Led Zeppelin: From I to Coda

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LED ZEPPELIN I

12th January 1969

Led Zeppelin, sometimes referred to as Led Zeppelin I, is the debut studio album by English rock band Led Zeppelin. It was released on 12 January 1969 in the United States and on 31 March in the United Kingdom by Atlantic Records.^[1]

The album was recorded in September and October 1968 at Olympic Studios in London, shortly after the band's formation. It contains a mix of original material worked out in the first rehearsals, and remakes and rearrangements of contemporary blues and folk songs. The sessions took place before the group had secured a recording contract and totalled 36 hours; they were paid for directly by Jimmy Page, the group's founder, leader and guitarist, and Led Zeppelin's manager Peter Grant and cost £1,782 (equivalent to £31,203 in 2021) to complete. They were produced by Page, who as a musician was joined by band members Robert Plant (lead vocals, harmonica), John Paul Jones (bass, keyboards), and John Bonham (drums). Percussionist Viram Jasani appears as a guest on one track. The tracks were mixed by Page's childhood friend Glyn Johns, and the iconic album cover showing the Hindenburg disaster was designed by George Hardie.

From Wikipedia

Good Times Bad Times

Babe I'm Gonna Leave You

You Shook Me

Dazed And Confused

Your Time Is Gonna Come

Black Mountain Side

Communication Breakdown

I Can't Quit You Baby

How Many More Time

I have a very low blues tolerance threshold. No-one was happier than me when it turned out that so little of Fleetwood Mac's early back catalogue was available on Spotify. It is therefore with some trepidation that I approach this task since Led Zep also started out with blues riffs. I'm also a bit ambivalent about Robert Plant and all those "WOMAAAAN"s and "BAY-BEEE"s. They obviously had half an eye on their own future myth by not bothering to come up with a name for their first 4 albums and they weren't put off by the poor forecast of their success that led to the band's name. So here I'm expecting some fairly heavy blues influence and I'm a little surprised by the opening 'Good Times Bad Times' which has a sixties pop feel to it, albeit with some quite heavy guitar. Jimmy Page's style was formed and recognizable from quite early on. 'Babe I'm Gonna Leave You' allows Plant to get the first of many career "BAY-BAY-BAY-BAY-BAY-BY"s out of his system. Again, you can hear the seeds of what came later with fairly quite passages accompanied by Page's strummed guitar followed by crashing drums as Plant gets some serious wailing in. They also finish it in a proto-Stairway style. 'You Shook Me' must be a blues standard I guess, but they do something weird with Plant's vocal as it falls off alarmingly at the end of each line. It's what I would call 'plodding blues'. It finishes with a kind of call-and-response between Page's guitar and Plant's shriek. 'Dazed and Confused' could be mistaken for a continuation of the same song, but it soon morphs into that familiar declining central riff. It actually all feels like a bit of a mish-mash (hence the name?). There's bits that would later be re-hashed into 'Whole Lotta Love', quiet parts which are just John-Paul Jones twiddling on his bass and then pacier sections driven by Bonham. You could almost say the song is a Led Zeppelin sampler, showcasing all the different parts that each member brought to the band.

A bit of church organ opens up 'Your Time Is Gonna Come', and it is a much gentler thing than what has come before. It's even a bit rock-operatic. 'Black Mountain Side' establishes their hippy credentials with some nice tabla playing (those Indian bongos - I had to look it up) and Page mucking around with a sitar or somesuch. 'Communication Breakdown' is archetypal Zeppelin, we all know the riff even if we couldn't name the song. It's striking how Page, Jones and Bonham all manage to merge their contributions seamlessly into a single repeated phrase. Next is 'I Can't Quit You"........can you guess? Yes "...Baby". These days referring to women as 'baby' must be deeply misogynist. The modern woman much prefers to be referred to as a "Ho" or "Biyatch" I believe. Thank God we've left those male rock dinosaurs behind. Anyway it's more standard blues given the Zeppelin twist. Finally (on the original version, as I'm sure you can imagine there are heaps of additional tracks on reissues, remasters, barefaced cash-ins etc) there is 'How Many More Times'. Bonham gives it some whispering cymbal action, Page noodles with his geetar. Plant moans on about 'Rosie', Jones holds it together.

