Led Zeppelin

Good Times Bad Times: 8/10: Really fun start. Def roped me in. Babe Im Gonna Leave You: 7/10. Continued good vibes. You Shook Me: 6/10 - jazzy. Felt long, but did enjoy it. Dazed and Confused: 6/10: Felt long Your Time is Gonna Come: 9/10: This one is fun, really like Black Mountain Side: 5/10: Cool Jazzy Vibe. Felt out of place weirdly. I Cant Quit You Baby: 8/10: fun but basic How Many More Times: 9/10: really enjoyed. Very fun Overall Rating: 7.25/10

Songs: Communication Breakdown, I Can't Quit You Babe

Great rock band. Iconic sound and music. Set the standard for rock music.

there's simply no denying this album is amazing but I can't give it 5 because page and plant are demons

great job led zeppelins

Album 575 of 1001 Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin (1969) Rating : 4 / 5 Great album. Led Zeppelin has never really been on my go-to list. That probably won't change. I appreciate what they bring and its place in music history but they just never resonated really big for me. There is no denying this is an awesome album yet I doubt I'll be pulling it off the shelf for many listens.

Still holds up well today.

One of the most influential bands of all time. Beloved by dads around the world. No one sounds quite like them even after all this time. That said, it's not really my thing. I'll give it points out of respect.

A bit more accessible than the first Led Zepplin album I listened to.

own

Solid

Nice

pretty crazy this is a debut!! already fully formed!

Might need a re-listen for some tracks most of them were bangers and some will probably be my new favorites.

Wore the shit out of this cd back in the day.

Super interesting. Rock, blues, psych rock all come together. I’m into it.

Need to catch up with all the missed albums so far. Starting with Led Zeppelin.

10/15/24. Classic rock record that started a legendary run by Zeppelin. Personally not my favorite of their albums, but love the classics of Your Time is Gonna Come, Black Mountain Side, and I Can't Quit You Baby.

I can see why this is a classic

Blues based rock - great album! This may be my favorite Zeppelin. Brings back fine memories of high school.

Solid debut from Led Zep with a few top tier songs. It’s set the tone for the Zep sound of hard rock and blues with a little psych sprinkled on and the occasional acoustic number. A handful of powerful songs, whether it be speed (communication breakdown), riffs (good times, dazed), or more emotional & arrangement (babe). The straight blues tunes are fine but don’t do as much for me. But this is a strong start to a great band, showcasing all their members strengths - powerful but nimble rhythm section, Page’s heavy messy riffs, and Plant’s wailing. The highs are as good as anything else they’ve done, but as a full album isn’t as consistent as some later efforts.

Some good songs!

What an opener! One of the best opening tracks to a first album ever (maybe eclipsed by Hendrix).

5 star first half, didn’t enjoy the second half quite as much. Best - Babe I’m Gonna Leave You Worst - How Many More Times 😴

Classic LZ

Great album with dazed and confused

Raw but rockin

What a debut album.

pretty enjoyably moody, black sabbath before black sabbath

The more I listen to led zeppelin the more I like them

A debut album with a sound never heard before…not quite. Original if one doesn’t listen very hard. Years ago I’d trash this album but time bashes on and repetition wins. I finally like this album.

Enjoyable listen. It’s probably lost some of its impact with time, but some great rock music.

I would say this is the birth of psych rock, so many eastern influences as well

An impressive debut, but I feel like it becomes a bit tedious after a while. Most of these songs are one or two minutes too long.

191/1001 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑

More diverse than I thought it would be. It’s classic LZ through and through, you know what you’re getting and that’s some solid jams, but songs like Black Mountain Side add a layer of complexity that help make the band so great.

boomer rock. some high highs and low lows. cant hate on it too much i was bumping this like crazy in high school

They became more refined with their later albums, but this is a great introduction with raw and edgy (at least for the time) and bombastic sounds. Good Times, Bad Times is a stronger opener than many other bands could dream of.

Great debut

Loved it. Classic

Great stuff from LZ, and the only album of theirs I already knew a bit. It starts particularly strongly in my opinion, but that does mean it drifts a tiny bit and ends up not quite in the fives.

Influential to the development of the hard rock sound of the 70s and arguably heavy metal as well. I loved these songs as a youngster. Although they feel overplayed to me now I can’t deny the mastery of the musicians. Bonham really rocks, Page was equal parts soulful lead guitar and crunchy riffs, Jones was steady and dependable, Plant cuts your soul with his vocals. However deduct one point for plagiarism without crediting original artists.

I LOVED THIS

Solid 4 star album. All good songs but not all flowing. Would need one or two exceptional songs to push it just a bit higher to 5 stars. Enjoyed it all but think a couple of the songs are a little bit underwhelming.

Million mile an hour blues

great debut

this is so good dude, I love the blues influence woven throughout, and as far as debuts go this was such a good way to show off the band's abilities. Plant's voice is absurd on this album, some of my favourite from him for sure

I haven't listened to this in ages, but it just reminded me that their debut album was pretty solid and worth a listen from time to time as well. 3.5 stars but rounding it up to 4 because I love Dazed and confused

Another good album from Led Zeppelin. I think III is the best of the bunch that I've heard so far, but this is up with with II.

This is definitely not the first time, nor the last time I'll listen to this album. Led Zeppelin is a great band, and this is a great album, but I won't give it 5/5 because it's not my favorite album by them.

Really good rock and very much full of the seeds of great things to come. LED in development.

Good, but I prefer later Led Zeppelin albums over this one 4/5

This is great, and for a "debut" album ... it set the tone for generation to come

rocky

Totally rifftastic from the opening bars. I don't need to explain this stuff, it's Zeppelin.

Decent. 3.667

One of the great Side 1 Track 1 songs on a debut album of all time.

Liked a lot of this, but didn’t love anything

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times… Good Times Bad Times; what a great start to the debut album of a soon to be legendary band. Was too young to be paying attention to R&R when Zep I dropped, but know the album. Some smash hits, some filler. Better now than through the 70s and 80s, but we’re still Dazed And Confused. Solid (4.0*s) Incidentally, they get better.

This scores very high marks (bc it's LZ) but for a debut album it absolutely wrecks it. I would have loved to witness the reception when this first hit the airwaves and literally broke peoples' heads right off. So just to summarize, an unknown quartet rises from the ashes of The Yardbirds in late 1968 and 3 months later releases this mighty beast changing music and human's inner ears forever. Cool, got it.

When Led Zeppelin hit the music scene it must have set the world ablaze like the Hindenburg. The band was a combination of guys who had mastered their craft but also where just having a blast. This album shows their bluesy hard rock direction and also includes a softer guitar track by Page. Versatility and skill abound. No other band was hitting it as hard as this at the time and once arrived, they were not going anywhere for a while...4.2.

