Best Led Zeppelin Album?

Which one was the "metal" one again? That one.

Physical Graffiti. That first six-song disc is just a marathon of world-crushing awesomeness.

I always skip that and 'battle of evermore'.

Tbh they're so consistent

Is that because you have heard all the others too many times and are a bit sick of them?

None of them, I Don't Like Led Zeppelin 16
II 7

I just wish those people would post why they don't like them and join in the chat rather than just voting.
But I do think people should include the I Don't Like Option in polls. It's fair enough. But they could just explain what it is they don't like.

If I was to set up ILM all over again, knowing what I do now, one of the things I'd do would be to have a one-act-one-thread policy: a single 'classic or dud' thread for every band, regardless of fame or length of service, with new users encouraged to join in the everlasting conversation.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/6917449.stm

Page should sit in with Metallica in a new band called "The Establishment".

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44022000/jpg/_44022510_jimmpagetvgrab203.jpg

"The legitimate part is where fans trade music, but once you start packaging it up and you do not know what you are getting, you are breaking the rules legally and morally.

"There are some of these recordings where it is just a whirring and you cannot hear the music.

"If you have something like this that appears legitimate then it is just not right."

this seems like a perfectly legit position to me

hey man, if someone wants to uncover one, I'd gladly buy a recording of Gonzaga '68 which didn't sound like whirring!

Why did II do so badly?

I would have expected II to get a whole lotta love but evidently it got trampled under foot.

16 people need trampled on ;)

man this is some bullshit, PG ain't even top 4 for me

yup

I think these days I would lean toward Physical Graffiti but I is my usual favorite, and it too got the shaft.

is this another UK vs US canon example like on the Sabbath thread?

The last time I was at Strictly Discs I found a used copy of the remastered In Through the Out Door and bought it. My least favorite clerk was like "Really? Out of all their albums?" I said "IT IS AWESOME." Just like that. He meekly replied "most people go for one of the others" and I raised myself to my full eight feet, unfurled my black leathery wings, and intoned ""I AM NOT MOST PEOPLE""

he got the hint i think

― Dimension 5ive, Thursday, April 12, 2007 5:52 PM (1 year ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

haha love this guy

I kinda feel like CODA is my favorite.

CODA is underappreciated

i only got the complete works box set fairly recently so my opinion isn't fully formed but my rough pecking order is like:

Houses > IV > I > II > Presence > PF > Out Door > III

haven't really thought of where Coda would place, though. PF's got good stuff but the hitting percentage is way lower and i kinda feel like their songs are so epic in general that a double is just overkill.

Presence > PG > Houses > IV > III > Out Door > I > II

some days I would switch III and IV

i think when i was 14-15 i played IV & Houses so many times it's hard to hear them now. and yeah, I turn the station when stariway comes on. but tbf i think i always did. wnet through a phase when i was partial to III, but I'm pretty sure I went with PG in this poll.

the only ones i got bored with were I and III

III kills IV, I and II.

hmmm

III is tops for me, followed by houses then IV.

One of my early favourites I still listen to today....I used to vouch for I but now I'd go for Physical Graffiti or Houses.

it's Houses > IV > III etc for me. still have a hard time figuring out The Crunge.

I bought PG recently, first ever LZ purchase.

Hmm, yeah. OK..

Don't think I'll go further to be honest.

you are missing out

I'm all about III...I tend to like IV and Houses the most when they get closest to III's sound...

III is also one of the reasons I voted for 70 on the 70-71-72 poll...

I also really like the first album...it seems the most Amon Dull II-acid-rock-ish of them all, thx to Dazed and Confused and How Many More Times...

(though PG disc 2 could have it all over the first irt acid rock...been a long time since I gave it a spin)

I must admit I tend to listen to disc 1 more

I liked "In my time", "Trampled", "Kasgmr" and "Boogie w/ Stu"

The rest passed without.

I've been listening to PG for years and it just struck me today how fierce Page's guitar tone is on (the song) "Houses of the Holy." I want all guitar to sound like that all the time.

i generally love the acoustic stuff on the other early albums, but for some reason III just leaves me cold.

Physical Graffiti won, what else do you want? Justice was done. I would personally like to see Presence higher in the tally, but you can't have everything, I guess.

"Night Flight"

also "The Rover"

How the fuck did zoso or the first album not win this?? fuck ilx contrarianism.

the debut only got FIVE votes?? you gotta fucking be kidding me.

oh come on, i'm sure most of the people who voted for houses, IV and graffiti still REALLY LOVE the debut. they just don't think it's THE BEST.

yeah that album might be the biggest bridesmaid of them all

otm (x-post)

my order goes something like this:

1. Houses Of The Holy
2. IV
3. Physical Grafitti
4. II
5. In Through The Out Door
6. I
7. Presence
8. III
9. Coda

they really were just on some other shit with Houses....just these incredible tones and textures Page was putting together with all the layers of guitar, less blues-based than the earlier stuff but still real hard rocking. i don't even like "D'yer Maker" that much but when you put it on an album with "The Crunge" I kind of get the whole spirit of it, stretching out and incorporating different sounds.

How the fuck did zoso or the first album not win this?? fuck ilx contrarianism.

??? almost everybody in the normal world calls Houses of the Holy the best all-around LZ album, don't they?

I agree with Bee Ok

1. Houses Of The Holy
2. IV
3. Physical Graffiti
4. II

^ The only ones I've paid for. Also the order I would rank them based on which ones I listen to the most.

not sure what 'normal world' is in this case but it's always seemed to me that out of the more popular half of their catalog Zoso is the biggest and the default consensus pick.

One of the things I love about III is that "Out on the Tiles" and "Tangerine" never got played on the rock radio where I live(d), so when I finally got III, it was "WTF! these songs rock!"

I don't think any other band has such a high percentage of radio songs.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

almost everybody in the normal world calls Houses of the Holy the best all-around LZ album, don't they?

it seems like it's always II and IV as the undisputed , but Houses is it for me. and "Houses" is often my favorite song by them, and I don't know why they didn't put it on the album, because they seem like a band that reading the history would diminish it (opposite of The Who)

my theory about that has always been that it's a little bit similar to "Dancing Days" and so they decided only one could be on the album and had to ditch the would-be title track because "Dancing Days" is the shit

I don't think any other band has such a high percentage of radio songs.

Trying to work your way through "Physical Graffiti" is a chore. Maybe it's just the pressing I've got, but is it supposed to sound so muddy and indistinct?

