I’ve always said John Paul Jones is my favorite member of Led Zeppelin, he was their secret weapon. Not only is he a fantastic bass player but he also plays mandolin, Mellotron, organ, piano, and even did string arrangements before he joined the band for The Rolling Stones, Donovan, and The Yardbirds (which is likely where he first met Jimmy Page).
I think you will enjoy LZ3's second side, the so called accoustic side. Some very nice stuff and I love Page with an accoustic guitar in his hand. He had a sound like no other
Yes, and people that do these kinds of reactions where they're doing parts of masterpieces hold no interest for me and I find them annoying and will not support...So, I'm out
Heartbreaker/Living, Loving Maid Travelin' Man/Beautiful Loser Funeral For a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding Feeling That Way/Anytime This Beat Goes On/Switchin' To Glide Revelation (Mother Earth)/Steal Away (The Night) Jack The Stripper/Fairies Wear Boots Brain Damage/Eclipse Foreplay/Long Time Sirius/Eye In The Sky No Sugar Tonight/New Mother Nature The Load Out/Stay Sgt. Pepper/With A Little Help From My Friends
Ramble On is my favourite Led Zeppelin song!! It never fails to make me go crazy, whatever room I'm in. 😄 It's phenomenal! Obviously, Whole Lotta Love main riff is something every single person on this planet will recognise, though it's far from the best!
Caroline, you’ve never done a video that’s either boring or not captivating. Thanks for continuing with Led Zeppelin. Hopefully you’ll do all their albums, like you did with The Beatles, and then move on to others. May I suggest Yes; Supertramp; Crosby, Stills, Nash (and Young); Creedance Clearwater Revival?
I've always been a huge Plant and Page fan, but recently I've been truly absorbing the greatness of JPJ and Bonham and it's so lovely to begin to appreciate their greatness
Glad you enjoyed this one. It's probably my favorite one if I had to pick. Can't wait for the next one! 3 is a totally different vibe from 1, 2, and 4!
I love how perfectly Bring It On Home leads into Led Zeppelin 3, it's a teaser about what to expect. Thank You is probably one of my favorites all time, and glad you caught the Ramble On Lord of the Rings references!
If you liked this album, you will absolutely love Heart. They're not quite as hard rock and a lot softer but just as catchy, melodic and rhythmically interesting. Plus Ann Wilson's vocals are SPECTACULAR and Nancy Wilson is my hero!
Hey Caroline, it's fun to listen to Zeppelin "for the first time" vicariously with you. Whole Lotta Love was my introduction to the band back in the day. I loved listening to it on the local FM rock station late at night on my stereo radio. It had detachable speakers that I would use as headphones...good times! Looking forward to the rest of your LZ journey of discovery.
I’ve actually played “Thank You” acoustic at a wedding, and it’s completely appropriate for a wedding. It’s a very sweet song that is a bit counter to what most people expect from Zep.
One of Zep's lesser-known songs yet one of my overall favorites: What is and What Should Never Be The overall arrangement and song structure is just fascinating to me.
In a strange way this is my favourite Zep album, even more than IV. Such a variety of sounds and riffs and like you said, the band just seem to be having a whale of a good time here.
Another good video Caroline: your responses always come across as fresh and truthful. III is very different. it's good of course but it takes some folky turns.
My favorite Zep album, glad you listened all the way thru, back in the day, we bought albums, went home and listened to the whole album, sometimes over and over, but that's how you find the hidden gems of a Band.
Heartbreaker is the song that made me want to play guitar when I was a teenager. And Led Zeppelin II is still my favorite rock album, with Abbey Road from the Beatles. 1969 was definitely a good year for rock music! Too bad I wasn't born yet 😁
I love watching your reactions and look forward to watching your journey through the Zeppelin albums ( I hope ). 4 incredible - each one of them one of the best in their field - musicians. You will find each album is unique and different in its own way.
I'm totally enjoying the Zep train you are riding. I recommended these guys to you first a couple years ago, but in retrospect, you might not have been ready for them then. This is probably the perfect time for you to be exposed to the magical greatness that is Led Zeppelin. And you're gonna love Zep III. Lot of acoustic bits...very cool. And one of the greatest achievements in audio recording history, the song "Since I've Been Loving You". Can't wait! Peace
LZ II is much more accessible and forms the basis for LZ IV; For me, both feel-good albums for every mood, including jogging, driving, cleaning... . Later, for financial reasons, I bought I and III and started exploring them. I have to listen to both very consciously so that I can fully enjoy the musical details, especially the acoustic ones of LZ III. LZ I in particular must have been musically groundbreaking at the time with Dazed And Confused and How Many More Time. I love all four albums in their own way. Then for me come the four skip song or even skip side albums.