As much as their other albums get deserved attention I've always loved Led Zeppelin's debut album. It's one of the strongest debut albums ever and upon a re-listen its very evident how polished they were as band right from the get go. While their production and presence grew as they got more popular it's pretty clear they were something special right out of the gates. All 4 members established themselves as masters of their craft over the band's lifetime, but the fact that those vocals came out of a 20-year old Plant is truly astounding. I love the hits, particularly opening track Good Times Bad Times, but always thought some of the deep cuts really help cement the album. Babe I'm Gonna Leave You has been climbing my personal Zep list for years and You Shook Me continues to surprise me how overlooked it is with the harmonica solo and Page/Plant guitar/vocal call-and-answer. Side A is one of my favorite album sides and while Side B isn't nearly as strong it still holds up. Zep I isn't their best album but has such a special place in my heart, and the Hindenberg album cover has been so iconic and present in my personal life for 20+ years as I'm currently staring at it on my wall as I write this. What else needs to be said? 4.25 stars

people with interesting/unique vocals always make me excited and the guitar playing was really impressive! also it makes me laugh to think about how much robert plant hates his own music

liked this more than i thought sorry. maybe rockers need rights.

Dang, this is still pretty good. I listened to a lot of this band in high school and this album still holds up pretty well. Not every song is five stars on this album, but its strongest songs are so freakin’ good.

Didn’t have the major zeppelin hits on here but I still really enjoyed it. Since I’m not on lcd or heroin, some of the slower ones really dragged on. Interesting fact, you can clearly hear the similarities between “babe I’m gonna leave you” and “25 or 6 to 4” and so I looked it up and apparently 25 came out a year after babe and the Chicago writer was asked about the similarities and he had no comment. So that’s sad cuz I really like Chicago.

Fantastic album. A handful of great songs that are surprising to be from a debut album and a ton of variety. Enjoyed every minute of this one, but I know Led Zeppelin has more to offer so I’m sticking at four.

Love me some Zeppelin! I don't think I've heard someone call them this before, but I think they're just a jam band. A hard rock cruise through some awesome songs. There aren't really any peaks or valleys. Just a long plateau. I'm more familiar with Led Zeppelin II, so this was awesome to listen to for the first time.

You know, this might just be my favorite Zeppelin. It’s so much simpler and more stripped down.

Zeppelin album

Way better than 4

Shuffle. Groove. Close.my eyes and this electric blues makes me smile. Bonham's liquid drumming, Page's guitar like an organic limb, Plant's wailing orgasmic voice...radio unfriendly song lengths that feed the ear like the heartiest meal.... So many essential tunes here. Babe I'm gonna leave you (I've got to ramble), You shook me, Dazed and Confused....ooof. what a fucking masterpiece of a song. There's so much to love here. But there are also some odd places where the band gets lost in its own maze. There's a diversity here that works, but signifies a band still insecurely experimenting with their emerging identity and stylistic power. But the elephant in the room? Plant's lyrics. Fucking garbage. Which is why I listen to his voice as a non-signifying instrument most of the time. If you ever want to make people laugh, read the lyrics to "Babe I'm gonna leave you" as a spoken word poem. Sigh.

4.5 Some may have laid down the blues/hard rock road before Zep but I would argue nobody did it better. Bonhman was like what 19 or 20 years old during recording, that's crazy. JPJ is a stud and page/plant are page/plant. Should be a 5 but you can argue most of the songs are covers

A few tracks near the end bogged it down a little bit for me. Still a great debut record from Led Zeppelin.

It is a classic but some songs aren't that great but others are awesome. Dazed and Confused being the best one and I consider it one of the few metal songs that existed prior to Black Sabbath

A foretaste of things to come. It's still pretty good.

Really solid album from start to finish. Some great hits and a couple less popular songs. Just fun, classic rock and roll. John Bonham is so good. 8.5/10 (4.25/5)

classic

Good Times Bad Times 4.1 Babe I'm Gonna Leave You 4 You Shook Me 3.7 Dazed and Confused 4.4 Your Time Is Gonna Come 4 Black Mountain Side 3.4 Communication Breakdown 4.1 I Can't Quit You Baby 3.8 How Many More Times 4 Score: 3.944444444

this is stunning, innit

This was a solid blues rock album. While I wasn't always into the songs with the slower breakdowns, it was still fascinating to listen to the guitar work. It's not an album I would put on regularly, but I also wouldn't turn it down if someone were playing it.

Het eerste nummer van hun eerste album. Het is gelijk een top-nummer. Het album wisselt vervolgens wat af tussen licht gitaargeweld en rustigere nummers. Die laatste zijn soms wat energietrekkend, zoals het refrein van Your Time Is Gonna Come. Pfff....Het is ook nog net de jaren '60... Maar nog steeds scoort het album makkelijk 4 sterren en verheug ik mij al op de volgende plaat van Led.

Did not expect Led Zeppelin to slap this hard. I love Babe I'm Gonna Leave You because of the light-heavy, soft-hard interchange. Interesting use of the organ in some of the songs, I didn't know it could be used in rock songs. Plants' vocals are insane. On a whole it was a very interesting first listening, never got bored once.

Led Zeppelin's debut is held in such a legendary status for a very good reason. Not only were these four guys some of the most talented musicians in the whole country, but they were also hungry, full of energy and creativity. Though i'm not too much of a fan of the slower cuts, as they don't have much going on outside of standard bluesery with some agonizing crooning from Plant that, while impressively energetic, it gets tiresome after a while. I do love the intense moments in here, specially "Dazed and Confused" and "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You". The core compositions on "How Many More Times" and "Good Times Bad Times" are also very fun to listen to.

Groundbreaking! Created a whole new hard rock genre.

Hard rocking and breaking ground on the debut, love to see it :)

Led Zep - what can one say! So many bands have taken inspiration from these guys. Before their time!

Blues goodness. I prefer II or IV, the band developed a lot of resources and self-expression as they kept on advancing in their craft. I shows more of their influences than their ability to influence oncoming generations, but it's still a landmark.

I solid album that led to even greater ones down the line.

as much of a classic as it gets, not the biggest rock fan but i can appreciate it

Some bands evolve and some just seem to explode. When I think about the greatest firsts, the best introduction on record to a new band or sound this album always comes to mind near the top. I cannot fathom what it would be like to have lived through the rock and roll revolution but to imagine myself getting a copy of this record with a burning Zeppelin on the front and putting it on with no previous reference point and ….. Zuh Guh!! Zuh guh!!! (Clink clink clink-clink clink-clink clink) ….. …..” in the days of my youth …….” It would have just sounded so crazy. There’s others. Purple Haze. The opening of Black Sabbath with the rain and the bells. Welcome to The Jungle. Break On Through. My Name Is. Blind. Head Like A Hole. Bombtrack. Blister in the Sun. But most of those came after. The excitement may be similar but I can’t imagine the shock being the same. Especially with no existing bar to really set it against. I’ll only remove a star because this isn’t in my top 3 Zeppelin albums. But it’s still in the top few hundred albums ever made and better than the other 50,000 plus albums of shit that exist in rock and roll.

