Sphinx's Music Blog - Led Zeppelin II
You need coolin’, and baby, I’m not foolin’. Welcome to Sphinx’s music blog. I bring you one of my all time favorite albums, 1969’s Led Zeppelin II. Released on October 22, it was actually the second Led Zeppelin album released that year, as their first album came out in January. The album is a continuation of that first album’s hard rock sound, with a huge emphasis on the heavy blues. The album has been a major success, selling over 12 million copies in the US alone and went #1 in 8 countries. In terms of overall impact for the band, this album pushed the group to international super-stardom. After this album they went on an extensive international tour that saw them transition from small venues to arenas. In terms of the overall impact on rock music, many have seen this album as possibly the first true heavy metal record. While I’m not sure I totally agree with that, its influence on the metal genre is without doubt.
Left to Right: Jimmy Page (Guitar), John Paul Jones (Bass), Robert Plant (Vocals), John Bonham (Drums)
The band recorded the album in several different studios while they were on their first tour in Europe and North America (3 shows were performed in NA). Many of the songs actually were derived from improvised solos during their track “Dazed and Confused” on their first album, and most of the tracks recorded were live in the studio.
More details about the album cover below!
The album kicks off with Whole Lotta Love - possibly the most famous guitar riff of all time. The tune was originally a Willie Dixon blues song called You Need Love, and not much is left from that original track in this song, except the lyrics. The band was actually sued for plagiarism, and had to settle out of court. But anyway, the music itself. The guitar riff Jimmy Page provides is such a simple beat, and when the bass comes in, and Robert Plant starts howling out those lyrics, hang on tight for this wild ride. John Bonham’s drum fills are tight and explosive, and as you start to get into the lyrics you realize this track is sexually charged (as is the whole album), including the famous line “I’m gonna give you every inch of my love”. The track is unique in the instrumental psychedelic break, which unfortunately is sometimes cut out on the radio. It gives cool guitar sounds, with Plant moaning back and forth on the channels of the stereo speakers, with Bonham keeping a simple beat sticking to the cymbals. Then all of a sudden Bonham sets Page up into one of his most melodic solos ever. This track is ubiquitous with rock ‘n’ roll, and has to be one of the most influential tracks in rock history. It was also Led Zeppelin’s most successful single, topping out at #4 in the US.
Up next is What Is and What Should Never Be, another great track. It starts with a jazzy lounge feeling, and Plant has a cool phasing-like effect used on his voice that makes it sound like his head is in a fishbowl. The lyrics are just as dreamy as the music - “take me hand child, come with me. It’s to a castle I will take you, where what’s to be, they say will be”. Then the chorus kicks in and just lights your hair on fire as Bonham brings in the heavy, angry sound. Rick Rubin said it best: “it’s like a bow being drawn back, and then it releases”. The coda rings in with some awesome heavy guitar hits, and a gong! It’s been said that the song was written by Plant about a relationship he had with his wife’s younger sister…
The Lemon Song is the album’s most traditional blues track. John Paul Jones bass in the background is incredible, try to focus on it during your next listen. Jimmy Page has some great solos again on this track. And again, the sexual innuendo is all over the place. Here’s a sample:
“Squeeze me baby, Til the juice runs down my leg, oh
Please, squeeze me baby, Until the juice runs down my leg
The way you squeeze my lemon, I'm gonna fall right out of bed, bed, bed, babe yeah”
Just like Whole Lotta Love, the song is an actual blues re-arrangement from the Howlin’ Wolf track, Killing Floor.
Thank You is a slower, more acoustic tune that shows the band aren’t just hard rockers. It’s a great love song Robert Plant wrote for his wife (interesting to note as What Is and What Should Never Be is about an affair with his wife’s sister), and the organ sounds from John Paul Jones is just great. Jimmy has a great acoustic solo on the 12 string guitar in there, which resolves to a great Bonham drum solo.
While the first side of this record is great, side 2 is where things really got hot.
Heartbreaker is my favorite Led Zeppelin guitar riff ever, maybe even my favorite rock riff ever. It has such an angry drive, which fits the mood of the song so well. When the key changes - Plant gets all defensive in his lyrics: “One thing I do have my mind, and 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….” and then the band drops for Page’s unaccompanied solo. It’s a little messy, but tears the room apart with its ferocity. That messiness is famously the two-tapping technique that people like Eddie Van Halen said he copied because of this track. Instead of using one hand to strum and the other to finger the fret, you tap the frets with both hands to produce the sound. Page said that the solo was actually recorded in a separate studio which gives it that slightly different sound from the rest of the song. Then Page introduces a new riff while the whole band storms in. But Jimmy isn’t done shredding the place apart yet, as the soloing continues. I love it when Page and Bonham hit together rhythmically at the end of the solo.
Livin’ Lovin’ Maid (Just A Woman) is sorta like a part 2 of Heartbreaker in how there is no real break between the songs. It’s a great short rocker with another fantastic riff. The band personally hated this song, and thought of it as a throwaway track. Maybe that’s because the song was based on a groupie who stalked the band early in their career. Originally the song was called Livin’ Lovin’ Wreck but was changed to Maid. But it is also one of their most popular tracks and is heard on classic rock radio all the time.
Ramble On’ many believe is the band’s best song ever written. I would say it definitely is their best up to this point of their existence, but I wouldn’t say it’s their best song. All four members are on the top of their game here though. Plant has great lyrics telling this tale of a rambler, while referencing some Lord of the Rings. But his voice range goes back and forth all throughout the track also. John Paul Jones has an amazing bass line throughout the song, and Page sounds great on the 12 string guitar again. But his electric guitar lines that transitions into the verses (I wouldn’t quite call them solos) are great too.
Moby Dick is a great instrumental that features John Bonham on the drums, but the guitar/bass riff is amazing too. When the air is cleared for Bonham, he starts on bongos and the bass drums. Then he goes with the sticks and wails until the end when the band is brought back in.
Finally we finish with Bring It On Home - another Willie Dixon song. It starts with a harmonica in a slow, traditional blues. Plant alters his voice to try and sound like his blues idols. Then the track abruptly stops and bang! Guitar roaring in like crazy! The track becomes a beast that just rips through your stereo before it goes back to the quiet acoustic guitar and harmonica. Great cover, and a great ending to the album.
At its initial release, many critics did not find it great at all. Led Zeppelin throughout their career was hit hard by critics, so much so that after their third album they stopped putting their name on their albums. But time has treated this album well, and has one of the strongest legacies of any other rock album of its generation. The album cover is fun too. David Juniper took a photograph from a WWI German air force plane and its crew and simply pasted the band’s faces on top of the crew. It was even nominated for a Grammy for Best Recording Package.
As a kid, as I do still today, I want to learn to play a guitar because of this album and all these famous guitar riffs. Whole Lotta Love, Heartbreaker, Moby Dick, Bring it On Home. Bring me home a guitar now. Let’s rock!