LED ZEPPELIN

PAGE UPDATED IN 2021

Reviewed:
- Led Zeppelin (1969)
- Led Zeppelin II (1969)
- Led Zeppelin III (1970)
- Led Zeppelin IV (1971)
- Houses of the Holy (1973)
- Physical Graffiti (1975)
- The Song Remains the Same (1976, live album)
- Presence (1976)
- In Through the Out Door (1979)
- Coda (1982, compilation)
- BBC Sessions (1997, live album)
- How the West Was Won (2003, live album)
- Mothership (2007, compilation)
- Celebration Day (2012, live album)


LED ZEPPELIN          1969          (Atlantic)

- Standouts: ALL! 

Uhh, well, what is there to say about this record that hasn't already been said? You know it, you love it. I know it, I love it. Okay then, bye.

Not really. First thing that comes to my head when I think of this album is just how freakin' old it is. I always seem to forget that Led Zeppelin released both this and their second album in 1969! Technically this debut was recorded in '68! I dunno why, but I always have it in my head that any year of the 60's is much longer ago than any year of the 70's. Black Sabbath released both their first couple of albums just a year on, and yet somehow, in my head, they seem much newer than either of Zeppelin's first two records! Yeah I know, 1970 was a fucking long time ago! But 1969 was even longer ago!

Umm, sorry about that. I think the whole 60's thing reinforces just how far ahead of their time Led Zeppelin were. This is one ground breaking debut for sure. Heavy, rumblin', rockin' blues. But not in the R&B style of the Rolling Stones, or the psychedelic blues styles of Hendrix and Cream for that matter. Nope, the origins of hard rock and heavy metal can be traced back to albums like Zeppelin's debut. That's not to say this entire record is made up of heavy rock songs - there's some serious blues on here too, but the heavy stuff that is here was way ahead of it's time. 'Communication Breakdown' is the most obvious example of this. That track's riffing is basically full-on heavy metal in 1969. It's just one of those timeless ass-kickers of the era, kinda like Steppenwolf's 'Born to Be Wild' or The Stooges' 'I Wanna Be Your Dog'. The other obvious pick is 'Dazed and Confused', which is a wildly chaotic ride. It's dark, moody, heavy, proggy, and even has  Jimmy Page putting a violin bow to his guitar. Obviously  Robert Plant's screeching vocals were unreal at the time too, particularly on this track. Yeah, it would be less than a year before we got other powerhouse wailing rock vocalists such as Ian Gillan establishing themselves on the scene, but Plant was the first, surely? At least the first guy that sang in this style anyone bothered to take note of anyway.

To be fair, this album starts off with a heavy rock fest in the criminally underrated 'Good Times, Bad Times'. Well, alright, maybe it's not underrated as such - pretty much everyone loves this record, I just don't see enough individual love for this kick-ass opener. It's simple and straight to the point, with riffs that'll get you pumpin' your fists. But there's also some seriously great and memorable vocal hooks in there too. I love it. I also love the epic ballad 'Babe I'm Gonna Leave You', which already see's the band dabbling with a little folky, acoustic influence. But the song does build up to be another massive, heavy anthem that you'll no-doubt be cranking up the volume to. Speaking of folk, there's a second, kinda spacey, balladish number in 'Your Time Is Gonna Come'. John Paul Jones leads this one with some very distinct gospel-ish organ playing, and in general, I find this to be another great track that deserves more attention. It eventually fades out into Page's brief acoustic instrumental piece, 'Black Mountain Side', which breaks up this album perfectly.

Let's not forget that this was still the 60's though (as if I haven't already brought this up enough times already!). So yeah, the bluesy stuff's still present in songs like the ultra-sleazy cover of Willie Dixon's 'You Shook Me'. By the way, just because this song is bluesy as fuck does not mark this album down in any way. The really bluesy tracks on here are superb after all! Well, maybe the second Dixon cover, 'I Can't Quit You Baby' is a tad weaker than the rest of this record. Don't get me wrong, it's a very solid and enjoyable blues jam all in all, but Hendrix was doing this sort of thing a lot better already on his covers. The album ends with more blues, 'How Many More Times'. This track gets you up on your feet with it's swingin', foot-tappin' beat. Kind of sounds like a song for the band to jam on endlessly in the live setting. Love Jimmy's soloing on it, as well as all of John Bonham's crazy drum fills.

So, an absolute classic. Duh. However, I initially gave this album a 10/10, and I feel like I kinda did that on principle. I was looking at other albums from the late 60's and 70's that I scored within the 9.7-10/10 range, and I think I was being too generous with my original score. For a start, 'I Can't Quit You Baby' isn't perfect. And when comparing this to an album like Sabbath's debut and Master of Reality (both 10/10), Judas Priest's Sad Wings of Destiny and Stained Class (10/10 and 9.9/10), Deep Purple's In Rock and Machine Head (both 10/10), Van Halen's self-titled debut (9.8/10) and Jimi Hendrix's Are You Experienced (10/10), I honestly prefer all those albums over Zep's debut. Hence, I've dropped the score .2, not that this really means anything of course.

Adam's rating: 9.8/10

LED ZEPPELIN II          1969          (Atlantic)

- Standouts: All of 'em. 