A word on the cover art, which I believe is a key part of the Zep mythology. This one is rather disappointingly literal. A monochrome picture of a, well, Zeppelin. The Hindenburg doing what it is most famous for I think.

LED ZEPPELIN II

22nd October 1969

Led Zeppelin II is the second studio album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, released on 22 October 1969 in the United States and on 31 October 1969 in the United Kingdom by Atlantic Records. Recording sessions for the album took place at several locations in both the United Kingdom and North America from January to August 1969. The album's production was credited to the band's lead guitarist and songwriter Jimmy Page, and it was also Led Zeppelin's first album on which Eddie Kramer served as engineer.

The album exhibited the band's evolving musical style of blues-derived material and their guitar riff-based sound. It has been described as the band's heaviest album.^[1] Six of the nine songs were written by the band, while the other three were reinterpretations of Chicago blues songs by Willie Dixon and Howlin' Wolf. One single, "Whole Lotta Love", was released outside of the UK (the band would release no UK singles during their career),^[2] and peaked as a top-ten single in over a dozen markets around the world.

From Wikipedia

Whole Lotta Love

What Is And What Should Never Be

The Lemon Song

Thank You

Heartbreaker

Living Loving Maid (She's A Woman)

Ramble On

Moby Dick

Bring It On Home

Pity poor Percy's partner. If Robert Plant carries on like this in the throes of passion then it can't be a very rewarding experience. Released the same year as I, the excellent '1000 Albums To Listen To Before You Die' reckons that recording it between touring left it with an unpolished edge which works to its benefit. I'm not so sure and I found this one a bit difficult to get on with. AND it is rude, rude rude! So anyway, it starts with 'Whole Lotta Love' which was recently voted by listeners of BBC Radio 2 as being the greatest guitar riff of all time. One has to assume that the genteel listeners of the nations favourite radio station haven't examined the lyrics too closely. The riff itself is enhanced by that vertiginous drop at the end of each phrase. In the middle section Plant hitches himself up to the orgasmatron while Bonham appears to be clattering around the pantry, before Page hauls it back with a clean little guitar twiddle."Way down inside, Woman, you need me", says Plant. "shake for me girl, I wanna be your backdoor man!" Hmm. Steady on.

'What Is And What Should Never Be', calms things down a bit but then we get more filth with 'The Lemon Song'. They're still not straying that far from the blues, but there are some jarring changes of pace in this one.and Page and Jones appear to be trying to outdo each other for intricacy. As for the aforementioned unsavouriness, Plant's woomaan makes the juice run down his leg apparently. Yuk. 'Thank You' is gentler and they make quite prominent use of keyboards, which is something I at least don't associate with Led Zeppelin. A note on the production at this point too. They seem to favour a kind of echoey effect on Plant's voice which sounds like they sent him into a cave to sing. Maybe it's the limitations of the time and I'd say it's less noticeable on the remastered version. Another instantly recognizable riff opens 'Heartbreaker. This one is particularly throaty and deliberate. Page also does a bit of showing off in the middle before it cranks up again to something which has an alarming resemblance to Kenny Loggins' 'Footloose'. We all know Living Loving Maid (She's Just a Woman)' and it's the catchiest thing on this. I was singing it for the rest of the day after my first listening. 'Ramble On' starts a bit more wistfully but it's not long before Bob starts screeching again.

They also do untold damage to the reputation of rock music at the time by all that nonsense about being being in the Land of Mordor (pronounced "Morder" here) and Gollum, the evil one, stealing Bob's woomaan away. I count myself as pretty well informed about the works of JRR Tolkien, but even a cursory glance through the Hobbit, would tell you that abducting rockstar's girlfriends was not Gollum's bag. He was more of a doom-laden jewellery type of guy.

