Led Zeppelin II
Led Zeppelin
1969
Album Summary
Led Zeppelin II is the second studio album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, released on 22 October 1969 in the United States and on 31 October 1969 in the United Kingdom by Atlantic Records. Recording sessions for the album took place at several locations in both the United Kingdom and North America from January to August 1969. The album's production was credited to the band's lead guitarist and songwriter Jimmy Page, and it was also Led Zeppelin's first album on which Eddie Kramer served as engineer. The album exhibited the band's evolving musical style of blues-derived material and their guitar riff-based sound. It has been described as the band's heaviest album. Six of the nine songs were written by the band, while the other three were reinterpretations of Chicago blues songs by Willie Dixon and Howlin' Wolf. One single, "Whole Lotta Love", was released outside of the UK (the band would release no UK singles during their career), and peaked as a top-ten single in over a dozen markets around the world. Led Zeppelin II was a commercial success, and was the band's first album to reach number one on charts in the UK and the US. The album's cover designer David Juniper was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Recording Package in 1970. On 15 November 1999, the album was certified 12× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales passing 12 million copies. Since its release, various writers and music critics have regularly cited Led Zeppelin II as one of the greatest and most influential albums of all time.
WikipediaClassic. Just damn classic. There's not a single song on this album that's not just fantastic. Maaaybe "Moby Dick" could be left off the list as it's really just an entire track of drum wankery. But, for drum wankery, it's still really good.
I've had this album's dick in my mouth since I was in middle school. Great to revisit. Haven't listened to Thank You or Living Loving Maid in a while. I always listen to the How The West Was Won Heartbreaker... interesting to see how tame the album version seems in comparison. Still my favorite Page solo. Bring it on Home is possibly my favorite final song on an album. Classic. Iconic.
There are a lot of bigger Zeppelin fans than me - I would say I definitely like their highs but there's a lot of "miss" in their collection as well... Nothing more to say here than Zeppelin II is a *direct hit* - from top to bottom I believe their most consistent and best album (however, i'll definitely reconsider that statement when Zep IV is reviewed). Whole Lotta Love is a statement kickoff, a classic, and to me the worst song on the record which says a lot. Everyone in the band is peaking here and aside from their early-period standard of ripping off old blues legends (not quite as bad as on their first album but close :P....) their songwriting got a lot better here; excellent mix of riff rock, acoustic/mellow, dynamics, and melody. Page/Plant always had the aura but the rhythm section of Jones/Bonham was the heartbeat of this band, nowhere more evident than on this album. Almost perfect. 9/10 (5 stars)
Oh, good. More Zep. A good rhythm section, a solid guitarist, but it doesn't add up to a sum of its parts. It winds up being a mess of plagiarism, pedophilia, and horrible, shrieked vocals and masturbation sounds. Zep were the most self-indulgent band that people still (somehow) look upon positively despite the fact that it's just proto-hair metal. Outside of a smattering of good moments like Immigrant Song and Kashmir, this band's discography is disposable pulp on a pedestal made of statutory rape charges.
CockRock. Big Guitars, Big Drums, Big Cocks. Could happy live the rest of my life never having to listen to Led Zep again.
Too prone to jacking off in misbegotten shows of elegance or, yawn, classicism. They regain some ground with the riffs (though even they're not half as good as you expect) then take twenty steps back with Plant's vocals. The yowling isn't the problem--that's all good fun--it's how unsexy his voice is. When he says he's gonna give me every inch of his love, I can only shiver and reply "That's very generous of you, Robert, but why don't you keep it to yourself." And when he says the juices are running down his leg: ew, ew, ew.
An exceptional album. Has two of the best Led Zeppelin songs on it in Whole Lotta Love and Ramble On. Led Zeppelin are great at really maintaining a blues feel, even folky in some areas but with a more heavy rock exterior which I think is what makes them so good.
A classic mix of classic rock and psychedelia. This album is like a wild rollercoaster that when you get off you jump right back in line no matter how long the wait.