Ramble On is my favorite Led song of all time and this is my favorite album of theirs. The newspaper I worked on in the early 90s, I asked Ace Frehley of Kiss what he was reading and he said Lord of the Rings cuz he wanted to understand Led Zeppelin better.
Ramble On is one of my very favorite Zeppelin songs. And was prominently featured in the Tom Cruise sci-fi movie Oblivion. Which I think is underrated. Though not perfect to be user.
I think you’re going to love the 3rd album Caroline.. they really lean into the folk-rock side on that one .. and it’s another where the music is varied .. really looking forward to it
Excellent review, Caroline. Probably the first really good album I had when I was about 13. For further listening, seek out their live recordings from the same general pre-70 period.
During this period Zeppelin also recorded a couple of other great blues covers including "The Girl I Love She Got Long Black Wavy Hair", and "Traveling Riverside Blues". But the biggest omission is on Led Zeppelin 3, where "Hey Hey What Can I Do" didn't make the album, but was on the B-side of the "Immigrant Song".
I played this in vinyl all the time when I was 6 years old, 35 years ago and still find new and impressive things all over when study them and listened so many times.
Saw these guys back in 1973 in Seattle. The tickets were less than $15 for great seats. "Dazed and Confused" was 15-20 minute set. They left everything on the stage. Those were the days.
I think you'd really enjoy reacting to the Doors, especially Ray Manzarak's keyboard playing. Also, for the umpteenth time, Heart. And, for good measure, Bob Dylan, starting with Blood on the Tracks. So much great music, so many great musicians, but just one Caroline...
Three is so different from the first two. Strong mix of folk with some heavy rockers on it. You might recognize the first track on the album once you hear it.
Glad you enjoyed this Caroline! LZ II is one of their best. The legendary bluesman Sonny Boy Williamson II is the vocal and harmonica inspiration for Bring it On Home. Listen to some of his songs and you'll hear his influence straightaway. Led Zeppelin seemingly tried to push the blues genre forward into rock territory on songs like this and When the Levee Breaks.
So, good old Zeppelin. Here's the funny thing about Zeppelin, They were one of my top bands in high school (in the eighties). I was very into them. They were the closest to heavy metal I ever loved. But for whatever reason, they're one of those bands I just don't find myself drawn to in my dotage. I don't know why that is. I still listen to The Who and Pink Floyd and (of course) The Beatles pretty regularly. But Zeppelin (along with the Stones) are two bands I was more or less obsessed with in high school but just rarely seek out anymore. (I do still listen to Houses of the Holy on occasion, and especially The Rain Song and Over the Hills and Far Away.) Anyway, my point is, I don't know why it is The Who should still call out to me and not Zeppelin, but there it is. Maybe experiencing them as for the first time again (through you) will rekindle those old feelings...
The engineer is a buddy of mine. He's a Scouser (from Liverpool). He lived here in Los Angeles for a spell sometime ago, too. But, look him up, he's got a lot of Beatle connections, too.
You're absolutely right about the quality of the guitar riffs on this album. I don't know of a better album, riff-wise. It's RIFF CITY! It's RIFFALISCIOUS BABY! And that's why it's my favorite Led Zepplin album. And the bass playing is super prominent, and super good. Also the drums. And Plant was at the top of his game. Oh, and it doesn't hurt that critics of the day failed to notice the transcendent excellence of everything, and thought it worse than Led Zepplin I, which they had also panned. Ha ha, the critics got it wrong. We don't like the critics, do we? But we do like it when they're wrong, and they were so very wrong about this album, and so for all these reasons, Led Zepplin II is DA BOMB! I'll stop now. Yes I will.
All the British blues bands sang exactly like Plant, "Bay-buh, bay-buh, bay-buh", lol, every line, 'baby". It all comes from blues and R&B, and you certainly hear it in the Beatles and other stuff, but the late 60s British blues singers all used to beat that to death to the point where it was often parodied. Plant is, by far, the best of those singers (and Zep is the best of that slew of bands, most of whom really were terrible). But all these songs where they're just riffing and singing snatches of old blues songs, all of these mostly forgotten (and inferior) bands were doing the same thing, starting in late '67. Jimi Hendrix and his band, and The Who (and Cream) were huge influences on this era, not to mention many of those Brit-blues musicians came out of apprenticeships with Alexis Corner or John Mayall's blues groups in the early-mid 60s.
Totally agree, II is better than 1. You may even prefer II to III, we'll see! (Houses Of The Holy is my fave, I do have a sweet spot for III though. Ultimately I like Zep's softer side! Hendrix's also!)
Bring it on home is originally by Sonny Boy Williamson who Robert Plant is imitating his singing and harmonica style, the first part of the song is like old blues theyre inspired by then the heavy bit is like the 'modern day' zeppelin version 👍
2:33 Dynamic range. Just like light and dark in a painting, the loud parts will only seem loud if there's quiet parts. Trying to be the same volume all the way through the song is the reason 80s hair bands sucked.
