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Rating:
It is with "II" that the Led went down in history as "the fathers of hard rock".
The story of how this album was received by critics would deserve a book - boring but still a book.
In today's sad mediocrity, the current myth of the Led Zeppelin is understandable, a band that, whether they liked it or not, marked a period. But in 69 this myth did not exist, and if it did, it was certainly not as gigantic as today, so gigantic as to obscure reason. Therefore, as soon as "II" came out, the critics, not intimidated by the band's name at all, harshly criticized it. Two names above all: Jon Landau and Lester Bangs.
Landau was refined: "The sound of the Led is noisy, violent and often unhealthy. Their popularity forces us into a revival of the popularity-quality debate. When the most elegant bands were also the most successful (like the Cream, for example), the distinction didn't exist. But today the Zep force us to distinguish between mass taste and elitist taste". In simple words, the Led were not the Cream. But it's also true that the Cream didn't have Plant - whose voice was the origin of the immense commercial success of the Led. If the Cream had had him, they would have become billionaires.
Lester, on the other hand, did not lack elegance. Nor verbosity. Three words, like the famous film review by accountant Ugo: "A noisy farce". Lester was wrong. "II" isn't very noisy; just take "Promises" by the Cranberries to have more decibels than the songs here. "II" isn't even farcical; it's just mediocre: a commercial rewriting of "I". A "playful" work, written during the "I" tour, hence without the care, commitment, and gestation of the first album - which was also far from being a masterpiece.
Only the (very mediocre) acoustic tracks are listenable: "Thank You" (dedicated by Plant to his wife with a really sappy text to be the band's hardest album); and "Ramble On" (further ruined by the terrible chorus with Plant's rock scream that destroys the melodic sweetness of the verses).
Enjoyable, though too long, "Moby Dick", the most famous drum solo in rock history. But again, let's try not to lose touch with reality. "BonHam(mer)" (the good hammer) was good only at hammering the drums - with many mistakes and redundancies. Mediocre on the cymbals and ridiculous on the hi-hat, he fundamentally lacked the class and intelligence of masters like Buddy Rich, Copeland, or Pick Whiters, who were capable of making the drums sing. However, better than nothing...
We save the overrated 50-second solo of "Heartbreaker" (overdubbed by Page during editing). The rest are hammer blows, distortions, accelerations, violations of the blues (with accompanying violations of drums and guitar), splashes of organ to (pretend to) psych up the blues, sweat, wild instincts. Happy for you.
Fortunately, there is a song on which the four worked seriously: "Whole Lotta Love", the most famous three-note riff in rock history. A masterpiece - even if weighed down by a useless and fanatical feedback-lysergic interlude - with Plant's voice worth as much as the riff, especially in the splendid final scream. Even those who love melodic music can appreciate rock when it’s done right.
"II", for mediocre groups, became the album to rewrite, and, in hindsight, it can be seen as the seed that generated the degeneration of metal, true apotheosis of mediocrity. More than a noisy farce, seminal trash.
20 million copies sold so far. A greedy group would have rewritten it ad nauseam. The Led, instead, in the midst of celebrations by crazy fans and the vitriolic criticism of purists, went to hide in a hermitage without electricity, to write - courageously, it must be admitted - a completely different, more thoughtful and less clownish, page of their history. A page with which they wanted to demonstrate - courageously, it must be admitted - that they were not pigeonholeable.
Tracklist and Lyrics
01 Whole Lotta Love (00:00)
You need coolin'
Baby, I'm not foolin'
I'm gonna send you
Back to schoolin'
Way down inside honey, you need it
I'm gonna give you my love
I'm gonna give you my love
Oh, wanna whole lotta love
Wanna whole lotta love
Wanna whole lotta love
Wanna whole lotta love
You've been learnin'
Baby, I been learnin'
All them good times, baby, baby
I've been yearnin'
Way way down inside, honey, you need it
I'm gonna give you my love
I'm gonna give you my love
Oh! Wanna whole lotta love
Wanna whole lotta love
Wanna whole lotta love
Wanna whole lotta love
I don't want, ah
Ahh, ahh
Ahh, ahh, ahh
Ah-ah, ahh, ahh, ahh, ahh, ahh
Ahh, ahh, ahh, ahh, ahh
Ahh, ahh, ahh, ahh, ahh
Ahh, ahh, ahh, ahh
Ahh, ahh, ah! No, no, no, no
Ah
Lord!
Lo-ooh-whoa-ooh-whoa-ooh-whoa-ooh-whoa!
You've been coolin'
Baby, I've been droolin'
All the good times, baby
I've been misusin'
Way way down inside
I'm gonna give you my love
I'm gonna give you every inch of my love
Gonna give you my love
Hey! Alright! Let's go!
Wanna whole lotta love
Wanna whole lotta love
Wanna whole lotta love
Wanna whole lotta love
Way down inside, woman, you need it
Lord!
My, my, my, my
My, my, my, my
Oh!