3.5 stars rounded up

Not their best album, but one of the best first albums of all time. A lot of really good songs on here, but nowhere near as refined as much of their later work.

A lot more experimental than I expected. Really dug it.

Priem

Really good album

4.5/5.0 Def one of my fav led albums the blues and rock fusion works so well for me! really lovin it!

This was fun. I domt normslly like led zep but i preffered this to led zep 4 and also communicagion breakdown is my favourote song by them. Overall wuite good

Good Times, Bad Times, Babe I'm Gonna Leave You en Dazed And Confused zijn classics die ik al goed kende. Your Time Is Gonna Come in het midden is een specialleke, eerst een organ-intro van een minuut en dan een zeer meezingbaar refrein. You Shook Me voelt een beetje overbodig. Decent einde met How Many More Times, dat aanvoelt als een bluesnummer met hardrockeinde. Algemeen een goed en vrij gemakkelijk te beluisteren album.

Yes. Absolutely yes.

Dazes an confused är mkt bra. Samt your time is gonna come. Övriga håller ändå rätt hög nivå. Blir en fyra här också!

Älskar Babe I’m gonna leave you och överlag är denna, precis som IV, en riktigt bra skiva rakt igenom.

I think my favorite album of theirs. Not many skips on this. Will I listen to again: 80%

Some bitchin rips in here! Kind of felt tedious at some points but I think that’s just my instantly gratified early 21st century brain at work.

I am a golden god!

Phenomenal debut. Led Zep was ALWAYS on the classic rock radio when I was a kid. "Get the Led out" was a staple. I am probably too familiar with these songs to properly rate the album. Close to a 5-star, but I need to leave some room for improvement to the glorious Led Zep IV.

I saw Robert Plant walking in Kidderminster when I was about 6. My dad pointed him out but I didn’t know who he was. Saw him again when I was 38 at my step daughter’s horse riding school. He didn’t recognise me. 4.4

leuk, om de een of andere reden dacht ik altijd dat zij veel meer hardere rock waren maar mooi album

Not much I can fault here, top tier songs all around. Maybe a little dated. Solid 4.

Un amalgame convaincant de blues et de rock, juste assez sale mais pas trop

Good rock and roll. Enjoyable.

One of those iconic bands you know as soon as you hear them

Really good, but not Led Zeppelin's best.

Idk, more of a vibe than Paul McCartney

Hadn't listened to this entire album in quite some time. Felt like I was in a time machine. I think how many more times is one of the best jams ever. Just shocking to think that these guys had been playing together very short time.

I've heard most of the tracks on this, but never listened to the album in full. I don't see how you can give this anything less than a 4.

Classic album with great tunes.its incredible to think this was their debut album

Didn't expect it to be THIS good, probably found a new fav band!

Классика рока, но последующие альбомы Лед Зеппелин все таки еще круче

Third Led Zeppelin album I've rated, so I ain't spewin the same shit. It's good.

A few of the songs dragged for me, mostly bangers. Good Times Bad Times is basically drum porn.

Good Times, Bad Times, Babe I'm Gonna Leave You en Dazed And Confused zijn classics die ik al goed kende. Your Time Is Gonna Come in het midden is een specialleke, eerst een organ-intro van een minuut en dan een zeer meezingbaar refrein. You Shook Me voelt een beetje overbodig. Decent einde met How Many More Times, dat aanvoelt als een bluesnummer met hardrockeinde. Algemeen een goed en vrij gemakkelijk te beluisteren album.

Son inevitables.

The Yardbirds ended before their time, but in retrospect, they needed to move out of the way to make space for Led Zeppelin to emerge from their ashes. As the New Yardbirds had none of the original members, Page made the wise decision to rebrand. This powerful debut, without any label influence, sounds absolutely massive and still does. This album is an important piece of history connecting the blues to hard rock, even containing some completely reimagined blues covers on the way. This record is the first classic from a band that kept producing classics. It hasn't aged a day.

Are you ready to rock?

listened to again still a banger

Always good to listen to.

An incredible debut. Some genre defining material and some experimental jams that don’t achieve the same level. Regardless, this is rock 101 and stands as an exceptional showcase of 4 very talented artists.

This sounds mostly refined and complete for being a debut album. It's got the blues-rock inspired sound that many know Led Zeppelin for, plus big-sounding rock hits in "Good Times Bad Times" and "Communication Breakdown". Side two does sound a bit filler-y when comparing to the rest of the album, though.

Self titled albums either hit or miss. This one damn sure didn’t miss 🔥

Very good debut record and very consistent in quality.

Another solid LZ album. It’s really really good, not great. I’m going to use this space to complain AGAIN that Houses Of The Holy was left off for this album. It is a travesty.

There's no denying this is a classic debut album from one of the most influential bands in rock history, stacked with heavy hitters like "Good Times Bad Times" and "Communication Breakdown" as well as inspired blues and folk covers such as "Dazed and Confused" and "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You". The only problem is that it's still a debut album where the growing pains are evident, as the second half of the album loses momentum on "Your Time is Gonna Come". However, it transitions nicely into the instrumental "Black Mountain Side" before picking things up again. Overall, it's a solid fundamental album for the genre, and as such gets a recommendation for those into rock and proto-metal.

Pretty stunning debut

Loved this album, totally a classic 4 stars

Classic album that defined the genre

Crazy, that this album came in 1969. The drums and guitar parts are just excellent. However, I do not really like the vocal part - too much yelling. Good times Bad Times - superb opening

litty

What a debut! Hard rocking blues "covers" and some rocking original tracks set Led Zeppelin up for a decade of hard rock dominance.

great debut from the band, great tracks, great style before they switched to the folk rock. 8/10

Good record.

