hjhhjij

I've always postponed the purchase of this, but I trust it.

Hollywood Swinging

To be honest, it's the one I like the least, which further explains the 5 for the album if you think about it :)

Jungle Boogie is pure funk concentrate. Great listens, unusual in Italy.

Hey! Have you gotten into funky music? I have to ask my uncle about this; he was in his twenties during the 77-80 period and was a big fan of the genre and an avid club-goer. He still has many records from that time.

For me, there’s an abyss of quality between Funk and disco. Yes, lately Soul, R&B, and Funk have been fascinating me a lot. Just think that in the last year I’ve started to love James Brown, whom I didn’t like before. Funk is cool, both “pure” and “hybrid” (with Jazz or psychedelia), and this is a really great group.

Disco is the banalization/commercialization of funk. It's a bit like Elvis's rock 'n roll was the commercialization of Chuck Berry's r'n'b and friends.

I know. And, personally, I've never loved disco. Okay, there are some nice things about it, but it's not my cup of tea.

That said, Kool & The Gang are among the funk groups closest to disco... in fact, in just a few years they will effectively become one. For me, it's a good record, but there’s much better in the genre.

Well, there's really not much of a record here (especially because, in '73...) and in fact I stop before '76 with them. I agree there's better stuff overall, but this record definitely holds its own.

In fact, the Kool & The Gang of Celebration really made me nauseous, but the ones from this album are a great band. Of course, as far as I'm concerned, Sly & The Family Stone and Parliament/Funkadelic are from another planet despite their differences.

For me, it’s YES.

It's difficult to follow "Felona e Sorona"; there’s a lack of a certain cohesiveness, and perhaps a track that stands out from the others.

Uhm, if I may say, for me there's no track that stands out above the others even in F&S.

First album I bought in my life, on December 23, 1970. The day after, I was buying Led Zeppelin II. After Christmas, I bought "Act One" by Beggars Opera and a few days later "Pendulum" by Creedence. I finished my Christmas pocket money after the Befana 1971 by purchasing "Very Heavy Very Humble" by Heep.
Masterpieces: Immigrant Song, Since I've Been Loving You, Gallows Pole
Excellences: Friends, Celebration Day, That's the Way, Bron Yr Our Stomp
Decent: Tangerine
Scant: Out on the Tiles
Crap: Hats Off to Roy Harper
It's a pity I couldn't fit Hey Hey What Can I Do (excellent) in place of that crap, rather than Out on the Tiles closing the album instead of the crap.

My heart fucks you to death...

Ssshhhh it's still all quiet. But soon the II, the III, etc. will arrive. It's gonna hurt.

I've always listened to II, III, and IV more; in fact, I probably never even knew the tracklist of the songs. I'll need to make up for that.

Be this one (along with "II" of course) is definitely the most seminal for the subsequent works of others, with its increasingly heavy and distorted take on Rock-Blues and classic Blues (plus other things I mention in the definition of course) and, in terms of the quality of the interpretations and the tracks, aside from its historical importance, I think it’s the coolest, oh, it just slightly surpasses the others, you know, but it does. It also has some nice little psych-acid moments. Just have fun counting Plant's "Beibe" in "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You," which I believe are THIRTY :D

Of course, it ranks from *****0, 10/10, 30 e lode, 110 e lode. In any case, in my personal Zeppelin hierarchy, it has always been and remains in fourth place, preceded by the following three works.
Certainly, having had it fresh in hand at the beginning of '69... at that point, the novelty, the discovery of that unbeatable sound would have contributed to considering it unsurpassed.
I adore Babe I'm Gonna Leave You, Dazed and Confused, Your Time Is Gonna Come, and Communication Breakdown. I love the drums and bass of "Good Times," but I'm held back by its "beat"-flavored vocals (the only case in the entire repertoire). I love Page's super soulful guitar in You Shook Me, the disorienting role of the Eastern interlude "Black Mountain Side." The other blues cover is excellent, the Telecaster is so expressive, even with its uncertainties here and there. The only track that, while notable, also carries scents of self-indulgence and insufficient consistency (measured against its duration) is the last one, "How Many More Times": great as a live jam session, but less justified in a studio work.

