Well, no introduction necessary here. I don't think there's a person alive who hasn't at least heard of Led Zeppelin, or been influenced by their music one way or the other. The band created a legend which was larger than life, as well as a sound which still can be heard in many an up-and-coming band today. Of course, like most 70's bands, I only got interested in their music after they had broken up...

Robert Plant has continued with a successful solo career, and Jimmy Page has also remained active, including a couple albums with Bad Company's Paul Rodgers as The Firm, and a collaboration with Whitesnake's Dave Coverdale called...well, Coverdale/Page. :) A number of Led Zep tribute albums exist, but the only one I have (so far) is Great White's Great Zeppelin. Dream Theater also did a wicked live medley of Led Zep tunes on A Change of Seasons.

"Led Zeppelin I"

1. "Good Times, Bad Times" (2:43)
2. "Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You" (6:40)
3. "You Shook Me" (6:30)
4. "Dazed and Confused" (6:27)
5. "Your Time is Gonna Come" (4:41)
6. "Black Mountain Side"--instrumental (2:06)
7. "Communication Breakdown" (2:26)
8. "I Can't Quit You Baby" (4:42)
9. "How Many More Times" (8:30)

I didn't dig this album at first, but now I really groove to it (oh boy, I'm starting to let the 70's colloquialisms take over!!) Heavy blues influences are evident here, especially on the two Willie Dixon tunes ("You Shook Me" and "I Can't Quit You Baby") The classic "Dazed and Confused" was actually ripped off from some little-known folk artist named Roy Harper, which is probably why the band dedicated a song to him on their third album. :) "Good Times, Bad Times" was covered by Nuclear Assault, and Iron Maiden does a blistering rendition of "Communication Breakdown".

"Led Zeppelin II"

1. "Whole Lotta Love" (5:33)
2. "What Is and What Should Never Be" (4:47)
3. "The Lemon Song" (6:20)
4. "Thank You" (3:50)
5. "Heartbreaker" (4:15)
6. "Living Loving Maid (She's Just a Woman)" (2:40)
7. "Ramble On" (4:35)
8. "Moby Dick"--instrumental (4:25)
9. "Bring it on Home" (4:19)

More hard rock mixed with blues numbers in the same vein as their debut album. Lotta classics here, of course: "Whole Lotta Love", "Heartbreaker", "Moby Dick", et al. I really like the Lord of the Rings motif in "Ramble On" (which I never noticed until I read the book, of course...) "The Lemon Song" is particularly tedious to listen to.

"Led Zeppelin III"

1. "Immigrant Song" (2:26)
2. "Friends" (3:55)
3. "Celebration Day" (3:29)
4. "Since I've Been Loving You" (7:25)
5. "Out on the Tiles" (4:04)
6. "Gallows Pole" (4:58)
7. "Tangerine" (3:12)
8. "That's the Way" (5:38)
9. "Bron-Y-Aur Stomp" (4:20)
10. "Hats off to (Roy) Harper" (3:41)

The most atypical of Zeppelin albums, with lots of acoustic numbers. Actually one of my favorites, especially "Out on the Tiles" and "Bron-Y-Aur Stomp". "Immigrant Song" has been covered by Dark Angel and Great White.

"BBC Sessions"

I try to steer clear of BBC sessions, since it's just a greedy record company ploy to get you to spend more money on music you basically already have...I mean, dear God, who needs THREE new versions of "Communication Breakdown", and TWO of "I Can't Quit You Baby" and "You Shook Me"?? Well, the problem is, this 2CD set contains two previously unreleased songs, "The Girl I Love..." and "Somethin' Else", which unfortunately made buying it a priority. At least I got it at a reasonable price, around $10 or so.

The second disc comes from a concert recorded in April '71 at the Paris Theater in London, and the liner notes refer to it as "the most heavily bootlegged concert in Led Zeppelin history!" This was almost a year prior to the release of "ZOFO", so they were playing songs like "Stairway to Heaven" for the first time. (Jimmy Page was once asked if some "aura" came over the crowd when Zep first played "Stairway", and Page said, "Not at all, they were bored senseless, waiting to hear something they knew!")