This isn't the best LZ album (I think nearly all Zeppelin fans will tell you this), but it's a rock-solid collection of original and blues cover songs that make up the debut of one of the most influential classic rock bands of all time. So yeah, duh - it's on the list! The first two songs are my absolute favorite here (I forgot how much I loved "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" until I re-listened to LZ I again for this project. Jimmy Page's guitar work throughout is a stunning preview to what his style would become across the span of LZ's catalog. Some of the blues covers here are a bit "generic," but on tracks like "Dazed and Confused," Page's remarkable violin bow/guitar work and Robert Plant's epic wailing entrances the hell of out the listener. LZ I is a really great album that provides a delicious taste of the even better material to come from the band. 4 stars: I am struck by this album. Interesting Factoids from Wikipedia: *(Guitarist Jimmy) Page was reluctant to release "singles", so only "Good Times Bad Times", backed with "Communication Breakdown", was released outside of the UK. However, due to exposure on album-oriented rock radio stations, and growth in popularity of the band, many of the album's songs have become classic rock radio staples. *Led Zeppelin's front cover, which was chosen by Page, features a black-and-white image of the German zeppelin Hindenburg photographed by Sam Shere on 6 May 1937, when the airship burst into flames while landing at Lakehurst, New Jersey. The image refers to the origin of the band's name itself: When Page, (guitarist Jeff) Beck and The Who's Keith Moon and John Entwistle were discussing the idea of forming a group, Moon joked, "It would probably go over like a lead balloon", and Entwistle reportedly replied, "a lead zeppelin!" *Page used a "distance makes depth" approach to production. He used natural room ambiance to enhance the reverb and recording texture on the record, demonstrating the innovations in sound recording he had learned during his session days. At the time, most music producers placed microphones directly in front of the amplifiers and drums. For Led Zeppelin, Page developed the idea of placing an additional microphone some distance from the amplifier (as far as 20 feet (6 m)) and then recording the balance between the two. Page became one of the first producers to record a band's "ambient sound": the distance of a note's time-lag from one end of the room to the other. *"Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" was a re-arrangement of a song composed by Anne Bredon in the 1950s. Page had heard the song recorded by Joan Baez for her 1962 album Joan Baez in Concert. It was one of the first numbers that he worked on with Plant when the two first met at Pangbourne in August 1968. Interesting Factoids from SongFacts.com: *[On "Good Times Bad Times"]: When the band re-formed for a benefit show on December 10, 2007 with Jason Bonham playing drums in place of his father, this was the first song in the set. Bassist John Paul Jones told Rolling Stone magazine after the show: "That's the hardest riff I ever wrote, the hardest to play." *[On "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You"]: There is a Led Zeppelin drinking game where you have to take a swig every time Robert Plant sings "baby." This song leads to inebriation in that one, since he repeats "babe" or "baby" 31 times. *[On "Dazed and Confused"]: This was a showcase song at most of Led Zeppelin's concerts. They sometimes improvised on it for up to 40 minutes. *[On "Your Time is Gonna Come"]: Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones wrote this song, which is about an unfaithful girl who will pay the price for her deceitful ways. The lyrics reflect Jimmy Page's views on women at the time. He thought they were deceitful and inferior to men, similar to Aleister Crowley, who Page idolized...All four members of the band sing together on the chorus...British singer Sandie Shaw became the first artist to cover a Led Zep tune when she reworked this for her 1969 album, Reviewing the Situation. *[On "Communication Breakdown"]: This song became an anthem for frustrated youth. It was a popular live song that Led Zeppelin usually used to either open shows or play in an encore. *[On "How Many More Times"]: This was the last song on the first Led Zeppelin album. It was listed as 3:30 on the album, but the correct length is 8:28. The reason that the song was listed as only being a little over 3 minutes was to promote radio play. Jimmy Page knew that radio would never play a song over 8 minutes long, so he wrote the track time as shorter on the album to trick radio stations into playing it. Standout Tracks: Good Times Bad Times, Babe I'm Gonna Leave You, Dazed and Confused, Communication Breakdown

I've never listened to a full Led Zeppelin album before - but of course, I know many of their songs. There were some highs and lows, e.g. i felt You Shook Me was pretty weak and wished that Good Times was given the proper jam length that that was given. Still had a good time listening to it overall.

Hard rock, blues rock. I won't touch on the plagiarism with this band or even this album, I'd like to be as objective as possible. I enjoy Led Zeppelin enough but for me this album just isn't it, save for a few songs that I really like. The rest are serviceable but nowhere near as memorable and just feel like they're in the way of the good stuff. I love bluesy rock, and the bass and drums on this album are phenomenal. Vocals and guitar are probably the highlights. The album as a whole drags a bit here and there but it's not too long so I can move past it. Overall a fun album, even the songs I don't care for have a little bit to offer. Would revisit for several songs. 4/5

Not the strongest Zep album, but in some ways, the most pure, in terms of their blues background and the straightforward performance. I like it more when they get weirder...

One of my grandma's favorite bands, and that's a compliment to her, not an insult to led zeppelin. I wouldn't call myself a fan but I've listened to them for a while and barely knew this album but it's shocking this is their first, they have had such a defined sound since the beginning. Very rock and roll at times but they also love to show off their talent with more acoustic songs. Favorite Song: Good Times Bad Times 8/10

I enjoy the shifts in tempo. Didn't love every song but didn't hate any either, and the ones I did love were really great. I can't say if I love Robert Plant's signature vocal style at all times, but I have to admit it is iconic. Rippin guitar solos, makes me wish I was alive in the 60s to see these shows. Top songs: Babe I'm gonna leave you** Your time is gonna come

Big, big, big fan of Led Zeppelin here. I love everything about their sound: John Bonham’s dynamic drumming, Jimmy Page’s shrieking guitar riffs, and most of all Robert Plant’s wailing voice (often times his vocal performance makes it seem like he is moments away from climaxing). This band has never been replicated since. Well, maybe Greta Van Fleet tried really hard too. Unlike a lot of other bands, it feels like Led Zeppelin debuted with their sound almost fully formed already. That being said, this album still very much feels raw at points. There is still a lot I like about that album though. I love the blues influences and this is definitely their most blues inspired record. A few of my favorite Led Zeppelin songs of all time also appear on this record. To me this is a great album in its own right, but serves to hint at greater things to come from this band. Solid 4 Fav Songs: Good Times Bad Times Babe I’m Gonna Leave You Dazed and Confused Communication Breakdown

Wow! These guys can really rock!

Good Times Bad Times Babe I'm Gonna Leave You Dazed and Confused

Classic

A masterful blending of blues, rock, and jazz elements. Bonzo's cans are thunderous yet nicely balanced

Not my favourite Zeppelin album but absolutely banging all the same

Imagine you’re in 1969, and you hear about this new hyped up band led by Jimmy Page from the Yardbirds. You buy the album, and the first thing you hear is Good Times Bad Times. How do you not immediately fall in love with this band? This album is fun because it shows the two sides of Zeppelin - as great songwriters, but also as blues scholars. Ultimately, it’s not my favorite Zeppelin album, because what came after was so damn good. But, Good Times Bad Times may still be my favorite Zeppelin song.

Petty good debut album. I enjoyed most of it. 4/5

I always think that Led Zeppelin music is going to be super hard rock or metal or something - but it's just classic rock to me. Great guitar parts, with what's almost fingerpicking and not much distortion at all. I don't really like the singer, but he's not all that bad. Dazed and confused is a little too rambling guitar solos that aren't particularly interesting. The instrumentation is really good like the bass, guitar, drums, and I think there's some keys. Don't love the singer, and the overall music is less than what I like.

