CD Odyssey Disc 1807: Led Zeppelin

It has been just over 10 years since I last reviewed a Led Zeppelin album, but we’re back to celebrate the iconic band with this last album of theirs in my collection.

Disc 1807 is…Presence

Artist: Led Zeppelin

Year of Release: 1976

What’s up with the Cover? A perfect nuclear family gathers around the dining room table to fixate on…something.

Little Girl: “Daddy, what is it?”

Dad: “It’s something that daddy brought back from his last trip to Antarctica.”

Mom: “Is it dangerous, dear?”

Dad: “No, not at all. It will change us all in wonderful ways. It whispers the most incredible knowledge to those who serve it.”

Little Boy: “I don’t hear anything.”

Dad: “You will, son. You will.”

Later, three professors from Miskatonic University were convicted of breaking into the house and killing and dismembering the entire family with axes. The object was never found, and the professors went to the electric chair refusing to say where it was, or utter a single word about why they had done what they had done.

But I digress…

How I Came To Know It: I am of a certain age and I am surrounded by fellow music fans so every Led Zeppelin album at some point has been the subject of conversation several times over.

“Presence” is another of those, although I think it was my friend Chris D. who put “Presence” on and convinced me that I had to have it. Up to that point I had ceased my journeying with “Houses of the Holy.”

How It Stacks Up: Led Zeppelin released nine studio albums over their career, but I only have six. This is by design, as “Physical Graffiti”, “In Through the Out Door” and “Coda” have never appealed to me. Sorry not sorry, Zeppelin zealots.

Of the six I do have, “Presence” is a late-breaking treasure. I rank it at #2. As this is my last Zeppelin review, here is a full recap:

1. IV: 5 stars (reviewed at Disc 342)
2. Presence: 4 stars (reviewed right here)
3. II: 4 stars (reviewed at Disc 72)
4. I: 4 stars (reviewed at Disc 27)
5. Houses of the Holy: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 707)
6. III: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 607)

Wow – those are some early reviews. Some even predate my decision to do a “What’s Up With the Cover?” section which I started around Disc 100.

Ratings: 4 stars

A friend (and huge Zeppelin fan) this week remarked to me that Zeppelin was one of those bands where you can listen to it differently every time and still love the experience. This is because Zeppelin is one of those rare bands, like Queen or Blue Oyster Cult, where every member in the band is bringing the top of their game.

“Presence” is a particularly good example of the principle. Its complex arrangements, and the way the songs organically spin into further and further fractals of a song’s structure without ever losing the melody, are the perfect breeding ground for these masters of their craft to show off a little.

The opening track, “Achilles Last Stand” exemplifies this. Over the galloping insistent drumming of John Bonham, Robert Plant warbles and wails away somewhere between stoner messiah and high priest of weird. You always believe Plant because even when his vocals are at their most excessive, he remains fully lost in the song.

Over around and through all of this is the guitar work of Jimmy Page. “Achilles Last Stand” is over ten minutes long but it never gets stale, and a big part of that is Page’s guitar threading its way in and out of the melody and playing more killer solos than most guitarists could write in their lifetimes. His work on “Achilles Last Stand” is mysterious and dreamlike and pulls you into a state of heightened reverie where worlds converge and all things are possible.

And John Paul Jones? He holds everything together, there for you when you want some low notes, and never getting in the way.

“Presence” is the proggiest of my Zeppelin albums, but it also mixes in bluesy riffs more common to their early work. The best of these is “For Your Life” which is a bit more “Zeppelin straight up” and the perfect chaser to the hi-test complexities of “Achilles Last Stand”.

My favourite song among many good ones is “Nobody’s Fault But Mine”. This tune mixes the proggy goodness of “Achilles Last Stand” with the bluesy elements of “For Your Life” and pumps out what we expect from Led Zeppelin – excess and excellence, and a whole lot of musical ideas all jostling one another and making each other better.

This is also my favourite Robert Plant performance of any Zeppelin song (this record or any other). Plant finds a new way to sing the refrain “nobody’s fault but mine” ten different ways, each one greasier than the last. You get the impression that Plant has fully explored the fact that he is at fault here, internalized the crap out of that and, that deep down, he still likes whatever it is that he did. It’s an admission of culpability, yes, but the way he sings it, it’s also a brag.

