The Bomber Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 OK,it's 1969,The Yardbirds have split up,lead guitarist Jimmy Page wants to form a new group,a supergroup is proposed with himself and fellow ex-yardbird Jeff Beck on guitars,The Who's rythm section,Keith Moon and John Entwistle and Steve Winwood on keyboards and vocals,the band was never formed and Jimmy had to settle for a band of nobodies called "Led Zeppelin" and promptly recorded an album which can only be reasoned will be terrible,this was the result: 1.Good Times,Bad Times-A brilliant track,the opening E chords are followed by a great big drum roll from Bonzo and Robert enters with Jimmy pounding out the riff and Bonzo smashing his drums leading into the chorus and a break back into a second chorus,Jimmy slams out another E chord and jumps into a solo,a great opener 2.Babe I'm Gonna Leave You-Much Slower,it opens up accousticly with Plant singing along,it builds up to a heavier pace and resolves to the opening part,Plant wailing up to build the track and a trippy break from Jimmy and the Song becomes a barage of power chords with Plant wailing and every member generally unleashing hell,it goes back down to an accoustic solo,Plant wails some more,and it hits you very hard in the face with power,the quiet-loud thing is done amazingly well here. 3.You Shook Me-An amazingly heavy blues track,call and response,sludgy riff,harmonica,wailing vocals,a keyboard,everything you need for a blues epic,JPJ's keyboard solo and Robert's Harmonica solo show that every member had talent,Jimmy's riff is insanely heavy as is Bonzo's smashing drums,every member get's a fair look at 4.Dazed And Confused-The best track on the album,opening with an amazing bass-line,Jimmy messes around with his guitar,Plant starts screaming his heart out and the band enter's with a crashing riff,the track get's louder and louder and screamier until it moves into the bridge,Jimmy takes out a violin bow and engages Bob in a trippy call and response musical conversation,the bow solo is amazing and it builds,the rest of the band come in with Plant following Pages guitar until he breaks off into an amazing solo,it ends up and the Heavy riff comes back and they wail it on home more call and response. 5.Communication Breakdown-This is one of their best riffs,it starts up simple and the band enter's making it heavier and heavier,Plant screams his heart out and Jimmy gives a great solo,it's an amazingly heavy song. 6.Your Time is gonna Come-An accoustic number,JPJ's keyboard solo goes into a catchy riff and a sing-along chorus,Plant actually restrains himself!!! 7.Black Mountain Side-Another accoustic number,it's basically Page fiddling around on a guitar and getting great results,tribal drumming from Bonzo catches the eye,the rythm is truly freaky. 8.I Can't Quit You Babe-Opening with Robert's wailing,Jimmy comes in with a some bluesy licks with Bonzo really swinging in the background,It goes into a heavier riff and comes back with more call and response,Jimmy's improvised licks need to be heard to believe,the chorus is basically a heavy riff with Robert's orgasmic wailing,Jimmy's solo kicks ass and sounds like a cleaner version of Heartbreaker,in the break Jimmy just bends his guitar while Bonzo pounds his drums,this is a most effective blues track that showcases Zep's skill perfectly,they are in perfect sync. 9.How Many More Times-The opening bass-line is jazzy,with Bonzo brushed drumming,Jimmy comes in with a swinging riff and with it's bolero rythm,this really shows how Zep became what they did,Plant wails about a difficult girlfriend while the band blast out this amazing tune,the break/solo is amazing,this is the longest track on the album,it's a swinging,funky number that turns from a jazz rock epic,to a blues epic with the return of the violin bow and Bonzo's frenzied drumming keeping the thing going,it speeds back up to the original wail broken by guitar stabs and more of Bonzo's funky drumming,there are at least 4 or 5 truly amzing riffs on it before it returns to the original riff and closes up the album perfectly. 10/10,best debut ever! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ally Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 Nice review, The Bomber! I think I agree with just about everything, especially the bit about LZ 1 being the best debute album of all times! Actually, to me it is a bit interesting how Good Times, Bad Times has grown upon me since the O2 show. I never regarded it as anything special, certainly not compared to Dazed and Confused and some of the other songs on the first album. But yeah: it really is a great song! Not just the best debut...IMO the best studio rock album ever. Every song is great and it still sounds as fresh today as it did when it was released Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rock Action Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 Great review!! Well done, and I agree 100%. Only it's 1968, not 1969.