This was SO good, I listened like 3-4 times. Led Zeppelin reminds me of Chris Balestrinis dad cos when I was a teen I said I liked them, then whenever he would drive us places he would put it on for me. Nice touch
My favorite Led Zeppelin album as well as one of my favorite albums of all time, hands down. The rhythm section of John Bonham and John Paul Jones manages to perfectly meld American blues and gospel influences with the new wave of rock n' roll that was emerging during the British Invasion of the 60s. Jimmie Page, with his legendary guitar riffs and solos, and Robert Plant, with his bombastic vocals, play off of each other with a sense of freedom around the rock-solid rhythm section. Tracks like Heartbreaker, Lemon Song, and Moby Dick all show off the pioneering talents of Page, Jones, and Bonham, respectively. With so many incredible moments on this timeless album, I believe it is deserving of no less than 5 stars, and furthermore I believe every self-proclaimed fan of rock n' roll should listen to this album. How can Zeppelin fans say tjat Physical Graffiti is better than Led Zeppelin II? The world may never know.
This album reminds me so much of high school. Whether we were smoking in Trixie and blasting this tape, or smoking in Nick's car and singing Living Loving Maid like some kind of gay, barber shop trio, there was always a good chance we were smoking and listening to Zeppelin II. "Thank You" is what Sam and I danced to at our wedding. And then we smoked and drank beer. Some things never change. All time awesome album.
Most bands don't put out greatest hits albums with this many bangers on it. Rarely does a sophomore effort rival the first album. In this case, it is neck and neck. Zep II is required for any teenager who ever picked up a guitar and a necessary inclusion for all road trip playlists. This is Rock N' Roll culture boiled down into its most potent form. If you don't love it, you don't get it.
This is an album that I've heard many times so I tried to do something different when I was listening to it. I really concentrated more on John Paul Jones and Bonzo with my most recent listen. It's so easy to focus on Page's amazing playing that it wasn't easy but the more I listen the more impressed I am, especially by Jones. I like the debut a little bit more than this one because it's a straight out rocker but this definitely had more diversity in the songwriting as the band itself was developing their sound.
Golum! At the evil wall! Zepp is either backdoor banging your girl or en route to Mordor with a 20 sided die. The holy trinity of hard rock, Tolkein, and sleezy sex somehow come together like butt cheeks on this record. Side question: do you remember hearing people point out that Jimi Page was more of a "black" guitar player and Jimi Hendrix was more "white"? Am I making that up from my subconscious? The thing that strikes me most pleasantly about this album is that in the midst of all the heavy Led, there's a pretty love song "Thank You" full of gratitude and a beautiful organ outro. One evening in Gig Harbor when I was about 13 my dad and I sat down and listeded to a bunch of records from his college years. All of his albums had "Garb" written on the cover in sharpie. This was the first one he played, and it's left a deep impression. Lots of scratches during "Heartbreaker" and my dad said "that was a fun party" and smiled. That was the start of my classic rock phase. That and the Almost Famous soundtrack. Thanks Cameron Crowe. Thanks Dad. Landmark album for AER. A-
The lemon song was my unexpected highlight. Always familiar with led zeppelin, it was great to really focus on the bass and drum arrangements. Never really appreciated just how intricate instrumental the arrangements of the band are
so happy to have this one on the list today - one of my all time top albums. I remember sitting in my friend's room in front of 3-foot speakers blasting this until our ears bled. (it was actually the box set, but you get the point)...metallica MoP was also in the rotation...prolly part of the reason my ears ring today...along with you fuckers.
Whole Lotta Love - what a way to start an album. I love the use of guitar, for example the call and response with the vocals. Sometimes it sounds like an angry car, sometimes almost a voice in itself. The bass is so strong throughout the whole album and makes the heavy sound, but still allows for the melody. Every member of the band does a fantastic job. Although, I could have done without the drum solo... Some tracks are definitely folk rock, some are deep blues rock.
This album has so many iconic songs that pioneered the path for future artists in the genre. Zeppelin still focuses on shorter hard rock songs here, with loud jams and tight lyrics. This record is unbelievably polished showing their musicianship in every facet of the group.
TWAS IN THE DARKEST DEPTHS OF MORDOR I MET A GIRL SO FAIR BUT GOLLUM AND THE EVIL ONE CREPT UP AND SLIPPED AWAY WITH HER
If one of my kids asked me what classic rock was, I would sit them down and play them this album. It is quintissential. If it weren't for a couple of Plant's questionable performance (I'm looking at you "Bring it on Home"), I'd say the album was flawless. Classic riffs like the openning bars of "Whole Lotta Love", "Heartbreaker" and "Moby Dick" are all you need to hear to know exactly how impactful this album was on every record that came after it. But it didn't just come down to catchy bars. Almost every song is dynamic, leaving room for exploration of the spaces in between the muscial themes. I've listened to this album countless times before, and it continues to be worth every star I can give it.
