Album of albums: Led Zeppelin

[Copper Feel 0]

My vote goes to Led Zeppelin II.

 

Edit: Ok I'm an idiot, I screwed up the poll and cant seem to find the option anymore... mod please

 

Double edit: Oh well it's probably better for discussion if there's no poll anyway.

[Giuseppe Zangara 0]

Disc one of Physical Graffiti.

[Gary Floyd 0]

Led Zeppelin III

[5_moves_of_doom 0]

III and Houses of the Holy are clearly the best, in my mind. Though an argument could be made for each of their albums, outside of the last two (not that those lack awesome tracks.)

 

What I've always found interesting is that when the band reunited for a bit in 1990ish they had a few rehearsals where they were writing actual new material. Plant described it as "Talking Heads meets Husker Du." Always wondered what exactly Zeppelin playing TH and HD songs would sound like, though they did[/u] have some kind of weird-sounding moments towards the end of their career, some of which were blatantly "New Wave."

[Guest Agent of Oblivion]

Their Debut, easy.

[Renegade 0]

I prefer their live stuff compared to their studio albums.

[Copper Feel 0]

I'm not really fond of live albums, I mean it's for the people there on a day and they will already have better representations of the songs on album.

[The Czech Republic 0]

Not necessarily true. Some songs end up being more compelling on stage than in the studio, for one reason or another: poorly produced in the studio the first time (e.g. Radiohead's HTTT-era songs), or just because there's a spontaneity and energy present when you know it's a one-shot deal for the people out there as opposed to something you can rehearse to perfection (e.g. lots of Zappa's stuff. Since you plan on getting into him, there's no time like the present to mention that a lot of his work uses heavily overdubbed live tracks to get the best of both worlds.)

 

Live albums probably are never gonna be my favorite album out of a band's catalogue, but I won't refuse to listen to them or anything

 

Also, if they have all the recording equipment present which is necessary to produce a live album for legitimate commercial purposes, wouldn't you say that they're really playing with more people in mind than those in the venue?

[Red Baron 0]

Zeppelin III.

[Corey_Lazarus 0]

I'm...I'm...agreeing with Czech? Live albums can often capture the essence of a band better than the studio can. KISS was pretty much nothing until Alive came out and people found out how much energy they had, IIRC. And yes, Zappa's live shit is tremendous.

 

As for the topic at hand...I dunno. The majority of their stuff is equal to me in terms of quality work and just "okay, stop playing that one fucking riff for five minutes."

[Guest Agent of Oblivion]

... as opposed to something you can rehearse to perfection (e.g. lots of Zappa's stuff. Since you plan on getting into him, there's no time like the present to mention that a lot of his work uses heavily overdubbed live tracks to get the best of both worlds.)

 

To expand on this, I was listening to YCDTOSA 2 yesterday, and the solo on "Inca Roads" surpasses the studio version, I think. Gives the guy a chance to cut loose and step outside of his own perfectionism.

[King Kamala 0]

My favorite is Led Zeppelin III.

[Copper Feel 0]

Interesting, I was always under the impression that III was the least critically aclaimed out of their first 6 albums.

 

Btw, I would say their best song is either Kashmir or The Rain Song.

[The Czech Republic 0]

III was downplayed by critics when it debuted because it was more mystic and folksy when they were expecting horny and bluesy ("Since I've Been Loving You" notwithstanding). I'm pretty sure everyone had come around on it by the time Zeppelin was finished.

 

Really, the first five albums are all great to me.

[Copper Feel 0]

No doubt they were all great.

 

I dont mean to nitpick but III was released in 1970 not 1969.

[The Czech Republic 0]

I corrected it. I was thinking II and III came out in '69; rather, I and II did.

[pochorenella 0]

I agree that pretty much all their studio albums have great stuff, possibly except Coda which I've never heard to tell the truth. If I have to choose a favorite at this time I'll go with Led Zeppelin II.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

I agree that pretty much all their studio albums have great stuff, possibly except Coda which I've never heard to tell the truth. If I have to choose a favorite at this time I'll go with Led Zeppelin II.

 

Don't bother with Coda. It's just not worth it. The version from the Complete Studio Recordings has a couple bonus tracks that are nice, but overall it's just the stuff that was never good enough to make an album in the first place.

 

As far as my favorite album, it changes regularly, but for now I would go with Physical Graffiti. It's long and bloated and self-indulging, but damn is it once piece of fine rock n roll.

[ZGangsta 0]

I'm down with Physical Graffiti, but side 1 is way better than side 2. I'm usually torn between IV and II as to what's the best Zeppelin album. IV is much more iconic (I mean it's got Stairway to Heaven on it) and is tighter, but I just love II's feel. The tracks all seem to bleed together perfectly. Not crazy about the ending of II, which is Bring it on Home (especially when compared to When the Levee Breaks), but damn that album has the most of those riffs that define Page and made Led Zeppelin. Whole Lotta Love, Heartbreaker, Living Loving Maid, the middle section of Bring it on Home.

I also love III, I, and Houses of the Holy almost as much as those two. Fuck you just can't go wrong with Led Zeppelin. Even their last two studio albums (not counting Coda) had amazing stuff on them.

 

Favorite song? I have mad love for Stairway, even if it's the obvious choice, but The Rain Song I probably like more.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

I've never been a huge fan of IV. Yeah it's full of the classics, but I've just heard those songs so many times in my life that it's hard to get into the album anymore.

 

Presence gets panned a lot, but I think it's a damn fine album. You really can't go wrong with "Achilles' Last Stand" and "Tea for One" as bookends to an album. The whole thing just feels so epic, yet so raw.

[Guest Coffey]

I like IV.

[Guest Sylvan Grenier]

Coffey contributes.

[Copper Feel 0]

His post had more words then yours.......... sort of.

 

Anyway as inconsistent as disc 2 of Physical Graffiti is, it still has a lot of good stuff on it that often gets ignored:

 

In The Light

Down By The Seaside

Ten Years Gone

Boogie With Stu

Black Country Woman.

[converge241 0]

Houses of the holy (then maybe I)