Posted on 11/12/2011 8:23:42 AM PST by FatherofFive
Forty years ago an incredible classic rock band hit their creative peak when they released Led Zeppelin lV. I remember at age fourteen being handed this record for the first time, and being awe struck by stunning song-craftsmanship and lyrical prowess. The album itself which was released November 8th 1971 was a major success and sold 23 million copies alone in the United States, but only peaked at number 2 on the charts.
Many Zeppelin Fans know this album as the one that contains Stairway to Heaven, but among rock critics and fanatics of Zeppelin the whole album is a masterpiece. Led Zeppelin was never known for creating phenomenal singles, but created a name for themselves as a record band. They saw that every song recorded for the album should be done masterfully, and should compliment other tracks on the album. It’s not easy to convince the novice Zeppelin fan that Stairway to Heaven is not the best song on Led Zeppelin lV, but give them a few years and they will be hailing Zeppelin IV for songs such as “Black Dog,” “Rock and Roll,” and “When The Levee breaks.” This album is a must for an classic rock enthusiast, and should be apart of any album collection.
I always remember this album hitting early 1972...my Freshman year high school...Stairway ruled summer of 1972..bigtime
best song on Led Zep IV was not Stairway to me but Minnie’s When the Levee Breaks
every song was a potential single
I always thought they sped up the tapes on some of Plant’s vocals....but his voice was much better once he got onto his solo career after Zep broke up. without all of his Janis-Joplin like wailing.
It’s Led Zep, and IV was not even their best album, that would be number II. Led Zeppelin II is the greatest rock album of all time, by far. The Beatles probably hold the first four or five slots in the pop genre, but pop rock is not rock and roll. I’m not even saying one is better than the other, I’m simply trying to classify them properly. It’s something I know a little about...
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Zonks/156792677007
“I feel blessed that I saw Frank Zappa:”
I hauled him around Milwaukee for a couple of days. Got some funny stories about that weekend! Never paid for one of his concerts again. Some gal (Gail?) would call and let me know that tickets and stage passes would be waiting for me. Extraordinary man!
I have been accused of the same thing!
Never had a problem with the listening part with Plant, just the watching part. Watching Plant w/some of the camera angles & such in The Song Remains the Same is always a bit much for me.
I’m a relatively late convert to Zappa, and now I feel like I really missed out by not seeing him live.
Good times.
That is true, and Stairway is overrated. Production is awesome, song is just very good. Listening to someone play it on the piano is a big comedown and illustrates the inherent weakness: repetiviness. I’ll claim some expertise here...
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Zonks/156792677007
Hard to explain, but I guess the thing to me about zappa that set him apart was that he wasn’t trying to figure out how to get the next top 10 billboard chart hit, but was playing it like he thought it ought to be done.
He played his music and I don’t think he gave a crap whether you or I or anyone else liked it...more like he was performing it for himself, not for anyone else.
His artistic motivation was somehow more like that of jimmy henrdix, but frank took it all to another level.
I wonder what planet he was really from...
What the heck is a “bustle” anyway?
Led Zeppelin II is indeed better, and it is also the greatest rock album ever by any band... period.
Agreed.
It was the second LP I ever bought (after 'In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida', of course) and IMHO Zep never topped it. 'Ramble On' and 'Whole Lotta Love' were always the highlight for me.
And just look at the musicians that Zappa played with, he had an eye for finding real talent: Vai, Belew, Jean Luc-Ponty, etc.
For me, it's "Who's Next".
lol...with a username like your's it's not hard to figure that
it has been overplayed like Freebird...it tends to trivialize stuff
if Korn or Limp Bizkit or Deftones or Papa Roach had anything so drummed into the culture's head you'd wonder what was the big deal there too...when you are 40 years out from your High School musical chronology you will likely look around too and go what the hell in comparing musical landscapes.
very little of today's stuff appeals to me..if I put the TV on background it goes to GAC or VHI classics
on Raphsody on my Droid if not on talk radio already I tend to listen to older stuff I like from early to a few contemporaries
My older kids like Avenge Sevenfold...something derived from Sabbath to Korn and then back to this weird horror rock...but it really doesn't work for me and the vulgarity is over the top
God is alive but rock is fairly dead
I figured someone else would follow that path too.
You have to evaluate it on, how it sounded when it first came out.....and at the time, it was totally mind-blowing compared to anything else out there...of course over time it loses the edginess it had.
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