Play it On the Radio! Vol. 1 - The almighty "Led Zeppe

[Mers]

Well, since i'm 15, the possibility of things I can legally do inside a car is..well... limited.
But one thing I usually do when i travel, is take care of the music selection...

I thought I'd contribute a bit more to this community, and try to give some suggestions on music for you to listen to in your car.

The first one is:

Led Zeppelin



History
It all started in 1968, when the famous 60's guitar band, 'The Yardbirds' decided to call it quits. One of the members also a producer, Jimmy Page, and manager, Peter Grant, had to find replacements for the bandmembers quick, to fullfill contract dates for the Yardbirds. Jimmy got to know Robert Plant, a singer with an exceptionnal voice, and good harmonica skills. Robert insisted that his friend, drummer John Henry Bonham, played drums. A bass player was needed, and John Paul Jones, a session bassist who had already played with the yardbirds (although he was playing the organ then...which he also played in zep) contacted jimmy. That was the spark. In 1968 'The New Yardbirds' were playing gigs all around europe. Jimmy wanted another name for the band and took inspiration from one of 'The Who's drummer, Keith Moon, sayings..
"You guys are gonna go down like a lead zeppelin!!"
Jimmy dropped the 'a' in lead, and 'Led Zeppelin' was formed.
By 1969, they had a fully recorded album, and the band kicked in the '70s with a huge impact, and totaly transformed the way we know rock n' roll today. the band ended tragically after the death of Bonham, and since then, is considered one of, if not, THE best band ever.

Why YOU should bother listening to them in your car.(in other words, how cool are they)
Led Zep are the forerunners of modern rock. They invented 'heavy metal', by creating a sound so innovating at the time, that it took about 2 or 3 albums to get people to get used to this.
They rarely gave interviews, and never released singles or a 'Best Hits' album while they still existed. This made people get to know them in an 'album-by-album' basis, getting to know deeply what zeppelin was about.
After Bonham's death, they had enough material to release more than 5 compilations, a double DVD, and 2 live albums, with never before heard or released material.

Album per Album

Led Zeppelin - 1969 - Atlantic Records

Led Zeppelin I is the band’s rawest and most blues based recording. Page’s guitar is on fire throughout, Bonham’s drums thunder away in awe-inspiring fashion, Jones plays some terrific bass guitar and keyboards, and Plant’s high-pitched vocal wail (with many a “baby baby” lyric) became the template for all future hard rock singers. Yet for all of their individual excellence, and they do all take spectacular solo turns here (particularly Page), it is the band’s ensemble playing that remains most mind-blowing over 30 years later.

Led Zeppelin II - 1969 - Atlantic Records

Led Zeppelin II was the first album to credit Robert Plant as a songwriter. What Is And What Should Never Be and Thank You showcase his tender songwriting abilities. Moby Dick was John Bonham's spotlight song and The Lemon Song or Killing Floor, as it was known in live performances, showed their blues roots, while hard-rockers Whole Lotta Love and Living Lovin' Maid (She's Just A Woman) made their way to US Radio.

Led Zeppelin III - 1970 - Atlantic

Easily one of 1970's most highly-anticipated albums, Led Zeppelin III shocked the world with acoustic songs like Friends, Gallows Pole, That's The Way and Bron-Y-Aur Stomp.For those diehard fans, songs like Immigrant Song, Celebration Day and Out On The Tiles were a familiar sound. Since I've Been Loving You, a blues tune in C minor that was recorded live in the studio, features excellent organ work by Jones and a killer solo by Jimmy Page.

Untitled Album - 1971 - Atalntic

Also known as Led Zeppelin IV, Runes, Four Symbols and Zoso, this album extended Led Zeppelin's previous work. This album was recorded at an old workhouse known as Headley Grange. At one time, they were going to release the fourth album in 4 EPs, but, because of various delays, a single album was produced. Effortless confidence seeped through quality rockers like Black Dog and Rock And Roll. The Battle Of Evermore and Going To California carried on the band's acoustic tradition as displayed in Led Zeppelin III. The merging of acoustics and electric styles ultimately resulted in Stairway To Heaven. When The Levee Breaks shows Bonham at his best. The opening drum beat of Levee has become one of the most sampled drum tracks cutting across all genres.

Houses of The Holy - 1973 - Atlantic

By the time Houses Of The Holy was released in stores in the Spring of 1973, Led Zeppelin was one of the top established bands in the world. With Houses Of The Holy, the band branched out from the same styles from the four previous albums. D'yer Mak'er showed their interest in reggae, while The Crunge showed the funk style of the Jones-Bonham rhythm section. Epics like The Song Remains The Same and The Rain Song cemented Zeppelin's position as the number one act in the world.

Physical Graffiti - 1974 - Swansong

Jimmy Page's desire for a double album resulted in Physical Graffiti. A majority of the tracks were recorded in 1974 at Headley Grange. The remainder were leftover tracks that didnt make it to previous albums. Houses Of The Holy was recorded in 1972, obviously as the title track for that album, at Olympic Studios. Black Country Woman and The Rover were recorded at the same time as D'Yer Mak'er. Bron-Y-Aur was originally recorded for the third album.

