Led Zeppelin

It was fifty years ago this week that Led Zeppelin, one of the most popular rock bands of all time, released their pseudonymous debut album. As I wrote about their fourth album some years ago, I was never a big Zeppelin fan when I was a kid. But I listened to their first album several times this week,and I really didn't know what I was missing.

The group was founded by Jimmy Page, who was left standing after the demise of The Yardbirds. A proposed group of him and Keith Moon and John Entwhistle of The Who never happened, and either Moon or Entwhistle (I've read that both did) said it would go over like a lead zeppelin.

Page wanted Terry Reid for his lead singer, and in one of the worst financial decisions of all time, Reid turned him down (although he is said to be quite fine with his decision). Reid recommended Robert Plant, who recommended John Bonham as drummer. Session man John Paul Jones ended up playing bass. The band was to be originally called The New Yardbirds, but became Led Zeppelin instead (the "led" prevented people from pronouncing it like "leed").

The album got a lot of bad reviews, especially from Rolling Stone. But it was one of the most landmark albums in rock history, as Led Zeppelin, along with Black Sabbath, basically defined the heavy metal sound. The band used American blues (many of the songs had to have the attributions changed from the original, as Led Zeppelin have often been accused of appropriating other artists without admitting it) but with loud guitars. Page, whom Rolling Stone later named the third best guitarist ever, was the mastermind, and this first album is a showcase for his ability, which I've been marveling at all week.

The album begins with two short guitar bursts, like someone knocking on a door, followed by Bonham's drums, and the Plant's vocal. It is "Good Times, Bad Times," their first single. This and "Communication Breakdown," with Page's machine gun-like riff, were the most commercial of the album's songs. But there are two real masterpieces on the album: "Dazed and Confused" and "How Many More Times."

"Dazed and Confused" is unlike anything that came before in popular music. It was erroneously credited only to Page on the original album; a singer named Jake Holmes sued for copyright infringement in 2010 and an out-of-court settlement was reached. But it isn't the tune or the lyric, it's the production. Page plays the guitar with a violin bow, and the song begins with a sinister bass line by Jones. Bonham's drum fills are electrifying. It has an eerie, other-worldly quality.

The closing track, "How Many More Times," is based on a Howlin' Wolf song. Again, Jones' bass begins it, and then Page's chugging guitar repeats the bass line, while Plant's vocal tears the roof off the joint.

Lyrically there's not much original here. Almost all of it is how mean women are. We've got "Babe I'm Going to Leave You," with Plant's heartbreaking vocal (just listen to that last note he sings, which feels like he's jumped off a cliff), and "You're Time Is Gonna Come":

"Lyin', cheatin', hurtin, that's all you seem to do.
Messin' around with every guy in town,
 Puttin' me down for thinkin' of someone new.
 Always the same, playin' your game,
 Drive me insane, trouble is gonna come to you,
 One of these days and it won't be long,
 You'll look for me but baby, I'll be gone."

Over the years it has been my habit to turn the station when a Led Zeppelin song comes on the radio. But I have to quit doing that, and overlook their bombastic nature (the worst cut on this album is an overcooked version of Willie Dixon's "You Shook Me," with Plant going way over the top with his vocal, so much so that it sounds like electrodes have been attached to his testicles). It's made me consider, what rock group had the best collection of musicians? I suppose it would be Cream, but Led Zeppelin is a close second. It really doesn't matter what words they're singing, the lyric could in Welsh for all I care. These guys could play.