Out of all of the albums I have heard in my life, I have most likely listened to this one the most. A massive, progressive affair which reflects the more subtle, and sophisticated songwriting Led Zeppelin explored in their later years. The remaster is great, but the cover, as you can see is not, however, I would rather focus on the actual songs.
Custard Pie:
This is the traditionalOut of all of the albums I have heard in my life, I have most likely listened to this one the most. A massive, progressive affair which reflects the more subtle, and sophisticated songwriting Led Zeppelin explored in their later years. The remaster is great, but the cover, as you can see is not, however, I would rather focus on the actual songs.
Custard Pie:
This is the traditional example of a Led Zeppelin "hard rock" track. The actual song itself is good for the flow of the album, which is because they blend their hard rock numbers (often short and snappy) with their longer, progressive rock numbers.
The Rover:
This song sounds like another traditional hard rock track, but after further listens, I can sense a melancholy, and more prophetic tone in the lyrics, especially the chorus, which sends chills down my spine. Again a theme in this albums that the songs display a downbeat and dramatic nature, something not present in the older Led Zeppelin records. We also hear Jimmy Page's first major riff on this album, which is hard hitting as usual.
In My Time of Dying:
Led Zeppelin's longest song. The lyrics, although not written by Rob, they suit his voice very well. It has Jimmy Page's greatest solo, and a certain flare in the drumming makes them so hard hitting and brutal. The song is about death, clearly, however, it is a heavy, distorted affair. This song has no flashing lights, with no effects, just a straight forward song, which despite this is as wonderfully complex as any Zep song. This is my favourite Led Zeppelin song, and is one which takes a lot to be truly understood. This was their real Stairway To Heaven.
Houses of the Holy:
I have never connected with the musical nature of the song. The guitar tone is 'iconic', and the lyricism is more complex in nature than one would expect, but the solo is what sells it to me. Again Jimmy Page proves his unique ability to make every solo memorable, and yet complex in its own right. After multiple attempts to replicate this song on guitar, I have gained an appreciation for it.
Trampled Under Foot:
A funky, and sassy tune. The vocals are aggressive, and swaggering, and the guitar riff once again uses a beautiful tone. JPJ delivers a fast and lively piano solo. This for me is another masterpiece of this album, and although it sounds like a simply fun and basic song, but really its one of their most sophisticated songs in the sense that the song writing can appeal to both experienced musicians and the average listener hearing this on the radio.
Kashmir:
I feel it is redundant to talk about this song. For me its a brilliant song, but does not deserve the status as their greatest song. If somebody is a fan of Rob's vocals, this song truly displays his abilities the best
In The Light:
A dark, and long song, with clear progressive rock roots. Its an eerie mess of synthesizers and open ended structure, where anything goes. What I feel works the best in this song, are the lyrics, whereas instrumentally I felt it was slightly unfocused. The contrast between the chorus and the rest of the song are particularly jarring. Still though, I love this song.
Bron-Y-Aur:
A nice break in pace for the album. A short acoustic interlude, contrasting the emotionally straining nature of the other songs on this album.
Down By the Seaside:
Another knockout Jimmy Page solo, with a somewhat mellow atmosphere once again. It really feeds the general sombre atmosphere of the album despite the positive lyrics. I can't say much about this song, besides that is a bit too long. The intro is almost identically repeated in the second half, but still think that this takes away much from the final piece. A masterpiece.
Ten Years Gone:
This is Led Zeppelin's defining ballad. These lyrics are more honest than anything Zep has ever done. For me though, I don't like this song because of its lack of instrumental potency. I never truly understood this song, despite my multiple listens.
Night Flight:
Similar to the Rover, its seems happy at first, but evolves into a prophetic and emotional song about an endless train (strange). The vocals are top notch, and full of personality. There is comedic delivery present right at the end of the track. There is very little guitar work, and no solo, but nevertheless it doesn’t need one, as it is light hearted enough to carry its own musicality without any hard rock intervention.
The final four songs:
The Wanton Song, Sick Again, Boogie With The Stu and Black Country Woman are total flops. Rob plays the guitar is Black Country Woman, which gives it a sort of novelty status, as well as the intriguing story being the lyrics, but besides that the songs are completely disposable, and contribute towards the album’s bloated feeling.
The only real issue with the album is that there are too many songs on the record. Even if the weaker songs were removed, there would still be a fairly massive track-list. For me this is not an issue, and am glad that there is a lot of material on this album. Perhaps this not Led Zeppelin’s best album, but it certainly is their most important one, and without this, Led Zeppelin would not have truly been appreciated for their more versatile song writing (at least in my eyes). An essential album.… Expand
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