Led Zeppelin III review

Led Zeppelin's third studio album, which is more folk rock and less hard rock than the first 2 albums. Although reception was initially lukewarm it's now hailed as a classic.

Tracks:

1. Immigrant Song: 8/10 a ferocious 2 minute burst of rock energy with one of Led Zeppelin's best guitar riffs. It's a bit short and vague to be one of their classics, but it grabs you by the throat and gets your attention.

2. Friends: 9/10 sounding different from much of Led Zeppelin's discography, this delivers a great message against a backdrop of some strange, wonderful and at times surprisingly intense music.

3. Celebration Day: 9/10 this hugely entertaining song more than lives up to its name despite the occasionally confusing lyrics.

4. Since I've Been Loving You: 10/10 a fully fledged rock masterpiece. With Robert Plant's possibly never better vocals and Jimmy Page's amazing guitar work, this blisteringly intense epic seems to get overlooked but really shouldn't be. If you want to know what it's like being pounded over the head with a boombox repeatedly, you've come to the right place.

5. Out on the Tiles: 7/10 a less memorable track, but it sounds interesting.

6. Gallows Pole: 7/10 this one outstays its welcome but it's an interesting narrative well told and played.

7. Tangerine: 9/10 a delightful song which veers away from Led Zeppelin's earlier stuff and has a wonderful acoustic instrumental and pathos filled lyrics.

8. That's the Way: 8/10 another more mellow track which is a tiny bit dreary at times but overall effective.

9. Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp: 8/10 pretty enjoyable though unspectacular.

10. Hats Off To (Roy Harper): 5/10 chaotic, unfocussed and just plain odd, this isn't bad exactly (When are Led Zeppelin ever genuinely bad?) but it doesn't conclude the album well and it's not surprising this was never performed in concert.

Best song: Since I've Been Loving You
Worst song: Hats Off To (Roy Harper)

Summary: Out of the quadruple smash of the first 4 Led Zeppelin albums, this is the weakest. the songs are less memorable and there's only one classic on here. Still, it's an excellent album which takes Led Zeppelin in new directions and has a pleasing amount of experimentation and is less thematically repetitive than the first 2 albums. Still a great listen despite its lack of classics.



Final rating: 8/10