Led Zeppelin: A Musician and Listener's Analysis/When Giants Walked the Earth

 Led Zeppelin was probably the first band that I absolutely idolized. There was something about them that simply made me believe that they were gods. I would hear those names, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, John Bonham, and Robert Plant, and I fucking RESPECTED that shit. Page, especially, was my first guitar hero. Plant's angry, yet angelic voice was beautiful and well...a little seductive. I'll be analyzing Led Zeppelin's entire musical arsenal today. Live shows and albums I-IV.

Live Concerts: When Giants Walked the Earth

 Specifically, live at Royal Albert Hall. This was, for me, the most memorable live concert I've ever had the pleasure of viewing, rivaling Red Hot Chili Peppers' live in La Cigale. The setlist was as follows:

1. We're Gonna Groove
2. I Can't Quit You Baby
3. Heartbreaker
4. Dazed and Confused
5. White Summer / Black Mountainside
6. Since I've Been Loving You
7. What Is and What Should Never Be
8. Moby Dick
9. How Many More Times (medley incl. Boogie Chillen', Bottle Up 'n Go, Move On Down The Line, Leave My Woman Alone, "Lemon Song")
10. Whole Lotta Love
11. Communication Breakdown
12. Organ solo / Thank You
13. Bring It On Home
14. C'Mon Everybody
15. Something Else
16. Long Tall Sally (medley incl. Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On, Move On Down The Line)

This setlist was, in my opinion, absolutely perfect. I wouldn't change a thing. And it was performed impeccably. The band really seemed to blend more than ever before. This "blending" was actually the reason that they were so damn good on stage. John and John were both always perfectly syncopated. And then Page lays down his jaw-dropping guitar parts over the rhythm section. With his argyle blue sweater and sunburst Les Paul, he changed the way music was played and heard. All in all, the band's chemistry was that of the human body--perfectly balanced. 

Fun Fact: It was Jimmy Page's birthday! January 9th, 1970. Live at Royal Albert Hall. 

Studio Albums: I-IV

"Led Zeppelin" or Led Zeppelin I, was almost the perfect album. It set the bar for rock bands at the time. Actually, it set the bar for every rock band, ever. Track listing is as follows:

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 Mountainside
7. Communication Breakdown
8. I Can't Quit You, Baby
9. How Many More Times

This album has all my favorite songs on it, excluding The Wanton Song, Whole Lotta Love, and Since I've Been Loving You. But, instead of seeing these 4 albums as individual studio recordings, I see them as one gargantuan album. If you think about it this way, the albums flow into each other. For example, on Led Zeppelin II, the songs are arranged as such. 

1. Whole Lotta Love
2. What Is and What Should Never Be
3. The Lemon Song
4. Thank You
5. Heartbreaker
6. Living Loving Maid (She's Just a Woman)
7. Ramble On
8. Moby Dick
9. Bring it On Home

It seems that you could go from "How Many More Times" directly into "Whole Lotta Love", as if it was meant to be that way. Furthermore, if you really look at the listing, each song progresses towards something a little more...clean. Not clean in the tonal sense, but the musical cleanliness that is "Led Zeppelin III. Track listing is as follows.

1. Immigrant Song
2. Friends
3. Celebration Day
4. Since I've Been Loving You
5. Out On the Tiles
6. Gallows Pole
7. Tangerine
8. That's the Way
9. Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
10. Hats Off to (Roy) Harper  

This is another one of my favorite albums of all time. Songs like the Immigrant Song, Celebration Day, Since I've Been Loving You, Tangerine, and Hats Off mean the world to me. But again, this album is part of one huge one. However, I have different thoughts on Led Zeppelin IV. The only really memorable songs on this album are The Battle of Evermore, Going to California, and When the Levee Breaks. That's right. Not "Stairway". Although it was the second song I ever learned to play in it's entirety, it bored me after 4 months or so. That being said, the songs I listed as memorable truly are great. Those songs make the album worth listening to.