Well, I'd describe the 2CD set I have as 'clear as a bell'.

Maybe that's it, I don't think I've ever been able to listen to that album all the way through, I always bale out at some point

Guys the fourth record is not called "Zoso," come on.

I can only cluster them into groups, even the least of these is Godhead

1. III/Physical Graffiti/Presence

2. IV/Houses of the Holy

3. I/II/In Through The Out Door

I wonder if people who voted for one of the first two records fall into a different, less enthusiastic category of fans than boosters of III or Physical Graffiti? By that I mean the kind of late-adapter (I've done this w/ other bands) who by default is listening for what he's been led to expect — in this case purplish, OTT blues ripoffs...?

Which is not to say they didn't continue to do that over the years but the influences were subsumed into their own sound, e.g. "In My Time of Dying" is more representative of "Led Zeppelin" to me than "You Shook Me"...

I wonder if people who voted for one of the first two records fall into a different, less enthusiastic category of fans than boosters of III or Physical Graffiti? By that I mean the kind of late-adapter (I've done this w/ other bands) who by default is listening for what he's been led to expect — in this case purplish, OTT blues ripoffs...?

No

Ha but if you never listened to PG all the way through you are basically my case study

I voted for Physical Graffiti because I wanted to

The last time I was at Strictly Discs I found a used copy of the remastered In Through the Out Door and bought it. My least favorite clerk was like "Really? Out of all their albums?" I said "IT IS AWESOME." Just like that. He meekly replied "most people go for one of the others" and I raised myself to my full eight feet, unfurled my black leathery wings, and intoned ""I AM NOT MOST PEOPLE""

he got the hint i think

― Dimension 5ive, Thursday, April 12, 2007 5:52 PM (1 year ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

d-damn...

I've been listening to them since I was 7 years old though! (xp)

Ok, but come on you are definitely in the "less enthusiastic fan" category for not even being able to stomach what many/most fans consider their magnum opus

Fair enough, I wouldn't particularly call myself a Led Zeppelin fan anyway

Only means you still have something left to live for.

Guys the fourth record is not called "Zoso," come on.

chill out, it's fun to call it that informally now and again.

I call it I-Vee

xpost...like i was kinda sleepy watching this Traveling Wilbury's documentary(!) on Sundance last week and realized I was unduly dismissive (MEAN, even) at the time when actually those songs are pretty good and I was listening for the wrong thing, and maybe I'll pick up that record now...

Or: I am old.

Runes

Hunchback With Bundle

That Which Cannot Be Named

Why does Bill Magill hate II so much?

Guys the fourth record is not called "Zoso," come on.

2. IV/Houses of the Holy

It's not called "IV" either.

isn't it untitled?

1. Physical Grafitti
2. Coda (complete box set vers)
3. III
4. II
5. Four
6. Houses of the Holy
7. Presence
8. In Through The Out Door
9. I
10. other records by other bands

True enough but "Zoso" is WAY OUTTA LINE...anyway it's not a word, it's a symbol representing Saturn... /end pre-pubescent pedantry

"Why does Bill Magill hate II so much?"

???????????????????? It's certainly not my favorite, but I don't know if "hate" describes my feelings for it.

I hate II with a passion rivalling my feelings for post-rehab Aerosmith.

― Bill Magill, Thursday, 12 April 2007 20:27 (1 year ago)

Nice work. I forgot I said that. I don't like it, I especially dislike the Lemon Song. Plus I have no use for Heartbreaker/LLM or Whole Lotta Love. I like What Is.. and Ramble On. That's about it.

I'm really not the biggest Zeppelin fan at all.

weird. i always saw II as more or less the blueprint for early-Sabbath. what could be more Bill than that?

I would have thought the same.

It never clicked with me. I don't know about II having much influence on Sabbath, I know they were gigging pretty hard by then and already had what they were going to put on wax, at least initally, pretty worked out. They were heavily influenced by a lot of the stuff on I.

II does kind of blow...Whole Lotta Love is pretty much summation of first album, and I do like What Is, Ramble On (dig that mellotron), I even like LLM & Heartbreaker: extending the quicksilver pop of Communication Breakdown, but just before it reached perfection on III with Immigrant Song and Out on the Tiles...still cmon...Lemon Song and Bring it on Home are as cumbersome and boring as anything on Daydream Nation, and Moby Dick is even worse...a terrible idea for an album track...II is definitely a classic example of the hastily patched-together follow-up album, but since Zep are pretty much Norse gods of teh rawk, it still rules at least 70% of the time...I'd prolley rank it just below Zoso/IV/untitled/stfu...

oh yeah Thank You kind of sucks...Planet Caravan shits upon it from the golden heavens...

Lemon Song and Bring it on Home are as cumbersome and boring as anything on Daydream Nation, and Moby Dick is even worse

don't really care what anyone says about DayDream Nation but COME ON!! The riffs in Mobdy Dick and Bring it are monstrous. the drums at the end of Moby DIck are tedious sure but I think the inclusion of that part was an attempt to recreate the Zeppelin live show on record (something that was not uncommon in 1969). "Bring It On Home" is like a lightning bolt explosion through an old jukejoint

i also love "Lemon Song" but I'm an ex-Page supernerd

the Lemon Song smokes. It's got some of the nicest John Paul Jones bass playing on record. I've always thought J.P.J. was the undercover magic in this band. This cut also has some choice Bonham playing as well - listen to his in-the-pocket syncopation off of Jones' giant bass riffs about a third of the way into the song...damn.

zeppelin ii is awesome. "bring it on home" and "heartbreaker" have two of their swaggeriest riffs

funny that this thread was started in april and is now revived in april, the same week i with no outside prompting whatsoever have been listening to houses of the holy and ii on the ipod. in springtime a man's fancy turns to zep?

anyway, i would've voted houses if i'd voted in this. what a set of songs, and the playing is so loose and good.

just coincidence, I didn't realise I started it a year ago.

Would've picked III, I think it's the only one of theirs where I enjoy every track. Picking a second place would be tricky though - HotH has six amazing songs and two throwaways, PG is a classic throw-it-all-in double-album, side one of IV suffers from radio/pub/rock club overkill but the second half is flawless.

I still haven't heard In Through The Out Door though. Or Coda or The Song Remains The Same...

ITTOD got completely gypped here...

Fool in the Rain! Carouselambra! Come on people.

disregard my last post...challopsy tripe...I'm sorry; I haven't listened to II in years...

I know there's backlash against "Stairway" for being the most played song in the history of ever, but there's no denying that it's just an astonishing piece of music.