Cant wait for you to get to III snd Houses of the Holy. What still amazes me is just how quickly bands pumped out albums in the 60s & 70s. Some bands even have 2 releases per year. Its incredible.
I’m really curious to see what you think of the albums after IV. The stretch from Houses of the Holy to Presence is my favorite period of Led Zeppelin. That’s when they started giving us lengthy epic masterpieces like Kashmir, The Rain Song, Achilles Last Stand, etc.
You are correct, Page is a riff genius. The Whole Lotta Love and Heartbreaker riffs are legendary. LZ III is completely different. It's more acoustic and folksy, but it's great nonetheless. Hey Hey What Can I Do should have been included on it. III has the monumental blues song Since I've Been Loving You, which is arguably Page's best guitar solo.
So glad you enjoyed this. I always thought it was a vast improvement over the first record, as well. There's no real consensus among fans as to which is their very best and which records are better than others. (Though I imagine IV and Physical Graffiti might be loved more than others...generally...) III might be your favorite...or it might be a let-down, as it was to fans at the time. It IS different from these first two, especially on Side 2.
If The Rover and Houses Of The Holy were included on Houses Of The Holy instead of The Crunge and Dancing Days and not being left over until Physical Graffiti, then Houses Of The Holy would have a great shout as being as good as any album they did.
@@chrisdelisle3954 Aww I love D'yer Mak'er myself. Unlike anything else they ever did. Dancing Days has a similar vibe to Houses Of The Holy, which is why they didnt have both on that album. HOTH is much better for me. Cheers
@@bossfan49 Why get sued for making a tribute? Especially when the actual song proper is original. Zeppelin had already given Dixon 100% full credit for two songs on the first album. He/his estate got fvcking greedy.
@@lyndoncmp5751 It was the publishing company (Dixon was still alive) that sued. They used parts of the song without permission...both melody and lyrics, so they should have paid him for partial songwriting credit. If it was just 1 line, they may have gotten by with saying it's a "tribute", but it's almost half the song (2 minutes out of 4:20 total). They didn't credit him for "Whole Lotta Love" either. He had to take them to court for that too. They knew what they were doing, and just hoped they didn't get caught. By "they" I mean everybody.. Page, Plant, their manager, Atlantic Records.. If they were less successful, they may have gotten away with it. That's the game.
@@bossfan49 They clearly didnt think they needed to credit considering it was an open homage including the actual title. They weren't hiding anything or "hoping they wouldn't get caught". It was absolutely normal to do such things within the blues. Happened often with next to no litigation. Dixon himself wasn't above taking from others without credit. As you say, only because Zeppelin were hugely successful and there was money in going after them were they sued. The Small Faces never got sued for copying You Need Love far more. No money in going after The Small Faces. Interestingly, black American musicians stole from Jimmy Page first. Jimmy's riff in The Yardbirds 1966 song Happenings Ten Years Time Ago was stolen by Lowell Fulson and used in his song Tramp, covered later by Otis Redding. Jimmy didn't care. He didn't sue them. Zeppelins Bring It On Home is all about the song proper. The intro and outro is irrelevant really. If they weren't there it'd still be a great rock song.
Love your Zeppelin reactions. Would love them to be a bit longer. Hope you consider doing a reaction to Houses of the Holy as it was such a polarising album when it was released and would love to hear your view on it.
I agree that II was way better than I. More dynamic and creative. Already listened to III in prep for your next one and I'm excited to hear your thoughts
I always find it a surprise when you look at the writing credits and notice that one of the band members are not credited, yet the song just wouldn't be the same without their contribution.
You leave Led Zep I alone - LOL! 😆 Seriously though, I love both I and II. The guitar break in the middle of Heartbreaker is known as the impossible solo, because, especially for the time, it was just so awesomely fast and intricate and very difficult to reproduce. The drum solo, Moby Dick, is absolutely epic as well. Most drummers need double kick drums to reproduce that sound. John Bonham could make those sounds with just one....absolutely insane!
Whole Lotta Love.... People growing up in the UK in the 70s were very familiar with the riff as it was used as the Top of the Pops theme tune.... ner nerrr nerner neh 'Up 5 this week at number 12 it's....'
"This sounds ahead of its time". Yup. It took everyone (I mean hard blues-rock type bands) a good 2-3 years to catch up. Led Zeppelin said pretty much everything they needed to say on those first four albums, from 1969-1971. And yeah, not the most world-shaking lyrics, but they do work in context. Plus there's no denying Robert Plant was an amazing 'instrument' within the band.
In the midst of my youthful enthusiasm for Led Zep, I lured my Uncle, a drummer who could read proper drum notation, into my bedroom and played him Moby Dick. He just shrugged, said nothing, and left the room. I was shattered.