I've been listening to Led Zeppelin since I was 14 years old and I've been on the fence with both the debut album and Led Zeppelin II ever since. Both these records are incredible for different reasons, as I'll explain. On this follow-up album, released a mere nine months on from the first one, the band go all-out with the heavy rock direction they took on songs like 'Communication Breakdown', 'Good Times, Bad Times' and 'Dazed and Confused', for almost this entire record. True, the blues is still present, but the blues was still present in much of the heavy rock tracks being recorded until around the mid-70's. Whatever, this album rocks! So if your favourite tracks from the debut were 'You Shook Me' or 'Your Time Is Gonna Come'... well then, that's too bad.

This LP begins with 'Whole Lotta Love', a kind of goofy, sleazy, but heavy rocker with an iconic Page riff and some wild vocals from ol' Robert. This song is the definition of cool... er, that is, cool in music form. Anyone remember the BBC's Top of the Pops? It always surprised me they used 'Whole Lotta Love' as the title music, pretty damn heavy considering pop music dominates the majority of the charts! I must admit, as much as I enjoy 'Whole Lotta Love' I don't listen to it individually all that often - and I think that's 'cos I always thought the mid-section with the bongos and Plant's wailing goes on for too long. That said, when listening to this album in full, it's pretty much the perfect way to start things off. 'What Is and What Should Never Be' drifts between a mellow, laid-back bluesy cut and a loud, raw hard rocker. It's awesome! And the Jones' bassline during the quieter parts grabs you immediately. Love 'The Lemon Song' as well, which is like a sleazy, dirty blues number cranked up to eleven. 

The track that sets itself apart the most musically, when compared to the rest of the songs here, is the nice ballad 'Thank You'. This is an excellent, floaty, folky number. Despite not being built around heavy riffage and pounding drum beats like the rest of this record, I couldn't imagine Led Zeppelin II without 'Thank You'. Of course, things go back to how they were when 'Thank You' is followed-up with 'Heartbreaker'. 'Heartbreaker' is my favourite track on here, and easily features one of Jimmy's all-time greatest riffs. If kickin' ass is your thing, be sure to blast this song from your car stereo next time you drive someplace! This tune has some killer bass grooves too, and the solo is sporadic and unpredictable. Fuckin' awesome!

Catchiest song here has gotta be 'Living Loving Maid (She's Just a Woman)'. It's also the shortest, but it's a fun rocker that puts a smile on my face. Can't ask for much more. 'Ramble On' starts off quite folky and acoustic, which is nice, but it'll still end up rocking you at certain points as well. Honestly, the worst thing about this has gotta be the instrumental 'Moby Dick'. The riff is kick-ass, but 90% of this track is a boring, unstructured drum solo from John Bonham! Sorry, but I've just never liked this one! I can only assume it sounds good in the live setting, but on record, it's just dull! Thankfully 'Bring It on Home' picks things up again. I love how it begins as a very traditional-sounding blues number (complete with harmonica), but soon descends into another heavy rocker that stands in line with the rest of the heavy shit on this album.

There's a lot of debate over Led Zeppelin's first four albums. If rockin' out is at the top of the priority list for you, then this is arguably the ultimate Zeppelin record in that sense. If you look for diversity or, well anything else really, then it probably won't be your favourite album of theirs. That said, even if Houses of the Holy or III are your favourites, I can't imagine there's many fans out there that outright dislike II. I absolutely love it, always have done. Well, except for 'Moby Dick' that is!

Adam's rating: 9.8/10

LED ZEPPELIN III           1970          (Atlantic)

- Standouts: 'Immigrant Song', 'Friends', 'Celebration Day', 'Since I've Been Loving You', 'Out on the Tiles', 'Gallows Pole', 'Tangerine', 'That's the Way'

Rather predictably, I wasn't the biggest fan of Led Zeppelin III in my teenage years. I say predictably 'cos the band got real folky on the second half of this record. I do think it's a major exaggeration to simply slap the 'folk rock' label on III and just leave it at that, though. It's just not as obnoxiously raw and loud as II, and if anything, sits closer to the debut with it's variety of styles. The band were all about creativity, and that's what you're getting here. And of course, as a teen you don't really know shit about music anyway; everyone loves this album and for good reason. Naturally, I always loved 'Immigrant Song' however. That's an absolute belter of a hard rocker that comes in the second you hit play. That said, 'Immigrant Song' isn't exactly the best indicator of what III is all about, so the fans that loved the heavy riffage of it's predecessor would be in for a shock with some of the material on III.

'Friends' is the first folky acoustic piece on here. But it's not folky in a mellow, Simon and Garfunkel kind of sense, it's honestly kind of weird and psychedelic, and I love it. I'd kinda like to see this track represented more. There's another rocker in 'Celebration Day', and there's a lot going on with Page's guitar work on it. It's multi-layered, bluesy, maybe even rockabilly-ish, and it's cool as hell. The lengthy blues ballad 'Since I've Been Loving You' is a highlight and it always reminded me a little of Deep Purple's 'When a Blind Man Cries' from 1972. I think it's the accompanying organs that are the reason for this. That said, I probably wouldn't place 'Since I've Been Loving You' among my favourite Led Zep ballads; I think 'Babe I'm Gonna Leave You' from the debut takes that spot. There's some awesome grooves on 'Out on the Tiles', a kind of boogie/funky rocker that concludes the first half of III. 