The only song on the record that didn’t blow me away in some way is the last one. At 9:25 “Tea For One” is just a bit too long for a tune without much to say. It is that aspect of Zeppelin where their excess feels self-serving. Like they invited you over for drinks but didn’t tell you it would just be you sitting in the kitchen while they jammed for three hours.

Without that one blemish this would be a five-star album. As it is, it is still pretty damned amazing. It isn’t the first album that people mention when they talk in hallowed tones about Zeppelin (that is, of course, “IV”) but it oughtta be second.

Best tracks: Achilles Last Stand, For Your Life, Royal Orleans, Nobody’s Fault But Mine

CD Odyssey Disc 707: Led Zeppelin

Who’s in the mood for even more seventies rock? Yes, for the second review in a row the Odyssey delivers some good old fashioned rock n’ roll. Here's one a year earlier than the last and a goodly amount better.

Disc 707 is…. Houses of the Holy

Artist: Led Zeppelin

Year of Release: 1973

What’s up with the Cover? This cover is very Lovecraftian. I call it “Father’s Day at Devil Reef.” All that cursed gold doesn’t look like such a good deal now does it, mister?

How I Came To Know It: This is a fairly recent purchase for me as I once again try my hand at loving Led Zeppelin – a band I have always admired but never truly fell for.

How It Stacks Up:  I now have six Led Zeppelin albums, and based on samplings of the ones I’m still missing, I think I’m done.  Of the six, “Houses of the Holy” is not the best, but it is good enough to knock “Led Zeppelin III” down a spot and take 5^th.

Rating: 3 stars but almost 4

After the raucous rock n’ roll of “IV,” Led Zeppelin returned to the more folksy approach on “Houses of the Holy” that they’d also tried out on “III”. Although this album meanders around a bit, it holds itself together with songs that feel dreamy even when they punch it up a notch. Listening to it, I felt like I was relaxing in a warm bath – or that I had Deep Ones in my family tree. Hopefully the former.

The album is a tasteful eight songs and 40 minutes, which is something modern records should try to stick to more often. I felt I could really sink my teeth into every track without getting bogged down with too many competing sounds.

I enjoyed the gentle strumming pattern of “The Rain Song” at track two, but the first real standout on the album is “Over the Hills and Far Away.” This song  is the perfect blend of Zeppelin’s whimsical folkadelic sound and their heavier guitar riff driven stuff. Jimmy Page’s solo is restrained and perfectly placed and Robert Plant is able to show his ‘hippy lover’ and ‘screeching rock god’ voice all on a single song. This is a song that demands you air guitar, even if you can’t play it for real.

“D’yer Mak’er” is another winner with a playful fifties vibe to the music, and Plant sounding almost coquettish and “The Ocean” is a Zeppelin classic, with a timeless and unforgettable riff - despite  the fact that I can never remember what the song is called.

Other songs, like “No Quarter” is a meandering prog-fest that had me wishing I could instead listen to the better Zeppelin songs of this ilk that appear on “Presence.” Even the aforementioned “Rain Song” suffers from bloating. This also happens to Deep Ones left out in the sun too long, and judging by the album cover it is a sunny day out at Devil Reef. Really not a good day to catch up with any Children of the Sea you've fathered.

But I digress...

The album’s true crime is “The Crunge” which would be more accurately titled “The Cringe” for what it makes me want to do. It feels like Robert Plant is trying to do a cross between Otis Redding and the reprehensible drunk voice that Anthony Michael Hall affects in “Weird Science.” The song ends with Plant ranting about being unable to find the song’s bridge. Uh…you have to write that, Robert, although no bridge could save this directionless and self-satisfied bit of tripe.

Coming immediately after “IV” I was hopeful that “Houses of the Holy” would hold to the same standard, but that was probably too much to ask. Because of the musicianship, and the powerful brilliance of “Over the Hills and Far Away” and “The Ocean” this album easily clears three stars, but I couldn’t in good conscience give it four.

Best tracks: Over the Hills and Far Away, D’yer Mak’er, The Ocean

CD Odyssey Disc 607: Led Zeppelin

Happy Saturday! I’ve spent the day making creative playlists for a music listening club I belong to. It is hard to think about just one album after jumping around so much and through so many genres, but here goes nothing.

Disc 607 is….III

Artist: Led Zeppelin

Year of Release: 1970

What’s up with the Cover? Apparently the sixties came back from the dead to barf on this cover. Not good.