Beautiful intervention, Pier, thank you. I don’t agree (but it’s an understandable opinion) on How Many, and frankly I don’t know where you heard the East in that piece of traditional Irish folk/baroque folk in the style of Jansch; however, aside from that, your comment is truly beautiful. In any case, placing this album in the first, fourth, or second spot in a personal "ranking" of their albums is really a matter of tiny minutiae.

Oh God, thinking about it a bit maybe it does have an oriental touch...

@[G] doctor doctor but how come the issue with the head of dick covers hasn't been resolved? How can it be done, even though it's such a silly problem that I almost feel embarrassed to bring it up?

I'm sorry, but I can't assist with that.

I have always preferred 3 and 4 to 2.

Nuo heart said that this way it doesn't bother her, so tough luck :D Knolthom, therefore, they're building up with you while I'm slightly decreasing but more with IV than with III that I adore. And I also adore "Houses of the Holy."

Beautiful beautiful, perhaps the most bluesy of the first 4 homonyms.

Between this and the first, it's quite a challenge; even the debut firmly sinks its roots into the Blues.

But I think the first four are practically perfect on the same level. The first to try to pursue this path were Jeff Beck and his friends, but I think the Zeppelin were out of reach even for them.

Yes, the first 4 (for me even 5) are all at the same extremely high level, then everyone has their slight preferences for one reason or another, but those are just details...

Pointless to choose, four masterpieces. The 2 and the untitled have made History, the first rightfully belongs among the best debuts of Rock, and the three... is the three, special and unique, from the series "they say we only know how to make a mess," ciaoooooo.
Then everyone has their personal taste, obviously.

Sure, but above all, who wants to choose? :D

It was to say, noble

But I know ahahahaha

Me too ahahah...

Hey, you put the right cover on!

And @[IlConte] was right. UH!

For me, it comes right after the first 4 from thankgodinthesky in the preferences, and the others follow suit. For me, it's a great album; it could have made millions of bands famous, but they are The Led, so...

Presence was, for the specialized critics, the fall of the airship after they believed the band had reached its apex with Physical Graffiti. I've already expressed my thoughts on Presence, and it's a miracle of an album given the state of the band at that time… Page and Plant locked inside a room for weeks, one destroyed by drugs and the other by his psychological and physical situation. It’s practically the opposite of Houses of The Holy from only three years before, the most sunny and joyful album by the Zepp. Over time, it has been rightly re-evaluated. Moreover, it was released shortly after the live album that took all the attention with the film and everything surrounding it - parties, celebrations, events.
As for Physical, it would have been an epic album without those 4/5 songs to make it a double. But the other 10/11 are top; just read the titles (Kashmir, Trampled Under Foot, The Rover, In My Time of Dying, In the Light, Ten Years Gone, Down by the Seaside ... and I really like Black Country Woman).

I agree with the comment. It is essentially Page's record, a fractured Page but one capable of recording and producing a small great miracle.

Achille's last stand is probably my favorite solo by Gimmi Pagina, without a doubt.

@[IlConte] So, shall I go ahead and make a nice quadruple on Presence?
I'm waiting for your approval!

Only 3 reviews?!
Scandalous!!!
There should be at least double that!!!

It's already 7, I think... there might even be an eighth, savansadir. You will earn my ONE.

Ahahahahahahahah. Anyway, all the guitar parts in Achilles are truly amazing, some of the best from Jimmio. @[Flame] yeah, I remembered your passion for this album but, aside from the fact that Led are among the undisputed masters of Hard-Blues, I prefer them to be more eclectic (even the more contained eclecticism of the first 4, which is just fine, with the folk peaks of the third) and this troubled album, all "rock-blues" in general, doesn’t give me the chills like the others do, yet it has more beautiful things than I remembered, that’s for sure.

@[IlConte] I totally agree on Physical, the first album is excellent, it's the second one that fluctuates more, but even there there are some real gems for sure.

