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

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);

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: 9

Led Zeppelin II (Oct 1969)

Released	22 October 1969
Recorded	April–August 1969
Genre	Hard rock heavy metal 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

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.

Tracklist:
Immigrant Song
Friends
Celebration Day
Since I've Been Loving You
Out On The Tiles
Gallows Pole
Tangerine
That's The Way
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Hats Off To (Roy) Harper

Wikipedia

AllMusic: 10
Score: 9

Led Zeppelin IV (1971)

1. Black Dog
2. Rock and Roll
3. The Battle of Evermore
4. Stairway to Heaven
5.Misty Mountain Hop
6. Four Sticks"
7. Going to California"
8. When the Levee Breaks"

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.

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

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, but they were the tracks rejected, and stuffing them into an album at this point seems odd.

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^[e])	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

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.

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 band, but it's quite listenable.

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.

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.

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

Wikipedia
AllMusic:
Score: 5

The Best of Led Zeppelin (1999/2000)

Out of print. Replaced by Mothership.

Wikipedia
AllMusic:
Score:

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.

Wikipedia

AllMusic:

Score: 7 1/2

Mothership (2007)

A best of compilation - replaces The Best of Led Zeppelin (1999)

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.

Wikipedia
AllMusic: 8
Score: 3

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 breathtaking.

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 very good, and is believed to have been taken directly from the soundboard. The performance is not great, but is more than acceptable, and better than that on Celebration Day.

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