Black coffee blues

I'm back again, this time to review the Led Zeppelin catalouge (In Through the Out Door not withstanding. I don't happen to have a copy.)

Led Zeppelin. Four and a half stars.

The debut of Led Zeppelin has a few detriments to its name (bite your tongue, girl!) and I'll get them over with quickly: a lack of originality and diversity. It's a blues bash with thunderous guitars. Now for that genre it's easily one of the best, thanks to the band's finesse, enthusiasm and power. Also thanks to Robert Plant, one of Rock's classic voices. He brings an awful lot to this show.

Enough with the vagaries... Song by song is my style.

It opens pretty well with Good Times Bad Times. It rocks, has a memorable chorus, and for a two minute track, there's a surprising amount happening in that frame.

Babe I'm Gonna Leave You is my absolute favorite track from the early days of the band. It starts with acoustic guitar and some almost flamenco flourishes. Heavy atmosphere is conjured and kept at just the right pitch throughout. It launches into hard rock riffing with Plant just wailing his heart out. The standout track. The masterwork.

You Shook Me is about the same length (six minutes) and states its intention right away - all-out blues. The song (such as it is) doesn't stick around long, serving more as a bookend to a great big blues jam. To Zeppelin's credit, it doesn't try your patience. When all's said and done, though immensely morose, it's quite good.

Dazed and Confused. A signature tune. Need any more be said? Well, it's on a grand scale; another six minute powerhouse with epic guitar soloing and Plant carrying off another miserable lyric. Most people singing this song would sound like a total sap. A credit to Plant that he pulls it off.

Your Time is Gonna Come. Okay, can anyone say athemic rocker? It's a relief to hear something a little more laid-back, as it does open with a stately organ solo; but I'm not fond of anthemic choruses (they just beg for an audience singalong, to my ears). Even with that reservation, this is still pretty good.

It segues into Black Mountain Side, an acoustic folky instrumental. It's short, odd, like a sore thumb on the record, but it points the way to Led Zep III and is a nice little interlude.

Communication Breakdown is a short, classic tune. Frenzied, kind of fun and very direct.

I Can't Quit You Baby is another bluesy, wretchedly unhappy, female devil story. With soloing included. Nothing new here...

Lastly, How Many More Times has some real jive, at last to start. It's not the most memorable track here, as it wanders off course. But it's a good way to end this record, and the quality of the musicians in this band really saves a lot of these longer tunes.

Well, diversity will come later. This early, their enthusiasm for the blues is a bit distracting, but I do like this CD nonetheless. Cover art is a classic, by the way.