Led Zeppelin -the first three albums.
The recent reissues prompted me to spend some time with these records. My record collecting buddy hates them with a passion, mainly because of the way in which they ripped off the great blues artists by avoiding compositional credits and their bombastic and histrionic bludgeoning of the blues. I haven't played them for about 20 years or thereabouts so I tried to listen with fresh ears and with the context removed ie I bought the first album when I was 15 and loved it, didn't like the second and quite liked the third, which was not well-received by the critics.
Surprisingly, I enjoyed them all, but what really impressed me was the sheer power of the band: John Bonham's drums in particular; if only Page had played with the delicacy he displays on 'Since I've Been Loving You' more often, if only Plant had toned down the squealing and caterwauling but hey, it was a long time ago and things were different then: heavy blues-rock was the way to go. I was ready to laugh out loud at 'Whole Lotta Love' but when the riff kicks in and Percy wails about his parts and Bonham's drumming thunders in it's nigh-on irresistible. 'Ramble On', 'Tangerine', 'Good Times, Bad Times' and 'Gallows Pole' are still great songs; some of the others, not so great.
I want to listen to them again and, when there's a break in the football, I will:I'm looking forward to it. My favourite Zeppelin tracks? 'Custard Pie' and 'The Rover' from 'Physical Graffiti.'
Just my opinion;other opinions exist.
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