"Led Zeppelin IV" (ZOFO)

1. "Black Dog" (4:53)
2. "Rock and Roll" (3:40)
3. "The Battle of Evermore" (5:38)
4. "Stairway to Heaven" (7:55)
5. "Misty Mountain Hop" (4:39)
6. "Four Sticks" (4:49)
7. "Going to California" (3:36)
8. "When the Levee Breaks" (7:08)

You know, I never realized this album was officially untitled until I saw The Client....anyway, not much to say here, if you've never heard this album, you must be over 70 or under 12. Oh yeah, and "Stairway to Heaven" was the song that started the whole brouhaha over backwards masking, if you listen to it backwards during the verse, "If there's a bustle in your hedgerow, don't be alarmed now" you can clearly hear the words, "Here's to maaaah sweet Satan blah blah blah..."

Of all the multitudinous covers of these songs, "Rock and Roll" seems to be the most popular, having been done by Great White, Heart, and Van Halen (the latter only appearing on their "Live Without a Net" video.) There's also a really shitty version of "Battle of Evermore" on the Singles soundtrack.

"Houses of the Holy" (remastered edition)

1. "The Song Remains the Same" (5:29)
2. "The Rain Song" (7:39)
3. "Over the Hills and Far Away" (4:50)
4. "The Crunge" (3:17)
5. "Dancing Days" (3:43)
6. "D'yer Mak'er" (4:22)
7. "No Quarter" (7:00)
8. "The Ocean" (4:30)

Hmm, a bunch of naked kids climbing over orange rocks...definitely a GREAT album cover!! However, I hated how the original version stamps that annoying band logo on the cover art, obscuring two of the girls (or is it a boy? hard to tell with all that hair...) Needless to say, I upgraded to the remastered edition solely because of that fact (and it's got the INSIDE cover art too, from the original gatefold!) This album contains some of my favorite Led Zep songs, especially "The Rain Song". And back to the backwards masking thing, I listened to "Over the Hills..." backwards and could clearly make out, "Jesus really reeks, Satan is the one!" I wonder, did they do that intentionally?

"The Song Remains the Same" (2cd live)

disc one:
1. "Rock and Roll" (4:02)
2. "Celebration Day" (3:49)
3. "The Song Remains the Same" (8:25)
4. "Rain Song" (8:25)
5. "Dazed and Confused" (26:52)

disc two:
1. "No Quarter" (12:29)
2. "Stairway to Heaven" (10:57)
3. "Moby Dick"--instrumental (12:46)
4. "Whole Lotta Love" (14:23)

The movie was better.

"Physical Graffiti" (remastered edition)

Normally I could hardly give a damn about "remastered" CDs, but I just HAD to replace my old copy, which infamously cut off the ending of "In My Time of Dying"...this one is theoretically a collection of outtakes & such, but don't let that dissuade you, it's *classic* Led Zep material all around! "Kashmir" is undoubtedly one of the best songs they've ever done, and I'm also quite fond of "Ten Years Gone" and "Sick Again".

"Presence"

1. "Achilles Last Stand" (10:26)
2. "For Your Life" (6:21)
3. "Royal Orleans" (2:58)
4. "Nobody's Fault but Mine" (6:15)
5. "Candy Store Rock" (4:10)
6. "Hots on for Nowhere" (4:42)
7. "Tea for One" (9:07)

Known as "The Quickie", this album was recorded and mixed in a mere 18 days, and certainly does sound rushed. "Achilles Last Stand" is of course a mega-classic, and "Nobody's Fault..." is also quite good, but the rest is utter shit.

