1003. Led Zeppelin / Led Zeppelin II. 1969. 3.5/5

The legacy of Led Zeppelin, of what they provided for the world of music and how that is still relevant, can often be related back to this, their sophomore album. Following the story of how the band came together and the subsequent release of their debut album, which you can find on the episode dedicated to that album in Season 6 of this podcast, the band continued on their rigorous touring schedule. It is difficult to fathom that in the period from when that debut album was released in January 1969 through until August of that year, the band had completed four separate European tours, and three further tours of the US. Not only is that a lot of touring and a lot of ground covered, but at the same time the band was also working on new material, and in some cases had begun playing new material live before they had recorded it, something that was more prevalent back in those days than necessarily occurs in the modern day.
Given that the songs for the next album were written on tour, they were also recorded in the same fashion. The band would have a song that they had written and completed and would then book a studio for a couple of hours between concerts, and go in and record the song, and then head back out to the next gig. It was a frantic way to do it. Under such time constraints each time they had the studio booked, you can imagine the urgency that went into the recording, and no doubt the spontaneity that was required on occasions in order to finish off a song. And there are certainly places in certain songs on this album that you can hear where something like that probably occurred. Studios in places such as London, Los Angeles, Memphis, New York and Vancouver were all used to record parts of the second album. The process used to write and record the album could easily have given it an uneven feel given that they came together at different periods, but in all likelihood it gives the album the point of difference from their debut album, with this one in places almost feeling like a live studio recording, and to many people a far better sound overall, a jump in quality of both writing and playing, that became ground breaking “Led Zeppelin II”.

From the outset, “Led Zeppelin II” makes a huge jump in the band's quickly evolving musical style based around blues-derived material and their desire to increase their guitar riff-based heavy drum sound. Some suggest it is the band’s heaviest album as a result. The speed at which the band went from the release of album one to the release of album two brought its own challenges. Six of the nine songs on this album are written by the band, while the other three are the band’s interpretations of blues songs by originally written and performed by Willie Dixon and Howlin' Wolf. Still, given the short time span between releases it is interesting to note the progression made between the two albums.
The heavy blues influence is still there for all to hear, especially in songs such as “The Lemon Song”, which is the band’s version of a Howlin’ Wolf track titled “Killing Floor” and had been played by the band live for some time with new lyrics and “What Is and What Should Never Be”, a Page and Plant track which uses flanging and other techniques during the song. but the take on songs such as “Ramble On” and “Heartbreaker” is more progressive in that they still have that blues base, but they have moved to a more hard rock influence. “heartbreaker” has that iconic guitar riff that Jimmy Page wrote that transcends time, while “Ramble On” moves from the quiet and acoustic through to the electric by the back half of the song.
You can hear how the way this album was written and recorded has affected its sound, with most of the songs having the feel that it’s a freeform writing style, stopping and starting into solo breaks for all members. It’s a style very much of that age, where bands on stage would happily stretch out instrumental breaks between songs or even in the middle of songs, creating new sounds as they went. Many of the songs here sound like that is just what they are doing, with a flowing structure rather than anything concrete. In the long run, it must have been almost impossible to tame and keep in check the four musicians in the band as they move towards the new decade. John Bonham just wants to hit those drums hard and fast and in a seemingly random order that falls into place perfectly. “Moby Dick” gives him that outlet, once both John Paul Jones and Jimmy Page have completed their own riffing at the start of the song. Both of these two musicians also sound like they are looking for greater outlets for their talents, and the morphing from straight blues backed songs to something a bit harder comes through. Combined with those honeyed vocal chords of Robert Plant you have a band that is bursting out of its original cocoon.
“What Is and What Should Never Be” has Beatles-ish qualities throughout, perhaps not a huge surprise given the era and the origin of the band, and “Thank You” has both Deep Purple and Pink Floyd similarities, again no surprise given the heritage of all of those bands and having all come from the same era and built on the same foundations. "Living Loving Maid (She’s Just a Woman)” is another upbeat track, but one that the band itself did not enjoy and felt was filler material, and yet whenever it comes on it almost lifts the mood of the album. On the other hand, the closing track “Bring It on Home” is a cover of a Willie Dixon song which mirrors the original.
“Whole Lotta Love” is perhaps still the star of the show, a song with some lyrics taken directly from a Willie Dixon song “You Need Love”, which eventually led to the band being sued for plagiarism, which they eventually settled out of court. Still, with that excellent Page guitar riff, Jones’s cool bass line underlying the song, Bonham’s wonderful drum rolls along with Plant’s super vocal performance it is a great song. It feels heavier than it actually is but has wider musical appeal regardless.

I suppose you can talk about the legacy that Led Zeppelin has until you are blue in the face, but if the style of music just isn’t what you enjoy you still aren’t going to rate a song, an album or a band as highly as those who are obsessed with that artist. “Led Zeppelin II” is one of those albums that the fans insist you must listen to, and in essence that you must love as much as they do, and immediately. Importantly however, it won’t be to everyone’s taste. That said, this is an important album in the history of music,
My appreciation of Led Zeppelin as a band does tend to outweigh my actual love of their music. They are one of those bands where if you put on a best of compilation, say, the excellent “Remasters” collection, I will sit there and love listening to it. If you put on a Led Zeppelin album, I will appreciate it but have some reservations of some of the songs that fit on that album.
In that regard, “Led Zeppelin II” fits nicely into that category. I am happy to listen to the album, and about half of the songs here I think are still terrific to this day. The others... well, they are there so I listen to them. When the songs break out with guitars and bass and drums, and Robert Plant gets his voice out there, then Led Zeppelin are fully worth listening to. If not... then at times it is a little tedious.
While I had a digital copy of this album for years, I only recently got a CD copy of the album, which I have been listening to a lot over the last couple of weeks. And, through my stereo in the Metal Cavern, it sounds great sonically. Most things do actually. And I’ve enjoyed having it on. But my thoughts haven’t changed in this regard. I appreciate all four musicians and what they have done on this album. Each of them is terrific. And I can appreciate why this is so highly regarded. In the long run however, I’ll stick to “Remasters” when it comes to listening to a Led Zeppelin album.