Robert Plant worshipped at the altar of Steve Marriott of The Small Faces. You need to listen to their "You Need Loving" and compare it to "Whole Lotta Love". And then Muddy Waters' version of Willie Dixon's "You Need Love".
"Heavy metal" is a complete misnomer. Led Zeppelin WERE NOT a "metal" band. Metal started in the very late 70s. Led Zeppelin were a group of musicians who came of age in the mid 60s. It's insane how wikipedia and other popular media still peddle this myth. How is there anything remotely "metal" about this album?? The answer is: there isn't.
No, it's not. Just because you don't understand what the term actually means and how it started is irrelevant to its meaning. In the 1970s Deep Purple, Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin were known as "the unholy trinity of heavy metal" The bands emerging in the late 70's like Saxon and Iron Maiden were called the NEW wave of British Heavy Metal., because there were other metal bands who started earlier.
Led 1 and 2 are very similar in style of blues and rock and a wee bit of psychedelia with a nice song or two i .e . You Time Is Gonna Come Thank You and LZ3 next
Well done. Great album. I find Zep I to be one of my least favorite albums. They kicked the rock n roll door open with it, but it's just not my favorite. If you listen to the lads, a common theme is not resting on their laurels, and striving to evolve musically. They got a lot of grief (see........sh*t) for Zep III. You'll see why. I like Zep III. Everything they did was musically superb within the standards of rock n roll. Sure JP got himself into the weeds sometimes, but when you let the spirit take you, it's going to occasionally toss you around a bit. According to lore, it was the song "Heartbreaker" that led Eddie VanHalen to develop "tapping". And we are grateful. Great post.
So Album 3 is a conscious departure from 1 and 2. They took a lot of flak for it. It’s more acoustic, more folky, more experimental. I really love album 3 except for the last song, and I’m a super fan. It’s ok to like what you like.
Waaay back in the 80's, I remember that a friend of mine convinced his girlfriend that Robert Plant never said baby in any song. It was funny at the time...
I saw a pie-chart supposedly of Led Zeppelin song themes:
33% Sex
1% Citrus
66% "Vikings and hobbits an shit"
Damn, that is funnier than hell!
I’ve always said John Paul Jones is my favorite member of Led Zeppelin, he was their secret weapon. Not only is he a fantastic bass player but he also plays mandolin, Mellotron, organ, piano, and even did string arrangements before he joined the band for The Rolling Stones, Donovan, and The Yardbirds (which is likely where he first met Jimmy Page).
JPJ supposedly met Jimmy Page, when they were both session musicians before Page joined the Yardbirds.
@@jurgenschmidt2759that makes a lot more sense!
I think you will enjoy LZ3's second side, the so called accoustic side. Some very nice stuff and I love Page with an accoustic guitar in his hand. He had a sound like no other
He’s great….I guess it’s true…an ass for every seat! 🤷🏻♂️
They are their own genre…and yes they preformed it in concert! They lied about that song!
This album is one of the greatest pieces of bass work ever
Yes, and people that do these kinds of reactions where they're doing parts of masterpieces hold no interest for me and I find them annoying and will not support...So, I'm out
"Heartbreaker" should always be followed by "Living Loving Maid"
It's one of those two songs that need to be played back to back.
Heartbreaker/Living, Loving Maid
Travelin' Man/Beautiful Loser
Funeral For a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding
Feeling That Way/Anytime
This Beat Goes On/Switchin' To Glide
Revelation (Mother Earth)/Steal Away (The Night)
Jack The Stripper/Fairies Wear Boots
Brain Damage/Eclipse
Foreplay/Long Time
Sirius/Eye In The Sky
No Sugar Tonight/New Mother Nature
The Load Out/Stay
Sgt. Pepper/With A Little Help From My Friends
@@bossfan49 peace frog/blue sunday
@@bossfan49 Space Intro / Fly Like an Eagle
Threshold/Jet Airliner
Departure / Ride My See-Saw
Dream within a Dream / The Raven
Song Remains The Same / Rain Song.
@@sourisvoleur4854 Aww I forgot about Ride My See Saw.
Ramble On is my favourite Led Zeppelin song!! It never fails to make me go crazy, whatever room I'm in. 😄 It's phenomenal! Obviously, Whole Lotta Love main riff is something every single person on this planet will recognise, though it's far from the best!
I love the bass line.
Nope, great riff. Maybe the greatest
Ramble On is my absolute favorite songs of Led Zeppelin too. It just makes me some sort of way that's just hard to describe.
@@lisaolszewski8386 I get that! 👍
Caroline, you’ve never done a video that’s either boring or not captivating. Thanks for continuing with Led Zeppelin. Hopefully you’ll do all their albums, like you did with The Beatles, and then move on to others. May I suggest Yes; Supertramp; Crosby, Stills, Nash (and Young); Creedance Clearwater Revival?