'Gallows Pole' begins the second half of the album, and this is a folky one. You might even call it bluegrass. And damn, is it great! I never used think this way about this track in my school years, but as an adult I can safely say it's one of my favourites on the album. It gets my foot tappin', and it even has a fucking banjo on it! And the folk ballad 'Tangerine' actually has melodies that remind me of 'Stairway to Heaven' in both Page's guitars and Plant's vocal lines. I always thought this track could have been a minute or so longer, but aside from the relatively short three-minute run-time, this song is bliss. 

I must say that after 'Tangerine', some kind of plugged-in heavy rocker wouldn't have sounded out of place, but instead we get another pretty acoustic piece, 'That's the Way'. This is another excellent song, brilliantly sung by Robert, although his actual lyrics on it aren't all that great. Once again, we're given another folk song with 'Bron-Y-Aur Stomp'! This one is a bit more upbeat and in line with 'Gallows Pole' however. I like it, but it's not one of the best tracks on this album for me. Bron-Yr-Aur is a cottage in Wales that was a holiday home for Robert Plant, that he and Jimmy wrote several songs at. I live in England but am pretty much on the border of Wales, and actually work in Wales as well (I also do a lot of hiking there), so it's kinda cool to see anything Welsh on an album of this calibre! The bluegrass 'Hats Off to (Roy) Harper' is a bit of a messy way to end the album, sadly. I like Jimmy's steel slide guitars, but Plant's vocals just sound kinda, well, sloppy to me.

90% of this album is excellent, but I still think there's just a little too much acousticness going on with the second half! The only song I'm not fussed by is 'Hats Off to (Roy) Harper', but the rest are gold. However, there are certain points where the teenager in me still says "I sure could use another rocker right about now!", and it's around the time 'That's the Way' kicks in! I just feel that it needs one to break up the album a little more. That said, I dig this record a hell of a lot more as an adult than I did in my school days, and giving this record anything less than a score that sits in the mid 9/10-range should be illegal. 

Adam's rating: 9.3/10

LED ZEPPELIN IV          1971          (Atlantic)

- Standouts: Everything!

There's plenty of debate over which Led Zeppelin album is truly the greatest, but if there's one that generally takes first prize more-so than the rest, then surely it's gotta be Led Zeppelin IV (which is technically an untitled record)? This was my first Zep album, I got it on my 14th birthday. I'd hazard a guess that the majority of millennials started with this one too, and obviously the main reason for that is because IV has 'Stairway to Heaven' on it, but also 'Black Dog'. I mean, everything on here is a classic of course, but I always considered 'Black Dog' and 'Stairway' to be the most widely-known Led Zep tracks. You could probably argue against 'Black Dog', but I'd be amazed if anyone could think of anything else this band recorded which is bigger than 'Stairway'. 

Well, I guess I might as well as go right ahead and get those two tracks out of the way now, even though you already know them. 'Black Dog' is that big, groovy, bluesy, riff-heavy, stop-start album opener. It arguably has one of the greatest riffs of all time, and it kicks butt! 'Nuff said about this one. As for 'Stairway to Heaven', I mean, it's generally considered to be one of the greatest songs ever written. How many other bands and artists can claim that? I must admit, it's not one of my personal favourite Zeppelin numbers, but that's mainly because I've heard it too many damn times at this stage in my life. It blew me away in my school years though, and Page's solo still sends shivers up my spine to this day. One of the best guitar solos of all time, easily. The song as a whole is kinda like the epitome of epic rock songs.

With the two biggies out the way, onto the rest of this album. I'm a huge fan of 'Rock and Roll' - one of the least creative song titles of all time, sure - but this is Zeppelin at their most fun! It's basically a beefed-up, old-school 50's kind of rock n' roller. Awesome, absurdly loud John Bonham drumming on here. Obviously I wasn't entirely fussed about the Tolkein-inspired 'The Battle of Evermore' when I was younger, seeing as it revisits the strong acoustic folk sounds of Led Zeppelin III, but again, teenagers don't know shit about music at the end of the day. Fact of the matter is, this is a beautiful song with an absolutely fantastic vocal performance from Robert Plant.

Some people don't seem to appreciate 'Misty Mountain Hop' all that much. Am I right in saying that? Or is it just the wannabe music critics (like me) that are actually vocal about it? I personally love it! Stupidly groovy guitar riff/electric piano combo, weird lyrics and vocal melodies... yeah, I dig it! 'Four Sticks' is probably the least ambitious track on the album, but again, I still think it's superb. The simplicity of the main riff sticks with you, and those melodic parts kind of bring a folk element to the track. I also think Bonham's percussion is cool too, tons of bongos on this one! We also get another gorgeous folk piece, 'Going to California'. Damn, why were this band so good at genre-shifting? Naturally, this track wasn't a favourite of mine during my school days, but grew on me immensely over time.

The last track, 'When the Levee Breaks' is probably my favourite these days. If you'd have asked me over a decade ago which is my favourite song from this record, I'd have likely replied 'Black Dog', 'Stairway to Heaven' or 'Rock and Roll', but that's not the case anymore. 'When the Levee Breaks' is just phenomenal. Bonham's drum beat is absolutely massive, and has been sampled countless times by rappers like Dre, the Beastie Boys and Ice-T - and for good reason. This song is the second lengthy epic, and I always thought it had a heavy, swamp rock kind of vibe about it. Excessive harmonica use can sometimes piss me off, but this tune definitely needs that harmonica in the background.