― Jeff Treppel, Thursday, April 12, 2007 3:22 PM (3 years ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
yeah its coda is just completely fucking unbelievable & doesn't really get old

― Hans Rott

This.

Recently, I got admittedly worn copies of II and IV on the original plum Atlantic.

I sort of skimmed through II, wasn't struck.

IV does have the overplayed "Stairway", but I'd describe that album as 'pretty good after all"

.. but BOY was there ever a band who spawned so many imitators that did not share their influences...

I was talking with my dad last week and it got me thinking about how radio formats may radically influence perception/baggage around bands like Zeppelin, Pink Floyd etc. Basically my dad knew See Emily Play and Another Brick in the Wall (as they were the singles and played on radio), but was only dimly aware of the stuff in the middle - they may as well have broken up in 68 and reformed in 78. I'd never really grasped how big a deal bands like Floyd and Zeppelin not releasing singles in Britain was (although Zeppelin did release Immigrant Song/Hey Hey What Can I Do).

Not releasing singles meant opting out of an entire chunk of the industry - not being played on mainstream radio, not lip-synching on Top Of The Pops. In contrast, AOR stations meant that the average American listener was carpet-bombed with this stuff. When I started listening to Zeppelin, Floyd, Dazed and Confused soundtrack type stuff aged 18 (a decade ago), it was all genuinely fresh and exciting - there's no such thing as classic rock radio so I'd never heard any of it, and neither had most of my friends.

there's no such thing as classic rock radio so I'd never heard any of it, and neither had most of my friends

slowly, i began to understand wtf the britpress sees in Kings of Leon

what does "kings of leon" mean, anyway? it's a dumb name. dumb. then i read this on wiki:

Each member of the family group is known by his middle name (second given name) as opposed to his first given name

this band has a problem with dumb names and dumb name tricks.

sorry; i guess that's better said on a "kings of l(ol)eon" thread. this is a l(ol)ed zepplin thread.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41V0QZTGD3L.jpg

III or Grafitti. I hate II with a passion rivalling my feelings for post-rehab Aerosmith.
― Bill Magill, Thursday, April 12, 2007 3:27 PM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

WAIT A MINUTE WHUT

The aesthetics of the poll results please me

Presence was robbed.

there are lots of folks that genuinely hate Presence. I love it. "Achille's Last Stand" is definitely proto-metal

Don't get hating Presence at all. I can see not liking it as much as other LZ records, but if you like Zeppelin why would you deny yourself the majesty of Presence?

I think lots of folk tend to gravitate towards either early Zep or later Zep more, guessing most of the Presence haters are more early-Zep fans. Obviously that's oversimplifying a bit but I definitely started out as more of a late-Zep fiend before I developed more appreciation for blues-based rock. would still put Houses of the Holy up top.

"bring it on home" = best album closer

I am a very latecomer to Led Zeppelin albums and Presence is easily my favorite, has such a consistent sound/groove, doesn't have songs you've heard a million times on the radio, only one boring blues jam. Last week I thought "maybe I should listen to a non-Presence LZ album for a change" so I tried "In Through the Out Door" and after a few songs I just put Presence back on.

"Achilles Last Stand" is so amazing.

The top five results are basically correct in any order (any of the five could be my favorite depending on the day), with the first two and Presence trailing just a bit behind.

Man make sure you give "Carouselambra" some time, that song is great. In Through The Out Door definitely has its moments, but it isn't a great straight listen compared to Presence etc.

Sorry, that is in regards to In Through The Out Door generally.

man got to give it up to the wisdom of crowds, that's precisely the order i'd have them in

Fuck man, gonna listen to "Carouselambra" right now.

Yeah, reading/talking/thinking about Led Zeppelin pretty much always makes me want to listen to Led Zeppelin. See also: eating, walking, sleeping.

i admire presence but i don't often enjoy it. a lot of it seems gruelling. a lot of it seems joyless. if i never hear dinner for two (or whatever that really long cousin-of-since-i'v-been-loving-you that closes the album is called) again i'd be fine with that.

The intro to that song is great though, wish they had built a song around that.

oh yeah, definitely. quite a bait and switch, "oh shit, loving the sassy groove of this, oh wait oh no it's going slow did someone buy jimmy some junk?"

Hah yeah, pretty much.

I like all periods of Zeppelin but there is something about the post-PG stuff that sounds somehow harsher and colder, more metallic. To me you can audibly hear Page switching over to a different engineering approach, and it's not just in the synthesizers. I almost want to say its like the difference between analog and digital, although I know that is probably not entirely correct. Not saying it's worse either, just different.

New studios? Prescence was done in Germany, and ITTOD was done at ABBA's place in Sweden.

page also switched into a heroin addict. word is he was falling down zoned while they recorded 'presence' and by 'in through the out door' dude was toast and could barely play

there are lots of folks that genuinely hate Presence. I love it. "Achille's Last Stand" is definitely proto-metal

― Neanderthal, Thursday, June 5, 2014 3:48 PM (47 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Proto-metal? In 1976?

You could call something that came out in 1966 "proto-metal". But I think the genre had been pretty much established by '76.

yeah last two albums are kinda plant and jpj taking the reins. maybe i just haven't encountered it or it's just due to the relative lack of work from page and plant going in a different direction but i've never seen much speculation on what the next zep album would've sounded like.

Maybe here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_r9n1FRh-o

Ugg, sorry for that formatting.

Bill there are still albums deemed "protometal" released in 2014

Page said he and Bonham had discussed making a heavier more riff-based record after ITTOD.

xp

Page also started using Fender guitars more often than Gibsons after PG for whatever reason

Gibsons weighed more than he did at that point.

i used to think of I as an inferior test run for II but i think i like i better now

always been a presence guy

haha that's an awesome fan-trolling tracklist of that bootleg grandavis posted :)

Presence has 'Achilles Last Stand' and 'Nobody's Fault But Mine', which together make up an incredible 16-17 minutes worth of music, but I definitely think the rest of the album falls short of the standards they'd set by that point. I can certainly understand why folks would have considered to be somewhat of a disappointment/let down after Physical Graffiti.

Also, absolutely agree on 'Carouselambra' being a great track. My highlight of In Through The Out Door by miles.

As for what I would have voted for in this poll? Fuck knows. Right now I'm thinking Physical Graffiti but in a few months time I'd probably have changed my mind.

"No Quarter" is such a complete miracle of a song / recording

Presence

presence

My beef with Presence is that Achilles towers over the rest of the album. If there had been one more go-for-broke track like it I think it would rank higher. That said, Achilles Last Stand rules.