Bonham gets centre stage in 'Moby Dick', I don't care how good the drummer is, drum solos are dull, even when bongos are involved. 'Bring It On Home' starts as standard, harmonica driven blues with Plant sounding like he's singing through a sock. It gets heavier before reverting at the end.The cover is a doctored photo of a German WWI flying squadron with the bands faces superimposed. There's also the outline of another Zeppelin. After a few listens, this DID grow on me, but it does deliver genius and absurdity in equal measure.

LED ZEPPELIN III

5th October 1970

Led Zeppelin III is the third studio album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, released on 5 October 1970. It was recorded in three locations. Much of the work was done at Headley Grange, a country house, using the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio. Additional sessions were held in more traditional recording studios, such as Island Studios and Olympic Studios in London. As with the prior album, the band eschewed the use of guest musicians, with all music performed by band members Robert Plant (vocals), Jimmy Page (guitars), John Paul Jones (bass, keyboards), and John Bonham (drums). The range of instruments played by the band was greatly enhanced on this album, with Jones especially emerging as a talented multi-instrumentalist, playing a wide range of keyboard and stringed instruments, including various synthesizers, mandolin and double bass, in addition to his usual bass guitar. As with prior albums, Page served as producer on the album, with mixing done by Andy Johns and Terry Manning.

The album showed a progression from straightforward rock towards folk and acoustic music. While hard rock influences were still present, such as on "Immigrant Song", acoustic-based songs such as "Gallows Pole" and "That's the Way" showed Led Zeppelin were capable of playing different styles successfully. The band wrote most of the material themselves, but as with prior records, included two songs that were re-interpretations of earlier works: "Gallows Pole", based on a traditional English folk song, by way of American singer Fred Gerlach; and "Hats Off to (Roy) Harper", a reworking of a blues song by Bukka White. The acoustic material developed from a songwriting session between Plant and Page at Bron-Yr-Aur cottage in Wales, which influenced the musical direction.

From Wikipedia

Immigrant Song

Friends

Celebration Day

Since I've Been Loving You

Out On The Tiles

Gallows Pole

Tangerine

That's The Way

Bron Yr Aur Stomp

Hats Off To (Roy) Harper

Here comes Bob with his banshee wail on 'Immigrant Song', used in Shrek II (I think) as the princesses launch their assault. It has that chugging, insistent riff too. Puts me in mind of Game Of Thrones with all that stuff about the "land of the ice and snow". There's shades of 'Kashmir' in 'Friends' and they enter into the realms of southern boogie on 'Celebration Day'. I think Marc Bolan might have liked that one. I found it a bit messy. 'Since I've Been Loving You' is slow blues  - in fact side 1 is quite a bit more blues-ey than the previous two, which is saying summat. Plant's vocal is pushed right to the back again on 'Out On The Tiles'. As I listen to it, my 11 year old son, S. is tapping his toe to it, so it must have something going for it. It's also one of Plant's wailier efforts - "ooh yeah!". I did a bit of reading up on 'III' and it wasn't given a great critical reaction on release, because apparently they went 'acoustic', well there's plenty of heavy electric guitar about and the acoustic songs on here are good, so I don't know what they were on about. Maybe the fact that come in quick succession on side 2 was a factor? 'Gallows Pole' is a traditional song and has that nice mix of folksy sounds and a decent rhythm. I also think Plant's voice brings something additional to the mix. Some good banjo-picking from Page too. They work themselves into a frenzy toward the end. A false start at the beginning of 'Tangerine'. Not sure why they left it in, it adds nothing. Something slightly Starway-ish about it. Probably the chord progressions (like I have any idea). There's the subtlest wah-wah on the guitar too. Plant reins his voice in and it's all rather good. Same with 'That's The Way', which reminds me a bit of Yes too.

