording than the bootleg, even though it mostly lacks the audience noise. The album was mixed with a recording two nights later at Long Beach Arena. This captures the band live at their best. Raw and powerful - no band was more powerful live. And at the same time creative and inventive as the songs are not done the same way as the studio versions, there's a fair degree of twists, turns and additional flourishes and ideas. Baffling that as they (apparently) had the tapes of these recordings that they didn't release them earlier, especially considering the popularity of the bootleg; and, particularly, that they didn't release this instead of The Song Remains The Same. This is one of the greatest live albums ever released.

Released	27 May 2003
Recorded	25 and 27 June 1972 22 January 1973
Venue	L.A. Forum (25 June) Long Beach Arena (27 June) Southampton University (22 Jan)
Genre	Hard rock, blues rock, folk rock
Length	150:27
Label	Atlantic
Producer	Jimmy Page
Compiler	Jimmy Page

Disc one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Recording date and venue	Length
1.	"LA Drone"	John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page	27 June, Long Beach Arena	0:14
2.	"Immigrant Song" (from Led Zeppelin III)	Page, Robert Plant	Mixed from both nights	3:42
3.	"Heartbreaker" (from Led Zeppelin II)	John Bonham, Jones, Page, Plant	Mixed from both nights	7:25
4.	"Black Dog" (from Led Zeppelin IV)	Jones, Page, Plant	Mixed from both nights	5:41
5.	"Over the Hills and Far Away" (from Houses of the Holy)	Page, Plant	Mixed from both nights	5:08
6.	"Since I've Been Loving You" (from Led Zeppelin III)	Jones, Page, Plant	27 June	8:02
7.	"Stairway to Heaven" (from Led Zeppelin IV)	Page, Plant	Mixed from both nights; Mellotron from Southampton University, Southampton, England, 22 January 1973	9:38
8.	"Going to California" (from Led Zeppelin IV)	Page, Plant	27 June	5:37
9.	"That's the Way" (from Led Zeppelin III)	Page, Plant	25 June, LA Forum	5:54
10.	"Bron-Y-Aur Stomp" (from Led Zeppelin III)	Jones, Page, Plant	27 June	4:55

Disc two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Recording date and venue	Length
1.	"Dazed and Confused" "Walter's Walk" "The Crunge" (from Led Zeppelin / Coda / Houses of the Holy)	Page (inspired by Jake Holmes) Page, Plant Bonham, Jones, Page, Plant	25 June	25:25
2.	"What Is and What Should Never Be" (from Led Zeppelin II)	Page, Plant	27 June	4:41
3.	"Dancing Days" (from Houses of the Holy)	Page, Plant	Mixed from both nights	3:42
4.	"Moby Dick" (from Led Zeppelin II)	Bonham, Jones, Page	25 June	19:20

Disc three
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Recording date and venue	Length
1.	"Whole Lotta Love" "Boogie Chillun" "Let's Have a Party" "Hello Mary Lou" (omitted from 2018 reissue) "Going Down Slow" (from Led Zeppelin II)	Bonham, Willie Dixon, Jones, Page, Plant Bernie Besman, John Lee Hooker Jessie Mae Robinson Cayet Mangiaracina, Gene Pitney James B. Oden	25 June	23:07
2.	"Rock and Roll" (from Led Zeppelin IV)	Bonham, Jones, Page, Plant	27 June	3:56
3.	"The Ocean" (from Houses of the Holy)	Bonham, Jones, Page, Plant	25 June	4:21
4.	"Bring It On Home" "Bring It On Back" (from Led Zeppelin II)	Dixon Bonham, Jones, Page, Plant	25 June	9:30
Total length:				150:27

Robert Plant – vocals
Jimmy Page – guitars
John Paul Jones – bass
John Bonham – drums

Wikipedia

AllMusic:

Score: 8

Mothership (2007)

A best of compilation - replaces The Best of Led Zeppelin (1999). A damn fine collection. I think we all would make slightly different choices, but this one is not bad and has the key tracks.

Released	12 November 2007
Recorded	October 1968 – December 1978
Genre	Hard rock, blues rock
Length	135:53
Label	Atlantic
Producer	Jimmy Page
Compiler	John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page, and Robert Plant

Disc one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Good Times Bad Times" (from Led Zeppelin, 1969)	John Bonham, John Paul Jones, and Jimmy Page	2:48
2.	"Communication Breakdown" (from Led Zeppelin)	Bonham, Jones, and Page	2:30
3.	"Dazed and Confused" (from Led Zeppelin)	Page (inspired by Jake Holmes)	6:28
4.	"Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" (from Led Zeppelin)	Anne Bredon, Page, and Robert Plant	6:42
5.	"Whole Lotta Love" (from Led Zeppelin II, 1969)	Bonham, Willie Dixon, Jones, Page, and Plant	5:34
6.	"Ramble On" (from Led Zeppelin II)	Page and Plant	4:28
7.	"Heartbreaker" (from Led Zeppelin II)	Bonham, Jones, Page, and Plant	4:16
8.	"Immigrant Song" (from Led Zeppelin III, 1970)	Page and Plant	2:27
9.	"Since I've Been Loving You" (from Led Zeppelin III)	Jones, Page, and Plant	7:24
10.	"Rock and Roll" (from Led Zeppelin IV, 1971)	Bonham, Jones, Page, and Plant	3:41
11.	"Black Dog" (from Led Zeppelin IV)	Jones, Page, and Plant	4:58
12.	"When the Levee Breaks" (from Led Zeppelin IV)	Bonham, Jones, Memphis Minnie, Page, and Plant	7:10
13.	"Stairway to Heaven" (from Led Zeppelin IV)	Page and Plant	8:02
Total length:			66:21