"In Through the Out Door"

1. "In the Evening" (6:48)
2. "South Bound Saurez" (4:11)
3. "Fool in the Rain" (6:08)
4. "Hot Dog" (3:15)
5. "Carouselambra" (10:28)
6. "All My Love" (5:51)
7. "I'm Gonna Crawl" (5:28)

The last album Led Zep ever recorded (unless you count that stupid Page/Plant reunion thing) and done in a totally different style, heavily laden with synthesizers. I actually like it very much, since it was the first Led Zeppelin music I was ever exposed to. "All My Love" in fact was the very first Led Zep song I ever heard. The original crappy vinyl came wrapped in a brown paper bag (I still have that bag lying around here somewhere, I think) and with many different versions of the cover art. The CD just stuck with one, however.

"Melancholy Danish Pageboys" (2CDR; 7/24/79, Falconer Theater, Copenhagen)

An excellent-quality soundboard show from the first night of the band's final tour (which the bootleg artwork claims as 7/24/79, but turns out they're a day off.) Surprisingly lean on the In Through the Out Door songs (what about "Carouselambra"??? Did they never perform that one live?) but at least it's got "Achilles Last Stand", "Kashmir", and a few other gems. The band does sound remarkably fit and tight for a group that's literally on its last legs at this point, though I'm sure there are much better Led Zep shows floating around out there.

"Coda"

1. "We're Gonna Groove" (2:38)
2. "Poor Tom" (3:03)
3. "I Can't Quit You Baby" (4:19)
4. "Walter's Walk" (4:31)
5. "Ozone Baby" (3:37)
6. "Darlene" (5:07)
7. "Bonzo's Montreaux"--instrumental (4:19)
8. "Wearing and Tearing" (5:30)

The obligatory "Bunch of Leftover Tracks", released after the band's demise (and John Bonham's, as well.) Some of these songs could have fit nicely onto a regular LedZep album, especially "Walter's Walk", "Ozone Baby" and "Wearing & Tearing". Others show why they were left on the cutting room floor in the first place ("Darlene", especially!) plus we get "Moby Dick: The Revenge", and a reprise of "I Can't Quit You Baby" (why?????) Definitely for the completist only.

"Led Zeppelin Box Set" (disc one only)

1. "Whole Lotta Love" (5:34)
2. "Heartbreaker" (4:14)
3. "Communication Breakdown" (2:28)
4. "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" (6:40)
5. "What Is and What Should Never Be" (4:43)
6. "Thank You" (4:46)
7. "I Can't Quit You Baby" (4:15)
8. "Dazed and Confused" (6:26)
9. "Your Time is Gonna Come" (4:14)
10. "Ramble On" (4:23)
11. "Travelling Riverside Blues" (5:09)
12. "Friends" (3:54)
13. "Celebration Day" (3:28)
14. "Hey Hey What Can I Do" (3:55)
15. "White Summer/Black Mountain Side"--instrumental (8:01)

The dilemma over what to do about the band's box set was finally solved when I found this disc, and JUST this disc, for sale at $4.99! Blessedly, it contains ALL THREE of the unreleased tracks from that overblown, hideously expensive 4-CD monstrosity. There's no sleeve, and the CD itself is scratched to shit, but at least the three songs in question play without skipping.

So, what's the final word...will the band ever "officially" regroup? Well, in a way they already have, once at Live Aid in 1985 (with Phil Collins on drums), again in 1988 at the Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary bash. In addition, Plant & Page have secretly been working together, like forbidden lovers, appearing on each other's solo albums and collaborating on the Honeydrippers project. I suppose one could call the current Page/Plant thing a reunion of sorts, but as for Led Zep itself, they would have to recruite Jason Bonham for drums (or else play nothing but acoustic songs...lol); and really, it's probably best to let the memory of classic Led Zeppelin remain as it is. (Imagine, "The Led Zeppelin Anthology Vol. I": Horrors!!)

on crappy vinyl:
• "Three Days After" (2LP live bootleg)

videotapes:
• "The Song Remains the Same" (concert movie)

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