Shake for me, girl
I wanna be your back door man
Hey, oh, hey, oh, hey, oh
Oooh ahh
Oh, oh, oh, oh
Ooh my, my babe
Keep it coolin' baby
A-keep it coolin' baby
A-keep it coolin' baby
Ah-keep it coolin' baby
Ahh, ahhh-hahhh-oh
04 Thank You (00:00)
If the sun refused to shine
I would still be loving you
When mountains crumble to the sea
There will still be you and me
Kind woman, I give you my all
Kind woman, nothing more
Little drops of rain
Whisper of the pain
Tears of loves lost in the days gone by
My love is strong
With you there is no wrong
Together we shall go until we die, oh my my
An inspiration is what you are to me
Inspiration, look, see
And so today, my world it smiles
Your hand in mine, we walk the miles
Thanks to you it will be done
For you to me are the only one
Happiness, no more be sad
Happiness, I'm glad
If the sun refused to shine
I would still be loving you
Mountains crumble to the sea
There will still be you and me
05 Heartbreaker (00:00)
Hey fellas, have you heard the news?
You know that Annie's back in town?
It won't take long, just watch and see
All the fellas lay their money down
Her style is new, but the face the same
As it was so long ago
But from her eyes, a different smile
Like that of one who knows
Well, it's been ten years and maybe more
Since I first set eyes on you
The best years of my life gone by
Here I am alone and blue
Some people cry and some people die
By the wicked ways of love
But I'll just keep on rollin' along
With the grace of the Lord above
People talkin' all around
'Bout the way you left me flat
I don't care what the people say
I know where their jive is at
One thing I do have on my mind
If you can clarify, please do
It's the way you call me another guy's name
When I try to make love to you
I try to make love, but it ain't no use
Give it to me, give it
Work so hard, I can't unwind
Get some money saved
Abuse my love a thousand times
However hard I tried
Heartbreaker, your time has come
Can't take your evil ways
Go away, heartbreaker
Heartbreaker, heartbreaker, heart!
07 Ramble On (00:00)
Leaves are fallin' all around
It's time I was on my way
Thanks to you, I'm much obliged
For such a pleasant stay
But now it's time for me to go
The autumn moon lights my way
For now I smell the rain
And with it pain
And it's headed my way
Ah, sometimes I grow so tired
But I know I've got one thing I got to do
Ramble on
And now's the time, the time is now
To sing my song
I'm goin' 'round the world
I got to find my girl
On my way
I've been this way ten years to the day
Ramble on
Gotta find the queen of all my dreams
Got no time for spreadin' roots
The time has come to be gone
And though our health we drank a thousand times
It's time to ramble on
Ramble on
And now's the time, the time is now
To sing my song
I'm goin' 'round the world
I got to find my girl
On my way
I've been this way ten years to the day
I gotta ramble on
I gotta find the queen of all my dreams
I ain't tellin' no lie
Mine's a tale that can't be told
My freedom I hold dear
How years ago in days of old
When magic filled the air
T'was in the darkest depths of Mordor
I met a girl so fair
But Gollum and the evil one crept up
And slipped away with her, her, her, yeah
Ain't nothing I can do, no
I guess I'll keep on
Ramblin'
I'm gonna... sheyeah (Sing my song)
I gotta find my baby
I'm gonna ramble on, sing my song, gonna work my way, go around the world (Ramble on)
Baby, baby (Yeah)
Do do do (Baby) do do do, my baby (Ramble on, babe)
Do do do do do do do de do de do de do de do de, yeah, yeah (I can't stop that feeling anymore, everytime I think about my babe I think I got someone)
I gotta keep-a-searchin' for my baby
Baby baby baby baby baby baby baby baby babe
Ooh, ma ma ma ma ma ma ma babe
Sheyeah, yeyeah, yeyeah, yeyeah, yeyeah, yeyeah, yeyeah, yeyeah
Ma ma ma ma ma ma baby
Ooh, I can't find my bluebird
I listen to my bluebird sing, but I can't find my bluebird
09 Bring It On Home (00:00)
Baby, baby
I'm gonna bring it on home to you
I've got my ticket, I've got that load
Got up, gone higher, all aboard
Take my seat, right way back, ooh yeah
Watch this train roll down the track
I'm gonna bring it on home
Bring it on home to you
Watch out, watch out, make room
Try to tell you baby
What you tryin' to do?
Tryin' to love me baby
Love some other man too
Bring it on home
Bring it on home
Went a little walk downtown
Messed and got back late
Found a note there waitin', it said
"Daddy, I just can't wait"
Bring it on home
Bring it on home
Bring it back home
Bring it back home to me baby
Tell you, pretty baby
You love to mess me 'round
I'm gonna give you lovin', baby
Gonna move you out o' town
Bring it on home
Bring it on home
Sweetest little baby
Daddy ever saw
I'm gonna give you lovin' baby
I'm gonna give you more
Bring it on home
Bring it on home
Bring it on home
Bring it on home
Bring it on home to you
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