'Bron Y Aur Stomp' takes it's name from the Welsh farmhouse where they recorded the album. It's a sort of slidey, swamp blues but with a more upbeat rhythm than that description might suggest. Hand-claps too! On the subject of the rhythm section, it's just occurred to me that I've hardly noticed the percussion on this, which given Bonham's reputation is quite surprising. It finishes with 'Hats Off To (Roy) Harper' which is probably the clearest indication that they were migrating from blues to folk by paying tribute to the old curmugdeon (which he probably was even then). Now they knew how to package a record in the late sixties and early seventies. This one had a main cover with numerous holes and a wheel underneath so that you could rotate it and see different images appearing. Kind of like you get in kids pop-up books. Fun with Led Zeppelin!

LED ZEPPELIN IV

8th November 1971

The untitled fourth studio album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, commonly known as Led Zeppelin IV,^[a] was released on 8 November 1971 by Atlantic Records. It was produced by guitarist Jimmy Page and recorded between December 1970 and February 1971, mostly in the country house Headley Grange. The album contains one of the band's best-known songs, "Stairway to Heaven".

The informal setting at Headley Grange inspired the band, allowing them to try different arrangements of material and create songs in various styles. After the band's previous album Led Zeppelin III received lukewarm reviews from critics, they decided their fourth album would officially be untitled and would be represented instead by four symbols chosen by each band member, without featuring the name or any other details on the cover. Unlike the prior two albums, the band was joined by some guest musicians, such as vocalist Sandy Denny on "The Battle of Evermore", and pianist Ian Stewart on "Rock and Roll". As with prior albums, most of the material was written by the band, though there was one cover song, a hard rock re-interpretation of the Memphis Minnie blues song "When the Levee Breaks".

From Wikipedia

Black Dog

Rock And Roll

The Battle Of Evermore

Stairway To Heaven

Misty Mountain Hop

Four Sticks

Going To California

When The Levee Breaks

We all know what's coming, and no-one is dreading it more than me as I seek some kind of original angle on Stairway. But first, 'Black Dog'. Churchill's euphemism for depression, but it ain't a depressing song. In fact I find it particularly uplifting as it reminds me of Vic and Bob on Shooting Stars screaming "He's a baby, he's a baby!" as George Dawes made his infant-attired entrance across the set. Otherwise it's a bit of a glorious mish-mash. 'Rock And Roll' lives up to it's name perfectly as virtually every trope of that particular genre gets a look-in.Honky-tonk piano, crashing drums, blues riffs, banal lyrics, it's all there.'The Battle Of Evermore' is one of those songs I've always known about, but never really listened to. Page gets the old lute out. There's plenty of folksy, Arthurian imagery in the words.

And here we go...It's frequently at the top of any poll of the greatest ever songs and we must assume that folk see it as an uplifting, feelgood song about redemption and all that. For all I know it could just as easily be about being off your chump on banned substances. You can see similarities with that other boringly predictable all-time chart topper - Bo Rhap; starts with a quiet reflective section, then ramps up into a more pacy bit before going into mental, guitar strangling mode at the end. I'm quite familiar with the live version from 'The Song Remains The Same' where Perce follows the line "and the forests will echo with laughter" with a rather trite "does anyone remember laughter?". I never really got the "bustle in your hedgerow" lyric, unless I'm mishearing it (maybe "rustle"?). I'm not going to look the lyrics up on a point of principle. Not entirely sure if the "aaa-aaaa-aaa-aaahs" are Plant's voice or Page's guitar. When I was 18, the line "to be a rock and not to roll" seemed like the ultimate in the wisdom of life. Not so sure now.

'Misty Mountain Hop' sends them right back to their sixties pop roots. Could be Herman's Hermits (albeit with a slightly harder edge). 'Four Sticks' is a bit disjointed and Plant is at the upper limit of his vocal range.  'Going To California' is a pleasantly plucked bit of hippydom. It's all wrapped up in 'When The Levee Breaks'. Swooping guitar over a steady beat with Plant doing his usual thing. Cover is a bit dull really. A 19th Century oil painting. However in true Spinal Tap style they came up with a symbol to represent each band member, which are also pictured. I wonder if you can guess which is which?