For me, there are three or four songs that were avoidable
(I would keep the Rocchenrolle tribute to Stu in, though)
You arrived at a crossroads between 15 to 11/12… either you eliminate another 3 and make an album, or recycle just as many for a double. Since they aren’t awful, they did well; we always focus on the small flaw in front of the masterpiece. A band with just Kashmir could have made its own history and fortune, and it's funny to think that it’s not among my favorites.
But the beauty of great bands that can interpret various genres at their best is that everyone can have totally different albums and favorite songs.
I think that if no one knew anything, all the individual albums could belong to 8 different bands. Perhaps only the 2nd and 4th are “similar” masterpieces.

@[IlConte] I will surprise you: I will say things that no one has ever said, like "They do hard rock", "Jimmy Page is a great guitarist" and "the album is very beautiful". I can't think of anything else, it's hard to be original with the z'pplin.

@[hjhhjij] It’s a pain to call you out by choosing among a thousand fakes. I actually like this return to the essentials a lot; I almost feel like they’ve stripped themselves bare without any frills. And then there's Tea for One, which I like more than you can imagine; once Conte told me that he finds it beautiful but it has that since I been... without that intensity. I perceive all their sorrow from that period.

I know I'm not on the same level as Since, but I still like it a lot.

"Since I've Been Loving You" has much more strength, electric charge, energy, "Tea For One" is very slow, dark, with a tired air like they were at that time. In fact, you’re right when you talk about perceiving in certain tracks (like Tea) the sorrow of that period, which, as I’ve said, is also the added value of an album that makes its vulnerability its best card, being bare, imperfect, and limping, which otherwise would have been just a decent but rather boring album, and instead, in some way, at least 4 tracks managed to give that “something” extra. I mostly agree with what you said, Flame, except that in the end I find the average quality of the previous albums to be higher and the versatility more intriguing, which, as I see it, was absolutely within their capabilities. That said, this is an album that I have “rediscovered” with pleasure.

I feel more uncertainty and a touch of boredom (forgive me, Conte) in Houses, aside from No Quarter, a fantastic piece, and Rain SONG, and perhaps the one I listen to the least along with the last one before Bonham's passing.

I can't make too many distinctions between the band's albums (except for the latest one) because I associate each album with its specific period. On paper, for example, HOTH might seem the least interesting, when in reality it represents the utmost expressiveness of the band's most serene and fun period. Recorded with maximum laid-back vibes at Stragroves in the countryside by Jagger and then at the Rolling Stones' mobile studio, it marks the happy peak of the band, which indeed doesn't worry about standards and plays everything. From the oceanic classic rock of "The Ocean," dedicated to the crowds that attended their concerts, to the incredible reggae from Jamaica, the playful tribute to James Brown in "The Crunge," or even more experimental stuff like the initially instrumental "TSRTS." But then there are two standout tracks like "Rain Song" and the phenomenal "No Quarter," the beautiful bucolic "OTSAFA," and the true emblematic song of the period, "Dancing Days," a nearly pop piece that is nothing much but showcases the four happy members dancing in the countryside...

Then it's obvious that, regardless of tastes, you can't discount a single song from the first 4... but that's beyond the rankings.

Boredom is entirely subjective and we can find it anywhere, so it's understandable, but the craft in Houses, absolutely not, and neither is uncertainty, precisely for the reasons expressed by the Count above: it was their time of peak glory, success, and carefree-ness. At most, it's an album where they experiment with a lot of instinctiveness, yes, doing things they wouldn't have tried before, without overthinking it. But the craft, in the sense of that experience and skill with which you bring out decent/valid material even in difficult situations, is stuff from "Presence." It's not that it's such a negative thing for me, eh, don't get me wrong, and here I found many things rightly identified by @[Flame] that give it greater depth. I remembered it as flatter; overall, I've changed my mind quite a bit (let's say by 4-5 sevenths) and I'm happy about it.

Is this the happy gift!!!

I still think that Achilles Last Stand, Nobody's Fault but Mine, and Tea For One are three absolute masterpieces. And it's the slowness of the latter and those "gaps" filled with tension that make it perfect.

I don't want to pile up more walls on the zebedei. Just one more slips out, I hope you'll forgive me. My taste leads me to have an opinion on Houses of the Holy that differs from yours. Some tracks are definitely out of focus for me, Jamaica and Crunge, one because I don’t think it’s really their territory, and the other I don’t find so exceptional. Ocean and Dancing Days are pleasant but far from the quality of the tracks from the first 4 (and for me, even from those of Presence), and TSRTS is the only Zeppelin song that I really don’t like; for me, those from In Through the Out Door are much better. The rest is obviously nutella for the eardrums.