Still awesome after 56 years

Excellent, breakthrough album.

Good Times Bad Times Babe I’m Gonna Leave You You Shook Me Dazed And Confused How Many More Times Beautiful guitar and vocals. Timeless energy. Really enjoyed listening.

Great

Probably my favorite Led Zeppelin album. Dazed and Confused and Communication Breakdown are some of the best songs they'd ever write. Their Willie Dixon covers show an obvious reverence in their arrangements. At this point this isn't a supergroup yet, just a bunch of British kids who absolutely WORSHIP the American blues. But even at this point they aren't comfortable just playing it, so much as innovating and expanding beyond it.

Led Zeppelin's self-titled debut album, often referred to as 'Led Zeppelin I,' is a seminal work that laid the foundation for the band's legendary career. Bursting onto the music scene in 1969, the album introduced listeners to Led Zeppelin's unique blend of blues, rock, and folk influences, setting a new standard for hard rock music. Tracks like 'Good Times Bad Times' and 'Dazed and Confused' showcase the band's virtuosic musicianship and Robert Plant's iconic vocals, while 'Communication Breakdown' delivers an electrifying energy that still resonates with audiences today. 'Led Zeppelin' is a timeless classic that continues to inspire generations of rock enthusiasts with its raw power and innovation.

- Never been a big fan of Zeppelin...have always found them to be incredibly overhyped. But there is no question that their standard fare is a step above most other straight rock from the period. - Pretty much turn this album on and just let it play. No one track truly stood out and wow'ed me, but I also found it all to be enjoyable. - I do not find the bluesy sound they have on occasion to be as fascinating as their heavier stuff. Much like Elvis, part of me wonders how much the praise they received was for using songs and techniques from people of color but with an "acceptable" (i.e. white) appearance.

Some great songs, but not all.

I gave it a couple of listens. I like the 4 better-known tracks: Good Times Bad Times, Babe I'm Gonna Leave You, Dazed and Confused, Communication Breakdown. The rest of the tracks have a good bluesy/rocky feel, though at times they get a little long or a little screechy.

Almost just a 3. I was surprised how much of it just washed over me without making much of an impression. But, none of its was bad.

Man, those two openers are such a cock rocking start to this album, with the rock + funk combo of 'Good Times Bad Times' bleeding into the relentless blues + rock of 'Babe I'm Gonna Leave You'...and then it just peters out into (admittedly skillful) blues covers and never quite gets back that insane momentum. I enjoyed this *way* more than I thought I would given I mostly know them as the band that ripped off everyone else and had to be badgered into appropriately crediting artists waaay after the fact. Me = shocked Pikachu face.

Classic rock album

Very Nice, if I was heartbroken atm would've been 5 star

This is an insane album. It was amazing for its time, and it kind of held up well. Songs like “Communication Breakdown” and “Good Times Bad Times” show Led Zeppelin’s ability to adapt. Despite this, four of the nine available songs on the album are covers of folk songs or blues songs. This album is so versatile, but when you take its shortcomings into account, it deserves a 80%, or a 4/5.

Solid classic.

I like that is was more blusey. I’ve only really ever been a hits or the second album guy for Led Zeppelin so wow Led Zeppelin.

Classic Blues Rock. What a debut album!

It's very iconic.

Gitarrenrock der exzellenten Art, der Vor-Head-Banger Generation sozusagen. Grundlage der späteren Erfolge sowohl von Led Zeppelin, wie den Solo- und weiteren Band Karrieren der Musiker.

Solid

The music in the album just sounds so good and polished, especially against other albums I've heard from this era. Jimmy Page really rocks a guitar. That being said, I don't love the call and response parts between Page and Plant where Plant just moans back the sound, and this happens a bunch on this album. My favorite from here that I hadn't heard before was I Can't Quit You Baby.

Jimmy page lives down the street from me

Better than I anticipated, but not exactly my thing. At least I didn’t have to slog through stairway to heaven for the thousandth time.

Quality album. Led Zeppelin is not my absolute favorite in the music world, but I totally respect their craft. A nice blend of rock and blues at times. This band is truly an essential one and I do plan to come back to it in the future, though probably not as often as to some other albums. 7.4/10

Classic of classic

yea its pretty good

favourite: good times bad times, dazed and confused, how many more times least favourite: i can't quit you baby obviously it's good it's led zeppelin, 2-4 are better though mayb 8-9/10

The beginning of one of the most iconic rock groups in the genre's history, and undeniably a debut that showcases each of the band's members incredible musicianship right off the bat. From Robert Plant's powerful vocal performances on tracks like Babe I'm Gonna Leave You and Dazed and Confused, Jimmy Page's killer riffs on tracks like Good Times Bad Times and Communication Breakdown, Paul Jones' eerie keyboards on You Shook Me, and Jon Bonham's drumming throughout the whole record, it's genuinely a great ride from start to finish, with only a few down moments and some admittedly questionable lyrics by today's standards.

Started out fine, but You Shook Me overstays it's welcome. The harmonica solo is entirely unneeded and skippable. It's good, but the songs are really too long on a lot of places.

4 - Feel like the dad rock is seeping into my veins. Enjoyed this a lot and felt in the right headspace for it.

Preferred this to their other one

Quality album

Takes me back to formative days when we had Psychedelic Sunday on Q107 and far fewer cares. Good stuff.

For some reason I just want to be drunk while I listen to this album.

I'm gonna give this a four but it's really more of a 3.5 for me. I love Page's guitar playing, it is supremely rad. However I don't love that literally every song was about a woman who had done them wrong and several of them were over 5 minutes long which I didn't love. I do like Plant's voice though so they've got that going for them which is why I decided to round up to 4. Seriously though Page is an absolute beast on the six string.

it's not their best-some tracks need editing & not every one needs a drawn out guitar solo in the bridge. but still-a solid 4

Klassiker. Super Bluesrock und Gitarren Soli.

not their best one...

Great album!

Good rock

Very nice

For 1969, this LP was a powerhouse of blues rock - and it remains so today, especially in the powerful bass of John Paul Jones and Bonham's roaring drums. Mixing is somewhat flat; understandable given the period it was recorded and how quickly & cheaply it was done, but it leaves Page's brilliant guitar work somewhat lacking. There is a certain coarseness to the sound that Zep will smooth out over time, and there are no great epics. Nonetheless Zep I is still an astounding LP.

While maybe not the best Zeppelin album, all of the pieces are there. I can only imagine what this sounded like in 1969. Some iconic songs and real bangers. 4.5/5

I was pleasantly surprised!

Incredible album. Dazed and Confused is easily my favorite Zeppelin track. Knocking off a star for cheating on their homework though. Not enough credit where it was due.

