For the “Not Only Prog” Series: Led Zeppelin II by Led Zeppelin, 1969 album.
Released on October 22, 1969 in the United States, “Led Zeppelin II” is the second studio album by Led Zeppelin and is without any doubt a cornerstone of rock, the archetype of hard rock and heavy metal. It’s the album that established the band worldwide, redefining music standards with powerful riffs and an incredible rhythm section.
“Led Zeppelin II” was entirely conceived, written and recorded during promotional tours in the United Kingdom, Europe and North America between the beginning and the end of 1969. With no time for sessions in a single studio, the band recorded the tracks in a piecemeal way in about a dozen different studios, making use of the few free moments between shows. Among the cities visited were London, New York, Vancouver, Los Angeles and Memphis.
The musicians arrived at the studio with the songs already road-tested live. Jimmy Page carried the tapes from one city to another, overdubbing tracks often under difficult conditions. Despite the fragmented recording, the album retains an incredible sonic consistency thanks to the final mix in New York by Jimmy Page and sound engineer Eddie Kramer, who gave the tracks cohesion and an unheard-of power.
The album is the ultimate blueprint for hard rock and heavy metal. It revolutionized traditional blues, boosting its heaviness, speed and distortion. Compared to their debut album, the sound here is tighter, more aggressive and defined by massive guitar riffs, perfectly locked in with a powerful rhythm section.
The album flows like a continuous surge of energy, but reaches its peaks with tracks like “Whole Lotta Love”, whose main riff is one of the most important in music history, having redefined the use of the electric guitar in modern rock. Also in “Whole Lotta Love”, the middle section, marked by abstract sounds, the use of the theremin and the stereo mixing that moves Plant’s voice between channels, represents a psychedelic avant-garde. “Moby Dick”, instead, is an instrumental track entirely devoted to showcasing the talent and tribal power of John Bonham’s drumming.
Beyond these tracks, the album also includes songs like “Ramble On” and “Heartbreaker”, but “Whole Lotta Love” is surely the album’s masterpiece and the Led Zeppelin manifesto. In just over five minutes, the song contains everything the band could do, blending visceral blues, hard-rock power and psychedelic experimentation. Despite its unusual structure, “Whole Lotta Love” broke the conventions of radio singles of the time and has been ranked among the greatest rock songs of all time.
The album cover, created by designer David Juniper, was so well received that it earned a nomination at the 1970 Grammy Awards. Its story and its peculiarities are truly fascinating.
Juniper began with an old black-and-white archive photo of Jasta 11, the famous German air squadron of World War I led by the legendary Manfred von Richthofen, the “Red Baron”. With a skillful photomontage, the artist recolored the image with sepia tones and replaced the original faces of the German pilots with those of Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and John Bonham. Next to them also appeared the faces of the band’s manager, Peter Grant, and the tour manager, Richard Cole. Among the other figures, the French actress Delphine Seyrig stands out, pictured at the bottom, dressed as Mary Poppins.
The cover also features the crisp white silhouette of an airship (the “Zeppelin”) on a completely brown background. This color contrast led fans and collectors around the world to nickname the record “The Brown Bomber” (The brown bomber).
This album is the true birth certificate of modern hard rock and the template on which the heavy metal of the following years was built. It is a milestone both technically and sonically. It proved that “heavy” music could be incredibly dynamic, combining explosive sonic power with a refined production rich in innovative elements, thanks to the collaboration between Jimmy Page and Eddie Kramer in the recording studio.
It had a huge impact both culturally and commercially. It was the album that knocked the Beatles’ Abbey Road off the top of the charts, cementing Led Zeppelin as the most important and influential band of the ’70s.
A flawless work, where every track redefined the standards of its respective instruments.
Essential work for any collection.
My Version
Label: Atlantic – 8122796640, Atlantic – R1 535225
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue, Remastered, Stereo, 180 Gram, Gatefold
Country: Worldwide
Released: 2020
Tracklist
A1 Whole Lotta Love 5:34
A2 What Is And What Should Never Be 4:46
A3 The Lemon Song 6:19
A4 Thank You 4:49
B1 Heartbreaker 4:14
B2 Living Loving Maid (She's Just A Woman) 2:39
B3 Ramble On 4:34
B4 Moby Dick 4:20
B5 Bring It On Home 4:19
Lineup
Robert Plant – Lead vocals, harmonica
Jimmy Page – Guitars, theremin, backing vocals, producer
John Paul Jones – Bass guitar, organ, backing vocals
John Bonham – Drums, percussion, backing vocals
