Carlos Santana wasn’t the only guitarist to emerge from the classic rock scene to cite Jimmy Page’s playing on “Led Zeppelin II” as being a critical influence. However, this fact carries relevance here, as I’ve recently cited “Abraxas” as the greatest Latin classic rock album. This, a mere pretext to once again reframe my choice for greatest classic rock album…
Therefore, I’m left with the only possible choice, “Led Zeppelin II.”
The timing is right, both the first and second Led Zeppelin albums came out in 1969, the year of Woodstock. “Led Zeppelin” hit the world of rock music like well, a lead zeppelin. Forty minutes of startling originals with some seriously corrupted blues standards thrown in; the only possible way to top this was to move further into the red. With Eddie Kramer at the mixing board the new sound was positively crushing. This was the record where Jimmy Page brought the ’59 Les Paul back into the R&R spotlight, trade-marking the final incarnation of the sound that would forever hearken back to the original “heavy metal.”
Mother Of All Dinosaurs
Written and recorded at various studios in the U.K as well as the States while the band was on tour, every track on the album stands on its own gigantic feet. As I’ve noted earlier (Disraeli Gears: The Greatest Classic Rock Album Of All Time), twenty-five years or so after Led Zeppelin’s debut pair, much of the monster rock from this era was being referred to as dinosaur music. If ever there was a single disc that projected the literal sound of “dinosaur rock” it’s “Led Zeppelin II” which lumbers off the grooves with its inevitable crunch (carried on one of rock’s most recognizable riffs) a beat after a quick laugh by Robert Plant on “Whole Lotta Love.” This track alone encompasses the maelstrom of sound, lewd behavior, and bombast that gave parents of the R&R kiddies nightmares, and sent the squares running.
“What Is And What Should Never Be” offers definitive proof that when the guys weren’t ripping off blues legend Willie Dixon they were coming up with amazing originals. Perhaps the grandfather of the power ballad, this tune spoke the entire Zeppelin vocabulary that was to come.
The Page riff that opens side two on “Heartbreaker” comes on nearly as strong as “Whole Lotta Love;” what a banquet for first listeners! The stop-and-go segue into “Living, Loving Maid” was an emblematic feature of the live shows; screeching into a 180-degree skid from one song to the next.
Louder Is Better
I’ve said it before and I’m sure I’ll say it again, there are certain records that, even if not played at the appropriate volume (eleven) still somehow come through loud. Even the ballad-like strumming on “Thank You” and “Ramble On” sounds threatening; you can sense the metal explosion about to break loose. Again here, the purpose of loud has to do with size, dinosaur size. The squared off, ferocious attack of the drums set the scale here – nobody on the rock scene, then or since, has hit the drums harder or deeper in the pocket than the irreplaceable John Bonham.
What About The Rest Of It?
Sure, everyone has a favorite Led Zeppelin album, and it could turn out to be any one of the nine releases during the life of the band; even the half-assed first release of the live set “The Song Remains The Same” gets votes. The unwitting genius of Led Zeppelin was quitting while they were ahead; up until Bonham’s untimely death in 1979 there wasn’t a single scrap of filler in the catalog, just under seven hours of pure testimony. Whichever title you choose is the right one - and yet the second album somehow stands as the greatest of them all. Probably. And, as a consumer-friendly bonus, the original pressing came as a gatefold.
Scott Cramer - Scott lives in Chicago and is an insufferable know-it-all on certain topics. He writes fiction (primarily short stories) much of which ...
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