I've always been a huge Plant and Page fan, but recently I've been truly absorbing the greatness of JPJ and Bonham and it's so lovely to begin to appreciate their greatness
Funny how you hear them reaching forward on "Thank You." I have alway heard it as a call back to 60's psychedelic rock.
Well it was released in 1969 so it was 60's psychedelic rock.
Its nice to see young people enjoying older music.
Glad you enjoyed this one. It's probably my favorite one if I had to pick. Can't wait for the next one! 3 is a totally different vibe from 1, 2, and 4!
I love how perfectly Bring It On Home leads into Led Zeppelin 3, it's a teaser about what to expect. Thank You is probably one of my favorites all time, and glad you caught the Ramble On Lord of the Rings references!
If you liked this album, you will absolutely love Heart. They're not quite as hard rock and a lot softer but just as catchy, melodic and rhythmically interesting. Plus Ann Wilson's vocals are SPECTACULAR and Nancy Wilson is my hero!
Whole Lotta Love, of course, better known to any British person between 60 and 40 as the theme to Top of the Pops.
Hey Caroline, it's fun to listen to Zeppelin "for the first time" vicariously with you. Whole Lotta Love was my introduction to the band back in the day. I loved listening to it on the local FM rock station late at night on my stereo radio. It had detachable speakers that I would use as headphones...good times! Looking forward to the rest of your LZ journey of discovery.
Your beautiful honesty and delightfulness makes every reaction of yours such a pleasure to watch for me... You're the bees knees😊😊😊
Way to go, Caroline. You're killing it! This is going to be a lot of fun.
I’ve actually played “Thank You” acoustic at a wedding, and it’s completely appropriate for a wedding. It’s a very sweet song that is a bit counter to what most people expect from Zep.
One of Zep's lesser-known songs yet one of my overall favorites: What is and What Should Never Be The overall arrangement and song structure is just fascinating to me.
In a strange way this is my favourite Zep album, even more than IV. Such a variety of sounds and riffs and like you said, the band just seem to be having a whale of a good time here.
Another good video Caroline: your responses always come across as fresh and truthful. III is very different. it's good of course but it takes some folky turns.
My favorite Zep album, glad you listened all the way thru, back in the day, we bought albums, went home and listened to the whole album, sometimes over and over, but that's how you find the hidden gems of a Band.
Heartbreaker is the song that made me want to play guitar when I was a teenager. And Led Zeppelin II is still my favorite rock album, with Abbey Road from the Beatles. 1969 was definitely a good year for rock music! Too bad I wasn't born yet 😁
Me, too! Heartbreaker is the song that made me want to play guitar, the awesome riff, but especially the solo.
So nice, you're already at No.2, so many great songs to love here.
This is such a re-live series for Led Zeppelin fans. I love your analysis of each song. Great stuff, and definitely on point.
She described Ramble On as a "fun song". I just can't.......
I love watching your reactions and look forward to watching your journey through the Zeppelin albums ( I hope ).
4 incredible - each one of them one of the best in their field - musicians.
You will find each album is unique and different in its own way.
I appreciate the research you do with these reactions! Quality stuff, Caroline!
I'm totally enjoying the Zep train you are riding. I recommended these guys to you first a couple years ago, but in retrospect, you might not have been ready for them then. This is probably the perfect time for you to be exposed to the magical greatness that is Led Zeppelin. And you're gonna love Zep III. Lot of acoustic bits...very cool. And one of the greatest achievements in audio recording history, the song "Since I've Been Loving You". Can't wait!
Peace
Robert Plant sounded different singing "Bring It On Home" because he would leave the harmonica in his mouth as he sang.
That makes so much sense, love that!
Yes, Zep 1 is definitely their heaviest album (and my fav).
LZ II is much more accessible and forms the basis for LZ IV; For me, both feel-good albums for every mood, including jogging, driving, cleaning... . Later, for financial reasons, I bought I and III and started exploring them. I have to listen to both very consciously so that I can fully enjoy the musical details, especially the acoustic ones of LZ III.
LZ I in particular must have been musically groundbreaking at the time with Dazed And Confused and How Many More Time. I love all four albums in their own way. Then for me come the four skip song or even skip side albums.
Ramble On is my favorite Led song of all time and this is my favorite album of theirs. The newspaper I worked on in the early 90s, I asked Ace Frehley of Kiss what he was reading and he said Lord of the Rings cuz he wanted to understand Led Zeppelin better.
Ramble On is one of my very favorite Zeppelin songs. And was prominently featured in the Tom Cruise sci-fi movie Oblivion. Which I think is underrated. Though not perfect to be user.