Rock n Roll at its finest. A fucking heavyweight of an album. Jimmy's axe work is sensational and Robert's vox are piercing. I'd take your mum to uncle Brian's abattoir and bang her to this one. Bang her in amongst the hanging dead meat.
It is amazing that this is their 2nd album. So many great tracks. John Bonham and John Paul Jones deserve more praise. The drum and bass work on this album are fantastic. There is one track on this album that, for me, has has permanently painted Robert Plant as a creep. My enjoyment of Led Zeppelin in general is dragged down by this sense of Plant's creepiness. Bleh. That being said, tracks like "Ramble On" (my favorite from this album -- listen to the bass lines), "Thank You" (my 2nd fav), "What Is and What Should Never Be", and "Moby Dick" keep this album at 4 stars.
This is another example of an artist that I've heard every song by but rarely if ever as an album. I had no idea what songs would come up but enjoyed guessing based roughly on the feel of the other songs (and what knowledge I DO have of certain songs and their albums). Anyway, excellent listen all the way through. Particularly enjoyed a lot of the (like 3) songs I had never heard before - particularly Thank You. It feels wrong to NOT give it a 5 but there was some stuff that I was a bit on the fence about (lyrics, specifically). Otherwise pretty impeccable.
Darker, deeper, and more oblique than it's predecessor, their sophomore effort tracks a more acoustic tack (culminating in the follow up LZ III), which, when combined with the raw power and cut of their debut, they would leverage to craft their iconic masterpiece IV. As such, this is a transitional work that still manages to pack quite a punch. The hits here loom large, but on the whole it's a bit uneven. Compared to their best, it can't help but come up a bit short, but it remains better than most within the genre
Couple of bangers. A few songs drag for me, even with appreciation for prog. Hard to dislike, just not astonishing.
Started well with the Top Of The Pops music - and what a lot of interesting characters that threw up! Spent over four decades trying to get my head round Led Zeppelin and can still only take small doses. Some good riffs and some more melodic tracks.
Robert Plant is a bit of a 'nob with vocals akin to Pat Sharp scraping his mullet down a blackboard. Overblown in places. Wanky guitar solos at times, but fine I suppose.
Led Zeppelin II, famous for being Lez Zeppelin's second album, is the followup to Led Zeppelin's first album, Led Zeppelin. Here, the band still sits firmly in the blues rock/hard rock crossroads, with these sorta jam sections to bring the dynamics down a little bit the old-fashioned way: Bonham and Jones keep it steady while Plant and Page sorta noodle before going back into the song. Not saying if it's good or bad but it definitely follows a pattern. Led Zeppelin is really good at what they do. Even the songs that don't stand out as much fit right in with the best songs. My favorite is easily Moby Dick, wherein Bonham has free reign to go crazy on the drums. I am, however starting to come to terms with the fact that I am not a huge Led Zeppelin fan. Nothing wrong with them specifically, I just don't find they do much for me. Either way, pretty good album!
Sorry Zep fans but this album ain't a 5 - not even close. I'm rounding up to get to a three. Whole Lotta Love: Great opening riff - Page makes this band - followed by a great opening rip off. Did they think Willie Dixon wouldn't notice? A retrospective of this band shows they consistently held the view that stealing is only wrong if you get caught. Also, I forgot how bad the noisy interlude is. The exit from the noise features a Bonham drumming bit that everyone knows. I think we are so happy the interlude of noise is over that we remember and think fondly of that drumming bit. Thank You: The last song on Side 1 brings us the first really good solid song. Thank you. The harmonies are good and the drumming is quite impressive and almost Moon like quality. Heartbreaker: I always liked the opening riff and also the transition to Living Loving … Money Dick? My hatred of drum solos made me forget this hideous song. At least when you’re at a concert and a pompous drum solo breaks out, you can take the opportunity to hit the washroom and not miss anything important. A drum solo on a studio album is pure agony. Bring it on Home: A very nice song to end the album. I quite liked this album when I was in high school but a combination of excessive airplay and maturing have killed it for me.