Этот альбом как-то слился для меня в единый поток, так что я даже особо не смогла ничего из него вычленить. Но вроде норм

Previously rated: Led Zeppelin IV (5/5) Physical Graffiti (5/5) Led Zeppelin III (3/5) ************************** Starts off hot with Good Times Bad Times, then starts to slow down. A little too slow for my taste. Dazed and Confused and Communication Breakdown are the other highlights here. I will take another listen when I get a chance.

A little rickety, very derivative, but still a hell of a debut album.

This is a great one, very cool riffs and vocals, as well as elite songwriting.

Good stuff

good album

And now for an album celebrated by our forebears. From the first few chord hits of Good Times Bad Times to that final bombastic blues of How Many More Times, this flat piece of vinyl has absolutely ROCKED the HOUSE of my POP! (as he prefers it stylized). Countless times I've had my bones rattled before even putting a hand on the door as I came home from school. The structure of our house was absolutely a means of broadcast to the neighbors. This may not be my favorite Led Zeppelin album but it was clearly a blueprint for them as well as plenty of favorites from artists of my era. Given I've always been a bit punkish from the jump, my favorite track was Communication Breakdown and it still manages to provide a jolt of adrenaline to this day. Four stars! (Haha, sorry dad).

4/5. A classic among rock albums. Hard to dismiss the talent displayed here. Yes, they did steal many of these songs, so can't give it a 5/5, plus the second half does drag a little but side one is back to back bangers. Just so good played loud, especially Babe I'm Gonna Leave You, that driving chorus riff hits hard. Would totally recommend this to anyone who is even interested in rock, it's just not perfect. Zep 4 is where its at.

Not their greatest album, but Led Zeppelin does not miss.

For a debut album, this is a truly stunning achievement. To come out of the blocks with Good Times Bad Times and Babe I'm Gonna Leave You is so insanely cool and good. A couple of the songs really overstay their welcome for me, just barely keeping this out of the 5-star club.

Not my favorite Zeppelin material, but great nonetheless.

I think it's a good album, but I don't love all of it. More like a 3.5 but rounding up.

hard rock dooby doop pseudo jazzy, very classic but obvious stole from black artists. still a rocker though.

While not my favorite of theirs, it is clear where they are going and what is to come from this band. Things are a little more raw and unpolished, but the band knows what they are doing. Pretty big debut from these superstars of rock. 8.7/10

The "screaming" album.

I like this easy listen and shows the basis for a very influential Rock and Roll. It was dynamic and I loved loved Good Times Bad Times. You can hear the blues throughout this is visceral raw and real. You can feel that they wanted to make a name for themselves. The fact that this was recorded in 36 Hours too is a shock. I think it is a 4/5 it is not perfect for me but I likey lotties

Even though it isn't as inspired as their later material, and the lyrics border from cliché to just plain awful, this is one of the legendary debuts because of the viscerality of its sound and the audible excitement of the undeniably talented members playing it. Not the best zeppelin album, but a jaw dropping record nonetheless.

I assume that in 1001 albums there are multiple of Led Zeppelin. This one is not their best.

Now we’re talking. I love Led Zeppelin! This is not my favorite album of theirs but it’s damn good. Good vibes this morning.

This album is quite good. The guitar is easily 10/10.

Y'know, I was gonna start this review with a whole diatriabe on an unavoidable topic when it comes to Led Zeppelin's music: the stealing. The undeniable fact that the band snatched a lot of stuff from other artists, black ones in particular. And I actually did initially write it all down, althoughh once I was done, well... It ran on pretty long, for one. Fourwhole paragraphs of clarifying my poisition on the whole matter. But once I stepped back and saw the breadth of it, I thought: does it even really matter here in 2024? Like, yes, the fact that they stole so much is bad, but like that's a new concept in blues music. The real problem, I always figured, was the lack of proper credit, and while I think it was pretty damn shitty that it wasn't there to begin with and that they had to be sued into giving a lot of it, most all of it's there now. So, how much does it really matter today if Zeppelin stole a few lyrics and riffs? It's not like anything can be done about what happened nearly 60 years ago. Of course I understandable completely if that's a hurdle you can't get over, but for my own money... Truth is, I've just never been bothered by it enough to not listen to them. And what a listen this is. While, as I said in my IV review, I ultimately prefer its sequels II and III, this is still a damn fine album. Good-ass proto-metal blues riffs and solos, outstanding drumming, a killer vocal performance... And just some rippin' tunes to bit. "Good TImes Bad Times" is an absolute door kicker of an opener; "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" is a great bit of hard folk rock (with a part that sounds a lot like the riff from Chicago's "25 Or 6 To 4" in there, actually); "Dazed And Confused" has some all-time licks and violin bow noodling; I actually really like "Your Time Is Gonna Come"; "Black Mountain Side" is a neat instrumental; "Communication Breakdown" is damn proto-punk... The remaining tracks I don't really care so much for, and for me that's what mainly keeps it back from being on the all killer level of II, III and even HOUSES, but they're still jammin'. There's parts of how Plant sings "You Shook Me" that I'm pretty into. And just the fact that they recorded this all in 36 hours, too. Not that they're the first, or even last band, even in the heavy metal scene, to knock out an all-time debut in such a short period of time, but that doesn't make it any less impressive. Overall, yeah, it's a pretty four from me. Frankly, I don't think there's any Led Zeppelin album on this list I'd given less than a four. It just hits that good "dad rock" spot for me, y'know? I mean, maybe if IN THROUGH THE OUT DOOR was here... Although, that DOES have "Hot Dog", to... Anyway, I'm getting off topic. I can't ever forget all the stealing they've done, and I don't wanna underplay it (even as much as I kind of worry that "it's 2024" bit might come across that way), but I can acknowledge thing bad and love it just the same, y'know? Besides, like the stealing is even the WORST thing Led Zeppelin's done, though let's not get into THAT and drag this review out any longer, eh?

A stellar debut. Some tracks could've gone a bit shorter, but they still kick ass regardless.

For a debut album, that’s a fucking great album. A lot of my compliments for IV apply here too – the guitar work, the vocal work, the drum work all come together to make a really, really good soundscape. It’s obviously a lot more refined and perfected by IV, but this album is no slouch of its own, and I think some of its more high energy tracks just feel better to my ears than IV’s songs at certain points. For Stand!, I mentioned how the guitar work stood out to me, but that’s taken to an even higher level on this record for me. As a complete album, I do think there are some songs here that are just a little underwhelming, or a little unfitting, but they don’t take away from my enjoyment of this album whatsoever. It’s not a 5 for me, at least not on this first listen, but it’s absolutely like a 4 at least, and a highly recommended listen.

Not my favorite Zeppelin album, but it has some bangers on there.

It's good but still would say it's weaker than Led 3.