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leddy Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 Good review, I think it is Plants best vocal performance on any Zep record !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bomber Posted January 29, 2008 Author Share Posted January 29, 2008 Thanks!I'll hopefully have a review for every Zep album in a while,I'll do Zep II,then III,and after that my personal favourite,IV.It will take longer to do Physical Graffitti and i'll tackle that one last. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeanMrKetchup Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 Here's my attempt everyone! 1.Good Times,Bad Times Fantastic opener, the first thing that stikes you is the skillful and well-thought-out drumming of John Bonham at the beginning, this all comes with hard-hitting chords before a dramatic drum roll. Hard-hitting and loud, Jimmy's riff is another highlight of the song. 2.Babe I'm Gonna Leave You Opening with a beautiful chord sequence on a nylon strung guitar, soon Robert joins in with the 'baby baby' lyrics and oozy voice. Soon the song becomes heavy with hard-hitting A minor chords, and clever dynamics. The guitar soloing is simply orgasmic, and recorded beautifully to pick up the snapping spanish-style picking. 3.You Shook Me A clever blues cover, one of the worst on the album, but still nicely done and showing off the talents of all four of these fantastic musicians. The instrumentation is clever, incorperating Robert Plant on harmonica with solo spot, and John Paul Jones taking to the keyboard. 4.Dazed And Confused Begins with JPJ's walking bass, a solemn opening; with some clever and intruiging guitar from Jimmy, the song builds to a dramatic riff, acompanied by Plant's wailing vocal. By the time the bridge section arrive, the listener's attention is up to full - and the dynamic intricacy creeps in - Jimmy uses a violin bow, and sets up a beautiful yet crafty call and response. Often considered as one of the definitive Zeppelin songs, and you can tell why. 6.Your Time is gonna Come A keyboard solo opens this number, coined as "a wedding song" and you'd consider having it played at your wedding if you were a true fan! Soon the keyboard builds to a poinant riff and the drums kick in - Jimmy plays some beautiful acoustic guitar, especially when building into the verses. Plant's diction is good too, with 'speaking parts' ("you were mean to me woman but this time it's coming back home to you") This song is a nice break from all the hard rock. 7.Black Mountain Side Jimmy's solo, he plays beautifully, incorperating an Eastern voice through his clever guitar and a sitar is also used. John Bonham's tribal drums compliment the guitar sound nicely and makes for a nice track. 8.I Can't Quit You Babe Pure blues - Robert wails, Jimmy plays some cheeky guitar and makes this track memorable. The hard-hitting heavy riff soon kicks in, but the bluesy swinging groove gets back, showcasing the various styles that this band can pull off, and they do it so damn well. 9.How Many More Times Sueging straight from the previous, a swing groove from Bonzo flicks around, acompanied by JPJ - soon a special pounding riff comes out of the guitar God, Page. Stretching to eight and a half minutes - the longest outing on the album, once again, Led Zeppelin are given the chance to shine through their blues roots. Note: the song was listed on the inner as being 3 minutes and 30 seconds, just so it could make radio airplay! The dynamics in this number are clever and mysterious, where a bridge section lets the number take an eerie turn, and Bonzo shines with his pouncy fills acompanied by Robert's promiscuous lyrics. A perfect closing to the album. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bomber Posted January 30, 2008 Author Share Posted January 30, 2008 Here's my attempt everyone! 1.Good Times,Bad Times Fantastic opener, the first thing that stikes you is the skillful and well-thought-out drumming of John Bonham at the beginning, this all comes with hard-hitting chords before a dramatic drum roll. Hard-hitting and loud, Jimmy's riff is another highlight of the song. 2.Babe I'm Gonna Leave You Opening with a beautiful chord sequence on a nylon strung guitar, soon Robert joins in with the 'baby baby' lyrics and oozy voice. Soon the song becomes heavy with hard-hitting A minor chords, and clever dynamics. The guitar soloing is simply orgasmic, and recorded beautifully to pick up the snapping spanish-style picking. 