I think you’re going to love the 3rd album Caroline.. they really lean into the folk-rock side on that one .. and it’s another where the music is varied .. really looking forward to it
I'm excited too, Caroline! 3 is by far my #1, although I'm sad you didn't like the first, which is my #2.
This is so much fun!!!
Excellent review, Caroline.
Probably the first really good album I had when I was about 13.
For further listening, seek out their live recordings from the same general pre-70 period.
They are a VERY sexually driven band lyrically, and I think one of the only bands that could lean into it so heavily and make it work!
Can't wait for your LZ 3 reaction! One of their absolute best!
During this period Zeppelin also recorded a couple of other great blues covers including "The Girl I Love She Got Long Black Wavy Hair", and "Traveling Riverside Blues". But the biggest omission is on Led Zeppelin 3, where "Hey Hey What Can I Do" didn't make the album, but was on the B-side of the "Immigrant Song".
I played this in vinyl all the time when I was 6 years old, 35 years ago and still find new and impressive things all over when study them and listened so many times.
Saw these guys back in 1973 in Seattle. The tickets were less than $15 for great seats. "Dazed and Confused" was 15-20 minute set. They left everything on the stage. Those were the days.
I think you'd really enjoy reacting to the Doors, especially Ray Manzarak's keyboard playing. Also, for the umpteenth time, Heart. And, for good measure, Bob Dylan, starting with Blood on the Tracks.
So much great music, so many great musicians, but just one Caroline...
Ramble on, great too
Three is so different from the first two. Strong mix of folk with some heavy rockers on it. You might recognize the first track on the album once you hear it.
Heartbreaker a bit heavier is the understatement of the year
You know me, I'm not one to brag or namedrop, but the bass player/keyboardist is my uncle's first cousin!
Glad you enjoyed this Caroline! LZ II is one of their best. The legendary bluesman Sonny Boy Williamson II is the vocal and harmonica inspiration for Bring it On Home. Listen to some of his songs and you'll hear his influence straightaway. Led Zeppelin seemingly tried to push the blues genre forward into rock territory on songs like this and When the Levee Breaks.
So, good old Zeppelin. Here's the funny thing about Zeppelin, They were one of my top bands in high school (in the eighties). I was very into them. They were the closest to heavy metal I ever loved. But for whatever reason, they're one of those bands I just don't find myself drawn to in my dotage. I don't know why that is. I still listen to The Who and Pink Floyd and (of course) The Beatles pretty regularly. But Zeppelin (along with the Stones) are two bands I was more or less obsessed with in high school but just rarely seek out anymore. (I do still listen to Houses of the Holy on occasion, and especially The Rain Song and Over the Hills and Far Away.)
Anyway, my point is, I don't know why it is The Who should still call out to me and not Zeppelin, but there it is. Maybe experiencing them as for the first time again (through you) will rekindle those old feelings...
The engineer is a buddy of mine. He's a Scouser (from Liverpool). He lived here in Los Angeles for a spell sometime ago, too.
But, look him up, he's got a lot of Beatle connections, too.
You're absolutely right about the quality of the guitar riffs on this album. I don't know of a better album, riff-wise. It's RIFF CITY! It's RIFFALISCIOUS BABY! And that's why it's my favorite Led Zepplin album. And the bass playing is super prominent, and super good. Also the drums. And Plant was at the top of his game. Oh, and it doesn't hurt that critics of the day failed to notice the transcendent excellence of everything, and thought it worse than Led Zepplin I, which they had also panned. Ha ha, the critics got it wrong. We don't like the critics, do we? But we do like it when they're wrong, and they were so very wrong about this album, and so for all these reasons, Led Zepplin II is DA BOMB! I'll stop now. Yes I will.
Masterpiece album. Their second in a row. 👍
Glad to see you enjoying this😊
All the British blues bands sang exactly like Plant, "Bay-buh, bay-buh, bay-buh", lol, every line, 'baby". It all comes from blues and R&B, and you certainly hear it in the Beatles and other stuff, but the late 60s British blues singers all used to beat that to death to the point where it was often parodied. Plant is, by far, the best of those singers (and Zep is the best of that slew of bands, most of whom really were terrible). But all these songs where they're just riffing and singing snatches of old blues songs, all of these mostly forgotten (and inferior) bands were doing the same thing, starting in late '67. Jimi Hendrix and his band, and The Who (and Cream) were huge influences on this era, not to mention many of those Brit-blues musicians came out of apprenticeships with Alexis Corner or John Mayall's blues groups in the early-mid 60s.
Totally agree, II is better than 1. You may even prefer II to III, we'll see! (Houses Of The Holy is my fave, I do have a sweet spot for III though. Ultimately I like Zep's softer side! Hendrix's also!)