Presence - 1976 - Swansong

This is the forgotten Led Zeppelin album, largely because it features less memorable material than any of their other albums. Hastily recorded after the massive success of Physical Graffiti, this album was rushed together before they had gathered the customary allotment of first rate material. That said, Presence is still a damn good album whose relatively simple songs are driven by powerful performances. For example, Robert Plant, whose voice has grown rougher over the years, gives a compelling, stuttered vocal performance on Nobody’s Fault But Mine, an excellent, hard rocking song in part due to some uncredited help from Blind Willie Johnson. Other highlights include For Your Life and Hots On For Nowhere, which feature strutting riffs and funky backbeats, with the latter adding a catchy “la la la” chorus as well. The band remains an amazing instrumental unit, and though their reliance on overly repetitive song structures marks Presence as something of a placeholder release, Page still grabs many a great guitar part from his resourceful bag of tricks. Granted, Royal Orleans is forgettable, and the slow, understated blues of Tea For One is interminable, but Achilles Last Stand stands as one of the bands most powerful epics. In fact, this 10 minute track alone is worth the price of admission, led by its unwavering groove, a particularly haunting Plant vocal, and several show stopping give and take segments between Page and Bonham. During these thrilling exchanges, Bonham’s volcanic drum fills interlock with Page’s wailing guitar parts, seizing several moments of tension that build to the bursting point.

In Through the Out Door - 1979 - Swansong

After a three-year lapse between releases that was caused in part by the tragic death of Plant’s son Karac, Led Zeppelin’s final studio album was a significant departure from anything that had come before it. More than any other Zeppelin album this one belongs to John Paul Jones, who co-wrote all but one song, and gave the synthesizer/piano parts a major presence. In short, this album was an enjoyable affair that saw the veteran band keeping pace with the snarling young punk upstarts by, ironically enough, toning things down. Yet Zeppelin’s slicker new sound was notably less powerful than on previous albums, and though the band was still very relevant they were no longer revelatory. Ironically, John Bonham’s death by asphyxiation and Led Zeppelin’s subsequent breakup prevented the band from hanging around past their prime, leaving an untarnished musical legacy.

Coda - 1982 - Swansong

Consisting of unreleased leftovers put out to fulfill contract obligations after the band’s breakup, Coda should be purchased only after obtaining all of the band’s other original albums. That said, these songs are pretty damn good for a bunch of rejects, though my guess is that none of them would qualify for your Led Zeppelin mix tape. Considering that the album barely passes the 33-minute mark and consists of a mere eight songs, it would also be nice to see the three previously unavailable songs from the box set tacked onto a future reissue, which would give the band’s fans more bang for their buck while also boosting this album’s stock considerably.

In the End...
Led Zeppelin for me is from another world. Page's guitar skills are incredible. Ok, Hendrix was a better player, but jimmy certainly created licks which were much better to listen to..much more melodic.. Plant's voice was spectacular. If you do have a rock band, it's his fault you will probably not be able to cover led zep...i mean, who sings like that nowadays? Jonesy was an inexplicably good musician. Whether he was slammin his bass strings down, with such rhythm, or playing keyboards or mandolin, he was there to make Led Zep as musical as possible. And Bonzo, he was just out of this world. Considered the best drummer ever, i'd agree totaly with that. Any good rock drummer would...
It's these four elements that made Led Zeppelin simply the best band....In the world...




All album reviews and pics, came from the site Achilles' last stand
A great site for reference...

[T-Bird]

Hell yeah Led Zeppelin is the shit!
You can't forget: How the West Was Won that is a great live album

[possessed_beaver]

nice mate, they are an amazing band, i have all there video's DVD simply incredible!!

and had a love of mudsharks!

[ZfrkS62]

ah, Led Zep. There are not enough good things to say about that band. They are one of the best bands that ever came together.

[jamberl]

Doesnt the bass player produce albums for other bands now? Im sure he produced something famous recently.......

[ARMAN]

Saitway to heaven is a great song. My brother in law showed it to me as one that was in the beggining of metal music

[Mers]

Originally Posted by T-Bird Hell yeah Led Zeppelin is the shit! You can't forget: How the West Was Won that is a great live album

Of course you're right... but I chose only to put the studio albums..(although, the song remains the same can be considered)

HTWWW is a great alnum... along with the BBC Sessions... a good point..
Plus, you certainly can't forget the Double DVD!!

Doesnt the bass player produce albums for other bands now? Im sure he produced something famous recently.......

I'm not so sure, although his solo albums were great!
Check at his site, www.johnpauljones.com

[possessed_beaver]

Originally Posted by ZfrkS62 ah, Led Zep. There are not enough good things to say about that band. They are one of the best bands that ever came together.

that cradle of filth in you're sig?

led has also inspired MANY great bands ie: METALLICA

[Mers]

Originally Posted by possessed_beaver Originally Posted by ZfrkS62 ah, Led Zep. There are not enough good things to say about that band. They are one of the best bands that ever came together. that cradle of filth in you're sig? led has also inspired MANY great bands ie: METALLICA

hmm, I'm not sure, but I think you misunderstood beaver...
I think that by saying "not enough good things", he means it's so good that there is an infinite number of good things to say...
At least that's what I HOPE he said!

[skituner]

Led Zeppelin=god

[ZfrkS62]

Originally Posted by Mers Originally Posted by possessed_beaver Originally Posted by ZfrkS62 ah, Led Zep. There are not enough good things to say about that band. They are one of the best bands that ever came together. that cradle of filth in you're sig? led has also inspired MANY great bands ie: METALLICA hmm, I'm not sure, but I think you misunderstood beaver... I think that by saying "not enough good things", he means it's so good that there is an infinite number of good things to say... At least that's what I HOPE he said!

Of COURSE that is what i meant!!

and i'm starting to think i need to change my sig. beaver is the second person to confuse The Crow with Dani Filth

btw, Stairway is my g/f fave song and one of my top 3, so i'm trying to convince her to walk down the aisle to that if we get married if not we're getting married at a race track and taking a hot lap after we tie the knot