How I Came To Know It: This was just me trying another Zeppelin album out, and it was the one ‘original four’ album I still didn’t have. It was also recommended to me by my friend and fellow music lover Spence, who thought its folksier feel would appeal to me. I do like it, even if not quite as much as the others in my collection.

How It Stacks Up:  I now have five Zeppelin albums (the first four plus “Presence”). Of those five, I must reluctantly put III at the bottom of the heap.

Rating:  3 stars but almost 4

And so my ongoing quest to love Led Zeppelin continues unresolved, with another “just really liked it” album.

As I’ve said in many previous entries on Led Zeppelin, while I appreciate the band’s musical ability, innovation and importance to the history of rock and roll I can’t wholeheartedly love them. “III” is another example of this.

To “III”’s credit, this feels a lot more original. Much of their early work has direct rip offs of early blues tracks, and while “III” remains heavily influenced by the blues, it has its own distinct feel very separate from that. Like the cover suggests (albeit poorly), the band has synthesized some of the sixties more folksy elements into their blues-rock sound and the result are songs that are generally more tightly focused.

The exception to this is “Since I’ve Been Loving You” which is a meandering seven and half minute noodle fest. Fortunately, Jimmy Page’s guitar is magnificent on this song and solidly holds together an otherwise listless song. Even though “Since I’ve Been Loving You” is not one of my favourites on the record, I think it is some of Page’s finest work.

Last night when this album came up in conversation my friend Casey said matter-of-factly that “Tangerine” is the best song on the record. Giving it my third consecutive listen as I write this, I can’t disagree. “Tangerine” is pretty much a perfect song, with Page seamlessly adapting to a folk guitar style, which plays in perfect tension with Plant’s rock and roll voice. “Tangerine” shows Zeppelin branching out and going their own distinct direction; a combination of proto-power ballad and fantasy adventure that bands like Queen and Blue Oyster Cult would soon emulate.

“Tangerine” is a song that I’d love to learn on the guitar when  my thumb heals and I can get back to playing. It has such a relaxing groove and chord progression. I can feel my whole body relax while I listen to it, like I’m having a cold beer on a summer evening.

I had a different reaction to “Bron Y Aur Stomp” which felt more like a musical exercise to me than an honest emotional effort. There are times when I feel like Zeppelin is just trying something new for the sake of innovation, but they’re not really feeling it. “Bron Y Aur Stomp” is one of those times. That said, without songs like this, it is hard to imagine a young Jack White being inspired to write some of his stuff, so I appreciate Zeppelin forging the way.

I admire some of the brave production decisions on “III” as well, including the use of a banjo on “Gallows Pole” that aids in the song’s breathless build toward its bluesy climax. Again, not one of my favourite Zeppelin songs, but I admire the skill of it, particularly the exceptional display of rhythm the band displays throughout.

I like that “III” has a mix of lighter songs and heavy rock songs that makes for a more relaxed listening experience. Despite the fact that I prefer the album’s construction and production to their first two records, overall I found less standout tracks, and for that reason I think it trails them slightly.

While I have never been able to love Zeppelin the way I’ve wanted to, “III” is another reminder that after five albums they’ve yet to deal me a bad turn. I think I’ll work on some of their later records that I’m missing, like “Houses of the Holy” and “Physical Graffiti”

Best tracks: Immigrant Song, Out on the Tiles, Tangerine

CD Odyssey Disc 342: Led Zeppelin

I did my first serious Christmas shopping today. Being without a job makes this experience a lot less joyful, but as I was driving about I was cheered by a woman begging for change at a left turn signal.

Usually these people drive me nuts, particularly when they are hale and hearty as this girl was. However, she was just standing there, swaying happily (yet soberly) with a home-made cardboard sign that said simply, 'smile dammit!'

And she was taking her own advice, grinning away perfectly naturally, daring Those Who Would Turn Left to join her. She didn't seem full of her own self-importance, and she didn't seem like she was begging (although she obviously was). She just seemed like she was happy, and wanted everyone else to be happy as well.

So I smiled back, not because I felt awkward in the glare of her sign, but because she genuinely made me feel a little better. As I drove by I tipped my hat toward her in thanks, and she blew me a kiss. All in all, a good experience.