HOUSES OF THE HOLY

28th March 1973

Houses of the Holy is the fifth studio album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, released on 28 March 1973 by Atlantic Records. The album benefited from two band members installing studios at home, which allowed them to develop more sophisticated songs and arrangements and expand their musical style. Several songs subsequently became fixtures in the group's live set, including "The Song Remains the Same", "The Rain Song" and "No Quarter". Other material recorded at the sessions, including the title track, was shelved and released on the later albums Physical Graffiti and Coda. All instruments and vocals were provided by the band members Robert Plant (vocals), Jimmy Page (guitar), John Paul Jones (bass, keyboards), and John Bonham (drums). The album was produced by Page and mixed by Eddie Kramer. The cover was the first for the band to be designed by Hipgnosis and was based on a photograph taken at Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland.

Although critical response was mixed, Houses of the Holy became a commercial success, later receiving a Diamond (over 10 million albums sold)^[4] certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 1999. In 2020, the album was ranked at number 278 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.^[5]

From Wikipedia

The Song Remains The Same

The Rain Song

Over The Hills And Far Away

The Crunge

Dancing Days

D'yer Mak'er

No Quarter

The Ocean

Hey, hey, hey! They deign to actually name an album. 'The Song Remains The Same' strays dangerously into prog rock territory. Are Led Zeppelin prog? They overlap with many of the classic prog acts (Genesis, Yes, ELP etc) both in terms of heyday and musical style, but then I guess one of the characteristics of prog is it is hard to characterize. This has most of the elements however, complicated melodies, changes of pace, 'poetry'. The guitar is very much Pete Townshend in style, that kind of chiming, crashing thingy (musos take note of my precise use of terminology). Doen't everyone write a song about rain? I think I even had a go with a guitar I picked up one day in primary school. Thematically then, Zep aren't breaking any new ground with 'The Rain Song'. I'd even go so far as to describe it as a bit drippy (geddit?). 'Over The Hills And Far Away' has more of a west coast rock feel to it. It's quite breezy, with a more muted riff from Jones and Page.

'The Crunge' (no Inbetweeners fans, thats an 'R' not an 'L') is pure James Brown, with Planty doing a reasonable impression of him. Wikipedia suggests it's just this side of a piss-take. I think 'Dancing Days' is my favourite track and it was a pleasant surprise when it cropped up, I'd forgotten about it. It has at least three killer riffs.'D'yer Mak'er' is an inspired take on reggae. If it too is a pastiche of another style of music then it's done incredibly well. Surprisingly that little crack in Plant's voice suits it perfectly, although it's a crack that has widened in recent years. I'm straining my ears to hear the beginning of 'No Quarter' before a quite down-and-dirty guitar comes in over the sparse keyboard.We're back to prog stylings aren't we? But Zep DO mix it up throughout the album so we must show forebearance. They use that over-the-phone scratchy effect on Plant's vocal. Another classic riff to finish on 'The Ocean' At the end Bob goes so quiet as to be inaudible with some na-na-na-na-na's.

Album artwork is naked kids crawling over the Giant's Causeway. I had it in my mind that it was the subject of some controversy but research (2 mins max) reveals nothing major. There'd be questions in the House these days.

Addendum May 2023. The Houses of the Holy album cover has seen me falling foul of Facebook’s algorithms in the past, but I understand that eventually it did get issued with a clean bill of social media health.

PHYSICAL GRAFFITI

24th February 1975

Physical Graffiti is the sixth studio album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin. It was released as a double album on 24 February 1975 by the group's new record label, Swan Song Records.

The band wrote and recorded eight new songs for the album in early 1974 at Headley Grange, a country house in Hampshire, which gave them ample time to improvise arrangements and experiment with recording. The total playing time covered just under three sides of an LP, so they decided to expand it into a double by including previously unreleased tracks from the sessions for the earlier albums Led Zeppelin III, Led Zeppelin IV and Houses of the Holy. The album covered a range of styles including hard rock, progressive rock, rock 'n' roll and folk.^[1] The album was then mixed over summer 1974 and planned for an end-of-year release; however, its release was delayed because the Peter Corriston-designed die-cut album cover proved difficult to manufacture.

