This debut album was recorded within their first weeks together after testing the songs while on tour to Scandinavian audiences under the name of the New Yardbirds. Rehearsed and arranged ahead of their arrival in the studio, the nine tracks took only 30 hours to record over nine days and for a reputed cost of £1,782.
The four members of the band were, Guitarist - Jimmy Page, Vocalist - Robert Plant, Bassist - John Paul Jones and Drummer - John Bonham.
Jimmy Page chose the black and white cover illustration of the Hindenburg airship going down, as The Who’s Keith Moon had put it, like a "Lead" Zeppelin.
Track 1 – Good Times, Bad Times – This the most commercial sounding cut of the album and was considered for a time as the bands debut single. Page played his telecaster through a Leslie revolving speaker, usually reserved for electric organs, to great effect. Plant established his vocal style that was only to improve in range, power
and agility over the next nine albums.
Track 2 – Babe I’m Gonna Leave you – though credited as a traditional arrangement, American songwriter Anne Bredon whose own performance had been adopted by Joan Baez wrote this song. After she challenged Atlantic records in the eighties, there had to be a credit added to the ‘Remasters’ albums and substantial back-royalties were paid. This was the first time we heard Robert’s dynamic and note range painting light and shade singing both powerfully and subtly with the first emergence of the signature ‘baby baby baby’ we would hear thought the rest of his career. The powerful acoustic guitar riff was reminiscent of Chicago’s track ‘25 or 6 to 4’.
Track 3 – You Shook Me – This is a great blues from the pen of Willie Dixon, that sees Jones on the Organ and Plant on wailing harmonica reaching a crescendo as Jimmy’s lead guitar slices through Bonham’s tom toms as they are swept across the stereo speakers. This practice later to be ‘panned’ (sorry!) for being a naive technique to remind the listeners they were not listening to a mono cut. The Page/Plant slide/vocal mimicry showed the high range and agility of Plant’s voice.
The Jeff Beck Group recorded this track on its album ‘Truth’, released a few months before the Zep album. It was reported that Beck stated that Jimmy copied ‘their’ arrangement for his own devices and was further incensed when it when charging up the charts.
Track 4 – Dazed and Confused – Originally an acoustic folk tune sung by Jack Holmes. Later, in The Yardbirds, Jimmy made an arrangement named ‘I’m confused.’ For this album the song was lengthened to include the violin bow parts and Plant’s vocal excursions, while Jones and Bonzo played rhythmic answerback games on the bass and drums leading to the manic part that starts the second half of the track.
Track 5 – Your Time is Gonna Come – starts with the ‘church organist’ introduction from Jones only to develop into a song with the ‘hick’ feel of the Ozarks and the great anthem-esque hook that fades into the next track.
Track 6 – Black Mountain Side – an acoustic guitar instrumental, acts as a respite from the more energetic tracks like the anthem that is Track 7 – Communication Breakdown - based on a simple guitar riff with impressive vocal power and agility from Plant.
Track 8 – I Can’t Quit You Baby – a great Willie Dixon blues where the band just seem to kick back and simply enjoy the jam style. Robert Plant proves himself great blues awareness as well as has a powerful rock voice. There is more than a little hint of Rolling Stone’s track ‘Little Red Rooster’ another contemporary blues tune.
Track 9 – How many More Times – is another Yardbirds song – the title is almost the question posed by Plant when he looks to his other band members as they appear to be in no hurry in putting an ending on the song. This was used as a rousing end of show track that could be extended, shortened or simply woven around a medley of blues favourites depending on the re ception they got from their audiences. Usually, this song was very long with Jones’ unstoppable bass guitar riff.
Released in the UK on April 12, 1969, the Led Zeppelin début album, advertised under the slogan ‘Led Zeppelin – the only way to fly’, began a 79-week run on the charts, peaking at number six. This album still can hold its head up high among today’s releases and is of one of the finest debut albums ever recorded is a must for every album collection.
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