4.75/5 An album of straight up bangers, and the trend setter of so much hard rock that would be to follow, for the most part Led Zeppelin II has stood up so well to the test of time. The guitar riffs, from Whole Lotta Love to Heartbreaker to Moby Dick to Bring It On Home, are amazing. The drum solos, amazing. The vocals, amazing! A highly cohesive album in terms of the sonic themes and influences, most notably from delta blues. Admittedly, I am slightly biased, as the Led Zeppelin version of Bring It on Home (the original by Sonny Boy Robinson is also fantastic) is one of my favorite Led Zeppelin songs. Unfortunately most people don't know this song is a cover - if I'm docking a fourth of a point, its for two reasons. One is that the influence of delta blues is clear to the point of being at times a little uncomfortable in the stylizations of the vocals - I find it a little bit laughable when Englishman Robert Plant sings about what are clearly Black southern American concepts. Unfortunately the 60s were not a time when people were more cognizant of how this might be uncomfortable at best. The other is that the lyrics, particularly when it comes to women, can be pretty cringey. If there's one song that HAS NOT stood up to the test of time, its Living Loving Maid (She's Just a Woman). Led Zeppelin's whole thing with chivalrous manhood radiates "nice guy" energy. This might be why I personally tend to gravitate towards Led Zeppelin songs with minimal singing in them or songs that weren't written by them, as on some of their songs the lyrics are terrible to the point of distracting. But regardless, this album is full of impressive, blueprint setting guitar work. Bombastic and complimentary drums, cymbals, bongos, and more fascinating use of backing instrumentals. Vocals that radiate personality and would only become more distinctive and impressive on albums like Led Zeppelin IV. Experimental use of tempo, the rock song structure, dynamics, and more. There are endless things to find on each listen of this album, and that is so rare!
precioso, y todas mejores que whole lotta love te diré. varias favoritas pero gana el drum solo de moby dick.
not sure if this or IV is my favourite - but it doesn't really matter, both are bangersssss
A couple songs are really great (e.g., The Lemon Song, Ramble On, Moby Dick) - didn't expect to enjoy this as much as I did!
Volgens mij het beste album van Led Zeppelin al zijn de meningen daarover verdeelt, vooral het nummer Moby Dick blijft steengoed
More Led is good, wish it was a different band. Mix it up! LZ is always a delight. No complaints, ready for the next album.
Zeppelin are incredible, can't believe I haven't listened to more of them before now.
Great album. “Ramble On” might be my favorite song of theirs (among many).
A classic. It is definitely not the best Zeppelin album, but there is not a bad song on here and JPJ really shines. Just an all around great, hard hitting rock album. Favorite track(s): "Lemon Song" and "Bring it on Home"
Classiqu. led zep est un de mes froupes preferes et led zep 2 est pas loin d’etre leur meilleur. Si il ne l’est pas… 5*
I always dug Zepplin. It was one of the ONLY bands my day seems concerned about me listing to. I think he associated with stoners. Not a bad song on the album.
This is one way to close out a decade -- with an all out revolution! This album changed rock forever, and the band never looked back.
5 stars. This album is 5 stars, what's with the vote button? This shit isn't up for debate!
A gift to humanity but of all the zeppelin albums, I probably revisit this one the least. It has a lot of songs I hear played often. And when I do want to hear these tracks, I listen to the live album
Maybe one of the best rock albums ever made let alone the best led zeppelin album.
forgot how much it slaps and stands the test of time. WIAWSNB, Thank you, Moby Dick are standouts, but all are bangers. there's really not a weak track on there, or maybe they're all so deeply ingrained in my memory. it's like a time machine to being 15 again.
Some really stand out moments on this album, not my favourite Led Zep but it’s still a belter!
This is prime Led Zeppelin. One of their best works. From one of the best bands ever. What more can I say.
Otro de mis grandes favs. Un buen disco, y aunque Jimmy Page no haya sido nunca un músico muy prolijo, nos regaló mucho de los mejores riffs de la historia del rock. En particular del Led Zeppelin II me quedo con “Heartbreaker” y “Moby Dick”. 5/5 solo por existir, gracias por tanto.
One of the best rhythm section of all time. Just another stellar album from a stellar band.
Words almost unnecessary. For a teenager, hearing this album for the first time was a life-changing experience. Their best album by a mile in my view.
Have not listened to all the way through before. Moby Dick is cool, but drums go on too long. Cool songs on here. Rocks hard.
First time listening: 9/9 songs liked Damn that drummer, holy shit. It gives all those blue standards and originals so much more flavor and grit. Robert plant has the right theatrics to his voice that doesn't take me away too. Wonderful! 3 songs saved
If I could give this album 10/5 stars I would. It’s the best LZ album, and every song knocks it out of the park. Plus, it’s got a true drum solo that is actually very cool to listen to.
👍👍 Extra good with headphones, loved how the sound swirls around your head
Back-to-back jams. The only bad moment on the whole album is the drum solo in Moby Dick, otherwise flawless.