Disc two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"The Song Remains the Same" (from Houses of the Holy, 1973)	Page and Plant	5:32
2.	"Over the Hills and Far Away" (from Houses of the Holy)	Page and Plant	4:49
3.	"D'yer Mak'er" (from Houses of the Holy)	Bonham, Jones, Page, and Plant	4:24
4.	"No Quarter" (from Houses of the Holy)	Jones, Page, and Plant	7:00
5.	"Trampled Under Foot" (from Physical Graffiti, 1975)	Jones, Page, and Plant	5:36
6.	"Houses of the Holy" (from Physical Graffiti)	Page and Plant	4:04
7.	"Kashmir" (from Physical Graffiti)	Bonham, Page, and Plant	8:33
8.	"Nobody's Fault but Mine" (from Presence, 1976)	Page and Plant	6:30
9.	"Achilles Last Stand" (from Presence)	Page and Plant	10:25
10.	"In the Evening" (from In Through the Out Door, 1979)	Jones, Page, and Plant	6:51
11.	"All My Love" (from In Through the Out Door)	Jones and Plant	5:54
Total length:			69:32

Wikipedia
AllMusic:
Score:

Celebration Day (2012)

The long delayed album of the 2007 "reunion" concert with Bonham's son on the drums. It's not great. I'm so glad I saw the real band back in the 70s. I would not like to be one of those who paid a fortune to experience this lacklustre performance. Jason sounds good, but hasn't got the beef and menace of his dad. And Plant's voice is simply not up to singing Led Zeppelin songs these days. Fair do to Page, he can still sizzle, but he's being too respectful to the old songs, so he comes over as a homage guitarist rather than the real thing. At times this is painful to listen to. On the whole, other than simple morbid curiosity, it's best not to.

Revisiting after a couple of years, and I feel I was way too harsh with the above comments. Jason is actually quite good, and while Plant is not at his Zep peak, he does get into it, and Page is clearly inspired by the event. It's not half bad you know.

The concert in film. For all the weaknesses - Plant's voice mostly, this concert does underline that Zeppelin were the greatest rock band in the world.

"Good Times Bad Times" (John Bonham, John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant) – 3:45
"Ramble On" (Page and Plant) – 5:53
"Black Dog" (Jones, Page, and Plant) – 5:53
"In My Time of Dying" (Bonham, Jones, Page, and Plant) – 11:41
"For Your Life" (Page and Plant) – 6:50
"Trampled Under Foot" (Jones, Page, and Plant) – 6:28
"Nobody's Fault but Mine" (Page and Plant) – 6:49
"No Quarter" (Jones, Page, and Plant) – 11:22
"Since I've Been Loving You" (Jones, Page, and Plant) – 8:52
"Dazed and Confused" (Page; inspired by Jake Holmes) – 13:04
"Stairway to Heaven" (Page and Plant) – 8:49
"The Song Remains the Same" (Page and Plant) – 5:57
"Misty Mountain Hop" (Jones, Page, and Plant) – 5:38
"Kashmir" (Bonham, Page, and Plant) – 10:00

First encore

"Whole Lotta Love" (Bonham, Willie Dixon, Jones, Page and Plant) – 9:16

Second encore

"Rock and Roll" (Bonham, Jones, Page, and Plant) – 4:55

Wikipedia
AllMusic: 8
Score: 5

Bootlegs

Psycho a GoGo! (Jan 1969)

Recorded at the Fillmore West, this is the earliest known soundboard recording of Led Zeppelin. I don't know when it was first released. Despite being from the soundboard, the sound is muddy in places. Plant's voice is loud and crisp, but the guitars are swampy, particularly the bass, and the drums sound more like cardboard boxes at times. Despite that, the recording is more than worthwhile for displaying the band's casual confidence and natural inventiveness on stage right here at the beginning. The version of "Dazed and Confused" recorded here is breath-taking.

Score: 6

Mudslide/Pb/Pure Blues (1970)

The first known Led Zeppelin bootleg. Released as a vinyl album under the cover title of Pb (the chemical symbol for lead), and on the record label called Pure Blues, but no mention of Led Zeppelin. It was re -released in 1971 by the bootleg label Trademark of Quality under the name Mudslide, and acquired a strong reputation. Despite the guitars being a little soft, the general recording quality is decent, and is believed to have been taken directly from the soundboard. The performance is not great, but is acceptable.

Known as the first Led Zeppelin bootleg to be released. March 21, 1970 Led Zeppelin at Pacific Coliseum, Vancouver, British Columbia

0:21 Heartbreaker

6:45 Thank You

15:15 What Is and What Should Never Be

19:47 Communication Breakdown

24:55 We're Gonna Groove

28:55 Since I've Been Loving You

36:02 Whole Lotta Love

Oldbuckeye
Score: 5 1/2

Live On Blueberry Hill (1970)

Wikipedia
Score:

Burn Like A Candle (1972)

Wikipedia
Score:

Destroyer (April 1977)

Wikipedia
Score:

Listen To This, Eddie (June 1977)

A very comfortable, confident performance. Not the band at their early menacing and exciting best, but very solid. And a good recording for a bootleg.

Wikipedia
Score:

For Badgeholders Only (1977)

Wikipedia
Score:

Summary

Voice/Musicianship (15), Image/Star quality (10), Lyrics/Music (20), Impact/Influence (10), Popularity (5), Emotional appeal (5), Authenticity (25), and Legacy (10). Total: 100

Discography