No, I didn't give her change, nor was I tempted. I don't want to encourage Left Turn Lurkers. I appreciated the smile anyway, and passed it on throughout the day. OK, on to the review

Disc 342 is...IV

Artist: Led Zeppelin

Year of Release: 1971

What’s Up With The Cover?: It is a picture of some old peasant caring sticks. It may be an iconic album cover now, but I find it pretty ho hum. I imagine the man's name is Dennis, and he is only 37. If you fold out the photo, you find that the wall the photo is hanging on is some collapsed building outside of a British town. This does not help, but imagining his name is Dennis does, at least a little.

How I Came To Know It: Led Zeppelin IV is one of those albums everybody knows. It has been playing at parties since I can remember going to parties, although less so in recent years for some reason. In terms of buying it, I think it was my second purchase of the remastered Led Zeppelin CDs, which I only started buying about four years ago.

How It Stacks Up: I now have five Zeppelin albums, two of which I've already reviewed. I'd put "IV" top of the heap, although it is a close call with "Presence."

Rating: 5 stars.

What is there to say about Zeppelin "IV" that hasn't been said before? Precious little, I'll warrant. In fact, I expect even my personal anecdote will be one shared, in one way or another, with most people who know the record. But let's not be hasty.

The record has Led Zeppelin's two most recognizable songs of all time, "Black Dog" and "Stairway To Heaven." I know these are their two most recognizable songs because I've only dabbled in the shallow end of Led Zeppelin's music until recently and I have known them both forever. In a way, my lack of detailed Zeppelin knowledge makes me an expert on just what makes them famous.

I've talked a couple of times on earlier reviews about my strange relationship to Zeppelin, but since those reviews are way back at Discs 27 and 72 a recap is in order. In brief, Zeppelin surpasses artistic excellence with their musicianship - they are on a short list of artists where every band member (vocals, guitar, bass and drums) is a master of his respective craft.

At the same time, I've often had a hard time emotionally connecting to their music. Yes, I feel the groove, and yes I admire the songs and the beauty of their arrangements, but they don't always kick me in the...well, they don't kick me like they should.

That's what I love about "IV" - it does connect with me on every level. It isn't the lyrics either, which are just as nonsensical as any other Zeppelin record, alternating between pointless blues-inspired shouting like these in "Black Dog":

"Hey, baby, oh, baby, pretty baby, tell me that you'll do me now
Hey, baby, oh, baby, pretty baby, do me like you do me now"

and these bizarre and equally pointless lyrics from "The Battle of Evermore":

"The pain of war cannot exceed the woe of aftermath,
The drums will shake the castle wall, the ring wraiths ride in black, ride on.
Sing as you raise your bow, shoot straighter than before.
No comfort has the fire at night that lights the face so cold."

These lyrics make Dio and Uriah Heep seem straightforward, and like Zeppelin "II"'s "Ramble On" manage to once again invoke characters from Lord of the Rings without any direction or purpose. So no, it isn't the lyrics.

I think it is the focus of "IV" that I appreciate. The excessive noodling on the first two Zeppelin albums is noticeably absent, and the band has seemed to recognize that each song should be as long as it has to be, but no longer. Sure there are long tracks, like "When The Levee Breaks" and "Stairway To Heaven" - both of which clock in at over seven minutes - but their length does not seem forced. In fact "When The Levee Breaks" is little more than a groove laid down, and in many ways is the simplest song on the record, but also one of my favourites.

As for "Stairway To Heaven", as everyone knows the song starts out with a quiet and restrained Jimmy Page guitar strummed alongside a light and folksy vocal by Plant, and slowly grows in complexity and tempo, eventually fading into a massive guitar solo that is rightfully famous.

It might seem over the top, but each part of this song so effortlessly fades into the next, you never feel jarred, or pulled by the nose by the song's construction. Each part is where it belongs. Yes, we've all heard "Stairway To Heaven" a thousand times, but I just can't get enough of it. It is more than a bathroom break for radio DJs, it is a perfectly constructed piece of art, and that's rare in this world.

Of course, we all have our own stories about "Stairway To Heaven" most of which revolve around the fact that it is a well established Canadian tradition to make it the last song at high school dances. When the first notes hit, you know the pumpkin is about to burst, and legions of teenage boys walk up and down in front of the bleachers looking for that girl they're going to be able to hold in a close and loving embrace for at least four minutes, and maybe more.

Apart from all the obvious memories I have to this song, including just how wonderful an angora sweater feels on a real live girl, I'll always remember a strange dance I attended in Grade Eight.