It's a predictable thing to do... you know, giving this record a 10/10. But seriously, Led Zeppelin IV is like a collection of the things the band did best on the first three albums. The heavy blues rockers are pretty much flawless, the acoustic folk numbers are outstanding, and the two epics are legendary. Even the album cover is legendary, and instantly recognisable. This is just one of those records that no collection should be without.

Adam's rating: 10/10

HOUSES OF THE HOLY          1973          (Atlantic)

- Standouts: 'Over the Hills and Far Away', 'The Crunge', 'D'Yer Mak'er', 'No Quarter', 'The Ocean'

Gonna jump right into this one. Houses of the Holy has 'The Song Remains the Same', the record's opening track. It's a rocker, but not in the traditional Led Zep sense. There's tons of stuff going on with Jimmy's playing on this one, which is all multi-layered, and it gives the song this big, expansive, soaring kind of feel. Honestly, I'm not the biggest fan of it. There's a little too much going on for my tastes, it kind of takes you away from the savagery of past rockers such as 'Whole Lotta Love' or 'Black Dog'. On a bad day I might even call it 'sloppy', but to say I outright dislike 'Song Remains the Same' would be a lie. I do like it, I just don't think it's great.

'The Rain Song' is a lengthy ballad with decent synth and Mellotron-usage. They actually give the track a sound similar to that of a strings section, and it just works overall. Rest of the song is very pretty, but I must admit that once again it's not really a favourite of mine. I just find the overall melodies of this track to be less memorable than that of past ballads such as 'Tangerine', or even 'All My Love' from In Through the Out Door. I do love 'Over the Hills and Far Away' however. It has a folk sensibility, but also a prominent hard rock sound, particularly in the guitar solo. In my mind it's an underrated Zeppelin cut, despite being released as a single.  I also love the funk rocker 'The Crunge'. I wouldn't be surprised if some fans aren't keen on this one, but I always found it to be a good bit of fun. Led Zeppelin are one of those rare bands that actually tended to succeed on the majority of their experimental tracks, in my opinion. 'Dancing Days' is a little repetitive, and arguably a filler track, but it's simplicity does at least make it memorable. It's not a great song, but I still think it's decent overall. I quite like the Indian vibes it gives off - Plant and Page supposedly were inspired by a song they heard whilst travelling in Bombay, so that explains things.

My favourite song on here is probably 'D'yer Mak'er', which is Led Zeppelin attempting to do... reggae?! Aye, sounds crazy, but it's cool! Catchy as hell! Maybe even a top ten Zeppelin track for me. Like I said, I always reckoned this band pulled off the majority of their more experimental stuff well - this song is evidence of that. 'No Quarter' is excellent as well, it's a proggy, murky, dark Viking epic that I always thought was ahead of it's time. To be honest, it could've worked as the album's closer, but rather than leave you feeling cold and haunted, the band end with a solid heavy rocker (complete with a brief acapella section, for some reason), 'The Ocean'.

Some people absolutely love this album, but I'm not one of them. Don't get me wrong, I do think it's great. Every song is decent, but I think the songwriting just isn't up to the same level of quality as the previous records on a handful of tracks. It's just not a go-to Zeppelin record for me, sadly. That said, 'No Quarter' is a masterpiece and simply one of the best songs they ever laid down, and 'D'yer Mak'er' is a favourite too. Plus, an 8.6/10 score is hardly something to be ashamed of, although originally I gave this album a 9.6/10. That's right, 9.6/10!!!

Yeah, I don't get it either. I wasn't really a Houses of the Holy fan when I was a kid, and I must've been drunk or at least tipsy when I wrote my original review in 2017. Clearly I was in some kind of cool groove because I was sure I never looked at this record as an all-time great. But apparently I did, even if it was only for five minutes.

Adam's rating: 8.6/10

PHYSICAL GRAFFITI          1975          (Swan Song)

- Standouts: 'Custard Pie', 'The Rover', 'In My Time of Dying', 'Houses of the Holy', 'Trampled Under Foot', 'Kashmir', 'In the Light', 'Bron-Yr-Aur', 'Down by the Seaside', 'The Wanton Song', 'Boogie With Stu', 'Sick Again'

I've always been on the fence with double albums. If I gave you a list of my favourite records of all time, I'm fairly certain you wouldn't find a single double album in there. I find that the majority of them are too fuckin' long and overblown, and for all the great tracks, there's often a lot of filler to sit through. Case in point, Smashing Pumpkins' Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness.  The good songs on that record are fucking amazing, but I'd say at least a third of the entire package is so-so. For that reason I rarely ever listen to double albums in their entirety, simply because I can't be arsed. Naturally, Led Zeppelin had a go at making a double album with 1975's Physical Graffiti. It's considered by some fans to be the greatest thing the band ever put out, but for me, I always looked at it the same way I do that Smashing Pumpkins double album. So here I am in 2021, forcing myself to sit through the entirety of Physical Graffiti for this updated review.

