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Post by strat-0 on Oct 12, 2005 9:35:03 GMT -5
It's too hard to choose one - each contains at least a few gems. But I'd go with I or III, so I picked I for sheer, raw, high-energy rock and roll. Plus they were sort of breaking new ground then.
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Post by phil on Oct 12, 2005 10:43:54 GMT -5
Plus they were sort of breaking new ground then.
You can say that again ... !!
Although I quicky lost all interest in the band
after the 4th one...
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Post by bowiglou on Oct 12, 2005 11:14:55 GMT -5
I was a huge Zepplin fan way back than and had Led Zep II up to Houses of the holy...though I pretty much stopped listening to them when I got into Bowie in the early 70s, if I had one zep album to choose from it has to be the fourth.....When the Levee Breaks still astounds me....
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Post by Thorngrub on Oct 12, 2005 13:26:21 GMT -5
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Post by melon1 on Oct 12, 2005 15:58:26 GMT -5
Stairway to Heaven is ridiculously overblown, and not that good to boot.
Thank you. Thou speakest blasphemy. Glenn hit the nail on the head calling it "overplayed". This may well be the most well-written song ever. Perfection. My favorites in order: 1. Physical Graffiti (Not the best batting average but the greats on this one: Ten Years Gone[my favorite Zeppelin song and one of my top 10 faves of all time], Down By the Seaside, Kashmir, and Bron-yr-aur) put it at the top of the list. 2. IV - This is as close a 2nd as 2nd can get. "Going To California" is perfection as well as previously said "Stairway To Heaven". 3. III - If I could make a tie, I would make III and IV a tie. The other day I played "Gallows Pole" thru "Bron-y-aur Stomp" about 5 times in a row. "That's the Way" without a doubt, the best song on this album followed by "Friends" or should I say "Tangerine". Damn, Zeppelin rules! 4. Houses of the Holy - I lurve D-yer Maker. Screw ya all  . When I look past the cheesiness and let myself enjoy it, "The Rain Song" is without a doubt the best song on this album. The one I listen to the most often, however, is "The Song Remains the Same". Can't get enough of it. 5. I - Only a band as great as Led Zeppelin would have an album this frickin' awesome as the 5th best. 6. II - This has by far the biggest gap on my list. I like I so much better than II, but Presence and In Through the Out Door certainly don't come close to competing with this one. "Ramble On" is one of my favorite Zeppelin songs. 7. In Through the Out Door - "All Of My Love" is my, hmmm, 3rd favorite Zeppelin song. "Fool in the Rain" is always fun, especially considering Bonzo's drumming in it. And I must mention the highly overlooked "I'm Gonna Crawl". It's almost funny at first listen, but if you give it a serious consideration, you'll feel the passion. This song has Jimmy Page's greatest guitar solo, if you ask me. 8. And finally there's Presence - No question what the best song on here is: "Achilles Last Stand" - one of the heaviest songs ever written. Zeppelin's heaviest song for sure. The band I'm joining is somehow gonna pull this one off. I've figured out most of the guitar on it, most importantly the very beginnning and the very end. Sometimes I get in a mood to hear "Tea For One" and I have to listen to it 3 or 4 times in a row. This song has the best electric blues soloing in it by a white guitarist ever, period. I guess it's safe to say I'm a Zeppelin fanatic. Ya think?
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JACkory
Struggling Artist
Posts: 167
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Post by JACkory on Oct 12, 2005 19:17:25 GMT -5
Presence is not nearly as bad as comes off in this particular poll.
"Achille's Last Stand" IS a monster, and the album's highlight, but I can't tell you how rocked I am by "Nobody's Fault But Mine". That sucker has got a groove, lemme tell you, and I love the vocal and guitar duets that open the song and recur throughout.
It's actually a very fun album if you don't take it too seriously.
However, with the exception of perhaps a song or two (like "In the Evening", which I love), I can live without In Theough The Out Door. I really can't stand "All of My Love" and "Fool in the Rain" gets on my nerves.
I don't know if I've even listened to Coda more than once, and that back in 82 when it was still new. I was suffering SEVERE Zeppelin overexposure (as I'm sure lots of Oklahoman rock music lovers were with their constant rotation and exaltation on the only rock radio station) and had absolutely no desire to hear it back then. I always figured it was just leftovers, anyway, but I suppose I should re-visit it soon.
That said, I will not include it in this attempt to rank Zep's albums according to my own personal taste:
1. IV
2. Houses of the Holy
3. I
4. III
5. II
6. Presence
7. Physical Grafitti
8. In Through the Out Door
I can just hear the "tsk tsk"s uttered at the thought that anyone would rank Presence over Physical Grafitti. Oh, well. I'm tellin' ya, I've heard so much praise for PG (even Cameron Crowe lauds it as their best), but I just don't hear it. Way too much filler and only a couple of good songs ("In The Light", "Down By The Seaside"...I suppose the cover of "In My Time of Dying" is decent as well, and "Kashmir" is okay, but if I never have to listen to "Trampled Under Foot" again that will be fine withe me).