Bring it on home is originally by Sonny Boy Williamson who Robert Plant is imitating his singing and harmonica style, the first part of the song is like old blues theyre inspired by then the heavy bit is like the 'modern day' zeppelin version 👍
Yeah they are saying "that's how they did it, this is how we do it!".
Awesome reactions. ❤the channel.
2:33 Dynamic range. Just like light and dark in a painting, the loud parts will only seem loud if there's quiet parts. Trying to be the same volume all the way through the song is the reason 80s hair bands sucked.
Cant wait for you to get to III snd Houses of the Holy.
What still amazes me is just how quickly bands pumped out albums in the 60s & 70s. Some bands even have 2 releases per year. Its incredible.
I’m really curious to see what you think of the albums after IV. The stretch from Houses of the Holy to Presence is my favorite period of Led Zeppelin. That’s when they started giving us lengthy epic masterpieces like Kashmir, The Rain Song, Achilles Last Stand, etc.
I love your insights. I'm a music obsessive but I've not spent much time on theory, so your knowledge really brings things alive 😀
Led Zeppelin and Led Zeppelin II were recorded barely 6 months or so apart.
If you put in a call to Central Casting, saying “can you send over a rock star?’, they’d send Robert Plant.
You are correct, Page is a riff genius. The Whole Lotta Love and Heartbreaker riffs are legendary. LZ III is completely different. It's more acoustic and folksy, but it's great nonetheless. Hey Hey What Can I Do should have been included on it. III has the monumental blues song Since I've Been Loving You, which is arguably Page's best guitar solo.
So glad you enjoyed this. I always thought it was a vast improvement over the first record, as well. There's no real consensus among fans as to which is their very best and which records are better than others. (Though I imagine IV and Physical Graffiti might be loved more than others...generally...)
III might be your favorite...or it might be a let-down, as it was to fans at the time. It IS different from these first two, especially on Side 2.
If The Rover and Houses Of The Holy were included on Houses Of The Holy instead of The Crunge and Dancing Days and not being left over until Physical Graffiti, then Houses Of The Holy would have a great shout as being as good as any album they did.
I’d prefer “Dancing Days” over “D’yer Mak’er,” but you’re right.
@@chrisdelisle3954
Aww I love D'yer Mak'er myself. Unlike anything else they ever did. Dancing Days has a similar vibe to Houses Of The Holy, which is why they didnt have both on that album. HOTH is much better for me.
Cheers
The beginning and ending of "Bring It On Home" is taken straight from the 1963 song of the same name by blues artist Sonny Boy Williamson II.
Yes and it was supposed to be an open homage/tribute..... yet they got sued.
@@lyndoncmp5751 Rightfully so.
@@bossfan49
Why get sued for making a tribute? Especially when the actual song proper is original.
Zeppelin had already given Dixon 100% full credit for two songs on the first album. He/his estate got fvcking greedy.
@@lyndoncmp5751 It was the publishing company (Dixon was still alive) that sued. They used parts of the song without permission...both melody and lyrics, so they should have paid him for partial songwriting credit. If it was just 1 line, they may have gotten by with saying it's a "tribute", but it's almost half the song (2 minutes out of 4:20 total). They didn't credit him for "Whole Lotta Love" either. He had to take them to court for that too. They knew what they were doing, and just hoped they didn't get caught. By "they" I mean everybody.. Page, Plant, their manager, Atlantic Records.. If they were less successful, they may have gotten away with it. That's the game.
@@bossfan49
They clearly didnt think they needed to credit considering it was an open homage including the actual title. They weren't hiding anything or "hoping they wouldn't get caught". It was absolutely normal to do such things within the blues. Happened often with next to no litigation. Dixon himself wasn't above taking from others without credit. As you say, only because Zeppelin were hugely successful and there was money in going after them were they sued. The Small Faces never got sued for copying You Need Love far more. No money in going after The Small Faces.
Interestingly, black American musicians stole from Jimmy Page first. Jimmy's riff in The Yardbirds 1966 song Happenings Ten Years Time Ago was stolen by Lowell Fulson and used in his song Tramp, covered later by Otis Redding. Jimmy didn't care. He didn't sue them.
Zeppelins Bring It On Home is all about the song proper. The intro and outro is irrelevant really. If they weren't there it'd still be a great rock song.
You have to do Led Zeppelin Physical Graffiti 😀
Love your Zeppelin reactions. Would love them to be a bit longer. Hope you consider doing a reaction to
Houses of the Holy as it was such a polarising album when it was released and would love to hear your view on it.
Love the reactions☺ Such a great catalogue to go through. I think Steely Dan would be another you'd enjoy!
I agree that II was way better than I. More dynamic and creative. Already listened to III in prep for your next one and I'm excited to hear your thoughts
I always find it a surprise when you look at the writing credits and notice that one of the band members are not credited, yet the song just wouldn't be the same without their contribution.