They should've presented Teo Macero with "Achilles" and "Nobody's Fault But Mine" and said, "Now edit these into our In A Silent Way."

Nahhhh. There are some rad songs on the album, but Presence is def lower-tier Zep. You can argue about the order within the sets, but the two sets of four albums in the poll results are in the correct order.

And Led Zeppelin are easily one of my all-time top three, so I say this with love.

I'd put Presence just below the Big Four.

ugh i like the zed records with names more than any of the big four

presence is so muscular, everyone is so locked into each other, i just love hearing them play like that. it's the same feeling i get from the 1975-era tracks on physical graffiti but more

By 'Big Four', I mean the four which are correctly-placed at the top of the poll results.

Presence sounds to me exactly like what it is: a band following up their best album while one of their members is convalescing in a wheelchair. It's still great but the energy feels a little off.

By 'Big Four', I mean the four which are correctly-placed at the top of the poll results.

oh lol sorry, well i hella like presence and ittod better than iv and iii

and i think plant's performance on presence is tremendous given the circumstances, he invests a lot in the songs regardless

Presence is an example of biography influencing reception. I don't have beef with anyone who calls it undistinguished but I couldn't tell this from what kind of chair Plant's sitting in.

I didn't know the biographical details behind its recording until nearly twenty years of listening to it pretty regularly. The background just helped make sense of why it felt a little off.

alfred otm

it's good that I can't make out Plant's lyrics tbh

Presence has two tracks on it which are as brilliant as anything they ever did: 'Achilles Last Stand' and 'Nobody's Fault But Mine', which are automatic inclusions on any Led Zeppelin playlist I make without even having to think about it. As an album, though, it's nowhere near as consistent in terms of quality as the albums that came before it, IMO, and that's why I could never rank it as Zeppelin's best album. I do think it's better than In Through The Out Door, though.

Today I'd agree. Add "Hots On for Nowhere" though.

"for your life" rules, though

xxpost:

I mean, I'm all up for reappraisal of what are generally perceived to be "lesser moments" in a bands' discography. In the case of Presence though, the general assessment has always been completely OTM, and will always be so.

it's good that I can't make out Plant's lyrics tbh

Generally speaking, pretty OTM.

Just imagine how many "does anyone remember laughter?"-s there are buried within any of his more inscrutable vocals.

Pictures at Eleven > ITTOD overall.

Presence all rules except for "Tea For One"

i love that weird effect they put on on Plant when he says "tryaaan fry iiit" or whatever he says

actually tea for one is p good too

this album rules

"tea for one" is the best

better than "Since I've Been Loving You."

yeah i would agree with that
tho the lugubrious slow blues burner is my least fav zeppelin mode

do ya wanna you wanna co-co-co-co-co-caaaaiiiine?

lol I kind of enjoy just how far Plant is willing to take it on that song. If he had toned it down it would have failed much harder.

Plus I dig the chord progression that hits every time he says "worried mind"

"Tea For One" is the Presence song on which I can believe something went wrong in Plant's life, based on his performance.

Presence really falls off for me after Nobody's Fault -- if not for the last few tracks it could compete for my favorite.

I used to loathe the bluesy 36 bpm Zep as a teen; now it's like, please give me an album's worth of Tea For One.

same. gimme

Also Bonzo kills it on Since I've Been Lovin You

tho the lugubrious slow blues burner is my least fav zeppelin mode

best one of these has got to be "Baby Come On Home"

Presence really falls off for me after Nobody's Fault

wha--??!

I mean, I can see "Tea For One," but "Hots On For Nowhere" is just the BEST

Did we poll Presence? I can't find it in the search.

Apparently not! I thought ILM had polled every album ever released by this point.

That'll be a tough poll but can't see not voting for ALS

Listening to ALS again after years, I'd never noticed how much JPJ drives that galloping groove. His muted bass chug on the up beats is killer.

Say what you will about that Pitchfork review of Presence, but that part about this album being a Page / Bonham album and ITTOD being a Plant / JPJ album is pretty spot on (if somewhat reductive). Never really thought of these albums in those terms, but it makes perfect sense.

I'd rank them as:

III
Houses of the Holy
IV
Physical Graffiti
I
II

Havent heard them:
Presence
In Through The Out Door

IV
Physical Graffiti (Disc 1)
II
I
Houses of the Holy (would be 2-3 spots higher if not for "The Crunge" and "D'yer Maker")
Physical Graffiti (Disc 2)
Presence
In Through the Out Door

With HOTH, it's like Led Zeppelin were saying, "Yeah, here you go, an album so great that even 'The Crunge and 'D'yer Maker' can't ruin it." It's definitely #4 of the Big Four, though, for that reason.

For shame, I primarily listen to I-IV and Houses of the Holy. Haven't much heard Physical Graffiti all that much and I am a worse person for it. Should get to fixing that ASAP.

IV
Physical Graffiti
III
Presence
I
Houses of the Holy
II
In Through the Out Door
Coda

Houses in my favorite and imo their best-SOUNDING album in part because those goofy slight genre exercises somehow fit within it, and further demonstrate the sonic range of Page and the rhythm section

Mine too. I don't even own the first album.

that part about this album being a Page / Bonham album and ITTOD being a Plant / JPJ album is pretty spot on (if somewhat reductive)

Def. been a part of LZ lore for some time. Other guys, esp. Page, apparently hated "All My Love," which if you think about it is the most JPJ-side of Zep plus the most personal of Plant lyrics. Interesting sidenote: Bonham, Plant's bestie from back in the day and his perhaps unlikely closest compatriot in LZ, is the only member of LZ who attended the funeral of Plant's son.

further demonstrate the sonic range of Page and the rhythm section

Irony here being that the rhythm section absolutely hated "D'yer Mak'er."

IV
II
Houses of the Holy
Physical Graffiti
I
Coda
In Through the Out Door
Presence

I never cared much for 'All My Love' but it was hard to feel much antipathy towards it once I discovered why it was written.

Are people excluding III from their rankings unintentionally or is there some weird 'acoustic Zep is BULLSHIT!' backlash I'm unaware of?

Whoops I meant to include III after Physical Graffiti.

IV
II
Houses of the Holy
Physical Graffiti
I
Coda
In Through the Out Door
Presence

― Darin, Friday, August 7, 2015 6:23 PM (9 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

heresy

darin coming in w/some hot takes on the zep like woah

Other guys, esp. Page, apparently hated "All My Love," which if you think about it is the most JPJ-side of Zep plus the most personal of Plant lyrics.