I actually do like the album a lot

it's a great album, I mean it's Zeppelin. Plant's vocals are insane and unmatched. The drumming is so crisp and hard-hitting. The riffs are thunderous and pack a punch. Until your time is gonna come the album is near flawless. Black Mountain Side is a short interlude which is fine but I wouldn't mind skipping it also. Communication breakdown is great as well, a bit more hard-rock/thrashy/punky and I do like it but I prefer the bluesy sound more. The last two cuts, while still being good don't offer anything new you've heard them done on this album before and done better as well. The last cut especially does drag a bit, It did not need to be 8+ min long. I would've preferred maybe dazed and confused to be that long, because that riff is other worldly and I'd welcome 2 more mins of it with open arms. I don't mind listening to the last cut, ofc the drumming is great and the main riff is good too but the progression isn't that engaging and it doesn't flow that smoothly as well. It doesn't match the standard that Zeppelin set for themselves in the first leg of the album. Overall, it's a great album with a unique sound that only Zeppelin can provide. It's a light 4 for me.

A couple of good songs, but not their best album

can't go wrong with the classics

You know, I never listen to this album. There are amazing debuts in music history, and then there are the ones that ... I dunno, it's hard to believe the band didn't exist before the album was released. This is one of those. The drum sounds alone must have blown people's minds when this came out. So, in the end, maybe not my dream playlist from Zeppelin, but damned impressive and a fitting introduction to a band that already seems to understand its place in history.

The more of these albums I hear the more Plant's voice annoys me. Still, it's amazing how fully formed they were out of the gate. The blues numbers bore me, as is typical for white guys playing the blues, but their originals are pretty stunning. Zep will never be a favorite of mine, but when they crush it they crush it. This is really more of a 3-star rating for me in terms of personal enjoyment, but I gotta give it an extra star just because it really lays the blueprint for all of modern rock.

Rock and roll!

One of my two well-known LZ albums (this and Physical Graffiti). This gets an automatic 4 (tough rater here -- I really like this but 5s only go to ones I really love).

A good album, I liked Dazed and Confused and Your Time Is Gonna Come the most.

Classic album ofc, i like II and III better

This might be the most I’ve ever liked Led Zeppelin. I think they’re good, but something about their sound just never hooks me or pulls me in. This album is pure talent. I’m still not really interested in listening to it again but I thought it was very well done.

very good rock n roll

Highlights: good times bad times, your time is gonna come (love the guitar groove) Very interesting guitar and music effects; is this vamping? Almost jam band like. Lots of blues. Not as many top to bottom highlights like LZ4, but lots of enjoyable tracks. The unending-ness of some songs takes some points away.

Yup, good album

Absolute classic. Great composition lyrics and creativity for a first album.

Led Zeppelin is one of my all time favourite bands and this album is just an all time great for me.

I wish I could listen to Zepplin with 70's ears. As it stands I've heard al of the innovations they inspired so much already it doesn't sound like anything novel to me.

Rating: 8/10 Best songs: Babe I’m gonna leave you, Good times bad times, How many more times

Discazo. Qué más se puede decir. "Good times bad times", "Babe I'm gonna leave you", "Dazed and confused" y "Communication breakdown". Escuchar esto en 1969 tuvo que ser una bomba mental.

Great 1st album. Stands up to the test of time; some classic songs there

baby te voy a dejar *solo de guitarra* jajsja me encantó!!! un buen álbum de los últimos años 60s.

Great album, every song is solid.

Such a classic. Love it!

Grew up with it.

Solid, classic blues rock. The better songs are short and the others drag on too long jamming. Some of the guitar solos are ugly.

Meandering at time but has some undeniable bangers.

7.9

It’s Zeppelin

Been a long time since I listened to this. Better than I remember. Great debut.

Exactly as I imagined it to be.

Album Nr. 7 Nicht schlecht. Aber Led Zeppelin hat nach meinem Geschmack auch bessere Alben herausgebracht.

4 stars

Questionable attributions at time nonetheless did own thing and it was new and spectacular. Good time bad times all time banger

great album has some really fun songs in its really cool to hear how much ahead of time the instrumental parts are good times bad times got to be my favorite song in this album although i also really like black mountain side.

Many good songs, not my taste but still enjoyable.

Die meisten Lieder kannte ich schon.

Can't believe I never heard a full LZ album before. Strangely reminding of Pink Floyd.

What a great way to start your debut. This album has been heard by everyone from non musicians to musicians, to your dad, to my auntie. And everyone in between and on the outside. This album is full of what makes Led Zeppelin still talked about to this day. Robert Plant has a maybe one of the most unique sounding voices in the world. John Bonham, to this day is recognized as one, if not the best drummer to grace music. Jimmy Page has done so much on a guitar that has inspired generation after generation to pick up the instrument and try to recreate what he has done. John Paul Jones may be the most underrated musician in Led Zeppelin. He's my favorite, and I say this as a guitar player, myself. JPJ Is a multi instrumentalist and further down Led Zep's career you will hear what he is capable of. Is this album perfect? Nope. Far from. But it's definitely an album that should not be slept on or avoided. Babe, I'm Going To Leave You shines so bright despite the dark undertones of the song. The first half is better than the last half in my opinion. If I were to hear this album in '69... I'd be so excited to see what comes next with this band.

Great album

One of my favorites very good

Cool

Love Led Zepplin. Definitely one of my favorite bands of all time. Definition of the 70s rock era. I haven't looked at the whole list, but I'm guessing that there will be more Zepplin to come. Trying to get my kids introduced to this. I know it shows up in a lot of movie trailers and soundtracks.

Classic! God Father's of Rock & Roll. Their first album & it's terrific from start to finish. It's almost to short though... the album was over before I knew it.

I am really liking led zeppelin. For a first album this is very good but I do think I like some of their later albums better. easy 4 stars

4.5 stars. Blues-infused hard rock that kicked off the career of one of the greatest bands of all time. From the initial riff in the leadoff "Good Times Bad Times" to the grabbing solo in "How Many More Times", Page's guitar prowess is felt throughout. Bonham's driving drums support well and this record does not have a single skip. Not quite as strong as some of their subsequent work, but still really really good.

Not enough blast beats for me

I was obsessed with Led Zeppelin when I was in college, but haven’t really listened to them a lot since. So this was a great reminder of how good they were. Not my favourite LZ record, but given this was their first at a time dominated by more poppier ventures, it makes it quite remarkable. Clear blues influence, incredible drumming, vocals as distinctive as they come: everything just comes together so well. I think they find their way better on later records, but this is still ‘essential’ for me!

Mad to think this came out in the Beatles heydey. It's really good, probably a bit less interesting than later zeppelin albums but still delivers what you expect. Vocals are great, handful of memorable riffs. Doesn't have enough brilliant tracks to be a must listen id say but definitely a 4.