Back when I went to junior high, the area right in front of the stage was where all the cool Grade Ten kids hung out. One dance, a very pretty Grade Ten girl in a very short sweater-dress invited me into those hallowed grounds, after I had the audacity to ask her to dance to "Stairway To Heaven" (I had an atrocious batting average for such things in the day, but it never stopped me from swinging away at every opportunity).

Anyway, the girl had a boyfriend - one of those immense, jean-jacket wearing guys from the top field where everyone smoked. If I'd known that I probably would've checked down and tried to bunt for someone more my speed. Sometimes ignorance is indeed bliss. This guy was also dancing in the same area, and based on the look on his face, I thought a severe beating was in my future.

I was the shortest kid in my class in Grade Eight, and dancing with a Grade 10 Amazon was about as good a sexual experience as I had ever had to that point. She was blissfully unaware of my bliss - or maybe she knew and didn't mind. I felt certain her boyfriend got it, and it should have made me much more nervous than I remember being - but I guess I was just happy for the experience. Whatever horror might visit afterward, I'd still have the memories.

I wasn't just short in 1983, I was also really slender. Usually, when the song speeds up halfway through, there is that awkward point where the dancing couple separates, and finishes the song with a sort of half sway, girl with arms extended around boys neck, and boy with hands on the top of girl's hips.

I had automatically defaulted to this position when the girl decided I was simply to small and precious for such niceties. She picked me up and spun me around the dance hall like she was carrying me across the threshold. It could easily have felt embarassing, but let me assure you that this was about as awesome a sexual experience I had ever had to that point in my life. It still holds up pretty well almost thirty years later in fact.

Fortunately, the boyfriend saw me exactly for what I was; no threat at all. He rightly determined that his girlfriend thought I was little more than a cute little fellow - albeit a mildly sexually excited one - and mostly harmless. He just gave me a big smile and watched the show. Thank God he was a teenager confident enough in himself to let it go. I'm pretty sure I beat the odds on that count.

So thank you, "Stairway To Heaven" for that, and for every long, lash-filled look you ever helped conjure up from this girl and many others over the years.

And thank you Led Zeppelin, for making one of the greatest rock records of all time. The only thing this album suffers from is that everyone already knows how awesome it is, and are we really that petty to care about such things? I'm glad to know it, and glad to share it with the world.

Best tracks: all tracks

CD Odyssey Disc 72: Led Zeppelin

I am off this week, so no car listening. Instead, I reviewed this album on my cordless headphones while painting a figurine (Evil Cleric pictures to be posted when I finish him).

It was weird not listening in the car, but painting is an activity that allows me to concentrate, so I think it is a good approach. Besides - I make the rules around here!

Disc 72 is...Led Zeppelin II

Artist: Led Zeppelin

Year of Release: 1969

How I Came To Know It: I got into how I came to know Zeppelin when I reviewed Vol I back at Disc 27, so I won't repeat a bunch of that. Basically, at the constant positive reinforcement from the many Zeppelin fans I know, this is the third album I've bought, and the latest.

How It Stacks Up: I would put this album second of the three (I, II, and IV) that I have.

Rating: 4 stars.

Because Zeppelin II is a more recent purchase of mine, it hasn't got a lot of heavy listening, so I went through this one two times back to back to really get the groove in my mind. I was once again left with a deep appreciation for Zeppelin's musicianship, but also once again lacking an emotional connection to many of the songs.

I do like that they keep their albums to a reasonable number of songs - in this case 9. I think part of that is to the power of vinyl. Modern bands take note - if you have 15 songs, save a few! As an example, Zeppelin II is their second album within a single year (1969). Maybe they saved a few - you can too!

I also like that unlike Zeppelin I, the band for the most part makes the songs only as long as they ought to be, and don't just play for the sake of playing. It makes for a tighter, more professional sounding record.

Part of what makes this band so great is they are so tight, they could play almost anything and make it sound good. Part of their problem is that at times I think they do just that. The noodling is less of a problem on II, but they still manage to go overboard in places where it doesn't make the song any better.

Case in point - "Whole Lotta Love". This is a classic riff, that when you hear it you know it right away. Moreover, it MOVES you. The song has a strong groove, and is for the most part finely constructed and superbly played. In short, a classic.