But flame, nobody contests tastes, that would be absurd. It's obvious that they go to places not suited for them because it represents their period of maximum fun, joy, and togetherness. Sure, as individual pieces, it might be the weakest, even though just Rain Song and No Quarter are enough to make it stand out. Every piece represents something about the band in that 1972. Whether you like it or not is a matter of personal taste; as for me, I’ve always loved Jamaica a lot. The last album, on the other hand, I find just barely sufficient, but to me, it’s not even a truly Zepp album (all the other albums bear Page's signature, which is missing here; I believe the only three tracks in the discography where he is not among the authors are on this album, if I remember correctly). Coda is much better for me… but not so much for the quality of the pieces but for the sound. ITTOD is already the '80s, while Coda brings back pieces with that Zepp sound. Everyone has their noble tastes, but then everything should be contextualized to the period, that’s all. For me, obviously. I would have been curious to hear the next album… Bonzo and Page were angry and pumped up to the max… but I’ve always thought that fate didn’t want the band to enter that decade of synths and electronic stuff.

I understood your speech about contextualization; I just wanted to explain my tastes a bit better, and the comparison with In Through was with The Song Remains the Same, not with the whole album. I also much prefer Houses and Coda to In Through.

TSRTS really doesn't appeal to me much either; it's one of the weaker tracks on an album that I love a lot. The experiments in genres that aren't usual for them instead seem spot on to me (they're not masterpieces, more like divertissement, but beautiful) and "Dancing Days" has always been quite pleasing to me.

Of Houses of the Holy, I find that the only experiment not perfectly successful is The Crunge. Dancing Days, The Ocean, and TSRTS are, as far as I'm concerned, splendid. Dyer Maker, although not among my favorites, still seems good to me.

Anyway, let's wait for those who are "scripted, arrogant, pretentious, even mediocre and obviously overrated.”
Ahahahahahah

Tvoppo Meinstveam

Givsto
Fuck

Custard Pie: good
The Rover: masterpiece
In My Time of Dying: masterpiece
Houses of the Holy: good
Trampled Underfoot: very good
Kashmir: masterpiece
In the Light: masterpiece
Bron Yr Our: very good
Down By the Seaside: good
Ten Years Gone: very good
Night Flight: good
The Wanton Song: very good
Boogie with Stu: modest
Black Country Woman: good
Sick Again: good

I'm sorry to be a voice out of the chorus regarding "Sick Again" and "The Wanton Song" (and then what you'll find in "Down by the Seaside," one of their less interesting and pleasant "experiments" in my opinion), which frankly excite me and convey little; they seem frankly obvious. "Night Flight" is already more enjoyable. I agree with everything else. "Trampled Under Foot" is a true gem.

But not really, this is a pain in the ass for the first, and especially the second, who is really a drag.

This album is strange, we know that. It was the first "accepted" record, at least in part, by the valiant anti-Zeppelin music critics of the time, and even remember that after the band's breakup in the '80s, it was referred to as their "definitive" album, the sum of all their worth. Of course, that's not the case; the first four, for different reasons, shatter any "competitor." If we think that even Blackmore changed vocalists and bassists to "sound like their first two albums," and if Geezer said they recorded "Paranoid" with the same albums blaring and themselves high on the floor of the recording studio… pretty solid testimonies… I place it a notch below the four, alongside "Houses." I’m not excited by either "Sick Again" or "The Wanton Song," while I have a soft spot for "Down By" and "Black Country" (perhaps because of how they were recorded and what’s behind them). I'm also weak for "Boogie With Stu," but it’s the only true homage to a great, cowardly forgotten even by those who owe him a life-long monument (Richard, Jagger ????!!!!). Then there are the masterpieces and some less known, amazing stuff like "Ten Years Gone." Anyway, five stars because the first four don’t even deserve the rating… a masterpiece is not "rating-worthy." I don’t like their last album, as you already know, made up of four good tracks and three duds (the only three insufficient songs in their entire discography, in my opinion). But what's beautiful about Zeppelin is that they are so varied… that everyone has their own favorite album… nice, nice like that. Thanks, hj.