Disc one:

The first two tracks are still unbelievably good. 'Custard Pie' is a jagged hard rock song with an awesome main riff. Great start. And 'The Rover' is a super-cool, bluesy rock piece with a thumpin' bass rhythm from John Paul Jones. The chorus is flawless; this whole song is just extremely polished and well crafted. I guess I wouldn't be surprised if some people find 'In My Time of Dying' to be monotonous and repetitive. It's an eleven minute re-working of an old Bob Dylan song, and it's a sleazy as hell, traditionally-influenced blues number... but I'm fond of it because it reminds me of the first Led Zeppelin album. I always enjoyed the blues covers on that record, so I'm cool with 'In My Time of Dying'. I will say that I think they could've shaved two or three minutes off the recording however, and it'd still have been just as good.

Ironically, the album Houses of the Holy didn't actually have a song called 'Houses of the Holy' on it, yet Physical Graffiti does. And it's cool! Nice heavy riffage from Jimmy, yet there's also a pop sensibility about it too, particularly in the way Robert sings this track. Just a nice, feel-good song that would've made a great single. It never was released as a single of course, nor was it ever played live (surprisingly), so I guess it remains a deep cut of sorts. There's another fantastically underrated song here too - 'Trampled Under Foot'. Goddamn, this is funky! Stupidly catchy, boogie-funk rock! Can't help but crank it up loud! Another underrated (or at least underrated in my mind) song.

The centrepiece of the first disc (and arguably the entire record) is obviously the violin-driven 'Kashmir'. You know it. It's honestly one of the most expansively epic songs ever written; it's almost as if the band were showing off their talents as songwriters. I actually can't think of anything bad to say about 'Kashmir'. Is it too long? Nah, a song of this calibre requires a minimum track length of eight minutes! Everyone bangs on about 'Stairway to Heaven' being their finest epic as well as one of the greatest songs of all time... give me 'Kashmir' instead, any day of the week! Frankly, disc one of Physical Graffiti is near enough flawless. Six tracks that are all nearly all among the band's best material in this humble fan's opinion. It's around thirty-eight minutes in total, and if it was released as a separate album by itself, I still think it'd be one of the best Led Zeppelin albums.

Disc two:

The second half of the album is undoubtedly the weaker side of the two. If anyone out there disagrees with this, well, I respect your opinion... but you're still wrong! Despite this, the second half is still very good for the most part. The artsy 'In the Light' is a great song that I always thought had a slight hint of psychedelia in it's composition. I suspect it's the synth usage that gives me those vibes. I used to think it was too long, but I dig it a hell of a lot more these days than I used to. 'Bron-Yr-Aur' is a really nice folky acoustic guitar instrumental, the first in a long time (since 'Black Mountain Side' from the debut? As it turns out, 'Bron' was a Led Zeppelin III outake, so that explains a lot). It's a solid interlude that leads up to 'Down by the Seaside'. 'Down by the Seaside' has a bit of a country twang to it if you ask me. It's quite a mellow, poppy, country-esque piece that I dig, but is not a favourite of mine when you look at this album as a whole. But like I said in my Houses of the Holy review, I find that most of the more experimental Zeppelin tracks work quite well overall, and so does this one. In a way, it actually reminds me of a couple of tracks from the late 60's period Rolling Stones, but was apparently influenced by Neil Young. Young obviously changed styles later on his career, but if you're talkin' 70's Neil, then I can hear the resemblance.

'Ten Years Gone' is a good soft rock/ballad piece that makes for some nice background music, but isn't a standout for me. I dunno, it's just not one I listen to individually very often, but I do like it. I also like the melodic pop rock of 'Night Flight'. Another nice track, but again, not really a highlight in my opinion - unlike 'The Wanton Song', which is an underrated heavy rock number. It's built around catchy, repetitive groovin' riffage. It's good! I enjoy the 50's style rock n' roll jams of 'Boogie With Stu' as well. It's not an outstanding track by any means, but it is certainly fun. It has the Rolling Stones' original pianist, Ian Stewart playing on it (who also played on 'Rock and Roll' from Led Zeppelin IV). I think this one could've worked as the album's closing track. 'Black Country Woman' is okay I guess, but not terribly exciting either. It's a generic bluesy acoustic song that I don't dislike, but am not particularly fussed about either. To be honest, at this point the album gets a little tiresome; I find that pretty much all albums get tiresome when you've been listening for well over seventy minutes regardless of the quality of the music. But 'Black Country Woman' is definitely one of the weaker songs on this record. Thankfully the end of the second disc plays out with 'Sick Again', which is a murky, sleazy, heavy track, and it's a classic.

Unlike Houses of the Holy, which I feel I was initially way too generous with in regards to the rating, I've upped Physical Graffiti's score. This is easily the best double album of all time, in my opinion. Disc one is a near-perfect Led Zeppelin album in itself; if it had 'Sick Again' and 'In the Light' on it, it would be up there with the debut, II and IV for me. But when you review double albums, you have to look at the entire package as a whole. Just because this album has a bunch of songs on it that I consider to be among the band's best, doesn't mean you can overlook the fact there's also a few 'good, not great' tracks on here too. And the second disc is the culprit for this. There's not a song on here that I don't like, but I think tracks like 'Black Country Woman', 'Night Flight' and 'Ten Years Gone' have their issues - and I can't just ignore that fact.

I don't think it's impossible to create a perfect double album, but I've yet to hear one. I mean, this is my favourite double album yet I still get tired of listening to it around two thirds into the second disc. But like I said, all double albums have had this effect on me so far. That said, I still feel that this is the best Zeppelin record behind I, II and IV. It has 'Kashmir' on it for fucks sake!

