II

Sure, there are plenty of things they can be criticized for. I've been a little obsessed with Led Zeppelin lately, which seems to happen occasionally, but I won't bother anyone for a while after this. To start out, check out this thing I saw on kottke.org to set the mood:



And that mood is awesomeness! It may just be that I'm a sucker for the use of stereophonic effects, but II is my favorite Led Zeppelin album. The opening song alone just blows my mind every time, starting out as a straight-forward rock riff song, and then drifting into a psychedelic episode just to remind you what year it was when the album came out. Those damn hippies. It's more than just a collection of great songs; the first album feels like that to me quite a bit. The succession of songs makes sense, and when you listen to it on vinyl, even the A and B side selections and their order seem to have been chosen deliberately. There are not a lot of albums that feature an excessive drum solo, wrap it in an alibi song, and don't disturb the flow of the whole thing by doing so. I just love the dynamics throughout, both within and across songs, and the diversity of sounds and influences. It's the kind of album you should listen to without distraction, and if you do, pay special attention to the bass.

The bass playing is amazing throughout, but on "The Lemon Song" and "Ramble On" it really stands out. In my opinion, too few albums feature the bass prominently enough in the mix, and you sometimes have to strain to hear it at all, let alone the nuances. Led Zeppelin is not exempt from this, but the second album is an exception, and the bass is mixed as an equal along the guitar and drums. (The first Black Sabbath is also mixed in a way that lets the bass parts shine, but not all of the later ones do.) I think that bassists are underrated anyway, partly because of the aforementioned mixing practices, partly because bands can get away with having mediocre bass players. But truly great bands will have great bass players, according to my theory. Listen to the first and second Foo Fighters albums as proof of this. Both are great, but on the second album, they didn't just play the guitar parts on a bass, but added a proper bassist. And The Color and The Shape is still my favorite Foo Fighters album. Easily. So indulge in the bass playing courtesy of John Paul Jones on II.

I have one bad thing to say, and that's the cover art, especially the stuff inside the gatefold. They did much better on the next two though, and an argument could be made that the cover art for Physical Graffiti is the best thing about it.