You leave Led Zep I alone - LOL! 😆 Seriously though, I love both I and II. The guitar break in the middle of Heartbreaker is known as the impossible solo, because, especially for the time, it was just so awesomely fast and intricate and very difficult to reproduce. The drum solo, Moby Dick, is absolutely epic as well. Most drummers need double kick drums to reproduce that sound. John Bonham could make those sounds with just one....absolutely insane!
Loveee this series! You’re gonna be surprised with Zeppelin III I reckon!
It is a bit strange to me that I really liked "Thank You" when I had never even had a girlfriend when I first heard it. Ah, the fantasies of youth!
Three is my favorite LZ album, hope you like it too.
You think Whole Lotta Love is sexual, The Lemon Song takes it somewhere else!
Always magnificent...no matter what they did! Thank You and Whole Lotta Love were the very few Jimmy sang on. Most others were mainly Bonham.
I enjoyed your informed commentary/breakdown. Great 👍 fun.
Whole Lotta Love.... People growing up in the UK in the 70s were very familiar with the riff as it was used as the Top of the Pops theme tune.... ner nerrr nerner neh 'Up 5 this week at number 12 it's....'
"This sounds ahead of its time". Yup. It took everyone (I mean hard blues-rock type bands) a good 2-3 years to catch up. Led Zeppelin said pretty much everything they needed to say on those first four albums, from 1969-1971. And yeah, not the most world-shaking lyrics, but they do work in context. Plus there's no denying Robert Plant was an amazing 'instrument' within the band.
Greatest rocknroll album
In the midst of my youthful enthusiasm for Led Zep, I lured my Uncle, a drummer who could read proper drum notation, into my bedroom and played him Moby Dick. He just shrugged, said nothing, and left the room. I was shattered.
i got PANNED out to the backyard when i listened to this one . . . shoo.
Robert Plant worshipped at the altar of Steve Marriott of The Small Faces. You need to listen to their "You Need Loving" and compare it to "Whole Lotta Love". And then Muddy Waters' version of Willie Dixon's "You Need Love".
Scrolling down..YES! I just posted the same comment with the link to Small Faces cover. Hopefully she checks it out.
Apart from a few seconds ("woman, you need it"), Plant's singing and phrasing in Whole Lotta Love is not much like Marriott.
Hey Caroline... 🙂👍👍 -70SomethingGuy
Thank You Caroline
I hope someday you continue with Led Zeppelin 3
"Heavy metal" is a complete misnomer. Led Zeppelin WERE NOT a "metal" band. Metal started in the very late 70s. Led Zeppelin were a group of musicians who came of age in the mid 60s. It's insane how wikipedia and other popular media still peddle this myth.
How is there anything remotely "metal" about this album?? The answer is: there isn't.
No, it's not. Just because you don't understand what the term actually means and how it started is irrelevant to its meaning. In the 1970s Deep Purple, Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin were known as "the unholy trinity of heavy metal" The bands emerging in the late 70's like Saxon and Iron Maiden were called the NEW wave of British Heavy Metal., because there were other metal bands who started earlier.
Just going to drop in a quick "Good Morning" while it's fresh.
The GOAT's,,,,,💥💥💥👍😎
Led 1 and 2 are very similar in style of blues and rock and a wee bit of psychedelia with a nice song or two i .e . You Time Is Gonna Come Thank You and LZ3 next
They were never considered metal
Well done. Great album. I find Zep I to be one of my least favorite albums. They kicked the rock n roll door open with it, but it's just not my favorite. If you listen to the lads, a common theme is not resting on their laurels, and striving to evolve musically. They got a lot of grief (see........sh*t) for Zep III. You'll see why. I like Zep III. Everything they did was musically superb within the standards of rock n roll. Sure JP got himself into the weeds sometimes, but when you let the spirit take you, it's going to occasionally toss you around a bit. According to lore, it was the song "Heartbreaker" that led Eddie VanHalen to develop "tapping". And we are grateful. Great post.
I think you will love #3!😊
Heartbreaker. You commented on it, would have been nice to hear it.
So Album 3 is a conscious departure from 1 and 2. They took a lot of flak for it. It’s more acoustic, more folky, more experimental. I really love album 3 except for the last song, and I’m a super fan. It’s ok to like what you like.
Waaay back in the 80's, I remember that a friend of mine convinced his girlfriend that Robert Plant never said baby in any song. It was funny at the time...
Stone cold classic.
LZ2 is just one of the great guitar albums ever. Next up LZ3 .... my favorite.
Robert plays the harmonica!
The Lemon Song is really a cover of the Chicago blues song Killing Floor by Howlin’ Wolf
Black Sabbath,Led Zeppelin,Deep Purple the holy triad of rock music🤘