Adam's rating: 9.5/10

THE SONG REMAINS THE SAME          1976          (Swan Song)

The soundtrack to the film of the same name which, I confess, I haven't actually watched yet. I hear it's more than just a live concert and has some weird shit in there too. The soundtrack album however, is basically just a live album, and a great one at that. I've got this on CD and the original double gatefold LP. Took me ages to actually buy a CD copy though.
Adam's rating: 8.5/10

PRESENCE          1976           (Swan Song)

- Standouts: 'Achilles Last Stand', 'For Your Life', 'Royal Orleans', 'Nobody's Fault But Mine', 'Tea for One'

Ah, the first Led Zeppelin album that a lot of people don't consider to be a classic. I've always liked it, but was with the majority in thinking that it was still one of the weakest albums in their discography. The making of this record is interesting stuff. The recording sessions were troubled - Robert Plant and his wife were involved in a serious car crash in '75, which of course meant a cancelled tour, and apparently he sang his vocals in a wheelchair during the recording of this album. Jimmy Page was pretty much running the show during the Presence period and took the production into his hands.

In terms of the music, track one 'Achilles Last Stand' is absolutely superb. Long as hell (over ten minutes), but it really works for this one. It's a big Zeppelin epic, but unlike 'Stairway to Heaven', which blended folk and hard rock, or 'Kashmir', which relied heavily on strings, 'Achilles Last Stand' is fast hard rock from start to finish, with little in the way of experimentation. But that's why I like it - it stands out as unique among the rest of the Zeppelin epics, and it has this awesome galloping tempo throughout. I'd even argue that it had an influence on the New Wave of British Heavy Metal scene of the late 70's/early 80's. It's the kind of thing Iron Maiden would do when they started making albums a few years later. Well, not literally of course, but that galloping rhythm surely must have influenced them to a degree, no? Either way, 'Achilles Last Stand' - an genuine bona fide, kick-ass Led Zeppelin classic!

'For Your Life' is not quite to the same standard as the blazing opener, but is still very underrated in my opinion. It's has a very catchy rhythm, and also quite a jamming kind of feel. The riffs are the sort of thing Jimmy could easily improvise a great solo over. This track makes perfect background music, honestly. I'll admit the band have done better funk rockers than 'Royal Orleans' in the past ('The Crunge', anyone?), but I still enjoy it quite a bit. It's a nice little tune that, one that makes me feel good. The album truly steps up again on 'Nobody's Fault but Mine' - and I still really like the previous two songs! But 'Nobody's Fault but Mine' is another outstanding song that I feel deserves it's place in the compilations or live setlists. The stop-start heavy blues riffs are killer and I love Robert's matching vocal melodies to go along with them. The song kicks arse and reminds me heavily of Led Zeppelin circa 1969, particularly the harmonica solo in the middle. Yep, this is another of my all-time favourite Zeppelin tracks.

'Candy Store Rock' is nothing to get all excited over, but is still a solid rock n' roller that gets the job done none-the-less. I think the fact that it's Led Zeppelin - and the fact you can immediately tell that it's Led Zeppelin - is it's main strength. A lot fans like to slap the 'filler' label on 'Hots on for Nowhere' too... but like 'Candy Store Rock', it's another track that I enjoy just enough to escape filler territory. It's not truly great, but it is a still fun, feel-good catchy rocker. Some of the riffs actually kinda remind me of Van Halen's 'Beautiful Girls'. The last track, 'Tea for One' is another underrated classic. It's a long, slow blues jam with a very improv-feel that I can't help but compare to Jimi Hendrix's Band of Gypsys. Again, reminds me of very early-era Led Zeppelin, which is great.

Some fans will call me an idiot for saying this, but I prefer Presence over Houses of the Holy. I certainly don't find it to be as strong as the rest of the previous albums that I haven't mentioned, so I'm comparing it to Houses. I find it to be more consistent overall, and easily the most underrated record in the Led Zeppelin discography. The fact Presence is lacking experimental songs and is more-or-less an entirely electric guitar-driven hard rock album from start to finish was necessary at this point in their career, I think. It gives the album a 'back to basics' kind of vibe; sometimes I don't want an album full of folky acoustic numbers. 

On a side note, I also really like the concept of the obelisk Hipgnosis album cover, and the rest of the designs inside the booklet/sleeve. I've always found those 70's Hipgnosis album covers to be hit or miss, this is not one of them (some of their album covers that I hate include UFO's No Heavy Petting and Lights Out, Black Sabbath's Technical Ecstasy, AC/DC's Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap and Def Leppard's High 'n' Dry!).

Adam's rating: 9/10

IN THROUGH THE OUT DOOR          1979          (Swan Song)

- Standouts: 'In the Evening', 'South Bound Saurez', 'Fool in the Rain', 'Hot Dog', 'All My Love'

This was the last real album Led Zeppelin ever made - John Bonham passed away in 1980, just over a year after the release of In Through the Out Door. It was then that the band split up for good (aside from the odd reunion show here and there, the last one was in 2007)... but maybe it was for the best. 