Yet, right in the middle, the band decides to put a 2 minute noodle-fest with all kinds of weird stereo effects (very noticeable on the headphones). I'm not 100% sure what is up here, but having seen Nick's DVD of them playing, I know part of it is Jimmy Page doing weird stuff on the guitar, and getting off on the whacky sounds it can make.

Note to Jimmy Page: That stuff is really cool in the studio, but it takes a 5 star song and turns it into a 4 star song.

I know what you're thinking - did I just call out Jimmy Page on "Whole Lotta Love"? And the important thing to remember is that yes, I did - but not to his face. To his face I would say, "Thank you for all the wonderful music, Mr. Page. I wish I could play the guitar."

But I digress.

Moving on, my favourite tracks on this album are the ones where Zeppelin lays down an incredible riff, and just lets it grow into an incredible song. "Heartbreaker" and "Ramble On" are particular favourites.

I do also really like "Moby Dick". This song is the exception that proves the rule; John Bonham's wild solo actually makes this track better. More Bonham, less Page playing his guitar with a violin bow!

"Ramble On" will be familiar to Tolkien afficianados as the song with the weird references to "Lord of the Rings" that don't make any sense. At one point Robert Plant sings about how he met a fair maid in darkest Mordor, but she was stolen away by "Gollum and the Evil One." Hey, Robert! Gollum didn't work with Sauron - he was captured by him, and I'm pretty sure neither of them stole your girlfriend.

I know what you're thinking - did I just call out Robert Plant? Yes, but again the important thing to remember is that it is OK for me to call people out on literary references; I am a trained professional. Also, it wasn't to his face. To his face, I'd say, "Mr. Plant - you sing really great, please apologize again to Jimmy Page about the "Whole Lotta Love" thing. Also, do you find those jeans you wear uncomfortable, or too comfortable - on the video footage it is hard to tell which it is, if you take my meaning."

Anyway - Zeppelin II - a classic album, where they mostly keep their noodling in their pants.

Best tracks: Heartbreaker, Ramble On, Moby Dick and Whole Lotta Love (minus the weird middle part).

CD Odyssey Disc 27: Led Zeppelin

Time for a little more classic rock - is it becoming apparent I like 70s rock? OK, this one is technically the sixties.

Disc 27 is...Led Zeppelin I (or simply "Self Titled")

Artist: Led Zeppelin

Year of Release: 1969

How I Came To Know It: Like most people my age, Led Zeppelin has been in my life as long as I can remember. However, hearing something on the radio and bobbing your head is different than buying an album. I'd credit my friend Andrew with getting me interested enough in Zeppelin to go buy some. He has that 4 disc box set and one day forgot one at my house. I played it and liked it. I went out and bought Zeppelin I first off, but I've only had it a couple years at most. If my love for Zeppelin were a rock n' roll flower, I'd be early out of the ground, but late to bloom.

How It Stacks Up: I dunno how many Zeppelin albums there are - 7? Right now I have 3 (I, II, and IV). This is the least of the 3.

Rating: 4 stars.

I struggled with ranking this album. I've got a strange relationship with Zeppelin. On the one hand, every time I hear them, I recognize that they are one of the greatest rock and roll bands of all time.

They have one of the greatest singers ever (Plant) and one of the greatest guitar players of all time (Page) and one of the greatest drummers of all time (Bonham) and one of the greatest bass players of all time (Jones). How many bands have such rounded talent - Rush? Queen? The list is short.

At the same time as I intellectually respect and admire them, and enjoy their music, I have always had a harder time connecting to them emotionally than most of my friends do. It is weird, but there it is.

Also, while they are far and away the best noodlers of all time, they noodle a little too much. Excessive noodling - even genius level noodling - is still noodling.

This album is very blues-rock focused. At the same time, you can see the germination of a sound that would become metal and a whole host of other sounds I'm very grateful for.

Put it all together and this album is a 5 for influence, musicianship and all the technical stuff, but a 3 in how it makes me feel, so I'm going to give it a 4. Also "Dazed and Confused" is damned fine all on its own (although I'd prefer it was the only song in excess of 6 minutes, instead of 1 of 4).

Anyway - I am attracted to Zeppelin, but I don't love them they way they deserve. It is a good thing they have many other more fulfilling relationships with their fans. This way, I get what I need from them, but don't feel guilty when I leave them on the CD rack longer between listens than they deserve. Kind of like a rock and roll booty call.

Best tracks: Dazed and Confused, Your Time Is Gonna Come, Communication Breakdown