Thanks for looking at our website. Led Zeppelin II? Great choice! I’m partial to the early Led Zeppelin as well (Led Zeppelin and Led Zeppelin II in particular). To think both these gems were released in the same year (1969) is mind-blowing, even over 40 years later!
Cuts like Whole Lotta Love, The Lemon Song, ThankYou, Moby Dick, really showed what all four members of Zeppelin could do, both individually and collectively, in an even more intense way than the debut Led Zeppelin demonstrated.
Acute musical fusion of ideas, styles and execution were starkly apparent on Led Zeppelin II . Mountains of rock were built on that record (Whole Lotta Love, Heartbreaker) psychedelic hues of the blues (The Lemon Song, Bring It On Home), Folk (Ramble On), even the pizzazz of jazz (What Is and What Should Never Be), and classical (Hammond organ work on Thank You).
Whereas Led Zeppelin I featured Page as a soloist on Black Mountainside, Zeppelin wisely decided to showcase its stellar percussionist, John Bonham, with Moby Dick. Bonham had played that drum solo, named Pat’s Delight in honour of his wife, since the inception of Led Zeppelin in September1968.
Led Zeppelin II documents Page with the psychedelic swoosh of Whole Lotta Love, Plant for his ethereal and transcending lyrics, that demonstrated he was developing nicely as a lyricist…especially compared to the many “borrowed” lyrics found on Led Zeppelin from the blues covers like You Shook Me and I Can’t Quit You Baby. The lyrics of Ramble On, Thank You, and even songs like Heartbreaker, proved Plant was developing his own style of crafting lyrics that was markedly much more advanced than what he had done on Led Zeppelin I.
Jones Paul Jones also demonstrated he was much more than a bass player. His “classical style” Hammond organ work on Thank You showed how incredibly accomplished he was on keyboards.
These are just some of the reasons I’m as partial to Led Zeppelin II as you are.