I wonder how much of this was Page just not being into the song, and how much was resentment of JPJ and (especially) Plant having a hit that he didn't have a hand in writing. The Barney Hoskyns oral history has more than a few instances of Page's acute jealousy of any adulation Plant got (and vice-versa).

I'm not sure I could really rank these albums. First song, first album pretty much epitomizes the band and its greatness. The rest is just riding the same high, more or less. But "Houses of the Holy" may be the best "yeah, we're that good" follow-up to a slam dunk, a really huge exclamation point stuck at the end of a particularly awesome sentence.

Reading that oral history really underscored both how huge and how hated Led Zeppelin was, not least for being huge. They really had few friends or peers, in every sense.

before the book, i didn't know that bonzo and tony iommi were that tight and also that zep was tight with fairport convention (which actually makes sense on both counts)

Yeah, doesn't the book hint that someone, somewhere has a recording of LZ and Fairport jamming one night at the Roxy?

Presence
PG

IV, III & HOTH roughly on the same level

I
ITTOD

Coda and II at the bottom

Here's a Zep question I've never seen answered. Page could be sloppy live, but his albums are exceptionally precise ... except the solo on "Heartbreaker," which is a total mess. What's up with that? How can the guy who could pull off the solo on "Good Times, Bad Times" (again, first song first album!) be that messy, and why didn't he just do another take? Is it supposed to be a joke?

I disagree. Page is sloppy as eff throughout their discography. I mean, he's amazing and does some astoundingly intricate stuff, but he's certainly no perfectionist. Part of the charm.

And I would imagine that the eighth letter of the alphabet is a fairly concise explanation for much of his sloppiness.

I think the only Page misstep that I have trouble with is when the solo in 'Tangerine' starts to get a little sour towards the end.

Huh, I've never noticed anything remotely as egregious as the Heartbreaker solo.

It was never anything terribly egregious, but he was often fairly unpolished.

darin coming in w/some hot takes on the zep like woah

― Ma$e-en-scène (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Friday, August 7, 2015 11:37 AM (42 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

next time I'll lie and pretend Presence is awesome. that's how things work around here, right?

dude i was just saying that's an interesting list, no biggie chill

but yes presence is awesome pls report to your local re-education camp

ha ha sorry...

reporting to re-education camp asap

Anyone else think Royal Orleans sounds like the Minutemen?

I thought that the first time I heard Royal Orleans, and stuck it on a mixtape of angular punk songs right away to amuse my young self.

I had no idea "All My Love" was about his son until a couple years ago and it doesn't matter -- the lyrics are generic love pap.

it's hard for me to come up with a zeppelin lyric I hold in much esteem, and it doesn't really matter, the words are mostly just vehicles for Plant's vocalizations

walking in the park just the other day doo do dooo

WHHHADYA...WHHHADYA THINK I SAW-AW?!

Yeah I can't hate a lyric like that, I mean it could have been a Fogelberg lyric too but when plant's singing it sounds incred

I think of Plant the way I think of Beefheart and Tom Waits (and probably many others): incredible singer, but sometimes I wish they'd shut up so I could better hear the awesome band.

Would pay good money for instrumental versions of Rain Dogs, Presence, etc. (The Trout Mask instrumentals on that Beefheart box set a few years ago was a revelation).

Yeah, doesn't the book hint that someone, somewhere has a recording of LZ and Fairport jamming one night at the Roxy?

― Josh in Chicago, Friday, August 7, 2015 1:44 PM (3 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Joe Boyd mentioned this in the liner notes to House Full, going on to something to the effect that everyone was drunk and it was awful.

plant's commitment to hobbit core is a major secret charm of zeppelin

i'd rank the studio albums as follows

PHYSICAL GRAFFITI
IV
II
HOUSES OF THE HOLY
I
III
IN THROUGH THE OUT DOOR
PRESENCE

xpost

re people excluding III from their rankings unintentionally or is there some weird 'acoustic Zep is BULLSHIT!' backlash I'm unaware of?

― Off Pudding (Old Lunch)

HOTH
III
IV
PG
Presence
ITTOD

btw I've done this on his dedicated thread but solo Plant is responsible for some awesome, rewarding music -- the most consistently interesting boomer rocker imo. No embarrassing moments after "Sea of Love."

I forgot III. Amended ranking:

IV
Physical Graffiti (Disc 1)
II
I
III
Houses of the Holy (would be 2-3 spots higher if not for "The Crunge" and "D'yer Maker")
Physical Graffiti (Disc 2)
Presence
In Through the Out Door

THE SONG REMAAAAAAINS THE SAAAME SAIIIIM SAAAAYYYYMMM SAAAAIIYYMMMMM SAEEEEEMMM SAIIYYYEMMM SAIIIEEEEMEMM!! oooOOOOOoooOOOOoooOOOOOOOOoooo!

Physical Graffiti
IV
II
Houses Of The Holy
III
I
Presence
In Through The Out Door

IV
physical graffiti
houses of the holy
II
III
I
in through the out door
presence

love them all, probably most likely to listen to how the west was won if i listen to zeppelin nowadays

I don't even think Zep's lyrics are much worse than a ton of 70s bands, like Yes or Wishbone Ash or any buncha moustache farmers in flares

Led Zeppelin lyrics are not great, in keeping with the tradition of 90% of rock music.

love zep's lyrics in general, real nice mix of mysticism and wit

I can deal with pretty much everything, but the Mordor/Gollum line is kind of a problem in an otherwise fine song. Other than that, the lyrics are fine...

Also, I'm realizing on relistening that I must have played In Through The Out Door more than any of their other full albums as a kid. I was pretty surprised to find that I knew the whole thing by heart. That and Houses of the Holy are the only albums I'd ever played as albums. The rest I knew from the radio. Interesting thing about growing up during the radio era is that you often didn't actually buy the albums that were on the radio all the time...because they were on the radio all the time.

I don't pay attention to lyrics. Like, ever.

BTW, the 2007 expanded remaster of The Song Remains The Same is a revelation. Yes, "Dazed and Confused" is still boring. But the bonus tracks they added really do make it flow much better, and the sound is amazing. I listen to it almost as often as the studio albums.

I've long suspected that Page's guitar soloing is rooted in his hired gun studio background. Come in, go splat on a track, get out. I think I like the later Zeppelin albums more because I just like that sound for them more. Jimmy Page producer >>>> Jimmy Page guitarist.