From Wikipedia

Custard Pie

The Rover

In My Time Of Dying

Houses Of The Holy

Trampled Under Foot

Kashmir In The Light

Bron Yr Aur

Down By The Seaside

Ten Years Gone

Night Flight

The Wanton Song

Boogie With Stu

Black Country Woman

Sick Again

When I were a lad, about 10 years old I guess, I owned 'The New Goodies LP'. This included hits such as the Goodies Theme, with more obscure items in the Oddie/Brooke-Taylor/Garden canon, such as 'Baby Samba', 'Rock With The Policeman', 'Nappy Love', 'Panic' and 'The Cricklewood Shakedown'. Also on the album was a track called 'Custard Pie', a tribute to the slapstick staple. Imagine my suprise when I saw the same title opening up Led Zeppelin's Physical Graffiti. Imagine my disappointment when I discovered this was no well-executed cover version but a rather huumdrum blues-rocker. The Goodies achieved lyrical perfection with "C'mon everybody, hold it up high, everyone's ready for a custard pie!". No such genius from Planty and friends.

'The Rover' is much more satisfying with some exciting cascading riffs It too is bluesy but in a much more interesting way. I guess by now they had perfected their 'heavy blues' formula. Plant's constipated voice added a unique dimension too. They go back to a slow southern style with 'In My Time Of Dying' although Page overplays his hand about halfway through. It's long too, over 11 minutes, and seems to be a fairly freeform affair, I assume it's a jam session judged good enough to fill a chunk of one side of vinyl. Bob starts getting over-excited again (if you know what I mean) near the close. There's some studio mumbling at the end to accompany a 'dying cough' joke. Confusingly, next comes the title track....of the previous album. I'm not interested enough to look up why on Wikipedia. It's a decent song, the central riff gets a bit wearing after a while though. 'Trampled Under Foot' is a right old mish-mash of Stevie Wonder, Doobie Brothers and James Brown (again). You can also hear that it must have influenced Franz Ferdinand with that kind of funky choppy guitar. Good though.

Next plodding, remorseless 'Kashmir'. Perce gives it plenty of ooooooooohhhh-yeh's. This is a double album so there's, count 'em, 15 tracks here and Kashmir closes side 2 (as was). 'In The Light' is a bit mystical and ultimately rather boring. Some acoustic noodlings follow on Bron-Yr-Aur (presumably they returned to their Welsh holiday cottage following a pleasant stay while recording III). 'Down By The Seaside' is about as twee as the title suggests, but unsurprisingly they get bored halfway through and pick up the pace. 'Ten Years Gone' sees them straying perilously close to Rod Stewart territory, always a risk when Plant's hoarse whine becomes too pronounced. 'Night Flight' was dull but I found 'The Wanton Song' somewhat reminiscent of Kasabian's recent excellent 'Ee-Zeh'. A touch of honky-tonk pianner carries through on 'Boogie With Stu', but it's nowt special apart from some interesting percussion from Bonzo at the end. 'Black Country Woman' has sparse pizzicato guitar under Bob's whines. Finally, 'Sick Again'. Standard, admittedly well-executed rock. Dare I say, Zep may have overstretched themselves with a double. There's enough really good stuff for a couple of sides, but there's some filler too.

Apparently the packaging was another kiddie-friendly rip-the-flap affair, but the description of how it all worked that I read on the web left me with little clue. Incidentally, the aforementioned Goodies album ended with a remarkably committed version of the Troggs 'Wild Thing' ("C'mon hold me tight, Not. Quite. That. Tight"). It had a separate lyric sheet with witty handwritten annotations in red and the pink ribbon on the cover was embossed. I wish I could hear it again to bring back happy memories but alas it is unavailable on Spotify.