Like Presence, In Through the Out Door doesn't have the legendary reputation of the first six records. Musically it treads new waters, with heavy synth keyboard usage from start to finish, and little in the way of the heavy guitar riffage, the blues or even the folk rock sounds they would drift in and out of throughout past albums. But hey! This band were never afraid to try new things, at least that's what I always thought. If Black Sabbath were doing what the Led Zep guys did here around the same time, then for sure I'd be pissed off. Actually, that's a bad example. Sabbath released Never Say Die! in '78, an album with jazz songs (!!!) on it. What I mean is, Zeppelin experimenting musically is not really anything to be concerned about, for the most part. I never actually owned a copy of this record when I was at school (or Coda for that matter...), and that's most likely a good thing. I reckon I'd have hated it back then. I could tolerate the folky stuff overall, but keyboard/synth-driven songs, probably not. I bought the album in my early 20's, to complete my Zeppelin collection, and truth be told, I've always thought this is a great record. Jimmy's not ramming riffs down 'yer throat like he was on Presence, but there's still some nice guitar licks, solos and melodies throughout the tracks to digest. The music is much lighter and, well, happier overall, but not necessarily poppier.

The first song, 'In the Evening' is a drop-dead classic. It's not quite long enough to be an epic, but it sure feels and sounds epic. The keyboards give the track this huge, soaring aura and it wouldn't have worked without them. If the song was driven purely by the guitars, the atmosphere would've been lost and I can only assume the track would've just been mediocre otherwise. 'South Bound Saurez' is heavily piano-led, and is very upbeat. But Page's guitar solo is great on it, as is his funk-playing that accompanies John Paul Jones' pianos. And I love 'Fool in the Rain'! It's another piano-based number with a very jolly tone overall. I think Robert Plant's vocal performance is best on this track, compared to the rest of the songs. The most surprising part of 'Fool in the Rain' however, is the samba/salsa jam in the middle of the track. I dig it! It's a lot of fun... but not as fun as the next song. Check out 'Hot Dog'! Led Zeppelin does... good-time honky-tonk country?! Whatever, it's cool! I mean, they'd already written folk songs, funk songs... what's the harm venturing into more genres? The last two songs already sounded kinda 'happy', but 'Hot Dog' is the happiest Led Zeppelin song ever! If this track doesn't put a smile on your face then I dunno what does. I feel you've gotta be some kind of a major Zeppelin purist if 'Hot Dog' annoys you.

It's not all fun and games however. Despite the fact this album contains about 90% of Zeppelin's most upbeat material, it also has 'All My Love' on it. The inspiration behind this number is tragic, really. It was written by Plant to honour his son Karac, who passed away from a stomach illness in 1977, aged five. The majority of this song is excellent, extremely pretty and you feel the heart and soul that went into Robert's vocals and lyrics. The only thing I dislike about it is the stupid tones of the keyboard solo (assuming that is a keyboard?), but this only lasts around twenty-five seconds, so I can live with it. My least favourite track is possibly 'Carouselambra', but that's only because there's certain parts of this ten-minute plus song that I'm not keen on. The mid-section is wonderful. Really nice soft rock melodies, but also some very moody bits too. However, there's some keyboard work on it that doesn't really do it for me like they do the rest of the album. The song's a bit all over the place, but then maybe they were intentionally trying to be a prog rock band on it. Perhaps it'll become a favourite of mine in another ten years, but as it stands I find 'Carouselabra' to be kind of messy overall, though I do still like it to an extent. 

In Through the Out Door concludes with 'I'm Gonna Crawl', which is kind of like a slow blues, jammy piece with a synth background. The result is surprisingly good, again. It's similar in structure to the slow blues stuff they've done in the past, but the synths give it an atmosphere that those past works lack. In terms of Jimmy's guitar playing, it could be the best song on the album. That said, 'I'm Gonna Crawl' isn't one of my favourites from this disc, but then again, I still like all the songs on here overall.

The Led Zeppelin discography is incredibly strong, and this album is severely underrated. I'll admit that it was an odd way to go out on, and I guess if I was alive in 1979 and had been following the band since the debut, then maybe I would have been disappointed with In Through the Out Door. It certainly seems like there's plenty of fans out there who felt this way. But I do think the songs are great regardless. It's Zeppelin's art rock album.

Adam's rating: 8.9/10

CODA           1982          (Swan Song)

- Standouts: 'We're Gonna Groove', 'Poor Tom', 'Walter's Walk', 'Wearing and Tearing'

Some people like to stick Coda in their Led Zeppelin album ranking lists, and I don't think that's entirely fair. I mean, the band had already disbanded for two years by 1982, when Coda was released. And really, all this record consists of is eight unreleased songs that were recorded throughout the band's career. Obviously that means it's almost always automatically at the bottom of everybody's ranks. Well, duh! Of course this thing is gonna be patchy and inconsistent! It's a compilation, and the tracks were written and recorded over the course of eight years, with overdubs added in 1981! For those reasons, I don't consider Coda to be a 'true' Led Zeppelin album and treat it for what it is - a collection of rarities, a disc for fans that were left wanting more after the band split up.