In Through The Out Door was the first albums I ever bought - I suppose it's the only time I ever bought a *new* Zeppelin album. Have always wondered how they would have fared had Bonham lived and kept things from being just a mash of Firm riffs and The Principle of Moments spaciness. I suppose that isn't bad...

Have always wondered how they would have fared had Bonham lived and kept things from being just a mash of Firm riffs and The Principle of Moments spaciness.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKlu3A3BBgE

I'd probably go:

III
Physical Graffiti
I
IV
HOTH
II
Presence
ITTOD

IV
1
PG
Houses

The only things I feel certain about though are that ITTOD is my least favorite, that III or Physical Graffiti should be at the top, and that I like I more than II. Otherwise the order could shuffle a bit.

Houses was a record I listened to a lot when I was 13/14, learning to play the guitar, and developing my first crushes, and I have very strong memories of listening to the Rain Song a lot one summer on my walkman, thinking about my crush, and just kind of generally being into the feeling of having a crush.

The moment when you first learn how to play The Rain Song opening on a 12-string is pretty singular.

I've long suspected that Page's guitar soloing is rooted in his hired gun studio background. Come in, go splat on a track, get out. I think I like the later Zeppelin albums more because I just like that sound for them more. Jimmy Page producer >>>> Jimmy Page guitarist.

― Elvis Telecom, Saturday, August 8, 2015 1:35 AM (45 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Weren't most of the guitar overdubs on Presence done in one continuous session, with Page staying up all night fuelled by goodness knows what?

The moment when you first learn how to play The Rain Song opening on a 12-string is pretty singular.

― Elvis Telecom, Friday, August 7, 2015 9:23 PM (25 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Totally, I spent so much frustrated time trying to figure out how to get that opening strum on a six-string in standard tuning. "I don't get it, it just sounds like a G chord but it doesn't sound like my G chord!"

Weren't most of the guitar overdubs on Presence done in one continuous session, with Page staying up all night fuelled by goodness knows what?

Supposedly...

Page had simply stayed awake for two days straight to perform all of the guitar overdubs. As he later explained:

I just had to lay it down, more or less: first track... second track – you know, really fast working on that. And all the guitar overdubs on Presence were done in one night. But I didn't think I would be able to do it in one night, I thought I'd have to do it across maybe three different nights to get the individual sections. Everything sort of crystallised and you'll notice everything was just pouring out. I was very happy with the guitar playing on that whole album, you know as far as the maturity of playing goes.

--- In an interview he gave to Guitar World magazine in 1998, Page stated that he worked an average of 18 to 20 hours per day during the mixing period at Musicland Studios:

After the band finished recording all its parts, me and the engineer, Keith Harwood, just started mixing until we would fall asleep. Then whoever would wake up first would call the other and we'd go back in and continue to work until we passed out again.

BTW, the 2007 expanded remaster of The Song Remains The Same is a revelation. Yes, "Dazed and Confused" is still boring. But the bonus tracks they added really do make it flow much better, and the sound is amazing. I listen to it almost as often as the studio albums.

Agreed, though I don't even think Dazed is boring (Moby Dick is still unlistenable though). The version of Rain Song is sublime.

PG
III
HOTH
II
IV
I
Presence
ITTOD
.
.
.
.
.
.
Coda

also, when my friends and I were discovering Zep in our teens, the shittiness of the solo on Heartbreaker was a regular topic of discussion. I kind of like it now, though, after years of listening to other musicians fucking with the concept of "good" musicianship.

PG
I
HOTH
IV
III
II
Presence
ITTOD

I'd rank them as:

III
Houses of the Holy
IV
Physical Graffiti
I
II

Havent heard them:
Presence
In Through The Out Door

― ✖✖✖ (Moka), Friday, 7 August 2015 17:06 (3 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I'd agree with this - I have heard Presence and ITTOD and would put them both at the bottom.

Although really it's a case of three groupings - the first three are classic, the next three are great and the bottom two just good.

I tried listening to HOTH for the first time the other day and was trying to enjoy it but really I was just waiting for No Quarter to come on. That's the problem with discovering a band through a best-of compilation, the individual albums get dissipated, as in there are always 2-3 songs you know really well spread out between songs you've never heard. Also makes the chronology and the stylistic shifts therein sound less obvious.

I know exactly what you mean although Zep weren't like that for me - before I started working my way through the albums I knew maybe five of their songs, so it was interesting to find out which were the favourites/radio hits off each record coming at them that way.

I > II > IV > Houses > III > In Through the Out Door > Presence > PG > Coda

I first learned Zep through the Remasters comps of 1990 or so, and so exploring the parent albums (which I nabbed off my dad's girlfriend - still have her copies of I, HOTH, PG and TSRTS) was like rehydrating astronaut food.

Physical Graffiti
In Through the Out Door
III
Houses of the Holy
Presence
IV
II
Coda
I

xp that's exactly my experience with now trying to listen to the individual records. I listened to Remasters SO MUCH as a sixth-former, but never the albums.

I'm trying to understand the perspective of those among you who rate ITTOD so highly. I've listened to all of the albums dozens of times, but I'm certain that I've listened to IV through PG >100 times and never ever get tired of them, whereas getting through ITTOD is sometimes a chore. I'll grant you that it starts very strong, but it's a pretty limp noodle overall in comparison to their catalogue as a whole.

I put ITTOD on for my walk to work this morning and enjoyed it but some of the songs really do outstay their welcome, In the Evening especially.

Yeah that's one of the most draggy Zep songs, sad not in an expressive way but in a not-feeling-this-anymore way. It does have that neat effect on the intro to the guitar solo though.

xpost:

I listened to it today and I don't plan on listening to it again. Ever.

If ITTOD was on fire, I'd rush in and save 'South Bound Suarez' and console myself with the loss of the rest.

ITtOD is their only bad studio album imo. I'd rather listen to solo Plant.

xp "All of My Love" is my keeper.

If In Through The Out Door was on fire, I'd be out the fire exit and be all like "see ya!"

oh cool no one can agree on which children, er, tracks, to save

And no one's mentioned goddamn "Fool in the Rain."

^I'd save the drum track and pour gasoline on the rest.

love In The Evening and All of my Love and Carouselambra, but sort of feel like saying "The John Bonham drum out-takes bootleg is better than the actual album" is only partly challops

The thing is...ITTOD would probably be a fine album for a different band. It's just lackluster as a Led Zeppelin album. By that measure, 'Fool In The Rain' is perfectly pleasant, but not really what I'm looking for when I turn to the Zep.

