The official site for Tim's legendary Zeppelin reviews
Led Zeppelin I
This is a great album ...no doubt. However, much of it was stolen. As I dug deep into these songs and learned how much Led Zepp stole it was a bit disappointing for me. Still, this was a landmark moment in rock n roll history that would set the stage for the band to spread its wings with Led Zeppelin II.
Good Times Bad Times
Good song about a woman that left Plant as a young lad. Cool bass line in this one, rip roaring guitar solos in this one by my favorite guitarist of all time. However, I don't think the tone on Page's solos are great in this song compared to guitar tones he had in other songs. For any other band this would be a great song but as compared against the Mighty Zepp catalogue this is more average than an Applebees dinner entrée.
Babe I'm Gonna Leave You
Would have been a 10 but I had to subtract a point for stealing this song from another artist. Maybe my favorite Zep song of all time (I said maybe , there are many more songs to review. We shall see). Intro is awesome and locks the listener in for a ride more exciting than a child's first time on Space Mountain. As part of his vision for Led Zeppelin Page deliberately wanted to have contrasts of light and dark soft and loud parts in his songs. That is very evident in this song. This song has a cool Spanish vibe to it as well as some awesome nylon string guitar work in it that is tasty AF. ( I wish page would have played nylon strings in more of his songs). There is a sense of urgency in this song that is great. Plants vocal performance in this one is very underrated on this song. His vocals alternate between soft and sweet to peeling your face off like a Viet Cong napalm bomb. John Bonham beats the skins like a 15-year-old going through puberty. Unfortunately, you all must know though that they stole this song. It was written by Anne Breden, then covered by Joan Baez then Zep did it. Also, descending bass line in the chorus of this song has been passed around. Brain Stew by Green Day, 25 or 6 to 4 by Chicago, While My Guitar Gently Weeps, White Stripes and the Dirty Ground all sound virtually the same.
You Shook Me
Like the keyboard and harp solos in this song . Underrated organ work by JPJ in this one. Learn to listen to JPJ throughout the Zep catalogue and I promise you will not be disappointed . Plant layed down some nice harmonica work in this one and over the years as you will see more of in later songs. Nice call and response between Plant and Page's guitar. This is a blues tune that they stole this from Willie Dixon though. Pretty straight forward standard blues tune. Again not bad at all but when compared to Zepp catalogue pretty average.
Dazed and Confused
This is a great song with is evil, eerie, haunting, scary vibe. This song is creepier than Joe Biden whispering in your wife's ear and stroking her hair on national TV (but that was just uncle Joe being Joe though). Imagine hearing this in 1969. There was nothing else like this.......... except for there was. They stole this from Jake Holmes (although his version was way tamed down). Seriously though Zep was putting out this brand of rock along with Black Sabbath who were just cutting their teeth about the same time. I love the meter change where they speed the song up, bass is great, drums are great. The riff is menacing as hell. Makes me want to cook up a bunch of meth, find a runaway and chop off her feet and stuff into green trash bags in my basement. Also, this would be a fantastic song to do acid to if I did acid. However, I would be terrified of having a bad trip on this song. Jimmy Page's use of the bow on guitar is really cool too. I have seen Led Zep tribute bands more times than I care to admit but I always enjoy the bow part of this song. However, it is rumored he stole this as well. Eddie Phillips of the Mark Four was doing this in 1963 4 years before Jimmy Page. All in all though an obvious Zep classic.
Your Time is Gonna Come
This song is Plant's diatribe against a filthy whore that spreads her legs all over town. Nice church style keyboard intro and good guitar and keyboard riffs. I like the way the acoustic guitar comes in on top of the famous Hammond organ that was very popular back in the day. Also the pedal steel guitar in the background creates a nice country vibe throughout the song. Many people think of Led Zeppelin as a hard rock and blues band which they were. However as you will see in Led Zeppelin III they lean on country and folk influences as well. I think that’s what makes Led Zeppelin and the Beatles so great is their songs have a huge amount of variety to them unlike let’s say an AC/DC (who I love ) but let’s face it, their songs all sound the same. This is a very underrated song in the Zep catalog.
Black Mountain Side
This song has a very cool middle eastern vibe to it. I would like to have this song playing in the background while in the Middle East bartering at a bazaar. You ever try offering a Middle Easterner more money than they’re asking for? Try and watch the confusion come across their face. I wish Page would have incorporated more middle eastern style axe work into his songs as it is an exotic and unique sound. Unfortunately Page stole this from Bert Jancsh (a British folk guy). This song is on the album as Black Mountain Side but it was typically paired and played in concert live as White Summer/Black Mountainside in which case that version I would give a 9.5 ranking and maybe even a 10. It is that good ..............check it out on youtube. The riff is played over and over but hey when a riff is that good you can do that and the listener still never gets bored with it.
Communication Breakdown
This was Zeps brief foray into a punk sound which was just coming into being on trend back then........great ripping solo in this song. Love the old school tone of his guitar in this. This is a straight forward, nothing fancy song that hits you quick and hard, kind of like how Jerry Falwell Jr. pool boy does Jerry's wife (anyone ever notice that is it always the Evangelicals that are the sex freaks (can you say bathroom stall right foot tap anyone )???
I Can't Quit You Babe
Again they stole this from Willie Dixon, it is a decent song and if any other band did it it may rate as an 8 but when compared to other songs in the Zep catalog it only musters a rating of 7. For a Zep song....... this song is about as boring as the "One Night in Paris " sex tape.
How Many More Times
This is a cool song.......great intro with the meshing of the drums, bass and guitar , great menacing guitar tone. The main riff punches you in the face over and over and it is addictive. This is another song that utilizes the slow, fast, soft/hard dynamic. Bonham justs pounds the drums here to produce a drum sound/tone bigger than Kim Kardashian's ass. The lyric "they call me the hunter" Plant stole though. I think the rest of the song is theirs though. Plant definitely took some liberties with lyrics as did Page with guitar riffs as we will see later many times.