Classic Albums Review: Led Zeppelin I

In their early days, Led Zeppelin was amidst a sea of emerging blues band on both sides of the Atlantic. But similar to their enduring contemporaries, their early work showed much promise, promise that would break into more diverse and amazing sounds. So for its time, Led Zeppelin I (their debut LP) found the hearts of fans, but not many critics. Regardless, time has made Led Zeppelin I a classic – and for many reasons.

With those first chords and drums on “Good Times Bad Times,” you know this is gonna be a different kind of heavy music. The whole album is littered with hard blues rock, though the band takes one exception with “Black Mountain Side,” which is undoubtedly the album’s most different track. And once you get past the familiarity of so many of this record’s tracks, the prevailing quality in each is its sheer weight. Any other blues band could pull off this whole album (barring “Black Mountain Side”), but that would be utterly boring compared to the sound of Led Zeppelin. You have one of the best drummers to ever pound the skins, John Bonham, giving an unimaginable kind of life and drive to both the slower and faster tunes. Then there’s guitarist Jimmy Page; his production on the album is arguably better than his guitar work, but his tone has been mimicked so often you know it must be very tasty. John Paul Jones keeps it interesting on bass, though Led Zeppelin I does not have his best work by any stretch of the imagination. Robert Plant – God bless his high-register voice – is akin to J.P. Jones on this album; he does much better with his own tunes rather than blues covers but still manages to keep it cool.

If you’re unfamiliar with Led Zeppelin, this record is a perfect chronological and general start to turn you onto the band. The trippiness of “Black Mountain Side” and “Dazed and Confused” (the latter having its ever-enthralling break towards the end) mixed with the heavy blues of “You Shook Me” and “I Can’t Quit You Baby” and the hard drive of “Communication Breakdown” make for quite the experience. Check this record out; there’s little to complain about, and even longtime Zep fans should revisit this gem.