Check the date on this...1000 Led Zeppelin fans soon to be majorly bummed out:
http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1980/09/25/page/55/article/ad-for-led-zeppelin-lures-1-000

man

Wow. I complain about paying ticket fees, and there were people flying in from Denver just to get the order form for the tickets!!

So based on this drum cover (which seems insanely accurate), there's more kick going on than I thought, however none in the "One" part
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryxZFqWKQdo

What do you mean by the "One" part?

Okay, just watched.... Maybe the 5/4 part for the guitar solos? Not the first time nor the second, but the third/fourth times he accents the first 4 of the 5/4 on the bass drum (while doing metronomic modulation of the eighth notes to triplets... pretty amazing composition).

It's always been a pleasure for me to listen to Bonham's drumming on 'Achilles' - there's a couple of moments in there, especially one particular drum fill, which make me go "fucking hell!" even after listening to it countless times. It's a very exciting track, particularly the rhythm section. The opposite for me would be something like 'Kashmir' - I can completely understand why Bonham is holding the groove down and keeping it simple, but in terms of drum work I find it on the duller end of what Bonham was able to pull off.

(xpost) ^^see 6m43s & 8m20s

The 2m13s fill is the one that always kills me.

2:26 is the one that gets me, but that one too

I can't believe I'm considering buying the reissues...anyone here batted for the cycle (vinyl, cd, box set, and reissues)?

fp'd everyone who bothered ranking coda

killfiled ez snappin for ranking it ahead of something else

I'd like to know whether or not the HotH reissue is 'ok' now ... My buddy's copy had some weird clipping on crunge & ocean...

I can't believe I'm considering buying the reissues...anyone here batted for the cycle (vinyl, cd, box set, and reissues)?

― Iago Galdston, Monday, August 10, 2015 6:43 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Kinda thinkin' the same thing. I'd totally missed that any reissued had been issued until the sudden rash of LZ thread revives. I only actually own cassette copies of all the albums. I've hardly ever gone in for the "deluxe two-disc remaster with unreleased demos and alternate tracks!" thing but I think I could make an exception in this case.

I'd like to know whether or not the HotH reissue is 'ok' now ... My buddy's copy had some weird clipping on crunge & ocean...

― BlackIronPrison, Monday, August 10, 2015 8:30 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

There's a 32-page thread on the Steve Hoffman forums that may answer that:
http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/distortion-on-led-zeppelin-houses-of-the-holy-vinyl-remaster.389892/

would have voted HotH

old lunch, the remasters on the reissues i've got thus far sound ace, better than previous CDs. the bonus tracks are mostly zzzz though and definitely feel like a ripoff (though great to hear the India tracks finally in good Fi on the Coda reissue)

The live show paired w/I SMOKES.

I've said this before, but I really like how they've structured the tiers of this reissue series. Just want the album? You're covered at lower than before price. Want the extras? There's two/three-disc editions that are cheaper than you'd think they'd be. Want to go all out? There's a box with everything on CD and Vinyl plus a big book and related bric-a-brac if you're into that kind of thing, but luckily for those that aren't no annoyingly exclusive audio content (Dylan, Stones, Floyd--I'm looking scornfully in your direction!).

luckily for those that aren't no annoyingly exclusive audio content

true. bummed though i am that the extras (beyond the aforementioned live set) aren't stellar, i think the tiering of the formats is really good and NOT ripoff-minded.

Interesting; of the latest batch of reissues, ITTOD is the one that went Top 10 in the US (#9).

I got really lucky and found all of the deluxe 2/3 CDs in a Target priced at $9.99 each last time I was in the States (I wasn't sure if that was an accident or a nice bargain) but I still need the last three!

Interesting; of the latest batch of reissues, ITTOD is the one that went Top 10 in the US (#9).

The original release could've been the final US #1 of the 70s had it not been for .... The Long Run by Eagles.

Well, yeah.

I have a friend that spent the night for those Tribune tix order forms via that edition. He loved reading the article posted above and reminiscing about that night. Thanks to whomever posted that.

You're welcome! I can't imagine how crushing it must've been for the people who went to those lengths just for, as Fastnbulbous pointed out, the order form for tickets -- not even the actual tickets themselves -- to hear about Bonham's passing the next day.

The wikipedia page on what would've been the 1980 US tour has some interesting info, including the planned logo:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/fa/Led_Zeppelin_-_The_1980s%2C_Part_One_Logo.jpg

Here's the ad/order form:
http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1980/09/25/page/33

(xpost) Cool logo! Looks kind of Peter Saville-ish.

Can imagine people reading that order form thinking "15 bucks? Screw that!"

The apostrophe in The 1980s is unfortunate.

Yeah, people putting the apostrophe in the wrong place when writing about decades (it's the '60s, not the 60's) drives me nuts.

Can imagine people reading that order form thinking "15 bucks? Screw that!"

What did arena show tickets usually go for in 1980?

Yeah, people putting the apostrophe in the wrong place when writing about decades (it's the '60s, not the 60's) drives me nuts.

― the top man in the language department (誤訳侮辱), Tuesday, August 11, 2015 3:29 PM (25 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

This! I've had editors backwards correct this for me in the past >:-(

What did arena show tickets usually go for in 1980?

I've seen posted photos of concert tickets from the early '80s in the $5-10 range. Not that $15 would have been so outrageous — probably at the higher end of what people were paying — though hilariously paltry compared to the $350 or whatever U2 etc. are charging these days.

The Who in 1982 was somewhere around $15 iirc.

$15 in 1980 would be around $44 today. I don't think there's anyone you can see now on the arena/stadium circuit for $44.

Yeah this concept of arena shows as luxury product is a recent phenomenon, and one I still find completely baffling.

blame these two:

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2013/02/12/arts/12artsbeat-eagles/12artsbeat-eagles-blog480.jpg

(I'm not kidding; they kicked off this phenomenon in '94)

Yep, first ones to charge a then-unheard-of $100 for tickets.

"This year there has been a very dramatic increase in the ticket price for premium acts," says Bill Elson, a senior vice president at the International Creative Management talent agency in New York and Los Angeles. "The Floyd tickets are a big jump from the 1989 Rolling Stones tour, which was going for $35, and the 1989 Paul McCartney tour, which had a top ticket price of $28.50. The cost of gasoline hasn't gone up as rapidly as the price of a top concert ticket."

