Whole Lotta Love –

Moby Dick –

Alright, figured I’d try to do a famous band every 8 LPs or so. So, without anymore introduction, the “Brown Bomber” album…

Led Zeppelin II (1969), by – of course – Led Zeppelin. Like The Beatles, I think it would be completely unfair and incorrect to say that Led Zeppelin created a brand new genre of music, but they definitely helped radically shape it. Led Zeppelin’s blues and later folk music influences greatly shaped their hard rock sound during the early years of metal.

Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, and of course Jon Bonham. While not exactly the easily recognizable names of the Fab Four, the Zeppelin’s were definitely heavy hitters respectively in their fields. From Plant’s powerful, bluesy vocals, to Page’s superb playing on his double neck guitar, and their strong writing partnership between the two for their songs. Bonham’s drumming was…simply dizzying, and you can’t forget about Jones. Either for his multiple instrumentality ranging from bass, to organ, Mellotron, and mandolin, or his skills producing the Zeppelin albums.

Led Zeppelin II was the follow up of their impressive debut album, but it was this second album that brought them their initial success. Fueled with the same fusion of electric blues and hard rock of their first album it turned several heads that hadn’t noticed their first output. There’s no “Stairway to Heaven” on this album (that would come later), but Led Zeppelin II is still viewed as one of the most influential albums of its kind. While I really love the acoustic folk influences that are demonstrated in their next album (aptly titled Led Zeppelin III), the non-stop energy of this record makes it a real joy to listen through.

“Whole Lotta Love,” the opening track, was the only single from the album. With its strong guitar riff opening to its unmistakable breakdown, it lit up the charts and was the top song for most radio stations. “Moby Dick,” possibly the “Holy Grail” of drum solos and the song that critics can’t help but compare most drum solos to. While the album version comes in at around 4 minutes, the live versions stretch anywhere from the less often 6 minutes to the more common 30 minute mark. Probably a little self-indulgent, but it was able to truly capture Bonham’s mastery behind a drum set.