I actually think the majority of these songs are rather good, and as far as these rarities discs go, it's easily one of the better one's I can think of from any band. 'We're Gonna Groove' is a fast, funky, solid rocker from the earlier days, but it sounds as if it could've come from a number of their albums, in my opinion. Turns out it's actually a Ben E. King R&B cover, but unless you really know your music, I doubt you'd know it without researching first. 'Poor Tom' is very good - it's a folky rock number, and it's quite obviously from the Led Zeppelin III period. The finger-picked acoustic guitars are really nice. I guess it was kind of cheeky and lazy to throw in another version of 'I Can't Quit You Baby' though. The version in question is a live recording from 1970, and it's actually a pretty decent performance at that. But the fact it is just another version of a song we already got on the debut makes it fairly uninteresting when stood next to the rest of the tracks here. Thankfully the hard-hitting, surprisingly punky 'Walter's Walk' has me cranking up the volume. I find it to be an underrated track from the Houses of the Holy era, and I'd honestly quite liked to have seen it on that record. 'Bonzo's Montreux' is a John Bonham drum solo which Jimmy Page dubbed with electronic effects. The result is a pretty damn cool and crazy piece of percussion! 

The remaining three songs were all outtakes from the In Through the Out Door sessions. They're all much more stripped-down and raw than what you heard on In Through the Out Door, with less in the way of keyboard or synths, which is probably why they were left out. Individually however, they're all pretty decent. 'Ozone Baby' is a fairly straightforward hard rocker with some poppy hooks. Not a great track, but certainly not bad. I guess 'Darlene' could have fit on In Through the Out Door - I mean, it does have some backing piano work on it, but musically it's kind of an old-school rock n' roller that sounds more in tune with earlier-period Led Zeppelin. 'Wearing and Tearing' on the other hand, almost certainly wouldn't have sounded right on In Through the Out Door! It's a very fast and heavy number, apparently written as the band's response to the punk scene which was dominating the rock scene at the time. I love 'Wearing and Tearing', I think it's a total ass-kicker of a tune.

Okay, so as it turns out if I were to include this in my own Led Zeppelin album ranking list (which I wouldn't), it would also be right at the bottom! But like I said, I feel like Coda is the worst Zeppelin album by default, but it's not really fair to treat it as one of their 'proper' records in the first place. As a rarities compilation, I think it's pretty damn good in all fairness. Not quite essential, but there's more than enough tracks on here to make it worth adding to your collection.

Adam's rating: 7.9/10

BBC SESSIONS          1997          (Atlantic)

Ever fancied owning three alternative live versions of 'Communication Breakdown'? Well, now you can thanks to this archive release, the BBC Sessions! It's two discs of Led Zeppelin jammin' live in the studio and in concert. Pure magic. It's got all the extended bluesy jams and alternative versions of songs you could ever want. The second version of 'You Shook Me' features what sounds like a Hammond organ, reminiscent to that of Deep Purple's John Lord, and it works perfectly! Two exclusives to be found also - 'The Girl I Love She Got Black Wavy Hair' and a cover of 'Somethin' Else', which was originally a 1959 rockabilly song by Eddie Cochran. These kind of releases are arguably put there for collector's like myself, but honestly, I enjoyed listening to it that much I say buy it regardless!
Adam's rating: 9/10

HOW THE WEST WAS WON          2003           (Atlantic)

Three discs of live Zeppelin, how can you go wrong?! How the West Was Won takes performances from two shows in the 1972 period (25th June at LA Forum and 27th June at Long Beach Arena), but it was released some 31 years later. Until then, bootleg recordings existed, but that was it. Oh, first of all, I want to mention that there's a 19-and-a-half minute version of 'Moby Dick'...so...if you don't like drum solos, er, don't listen to this version of 'Moby Dick' which is found at the end of the second disc. I also want to say that live, Led Zeppelin were never as tight as in the studio, but that's part of their charm when performing live. They like to jam man! The energy is much greater on stage than the studio. What happened to jamming and improvising for 10 minutes at a time at gigs these days (or in John Bonham's case with 'Moby Dick', nearly 20 minutes)?! My advice - listen to the entire set on a long drive somewhere and then moan for hours afterwards because gigs aren't as good these days as they used to be.
Adam's rating: 9/10

MOTHERSHIP          2007          (Atlantic)

A decent 2-disc compilation with superb sound mastering. Not sure why I was given this a gift one Christmas, seeing as I already had all their records in the first place. Well, to be fair, it does sit nicely with the rest of my Led Zep CD's. 

CELEBRATION DAY          2012          (Atlantic)

This recording just happens to be that of the sold-out 2007 reunion concert in London's 02 Arena, formerly the Millennium Dome (I actually visited the 'Dome back in 2000 when it was brand new and not actually an exhibition venue. Bragging rights). Maaaannn I wish I could've been there for this gig! It may not be as impressive as any of the live material from the 70's (understandably), but this is still one hell of a show with a setlist featuing songs from every album bar In Through the Out Door and Coda. Page plays brilliantly throughout, while Plant's voice is still remarkably good. I remember watching his solo set at Glastonbury 2014 (on TV, sadly), some seven years after this show, and he blew me away. Of course, John Bonham has been long gone, so Jason, his son, fills in drum duties for Celebration Day and does an excellent job at that. There were two encores to this epic show - 'Whole Lotta Love' and 'Rock and Roll'. What a way to end the concert! Will we ever see 'em live again? Who knows. Even if they did play again, the chances of actually obtaining a ticket are 1000000000000000000000000000000000000000 to 1...just like Glastonbury tickets.  
Adam's rating: 8.5/10