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1994-05-08/entertainment/9405080046_1_ticket-woodstock-las-vegas

think the headline should have had a "Well, yeah"

"I saw the Eagles with Steve Miller and Pablo Cruise in Comiskey Park for only $12 in the '70s," said Scott Scrivner, 32, of Chicago, who bought $88 seats for the Eagles' World show. "I fell off a ladder when I heard the price. I thought for that kind of money, they might start singing `Evergreen' or `The Way We Were.' "

Pending the resurrection of Bonham, I can't imagine ever spending $100 to see a show. Hell, it's been so long since I went to a big-c Concert that I can't imagine spending more than $30-40, period.

The real question is why didn't concert promoters think of raising prices sooner. Rock music had existed for forty years before somebody thought to themselves "Hey ya know what? We could make some serious dough if we just charged more money for tickets."

I couldn't find a thread and don't have time to do make a poll, but what's the best book on Zep that focuses more on the music rather than just the rockstar bullshit? I mean, that's a big part of their story and you can't escape it totally, but you know what I mean.

I haven't read this one, but it sounds interesting.

Yeah that's in my list. I wonder if it's organized along a narrative timeline like a lot of the oral histories, or just a bunch of interviews slapped together?

The real question is why didn't concert promoters think of raising prices sooner. Rock music had existed for forty years before somebody thought to themselves "Hey ya know what? We could make some serious dough if we just charged more money for tickets."

― Mr. Snrub, Tuesday, August 11, 2015 11:52 AM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Well, it's kind of counterintuitive. I mean arena rock shows are at their core mass populist spectacles, so it made sense that tickets would have been in the reach of the common man. But there have also been huge shifts in the demographics of rock audiences -- in 1975 there probably weren't enough highly-paid professionals (or aging, financially established folks) who were also rock fans to fill arenas in every city at high ticket prices.

But I think people are out of their goddamn minds to pay over 100 (let alone 200, 300, or 400) for an arena show where the band will be tiny and the sound will be boomy. I've never paid anything like that for a concert, and if I were going to, I'd want a smaller venue.

Yeah, like my living room.

I paid $135 to see Prince play a club that holds approx 500 people; our vantage point was a balcony about 20 yards from the stage

this was the second-best concert experience of my life (the best was Colin Stetson at Eaux Claires this year)

My first concert other than Chicago at age 4 was the Who/Clash at Shea Stadium--was in the last few rows with my parents, guess I was 12 or so...sorry to add to derailing of the thread. I thought the crowd was a little scary!

I saw the 1982 Who/Clash show at the LA Coliseum and I believe it was $18. I think the first time I spent > $50 for a ticket was to see the Stones on the Steel Wheels tour - also at the Coliseum and with Guns N Roses opening.

you couldn't pay me to see a stadium show

BTW, Erik Davis' 33 1/3 book on Zeppelin IV is my fave book on LZ. Even though it's not about LZ at all.

Love that book

LOVE that book. it gets pretty ridiculous at times but deliberately and in a way befitting its subject.

I paid $135 to see Prince play a club that holds approx 500 people; our vantage point was a balcony about 20 yards from the stage

this was the second-best concert experience of my life (the best was Colin Stetson at Eaux Claires this year)

most i've ever paid was $55 to see prince from the rafters in an arena like 12 years ago. easily the most worthwhile $55 i've ever spent

I think the most I ever spent for tix was for a NYE show, and it was Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, and it was still only something like $60 or maybe $80 per person, and the venue turned out to be pretty enjoyable even though it was some weird underground level theater near times square, and I only spent that much out of feeling bad at never doing anything spendy on NYE, and we had a blast.

And the last time I saw a stadium concert was probably the Tibetan Freedom Concert when I was in college, and the sound was so atrociously bad and the bass actually made me feel ill at some points.

a thread: the priciest / most expensive concert ticket you've bought

How did II not win this? I always thought Four Sticks bogged down IV and if I never hear Rock & Roll again it'll be too soon.

'Four Sticks' is fucking awesome, though!

III

Houses of the Holy is my favorite -their most diverse. After that I'd go I then III.

Presence

I would recommend either I or IV for Zep newbies, if you don't like them you won't like anything they've done. But Presence and Out Door have been my personal favorites lately. The drums!!

Yeah IV is a great starting point - it covers a lot of ground considering it's only eight tracks. I think HotH is the best though.

1. Physical Graffiti
2. II
3. IV
4. III
5. Houses of the Holy
6. I
7. Presence
8. In Through the Out Door

im w Sparkle Motion, it's HOH/III for me

Presence > PG > Houses > IV > III > Out Door > I > II

some days I would switch III and IV

― WmC, Monday, April 6, 2009 3:40 PM (seven years ago)

Revised to Presence > PG > IV > III > Houses > Out Door > I > II

PG then III then HOTH then II then I then IV then Presence then ITTOD then CODA

III is the one that got me into Zep because it seemed different to their other work

(III = IV = Houses = PG) > (II = Presence = I) > Out Door

III has "Immigrant Song" and "Since I've Been Loving You" as well as "Friends". that's a fuckin monster trio there.

I sometimes think my favourite III jam might be Hats Off To Harper

I would (in fact I did) keep Houses of the Holy, and Physical Grafitti. The rest I don't bother with.

Love them all but adore III.

Yes even. Oda.

Damned iPhone.

Yes, even Coda.

physical graffiti > presence > houses of the holy > in through the out door > the rest

III has become my favorite. It and HOTH.

Houses of the Holy was my original favorite, so many jangling geetar riffs.

Love the crispness of the drums, the excitement, and the middle section of "we're gonna groove." Favorite b side, besting the formula of "traveling riverside" and ultimate banality of "hey hey what can I do"

is there a studio version of that? only one i've heard is from the live DVD @ albert hall

Yes on Coda

the albert hall version is the one on Coda…only difference is vocal and guitar overdubs…

it's been a long time since the book of love

making vows, just can't work right
OH YEAH
open yours arms [Xhowever many time motherfuckers], let me love come running in, oh yeah
it's been a long time

who isn't robert plant?

it's a super close race butI is my favorite most of the time. they got deeper and more majestic later on but the first album is such a solid explosion of rock power, with lots of neat quiet parts too.

oh i haven't really listened to the three albums after Physical Graffiti

'Achilles Last Stand' from Presence is so classic it isn't even funny, and may be their best ever track. It's certainly my favourite thing they've ever done - the rest of the album could never have possibly lived up to it. The highest point of Led Zeppelin, IMO.

Achilles gets a lot of love in this household. Definitely an all time Page production.