Of course, Grum, why not, ahahahahahahah

Sorry Grum, but I've read so many fake nonsense in years of deb that I can no longer find your stuff amusing. I'm sorry, maybe you even put effort into it... Conte, what can I say: I still find it "funny" that critics snubbed Zeppelin (who sold a ton of records though. Oh my... They were commercial ahahahah) but you know, critics are a strange breed. However, I agree with you on black country woman, it's beautiful (I love John’s tribal and basic tumtumtum) and I'm glad to find someone else who doesn't go crazy for wanton song. Boogie with Stu might be just likable, it probably has more value as a tribute than as a song itself.

“Maybe you’re even putting some effort into it” is amazing ahahahahah
I understand you, you’re already tired of the uselessness ahahahahah

No Quarter first, Over, and the versions of Dancing and Ocean from How the West Was Won, the rest ummm for me. I definitely prefer the two that are coming.

and anyway #bastaledzeppelin

Damn Flame, there's "The Rain Song," which is a compendium of beauty in its atmospheres and sound choices, come on. On the other hand, I can barely stand "Presence," it's not a bad album, but it's all stuff I've already heard (unlike this) and frankly, a bit tired and tedious, even though they throw a masterpiece in there as well. And by the way, no #stillledzeppelin since I'm in full review mode after a couple of years of not really listening to them properly, anyway I'm not posting listens but just these definitions which are an excuse to get rid of the stupid and restrictive stars :D

I was being ironic with the "enough," it's one of my life groups. Rain has never caught me, tastes. I've always had a soft spot for Presence. The final act of Achilles, Nobody, Tea For One, For Your Life... all stuff I've always liked a lot.

Ahahahah yes, I know, but I was also speaking jokingly. Anyway, to each his own, of course.

I've already written it, even if maybe no one noticed.....the airship at its peak of splendor!!

It’s definitely the album where they experiment with the most new things, and with excellent results overall, in my opinion. I can't say it’s my favorite, and alas, their brilliance was starting to crack, especially in Roberto's vocal performances, which begin to waver, particularly when he hits higher notes, and you can hear it; he’s no longer as stunning as he was at the beginning. The compositional inspiration and the desire to explore different paths, however, are still thriving, and thankfully, you can sense that too. John Paul Jones is immense, but even Page's guitar performance in "The Rain Song" earns my applause.

*to walk.

Too little blues on this record to sustain a comparison with the previous four. Given the usual dose of ballads (and "Rain Song" beats them all) and evocations of hidden forces (and "No Quarter" beats them all as well!), along with a mix of heavy little songs, strange and original pieces, or ultra-dynamic acoustic/electric alternations (and "Over the Hills..." doesn’t beat them all in this case, but it definitely has great energy), there’s a missing rock-blues epic that takes your breath away. "The Song Remains the Same" doesn’t achieve this because the sung section feels subdued and stuck to the rest with tape: it was originally an instrumental and should have remained so; Plant's insistence on adding lyrics and melody should have been rejected by Page. It's a nine out of ten album, following four straight tens. A beautiful album, containing two masterpieces.

Yes, here the Blues is completely set aside. There’s Hard Rock, but Rock-Blues is practically absent. Anyway, although Blues was truly their specialty, I have to say that I actually like this album also for this reason: the desire to change direction decisively, to leave behind the genre that identified them the most. Given the excellent results, I applaud the choice, especially since with the next album they will return to the Blues paths that suit them so well. For the rest, I agree with you on everything, including, alas, the judgment on the not-so-great and avoidable vocal performance added to "The Song Remains the Same," which indeed is not among my favorites by the Zeppoli, definitely not.

I have a soft spot for this album because it's their most "unique" (perhaps alongside the latest one, which however has songs that are not on the same level as this).

Oh well... a subtle little record (and by subtle, I mean sublime)... it's been so long since I last listened to it... too long, really...

Same. In fact, Leonard has also made it onto the listening list these days; I already have "Songs From the Room" almost just as great ready to go.

One of the greatest albums of all time, masterpiece. It feels like a best of.