The How The West Was Won live set is very, very good...I didn't include live albums in my ranking though since it's only been recently that they've been represented by anything other than the mediocre Song Remains the Same soundtrack (although if you can sit through it's duration, the lengthy version of "Dazed & Confused" to be found there is pretty trippy and furthermore the rendition of "Celebration Day" is actually better than the studio version, IMO).
Haven't spent much time with The BBC Sessions I'll admit.
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Post by Adam on Oct 12, 2005 23:41:22 GMT -5
1. Physical Graffiti
2. II
3. Houses of the Holy
4. IV
5. III
6. Presence
7. I
8. In Through The Out Door
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Post by RocDoc on Oct 14, 2005 18:57:05 GMT -5
Just put my vote in for 'IV'....but I can't for the life of me agree with the praise that Phys Graffiti seems to get from so many.
As someone who felt Houses Of The Holy was already them slipping away from the insanely rocking shit they began with, then Phys Graffiti was the absolute confirmation of them having 'gone pussy', so to speak...I hated that disc.
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JACkory
Struggling Artist
Posts: 167
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Post by JACkory on Oct 14, 2005 20:44:36 GMT -5
RocDoc, we have finally found common ground in the first sentence of that post.
But I have much more admiration for Houses of the Holy than you. Earlier today "The Ocean" came on the car radio and I just had to CRANK IT. Man, it sounded good.
Physical Grafitti...I may never listen to that overlong thing again for the rest of my life.
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Post by Ayinger on Oct 14, 2005 22:06:03 GMT -5
Guess I'll have to say that while Zeppelin was probably my "main" band in my teens, I'm in a camp by myself feeling that "Houses Of The Holy" would rank further down on my own Best List. Dunno,,,,,,for one, Plants vocals always seemed to be recorded at an abnormal shrill level, esp. on The Song Remains The Same. I never cared for the studio version of The Rain Song and incredibly felt that the version off of the first live album topped it. Dancing Days was about a tossed off tune..... Really, the album just never fit to my ears with where I felt the band was going for a follow up to the 4th album...... "Physical Grafitti" would almost surely come in at #1 for me....a LOT in that choice being the age I was at its release and how I took to it, my memories, etc. "Led Zeppelin II" gets some high nods in a historical vein....things were gelling there even moreso beyond the debut....where blues inflenced rock came to fore. "III" is a great change-up and a helluva chancey spin for the band to take at that moment considering the harder posing of the prior two that had brought them to note and some success....and now let's bring out the acoustic guitars?  ? HA! What a left turn!! And then you get the "fourth" release which just slams it all home as to what the band is about and what they can do -- brilliant!! |
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Post by RocDoc on Oct 15, 2005 19:14:16 GMT -5
Agree with everything you said there Don...probably even that the stage of your life in which you were probably colors your appreciation of Physical Graffiti.
And just to clarify because I think JAC took it that Houses Of The Holy is an album which I hate. No, I meant to refer that to Phys Graffiti...'The Ocean' is untouchable as a song to whiplash yourself into the hospital when it starts back up after that perfect pause....and my god, 'No Quarter' hasn't been mentioned by anyone (not on this page here at least) with it's burbly bubbly smoothly insinuating bassline that seems to come from someplace deep underwater, as another out-of-Zeppelin's-usual-style that simply seems to work perfectly.
Tool's live version (on Salival wasn't it?) ain't too shabby neither...
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Post by koolkat on Oct 15, 2005 19:40:13 GMT -5
"'The Ocean' is untouchable as a song to whiplash yourself into the hospital when it starts back up after that perfect pause...."
That's my favourite part of the song too. Right after all the "la, la, las" where Robert takes a deep breath and then blasts "sitting round singing songs til the night turns into day". Probably the finest 10 seconds of any Zep song. The only thing that [almost] ruins that song is the way the music changes for the last few seconds.
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Post by Ayinger on Oct 16, 2005 10:35:59 GMT -5
Now see, the "shoo-bop" portion there at the closing IMO just takes the song home! The band is having a lot of energetic fun on that cut and the WHOLE thing is a blast. You even bring up that bit of an inhale by Plant that was perfectly left in!
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Post by melon1 on Mar 2, 2006 2:00:51 GMT -5
Thought I'd pull a few up for the new guys/girls.
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Post by kool on Apr 16, 2006 18:40:25 GMT -5
Zep rule. Although for the life of me I can't understand how the hell PG has the most votes here... Can someone else vote for II please?  |
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. When I look past the cheesiness and let myself enjoy it, "The Rain Song" is without a doubt the best song on this album. The one I listen to the most often, however, is "The Song Remains the Same". Can't get enough of it.
? HA! What a left turn!!
