1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die #155. Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin (1969)

#155. Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin (1969)

Label – Atlantic
Producer – Jimmy Page
Art Direction – George Hardie
Nationality – UK
Running Time – 44:46

Track Listing (standout tracks listed in bold)

1. Good Times Bad Times
2. Babe I'm Gonna Leave You
3. You Shook Me
4. Dazed And Confused
5. Your Time Is Gonna Come
6. Black Mountain Side
7. Communication Breakdown
8. I Can't Quit You Baby
9. How Many More Times

At true classic. This is of course Led Zeppelin’s debut record released in early January 1969. It is widely regarded as marking a significant turning point in the evolution of what we now consider hard rock and heavy metal. To me, it’s actually more like an incredible blending of blues and rock.
“Led Zeppelin 1” (as it is generally called) is an lp consisting of powerful guitar riffs from Jimmy Page with a backdrop of simple, memorable songs belted out by Robert Plant and held together by the pounding drum and bass rhythms of John Bonham and John Paul Jones respectively. There is however an emphasis on subtlety. Not a barrage of guitar fills and a wall of noise, it’s more like a painted masterpiece with subtle shading and textures, filling the music canvas - but leaving spaces that are filled with alternating tempos and multi-layered stereo panning passages.
All of the tracks here could be labeled as ‘stand out’ tracks, and the record plays like a ‘best of’! There is the extended psychedelic blues of "Dazed and Confused," "You Shook Me," and "I Can't Quit You Baby", the acoustic driven "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" which shifts from folk to rock. "Good Times Bad Times" and "How Many More Times" have groovy, bluesy shuffles with the latter turning out into a full blown jam that I dare you to sit still through! Then there’s "Your Time Is Gonna Come", almost what could be considered a anthem rocker with a sing along chorus, and "Communication Breakdown" a balls out wild rocker. And this is their debut record!
The album was very commercially successful. Within two months of its release the album had reached Billboard's Top 10. It stayed on the Billboard chart for 73 weeks and held a 79-week run on the British charts.
In 2003, VH1 named “Led Zeppelin” the 44th greatest album of all time, while Rolling Stone ranked it 29th on the magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
It is HIGHLY recommended.


You can purchase the CD here, and the vinyl here