3.You Shook Me A clever blues cover, one of the worst on the album, but still nicely done and showing off the talents of all four of these fantastic musicians. The instrumentation is clever, incorperating Robert Plant on harmonica with solo spot, and John Paul Jones taking to the keyboard. 4.Dazed And Confused Begins with JPJ's walking bass, a solemn opening; with some clever and intruiging guitar from Jimmy, the song builds to a dramatic riff, acompanied by Plant's wailing vocal. By the time the bridge section arrive, the listener's attention is up to full - and the dynamic intricacy creeps in - Jimmy uses a violin bow, and sets up a beautiful yet crafty call and response. Often considered as one of the definitive Zeppelin songs, and you can tell why. 6.Your Time is gonna Come A keyboard solo opens this number, coined as "a wedding song" and you'd consider having it played at your wedding if you were a true fan! Soon the keyboard builds to a poinant riff and the drums kick in - Jimmy plays some beautiful acoustic guitar, especially when building into the verses. Plant's diction is good too, with 'speaking parts' ("you were mean to me woman but this time it's coming back home to you") This song is a nice break from all the hard rock. 7.Black Mountain Side Jimmy's solo, he plays beautifully, incorperating an Eastern voice through his clever guitar and a sitar is also used. John Bonham's tribal drums compliment the guitar sound nicely and makes for a nice track. 8.I Can't Quit You Babe Pure blues - Robert wails, Jimmy plays some cheeky guitar and makes this track memorable. The hard-hitting heavy riff soon kicks in, but the bluesy swinging groove gets back, showcasing the various styles that this band can pull off, and they do it so damn well. 9.How Many More Times Sueging straight from the previous, a swing groove from Bonzo flicks around, acompanied by JPJ - soon a special pounding riff comes out of the guitar God, Page. Stretching to eight and a half minutes - the longest outing on the album, once again, Led Zeppelin are given the chance to shine through their blues roots. Note: the song was listed on the inner as being 3 minutes and 30 seconds, just so it could make radio airplay! The dynamics in this number are clever and mysterious, where a bridge section lets the number take an eerie turn, and Bonzo shines with his pouncy fills acompanied by Robert's promiscuous lyrics. A perfect closing to the album. Hmmm....Good,too good,Led Zep II next,then III,IV,HOTH,I'll leave PG to last cause it'll be hard to review the double album,then Presence,TSRTS,ITTOD and Coda before BBC Sessions PG,then the DVD.After that i'll get around to HTWWW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evster2012 Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 What stands out to me to this very day, every time I put it on, is how different it was from anything of its time. GTBT just hits you square in the head. It didn't plod along like Cream. The only thing close was The Who, but they're a whole different animal. The ambience of the guitars on BIGLY still draws me into the aural space every bit as much as it did when I was a teen. Playing Zep's You Shook Me up against Jeff Beck's version really shows what Zep had going on. I won't do a song-by-song review, just say that the first Zeppelin album really stands apart from anything of its time and ours. It's the kind of thing that only happens once. After that, the imitators pour out trying in vain to emulate the magic. Ultimately they fail, but Led Zeppelin I holds up after nearly 40 years. It's still a stunning assault on the senses interwoven with gossamer threads of shade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackDog71 Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 Good review. Even if i don't agree with it ALL....i agree with most and you wrote it out well and it made sense. It was a very great read. I commend you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bomber Posted February 3, 2008 Author Share Posted February 3, 2008 The review of LZII is up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bomber Posted March 14, 2008 Author Share Posted March 14, 2008 Alright lads,the reviews so far: Led Zeppelin II: http://forums.ledzeppelin.com//index.php?s...ic=3778&hl= Led Zeppelin III: http://forums.ledzeppelin.com//index.php?s...ic=4711&hl= Led Zeppelin IV: http://forums.ledzeppelin.com//index.php?s...ic=4775&hl= Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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