Best Led Zeppelin Album?

Would've picked III, I think it's the only one of theirs where I enjoy every track. Picking a second place would be tricky though - HotH has six amazing songs and two throwaways, PG is a classic throw-it-all-in double-album, side one of IV suffers from radio/pub/rock club overkill but the second half is flawless.

I still haven't heard In Through The Out Door though. Or Coda or The Song Remains The Same...

ITTOD got completely gypped here...

Fool in the Rain! Carouselambra! Come on people.

disregard my last post...challopsy tripe...I'm sorry; I haven't listened to II in years...

I know there's backlash against "Stairway" for being the most played song in the history of ever, but there's no denying that it's just an astonishing piece of music.

― Jeff Treppel, Thursday, April 12, 2007 3:22 PM (3 years ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
yeah its coda is just completely fucking unbelievable & doesn't really get old

― Hans Rott

This.

Recently, I got admittedly worn copies of II and IV on the original plum Atlantic.

I sort of skimmed through II, wasn't struck.

IV does have the overplayed "Stairway", but I'd describe that album as 'pretty good after all"

.. but BOY was there ever a band who spawned so many imitators that did not share their influences...

I was talking with my dad last week and it got me thinking about how radio formats may radically influence perception/baggage around bands like Zeppelin, Pink Floyd etc. Basically my dad knew See Emily Play and Another Brick in the Wall (as they were the singles and played on radio), but was only dimly aware of the stuff in the middle - they may as well have broken up in 68 and reformed in 78. I'd never really grasped how big a deal bands like Floyd and Zeppelin not releasing singles in Britain was (although Zeppelin did release Immigrant Song/Hey Hey What Can I Do).

Not releasing singles meant opting out of an entire chunk of the industry - not being played on mainstream radio, not lip-synching on Top Of The Pops. In contrast, AOR stations meant that the average American listener was carpet-bombed with this stuff. When I started listening to Zeppelin, Floyd, Dazed and Confused soundtrack type stuff aged 18 (a decade ago), it was all genuinely fresh and exciting - there's no such thing as classic rock radio so I'd never heard any of it, and neither had most of my friends.

there's no such thing as classic rock radio so I'd never heard any of it, and neither had most of my friends

slowly, i began to understand wtf the britpress sees in Kings of Leon

what does "kings of leon" mean, anyway? it's a dumb name. dumb. then i read this on wiki:

Each member of the family group is known by his middle name (second given name) as opposed to his first given name

this band has a problem with dumb names and dumb name tricks.

sorry; i guess that's better said on a "kings of l(ol)eon" thread. this is a l(ol)ed zepplin thread.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41V0QZTGD3L.jpg

III or Grafitti. I hate II with a passion rivalling my feelings for post-rehab Aerosmith.
― Bill Magill, Thursday, April 12, 2007 3:27 PM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

WAIT A MINUTE WHUT

The aesthetics of the poll results please me

Presence was robbed.

there are lots of folks that genuinely hate Presence. I love it. "Achille's Last Stand" is definitely proto-metal

Don't get hating Presence at all. I can see not liking it as much as other LZ records, but if you like Zeppelin why would you deny yourself the majesty of Presence?

I think lots of folk tend to gravitate towards either early Zep or later Zep more, guessing most of the Presence haters are more early-Zep fans. Obviously that's oversimplifying a bit but I definitely started out as more of a late-Zep fiend before I developed more appreciation for blues-based rock. would still put Houses of the Holy up top.

"bring it on home" = best album closer

I am a very latecomer to Led Zeppelin albums and Presence is easily my favorite, has such a consistent sound/groove, doesn't have songs you've heard a million times on the radio, only one boring blues jam. Last week I thought "maybe I should listen to a non-Presence LZ album for a change" so I tried "In Through the Out Door" and after a few songs I just put Presence back on.

"Achilles Last Stand" is so amazing.

The top five results are basically correct in any order (any of the five could be my favorite depending on the day), with the first two and Presence trailing just a bit behind.

Man make sure you give "Carouselambra" some time, that song is great. In Through The Out Door definitely has its moments, but it isn't a great straight listen compared to Presence etc.

Sorry, that is in regards to In Through The Out Door generally.

man got to give it up to the wisdom of crowds, that's precisely the order i'd have them in

Fuck man, gonna listen to "Carouselambra" right now.

Yeah, reading/talking/thinking about Led Zeppelin pretty much always makes me want to listen to Led Zeppelin. See also: eating, walking, sleeping.

i admire presence but i don't often enjoy it. a lot of it seems gruelling. a lot of it seems joyless. if i never hear dinner for two (or whatever that really long cousin-of-since-i'v-been-loving-you that closes the album is called) again i'd be fine with that.

The intro to that song is great though, wish they had built a song around that.

oh yeah, definitely. quite a bait and switch, "oh shit, loving the sassy groove of this, oh wait oh no it's going slow did someone buy jimmy some junk?"

Hah yeah, pretty much.

I like all periods of Zeppelin but there is something about the post-PG stuff that sounds somehow harsher and colder, more metallic. To me you can audibly hear Page switching over to a different engineering approach, and it's not just in the synthesizers. I almost want to say its like the difference between analog and digital, although I know that is probably not entirely correct. Not saying it's worse either, just different.

New studios? Prescence was done in Germany, and ITTOD was done at ABBA's place in Sweden.

page also switched into a heroin addict. word is he was falling down zoned while they recorded 'presence' and by 'in through the out door' dude was toast and could barely play

there are lots of folks that genuinely hate Presence. I love it. "Achille's Last Stand" is definitely proto-metal

― Neanderthal, Thursday, June 5, 2014 3:48 PM (47 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Proto-metal? In 1976?

You could call something that came out in 1966 "proto-metal". But I think the genre had been pretty much established by '76.

yeah last two albums are kinda plant and jpj taking the reins. maybe i just haven't encountered it or it's just due to the relative lack of work from page and plant going in a different direction but i've never seen much speculation on what the next zep album would've sounded like.

Maybe here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_r9n1FRh-o

Ugg, sorry for that formatting.

Bill there are still albums deemed "protometal" released in 2014

Page said he and Bonham had discussed making a heavier more riff-based record after ITTOD.

xp

Page also started using Fender guitars more often than Gibsons after PG for whatever reason

Gibsons weighed more than he did at that point.

i used to think of I as an inferior test run for II but i think i like i better now

always been a presence guy

haha that's an awesome fan-trolling tracklist of that bootleg grandavis posted :)

Presence has 'Achilles Last Stand' and 'Nobody's Fault But Mine', which together make up an incredible 16-17 minutes worth of music, but I definitely think the rest of the album falls short of the standards they'd set by that point. I can certainly understand why folks would have considered to be somewhat of a disappointment/let down after Physical Graffiti.

Also, absolutely agree on 'Carouselambra' being a great track. My highlight of In Through The Out Door by miles.

As for what I would have voted for in this poll? Fuck knows. Right now I'm thinking Physical Graffiti but in a few months time I'd probably have changed my mind.

"No Quarter" is such a complete miracle of a song / recording

Presence

presence

My beef with Presence is that Achilles towers over the rest of the album. If there had been one more go-for-broke track like it I think it would rank higher. That said, Achilles Last Stand rules.