PRESENCE

31st March 1976

Presence is the seventh studio album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, released by Swan Song Records on 31 March 1976. While the record was commercially successful, reaching the top of both the British and American album charts, and achieving a triple-platinum certification in the United States by the RIAA, it received mixed reviews from critics and is the lowest-selling album by the band.

The album was written and recorded in the last months of 1975, during a difficult time in the band's history. Singer Robert Plant was recuperating from serious injuries he had sustained earlier that year in a car accident; this led to tours being cancelled and the band booking studio time to record Presence instead. The entire album was completed in a few weeks, with guitarist and producer Jimmy Page putting in several long shifts to complete recording and mixing. The title came from the strong presence the group felt as they worked together. The LP's artwork from Hipgnosis featured several photographs focused on a mysterious black object, called "The Object".

From Wikipedia

Achilles' Last Stand

For Your Life

Royal Orleans

Nobody's Fault But Mine

Candy Store Rock

Hots On For Nowhere

Tea For One

Presence - sounds like the latest fragrance from Calvin Klein, but I don't think the odour of patchouli oil and sweaty, hairy men from Wolverhampton would sell. Only seven tracks this time, more prog accusations are inevitable. It's not helped that they sound a lot like Rush in the opening track, 'Achilles Last Stand'. Couple that with Greek mythology theme, frenetic drums and bass (although certainly not Drum 'n' Bass) and twiddly guitar bits and they really don't have a leg to stand on. OK, I'm being a bit harsh, I actually quite enjoyed it. 'For Your Life' seems to be about drugs. It's a bit dull if I'm honest. Same with 'Royal Orleans'. It feels like they are going through their paces with not a lot of oomph. Throughout Plant seems like he's been reined in, Page and Jones stick to reasonably simple guitar riffs and leave the fancy stuff for the breaks and Bonham thumps away. Noel Gallagher is often accused of being a straight Beatles rip-off merchant, but the intro to 'Nobody's Fault But Mine' reveals he's not averse to a bit of plagiarism from Zep as well. It could be the intro to 'What's The Story Morning Glory'. You can hear where Guns n Roses got some of their ideas too. 'Candy Store Rock' and 'Hots On For Nowhere' are more examples of blues-tinged rock. We finish with 'Tea For One', a slow, doleful blues that goes on and on and on. Apparently the album was not that well received, and I can see why. It's fine, but doesn't have any fireworks or stone cold classics. Artwork - pictures of people 'interacting' (WP's word) with a 2001-style black obelisk that is supposed to represent the band.

IN THROUGH THE OUT DOOR

15th August 1979

In Through the Out Door is the eighth and final studio album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin.^[2] It was recorded in three weeks in November and December 1978 at ABBA's Polar Studios in Stockholm, Sweden, and released by Swan Song Records on 15 August 1979.^[1] Unlike earlier Led Zeppelin albums, In Through the Out Door was dominated musically by John Paul Jones. It was the band's last studio release before they disbanded in December 1980 after the death of their drummer John Bonham three months earlier.^{[citation needed]}

The album was a huge commercial success; it went to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in just its second week on the American chart. It also went to No. 1 in the UK, Canada, and New Zealand.

From Wikipedia

In The Evening

South Bound Suarez

Fool In The Rain

Hot Dog

Carouselambra

All My Love

I'm Gonna Crawl

There's a richer sound on the opening 'In The Evening' than we're used to, once they get over the vaguely Eastern opening. Then 'South Bound Saurez'. If this is a 35 year old prediction of the big-gnashered Uruguayan's move from Anfield to the Camp Nou, then whatever spirit guide helped the fellas with the title could't spell his name. It's quite frantic with some serious hammering on the piano. 'Fool In The Rain' has a Billy Joel-esque title and even sounds a bit like him. It has a slight Hispanic/Salsa feel to it (in fact, as it goes on, it gets more and more pronounced) I think Plant sings pretty well on this album actually. 'Hot Dog' is a rather jolly hoe-down and 'Carouselambra' relies heavily on a kind of simulated piano accordian. What it reminds me of is really tugging at the back of my mind but I just can't place, it's probably something by ELP - it's that kind of over complicated clever-clever keyboard stuff. It's blimmin' long too, over 10 minutes and wanders all over the place in that time. You've got to admire their willingness to experiment I suppose. THEN we get cod-classical with 'All My Love'. Actually this one is quite good, but you do get the impression that John-Paul Jones got one of those new fangled keyboards for Christmas. Finally, 'I'm Gonna Crawl', a more familiar jazz blues, which I also liked a lot. Not a classic, and not even very Zeppish, but it has it's moments.

