9. Presence: Most seem to put In Through the Out Door or Coda as the worst, but those albums had some good songs on them. This is the one album where I can't really remember the songs much at all. It's clear the band are utterly exhausted as they sound like they've been replaced by an inferior tribute band. At the same time, it's very difficult to call it bad. The music is still good technically and this album does have Nobody's Fault But Mine and Tea for One, although the other songs aside from Achilles Last Stand which is often entertaining but far too long fail to make much of an impact. This is definitely the band at their most lifeless. Yes the songs are all good but this is Led Zeppelin. They are normally great. The band members can churn out good music in their sleep. This is basically the band on autopilot as they give us good music without blowing up the arena like they normally do,
8. Coda: Coda's perfectly OK looking back on it. It's far from great but in many ways it's not even a proper studio album. It's just a few bits and pieces, but the bits and pieces it presents aren't bad. While somewhat underwhelming as songs they show the skills of the 4 musicians: Robert Plant's amazing vocals, Jimmy Page's fearsome riffs, John Paul Jones' marvelous and sadly overlooked instrumental work and, most of all, the brilliance of the late John Bonham's drumming. While not massively satisfying as an album due to a lack of memorable songs aside from a song recycled from their debut it nevertheless serves as an enjoyable tribute to the legendary band and a testament to their skills. Led Zeppelin's last album was fine. At least it's was better than Cut the Crap by The Clash or Squeeze by The Velvet Underground. It's no masterpiece, but it was never going to be as it's just leftovers.
7. In Through the Out Door: Some might say this one is the last proper album by the band. While overshadowed by various issues the group were experiencing in their personal lives, this isn't as bad as many world have you believe. It's got Carouselambra which is pretty awesome and many of the songs on the album stay at a reasonable level of quality throughout. Although many seem to regard this as the worst one it's actually a perfectly decent album in many ways and, while short of classics, it's high on loud, heavy charisma and it still feels like the heavy band we all know and love. It's not a massively interesting album and it still never comes anywhere close to the heights of the band's previous work though. Even if they hadn't had to stop after the death of John Bonham, it seems perhaps the band was running out of steam a bit anyway. In fairness, they had just released 6 incredible albums so it's hardly surprising.
6. Led Zeppelin III: Out of the golden age of the band, this one is the weakest but don't let that fool you. It's still a terrific album. The only thing which lets it down is its lack of true classics. It's got Since I've Been Loving You, that devastating, screaming hurricane of a song with Robert Plant's best vocals ever (Quite possibly) but the other songs aren't among my favorites. It's got Immigrant Song which is a famous one but that one's a little too short for my liking. What makes this excellent is that it shows the band going in new directions. It's full of different styles but even the quieter acoustic tracks have the same preposterous levels of energy that the band always had. This is a very interesting album which is just as skilled as ever but takes the band to new, fascinating places and showcases a rich- and ultimately successful- kaleidoscope of musical styles. At least unlike the last one every single song isn't about sex.
5. Houses of the Holy: I love this album. It's a sorely underrated work. Sure, The Crunge is one of Led Zeppelin's worst songs and The Song Remains the Same is somewhat underwhelming, but virtually everything else is awesome. Can I just put it out there- D'yer Mak'er is a tune. The success of the album rides a lot on the incredible energy and the rock juggernauts throughout the album just keep coming and hit harder and harder. Even so, the best 2 tracks on the album are The Rain Song and No Quarter, 2 quieter songs which which show the band as masters of creating mood and show just how artistically skilled they really were. In fact, No Quarter is one of the very, very best songs from after LZ IV and is one of the best songs they ever did. This is an album that's rich, endlessly rewarding and ferociously energetic, and although it gets overlooked it is an absolute blast to listen to.
4. Physical Graffiti: This is an outstanding album so it's tough to put it in 4th place. To be honest, this is neck and neck with the 3rd place. The only thing that lets this down in particular are a couple of duds and its sometimes exhausting length. It's a flawed, titanic musical juggernaut which is loud enough to shatter all the windows of 10 square blocks and which never stops thundering, hypnotizing and exploding until the very end. This is, in short, a flawed masterpiece. It's so experimental and interesting to listen to and it's got so many bangers we're spoiled for choice. It does show all of the band members at their peak and in general this is the peak of the band, since after this it went downhill. With 15 tracks, so many musical styles and more stunning peaks than you can shake a guitar at, how could you ever really come back to this level?
3. Led Zeppelin II: This is the one where every single song (Aside from the instrumental Moby Dick) is about sex (Or relationships anyway). This is also the one which has Living Loving Maid which has Led Zeppelin's most sexist lyrics ever and is one of their worst songs. It's also an utterly brilliant album. This one doesn't go for emotions. It goes for sheer euphoria and exhilaration. It's just so much fun in every way. The guitar riffs and vocals are amazing and John Bonham gets his moment to shine with Moby Dick. This album is just brilliantly fun and artistically ingenious in every way. I just love it and I can't recommend it enough. No matter how many times you listen to it it's still an utter thrill ride from start to finish. It also opens with Whole Lotta Love, one of the best rock songs ever and one where, when Robert Plant started singing it in Portugal, I nearly cried.
2. Led Zeppelin: The one that started it all. Even all these decades later, Led Zeppelin's debut is still a masterful and artistic rock album. It's the perfect introduction to the band. It shows the wide range of musical styles and influences the band always did and combines them with delightfully heavy hard-rock heaven, and all 4 of the band members are already blowing the roof off. This is a true mountain of an album which once again doesn't go for emotions or for narratives. It just goes for pure, full-on fun and with its endless experimentation, countless peaks, stunning aural explosions, John Paul Jones' superb work on the bass and organ, John Bonham's outstanding drumming, Robert Plant's demented wailing and Jimmy Pages' unreal guitar riffs, this is a truly stunning first album and one of the best debuts of all time.
1. Led Zeppelin IV: You were expecting something else? This is it. This is The album. It's got Stairway to Heaven and that song alone would put it in the top 3, but in general this explodes through the speakers like an ocean liner ploughing through a weapons factory and creates a truly awe-inspiring, devastating sound. This is Led Zeppelin at a peak seemingly higher than is scientifically possible and virtually every note is flawless. Even Misty Mountain Hop, the worst song on the album, still has plenty to offer. A genius, artistic, innovative work in every sense, this is admittedly unsubtle- every vocal, every chord, every note sounds and/or feels like a volcanic eruption- it is just so, so exhilarating to listen to. This also holds up remarkably well on multiple listens and is an album that doesn't really need to be reviewed. It's so good it needs no description. On the whole, Led Zeppelin's masterpiece and an album for the ages.
Thanks for reading.
No comments:
Post a Comment