Goal: Become a legit Led Zeppelin Fan: Led Zeppelin I

Now that my internet actually works (I was desperate for stuff to do for a couple days), I'd like to introduce a series about my Led Zeppelin fanhood. So far I've bought Led Zeppelin's first four album which are, predictably, pretty great. Since I've bought all of them used, I think most of them are from the original Compact Disc release in the early 90s which includes directions on how to care for a CD = Awesome.

Today's album in review: Led Zeppelin I.


Note: I'm no music critic/reviewer, and since Zeppelin history/folklore is so immense, I'm just going to share what I think of the album song by song, accuracy in assessment and other people's opinions be damned.

1. "Good Times Bad Times"--As one of the shortest songs on the album, it's a little more accessible than some of the other songs--especially since my taste runs on the side of smart, clean pop over other styles. It's a pretty straight forward, bluesy rock song with an addictive chorus and short guitar solos. Robert Plant has the perfect amount of whininess at the end of the song, and I mean that in a good way.

2. "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You"--This song is epic (in a "Stairway to Heaven" sort of way). Starting acoustic, it slowly changes into a breakdown as Plant continues to sing about how he's gonna leave his girl. The pattern continues until it's slow and quiet end. It's definitely a Zeppelin song to chill to.

3. "You Shook Me"--Led Zeppelin at its bluesiest. Unfortunately, I tend to like my blues diluted (think John Mayer), so something this consistent in style and tempo gets old pretty fast, especially since it's over 6 minutes long. But you got to love that they can pull off so much soul and incorporate so much organ and harmonica.

4. "Dazed and Confused"--Slow and full of some sweet guitar riffs, this song is pretty awesome. Plant's vocals really sell the song, although the groaning in the psychedelic middle of the song is just weird after a while. It picks up after a while into a pretty epic rock out (thanks Jimmy!). Overall, a song that's cool, but not that fun to listen to after a while (did I mention this one is 6:27 long?)

5. "Your Time is Gonna Come"--I love the organ in rock and it is featured heavily in this song. John Paul Jones has some serious organ chops; the beginning sounds classical. This is another shorter and friendlier song, complete with a sing along chorus (with heavy vibrato organ). A mellow, perfect rock song.

6. "Black Mountain Side"--"Your Time is Gonna Come" bleeds into this short musical interlude, which is one of my favorite songs on the album. The percussion feels ethnic and earthy (I'll shout out to John Bonham here since I gave every else a shout out) and matches the guitar's bluegrassy/sitar-y sound (it's an awesome blend). Very pretty.

7. "Communicatino Breakdown"--This is a hard and fast rock song (like 2 and a half minutes). It's a lot of fun.

8. "I Can't Quit You Baby"--Another slow, bluesy song. This one is shorter and sexier, and for me, a lot more interesting than "You Shook Me". I love Page's guitar solos and Plant's wailing vocals on this song because they seem more intimate and passionate, less paint by the numbers blues.

9. "How Many More Times"--Very guitar riffy, although gets into the same psychadelic/really long solo territory that "Dazed and Confused" gets into (this song is over 8 minutes long!). I like the middle section of this song more. Overall, I like the more upbeat tempo, bass heavy riffs of "How Many More Times" more than "Dazed".

Overall assessment: I like it. Definitely an album heavy on the blues. I doesn't feature my favorite Zeppelin songs, but indicates where the band would be going musically in the future.