Led Zeppelin self-titled album

Led Zeppelin, the self-titled debut album and first masterpiece of the greatest rock band to date, released in 1969, is the album on which all heavy metal and much of subsequent rock is based.

The band was and is a benchmark for everything that came after in rock and fundamentally created and conceived a sound that (in my opinion) has never been equaled by any other band in terms of intensity and power. Made up of exceptional and unique individuals, they broke up at the most dramatic moment, with the passing of John Bonham. For me, this represents pure love, the impossibility of continuing without him. Not a change, but the dramatic end of a band because one of its members has passed away.

I could talk about Bonzo for hours; suffice it to say that (as a non-professional but longtime drummer with extensive listening experience across many genres), I still consider him unmatched in power and taste, even though there have been drummers with superior technique... no one has given me what he managed to give me, so consider this a personal and biased opinion, given that I consider this band the TOP in rock and, among drummers, I consider John Bonham the TOP, while in progressive, I have other references, as is well known.

What can be added that hasn't been said about Robert Plant, the greatest frontman, immense voice, with its nuances and his inimitable, albeit often imitated, scream.

Jimmy Page... is there a guitarist who hasn't been fascinated by his musical hyperbole, technique, taste, creativity, and execution? Pure greatness.

Must we talk about a seemingly decent John Paul Jones, without whose bass, organs, and backing vocals the band wouldn't have reached the same heights?

Even about the album, produced by Jimmy Page, everything has been said, so I'll limit myself to a few anecdotes.

The band's first ever released song, Good Times, Bad Times, was also its first single, with "Communication Breakdown" on the B-side, a blistering song.
"Babe I'm Gonna Leave You," originally by Anne Bredon in the 1950s, performed by Joan Baez in 1962, and rearranged by Jimmy Page, initially credited as "Traditional," and later recredited to Anne Bredon, Jimmy Page, and Robert Plant.
You Shook Me is a cover, written by Willie Dixon and first recorded by Muddy Waters in 1962. It contains one of the first passages of dialogue between voice and guitar.
"Dazed and Confused" features a great guitar solo played with a violin bow, a solo that was extended live to about 30 minutes, as in the live performance "The Song Remains the Same." This song by Jake Holmes was rearranged by Jimmy Page.
"Your Time is Gonna Come" features an organ solo by John Paul Jones with the haunting refrain "your time is gonna come."
"Black Mountain Side" is a rearrangement of a traditional Irish song with Arabic and Indian influences, featuring Viram Jasani on tabla.
"Communication Breakdown" was inspired by an idea by Page and was used as a reference by many bands, especially the Ramones, so it more or less directly marks the beginning of punk rock.
"I Can't Quit You Baby" is a cover of a Willie Dixon blues song that was widely played in concert until 1970.
"How Many More Times" closes the album, the longest on the album, once again featuring Page's bow. Strangely, the declared running time on the album is only 3'30" (compared to the actual 8 minutes), which Page decided to include on the album to fool radio DJs who were unwilling to play such long songs on the radio.

One last interesting anecdote about the cover and the band's name: the cover features a reworking of a photo of the 1937 Zeppelin LZ 129 Hindenburg disaster. Count von Zeppelin's niece, after seeing the cover, threatened to sue the band for illegal use of the family name, so much so that during their concert in Copenhagen in 1970 they changed their name to "The Nobs" just for that occasion.

Overall, a masterpiece, some covers admirably reinterpreted with their unique style, some of which were the subject of legal disputes that led to subsequent reattributions of the songs, but exalted and brought into history thanks to Led Zeppelin, some original songs that told us what would happen later, some of them true masterpieces, early examples of the chasing of voice, guitar, use of the bow, and in general a sound that inspired the world of rock and continues to do so.

Do I recommend it? This is definitely a MUST for any collection, in my opinion.

The Tracks
- Good Times, Bad Times – 2:46 (Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, John Bonham[59])
- Babe I'm Gonna Leave You – 6:42 (Anne Brendon, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant)
- You Shook Me – 6:28 (Willie Dixon, J. B. Lenoir)
- Dazed and Confused – 6:28 (Jake Holmes (non accreditato) - Jimmy Page)
- Your Time Is Gonna Come – 4:34 (Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones)
- Black Mountain Side – 2:12 (Jimmy Page)
- Communication Breakdown – 2:30 (Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, John Bonham)
- I Can't Quit You Baby – 4:42 (Willie Dixon)
- How Many More Times – 8:27 (Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, John Bonham)
Durata 44:26

The Lineup
- Robert Plant - vocals, harmonica
- James Patrick Page - electric guitar, acoustic guitar, pedal steel guitar, backing vocals
- John Paul Jones - bass, organ, backing vocals
- John Bonham - drums, timpani, backing vocals
Featuring:
- Viram Jasani - tabla (on Black Mountain Side)