Led Zeppelin
	Produced by Jimmy Page
	Released on January 12, 1969
	UK CHART POSITION #6 . . . US CHART POSITION #10
	Find it at GEMM
82632-2 cover

I f hard rock fans seem more fanatical than other music fans, consider that their icons stand taller than most. As hard rock coalesced in the late ‘60s, artists like Cream and Jimi Hendrix appeared larger than life: their music was devastating, their talent redefined what was possible. This first wave of legends burned brightly but briefly. In their place grew a new wave of heavy rock gods with names that alluded to the dark metallic tones of a young movement: Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin. These groups continued the dialogue begun by Cream and Hendrix, using their knowledge and affection of the blues as a launching point for psychedelic exploration and rebellion on an epic scale. It was obvious from the beginning that Led Zeppelin not only knew what they were talking about but had something important to say. “Good Times Bad Times” explodes out of the gate with a remarkable rhythm from John Bonham and a group sound that felt like a tightly wound coil ready to rip loose. Their treatments of traditional songs are equally eye-popping, from Robert Plant’s smoldering performance on “Babe I’m Gonna Leave You” to Jimmy Page’s loquacious licks on “I Can’t Quit You Baby.” Yet the merit of Zeppelin’s music is measured as a single body of work rather than individual songs or albums; praising the Cream-influenced “Dazed And Confused” or “How Many More Times” over the electrifying “Communication Breakdown” misses the point that it’s all good. Likewise, the Eastern-sounding “Black Mountain Side” is as flattering a facet of the band as the relatively straightforward blues of “You Shook Me.” Subsequent albums explored Led Zeppelin’s acoustic side in deeper detail, shedding some of their blues genes along the way, but all are (more or less) albums of classic calibre. In other words, it doesn’t get much better than this.

SD 8216 front cover	SD 8216 back cover	SD 19126 front cover	SD 19126 back cover

TRACK LISTING

1. GOOD TIMES BAD TIMES    (Jimmy Page/John Paul Jones/John Bonham)    2:43
2. BABE I'M GONNA LEAVE YOU    (Traditional, arranged by Jimmy Page)    6:40
3. YOU SHOOK ME    (Willie Dixon)    6:30
4. DAZED AND CONFUSED    (Jimmy Page)    6:27
5. YOUR TIME IS GONNA COME    (Jimmy Page/John Paul Jones)    4:41 (*4:14)
6. BLACK MOUNTAIN SIDE    (Jimmy Page)    2:06
7. COMMUNICATION BREAKDOWN    (Jimmy Page/John Paul Jones/John Bonham)    2:26
8. I CAN'T QUIT YOU BABY    (Willie Dixon)    4:42
9. HOW MANY MORE TIMES    (Jimmy Page/John Paul Jones/John Bonham)    3:30 (*8:28)
   
   Note: There are discrepancies of several seconds in track times listed on the elpee reissue (SD 19126) and the CD reissue (82632-2), which is common. In two cases (*), the difference is significant enough that I've included the CD track listing (which appears to be more accurate) in parentheses.

CREDITS

JOHN BONHAM -- drums, tympani, backing vocal
JOHN PAUL JONES -- bass, organ, backing vocal
JIMMY PAGE -- electric guitar, acoustic guitar, pedal steel guitar, backing vocal
ROBERT PLANT -- lead vocal, harmonica
Viram Jasani -- tabla drums (6)
Glyn Johns -- director of engineering
Peter Grant -- executive producer
Chris Dreja -- back liner photo
George Hardie -- cover design

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