As for the packaging, well, from what I can gather the kind of ploy now used by magazines such as Radio Times (one of 12 collectible covers) was used. It had a plain brown paper outer cover and inside was one of 6 alternative sleeves featuring two photos of a single bar scene taken from different points of view. But it gets better! The inner sleeve (I think - this is complicated) also featured line drawings which magically became coloured if you applied water to them. A similar technique used to feature in old Rupert Bear annuals (Rupert's Magic Paintings). This was their last proper studio album before Bonham's vomit-assisted exit from this Vale of Tears, but I will be doing Coda to finish off.

CODA

19th November 1982

Coda is the first compilation album^[1] by the English rock band Led Zeppelin. The album is a collection of rejected tracks from various sessions during Led Zeppelin's twelve-year career. It was released on 19 November 1982, almost two years after the group had officially disbanded following the death of drummer John Bonham. The word coda, meaning a passage that ends a musical piece following the main body, was therefore chosen as the title.

The fifth Swan Song Records album for the band, Coda was released to honour contractual commitments to Atlantic Records and also to cover tax demands on previous monies earned. It cleared away nearly all of the leftover tracks from the various studio sessions of the 1960s and 1970s.^[2] The album was a collection of eight tracks spanning the length of Zeppelin's twelve-year history.^[3] Atlantic counted the release as a studio album, as Swan Song had owed the label a final studio album from the band. According to Martin Popoff, "there's conjecture that Jimmy [Page] called 'We're Gonna Groove' a studio track and 'I Can't Quit You Baby' a rehearsal track because Swan Song owed Atlantic one more studio album specifically."^[1]

From Wikipedia

We're Gonna Groove

Poor Tom

I Can't Quit You Baby

Walter's Walk

Ozone Baby

Darlene

Bonzo's Montreux

Wearing And Tearing

I remember my big brother having this one. Led Zeppelin are definitely a big brother's band. I also remember listening to it and liking it, so this is a happy trip down memory lane. I'll tell you what else, it's mercifully short for a change. It's a collection of studio outtakes so doesn't quite fit the criteria of a studio album but is close enough since it's all original material. 'We're Gonna Groove' owes a debt to Hendrix's (how do you do the possessive on Hendrix? Hendrix'? Hendrix's? Hendrixes?) 'Crosstown Traffic'. 'Poor Tom' is harmonica driven blues and is followed by 'I Can't Quit You Baby' which is classic slow blues. After about 3 minutes in they seem to give up before doing a little reprise. 'Walter's Walk' is an efficient bit of rock. Bob gets a few standard-issue groans in. 'Ozone Baby' is a bona fide classic and one wonders why they left it off In Through The Out Door. I'd happily trade this and 'Darlene' for 'Carouselambra'. Maybe they felt they were too 'pop'. 'Darlene' has a terrific spiky guitar riff, honky-tonk joanna and Perce giving it his best shot. There's also some kind of reference to 'American Pie', because the lyrics mention 'a green carnation and a pick-up truck'. 'Bonzo's Montreux' is another drum solo, as you might expect. I'll let it go since it's obviously included as a tribute. He does throw in some steel drums, which adds a bit more musicality. 'Wearing and Tearing' is a fitting climax. Classic Zep in every way, 100mph drums, complex guitar and Planty apparently at the end of his tether. Nothing to say about the packaging, very boring.