As we listened to III first, this album was far more blues sounding than I expected. It was a nice surprise but I don't think it's as good as III. The acoustic guitar with a tabla in Black Mountain Side was interesting to hear, it worked quite nicely. Overall a great album and I'll definitely listen to it again. Highlights: Babe I'm Gonna Leave You You Shook Me Dazed and Confused

I did enjoy this, but I didn't think it was anywhere near as good as led Zeppelin III that we've had previously. Was surprised to see this is rated more highly on this list. Bet this was something when it was released in 69 though. Great voice, great riffs, great drums and bass.... However something didn't quite grab me like I felt it should. Perhaps it just caught me on the wrong day I swear there was a riff that was identical to a black Sabbath song.... Also another that sounded very familiar too. I gave LZ III a 4, I don't think this should be higher so 3.5. I think the previous one is probably closer to a 5. Still really good

I love about half these songs but the rest often bore me

Its ok, I liked III and IV better than I

I love this album, the songs have an interesting pace and there’s a variety in vocals and instrumentals. He yells one second and is quiet the next. It reminds me of Queen/ the black keys.

Led Zeppelin continues to kick ass, not quite 4 levels but still great stuff

Groupe dont je connaissais très peu les chansons et que j'adore ! Du pur rock !

tidlig led zeppelin doesn't miss

Super plade, hvor der kun er et par udfald i kvalitet. Ikke min yndlings Zeppelin, men der er også hård konkurrence

ziemlich geil eigentlich, wird nicht langweilig and does not overstay its welcome. Nice riffs included

This band is pretty good - never heard of them before today. I would like to hear more from them.

Identifying Led Zeppelin - it’s Led Zeppelin

Low down dirty blues rock. The foundational text. Want to give it a 5 but they stole literally all these songs from Black people and I can't not think about it whenever I listen.

4,5

Lots of great songs on here, lots of experimentation with genre, lots of changes to tempo and style. Sprinkle on a ton of classic riffs, iconic vocals, big interesting guitars and you're looking pretty good! 4.5 rounded down.

Better than I remembered. A really good album recorded better than some other LZ albums.

First Zeppelin album I've listened to in full. I was expecting it to be super jammy and full of solos, so i was glad to find it was focused, sprawling and diverse, even if it did have moments of boring as bat shit solos. I didn't enjoy it as much as most people seem to, but I understand why this/they were as big as they were. 3.5/5 Fav track: babe I'm gonna leave you

Crazy debut album. Begins so strong and has depth throughout. All elements of the supergroup on display - precise and creative drumming, amazing guitar playing, striking vocals and fun songwriting. Feels weird and almost pointless to write about a band that people already know are great, there's not a lot that hasn't been said. Great record, and they only improved from here. I'm certain there'll be several other Led Zeppelin albums on this list, so there'll be some reliable good listens ahead. Fave track: Dazed and Confused

A classic

I challenge you to find me a better first-song-on-a-first-album than "Good Times Bad Times", an incredible introduction to this extraordinary band. It's one of my favourite "mission statement" songs of all time, perfectly setting up everything Led Zeppelin are: Jimmy Page's crunchy riffs and searing lead guitar, John Bonham's titanic drum fills, Robert Plant's howling vocal, John Paul Jones' dexterous bass. It's one of the biggest and best songs they ever did, and it gallops straight out of the gate to grip the music scene by its throat. If "Good Times Bad Times" isn't enough to floor the listener, we're then taken on a journey through some balls-to-the-wall (I hate that term, but come on, it's "Led Zep I") rock and blues, with hints of folk. "Led Zeppelin" is one of the most celebrated debuts in the history of popular music. On its release in January 1969, Page was twenty-five, Jones was twenty-three, and Plant and Bonham were just twenty years old. They'd release another three self-titled albums over the next two years which would all garner praise and push in increasingly different directions, but none of them are quite as fierce as this one. The band lift, adapt and pervert a whole catalogue of folk and blues standards (which Page had presumably picked up from his prolific session work, stints in other bands, and avid interest in the form). "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" switches on a dime between world-weary folk ballad and headbanging insanity. "Dazed and Confused" has one of my favourite breakdowns in the band's catalogue: the moment Bonham's drums whip into a storm and the fuzzed out guitar power chords kick in is pure gold. "Your Time Is Gonna Come" is a cathartic, singalong delight with the organ providing some extra texture. "How Many More Times" closes off the debut in an epic eight-minute odyssey. And while the other blues covers - "You Shook Me" and "I Can't Quit You Baby" - don't possess the same ingenuity, innovation and versatility, they just about make up for it in sheer power. "Led Zeppelin" is not my favourite Zep record - I prefer the more eclectic sounds that would follow in the next couple of years - but I've always assumed this debut comes the closest to capturing their live power. Raw, bluesy, guttural… play it loud and shatter your eardrums.

J'aime bien, mais pas mon album préféré, il manque un petit quelque chose d'unique. Mais le début est vraiment bon.

Ça commence fort pour un premier album, mais il manque juste un peu le peaufinage en studio de leur autre album pour être un 5

Overall this is one of those iconic touchstone albums with a basically indisputable canonical status that actually isn't as good as I remember it being when I first encountered it... It was very funny to learn that they were considered a Cream/Jeff Beck Group rip off. Guess it's all just heavy fuzzy blues by some English hippies. Jimmy Page's playing is pretty much untouchable - riffs so ingrained in they're basically default setting on any electric guitar and frenetic blues rock solos that've been emulated for 50 years ever since. The bass and drums are rock solid, big, bold, melodic and deep. The vocals are harder to listen to with every year of hindsight. Lots of the songs are a overly long and pretty repetitive - relying on a great riff, but just looping it over and over. Good Times Bad Times & Communication Break down are much tighter and quick-hitting with a sound/riff structure verging into punk - though with a way more exploratory bass. Your Time is Going to Come breaks out of the blues template for a more original and anthemic rock sound, with cool instrumentation and overdubbed slide guitar parts giving an uplifting astral kind of sound. Black Mountain Side is a nice rustic instrumental acoustic folk guitar workout with a hint of a raga edge. How Many More Times is a rip-roaring sometimes psychedelic finale with an all-time classic fuzz riff and guitar heroics that breaks down and builds up and breaks down over and over. All good fun, but not one I need to hear in full all that often.

Love some Zeppelin. A couple of these songs are just...blues? Enjoyed it.

I haven't listened to this album in a long time and it was an enjoyable re-visit. As far as influence and impact go this album is a classic and rates a pretty easy 5/5 but what this project for me is - would I enjoy this album now and would I still reach for it and give it a listen today? When this came out it was the hardest rock you could listen to. I don't listen to much hard rock these days but on the rare occasion that I do get that itch, this album would definitely scratch it. 4/5

I’ve finally listened to enough Zeppelin that I enjoy them.