Led Zeppelin - I - 1969
And what better way to start a new year with the debut album by one of my favourite bands ever!!In 1968, the band The Yardbirds disbanded, leaving guitarist Jimmy Page with the rights to the name plus a couple of touring commitments. He then formed The New Yardbirds by recruiting Robert Plant in vocals, John Paul Jones in bass, and John Bonham in drums. They went out touring and played some old songs, plus a few new compositions.
Upon returning to the UK, they changed their name to Led Zeppelin, and the rest is history.
This album is much more rooted in blues than probably any other album by the band. This shows the strong influence that The Yardbirds material had on it. I have already mentioned that I usually prefer blues when done by people who aren't primarily blues musicians, and what is on my mind at those times, is precisely this album. It is a blues album for the most part, but it's much heavier than blues would usually be at the time. Some songs, especially "Dazed and Confused", almost make me think of Black Sabbath, because of the heavier sounds.
But what strikes me the most here, upon listening to it again, is not the amazing guitar riffs and solos by Page, or the massive drums of Bonham, but the layered quality of the music. None of the songs are too simple, nor do they rely too much on classic rock moves. There's so much subtlety here, and so many changes in mood and style, that this album is one that you can listen to time and again.
And, well, it has to be said: rock would never be the same after this one.
- At the time of its release, this album received quite harsh criticism, especially from Rolling Stone magazine. They would revise the concept years later, ranking it quite highly among their "500 greatest albums of all time".
- Almost 50% of the album is covers, mostly of classic blues songs, plus an original folk song, which is "Baby, I'm Gonna Leave You". It had previously been recorded by Joan Baez, and was originally credited as "traditional", although it was written by Anne Bredon, who was credited for the song (both by Baez and by Led Zeppelin), years later.
- While "How Many More Times" is an original composition, it included a lot of improvisation, especially in the lyrics, and it includes the lines: "Ain't no need to hide, ain't no need to run / cause I've got you in the sights of my... gun!", which borrows heavily from the song "The Hunter", by Albert King. The lyrics also inspired "Love Gun", by Kiss, and King's song was covered by different artists, including Danzig in their debut album.
- The video below was taken live in Denmark in 1969. The black & white of the video and the tiny stage in which they're playing, I think, makes the massive quality of the music more evident. Enjoy!
Take me back down where the cool water flows, yeah
Creedence Clearwater Revival - Green River - 1969
And with this one we arrive at one of my favourite completely atypical bands. I don't like country, country rock, or any of its variations much, but I so love this band!
The songs are quite simple in structure, with great melodies, perfectly executed without any overlong solos, no experimentation. The music is quite up-beat, almost cheerful, and I had never realised that the lyrics can be quite sombre at times.
The songs are all good in this one, and some have become major classic hits. The band are correct, but it's hard to talk about any of them in particular, because they were never about a single musician shining over the others. But I think the key to why I like them so much is, perhaps, John Fogerty's vocals. His gritty, tough voice always has the perfect emotional tone that the song requires. There are few singers I can think of that can achieve that with such consistency and in such a seemingly effortless way.
For years, I've mostly heard compilations by CCR, instead of the original albums. Listening to this one again, brings me a lot of good memories, and it's much, much better than I remembered it.
- Although they had a clearly southern sound, they were actually from California. I guess they were the only Californian musicians who were not doing any hippie, experimental, psychedelic music back then.
- Among the musically cheerful but lyrically less hopeful songs, there's "Bad Moon Rising", which deals with an apocalyptic scenario, and includes such "happy" lines as "Hope you got your things together / Hope you're quite prepared to die".
- Incidentally, this song has a line that is amongst the most misheard ones: "There's a bad moon on the rise", which is frequently misheard as "There's a bathroom on the right". Apparently, Fogerty has sang it like that on a couple of occasions.
- Hard to pick one song from this album. I'll stick to the title track because, for one, I think the opening riff is an absolute classic. But also, because it showcases what I was saying about Fogerty's voice pretty well. You can almost hear and smell the river in this one.
Bonus Tracks
- Because "Proud Mary" was from the previous album, which I don't have, and because I don't think I have anything by Tina Turner, here is this one. Tina, Sir Elton John, and Cher!
- And because I am a Supernatural fan, couldn't resist putting this one too:
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