Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin III - 1970
Songs: Immigrant Song, Friends, Celebration Day, Since I've Been Loving You, Out On The Tiles, Gallow's Pole,Tangerine, That's the Way, Bron-Y-Aur Stomp, Hats Of To(Roy) Harper
Type of Music: Rock, Folk Rock and Blues with tiny bits of Glam Rock and Country
Comments:
After the huge success of the first two albums, I'm sure Jimmy and Robert called for a band meeting. Because they had to decide what to do musically. They could of course continue in the same style as Led Zeppelin I & II (Rock and Blues) with the danger that people would grow tired or try out some new directions with the danger of scaring off the old fans. I think they also wanted to show their fans they could write some music of their own without having to look for old blues songs. In the end the Band reached a compromise. I think that Jimmy and John got one side (of the original Album) that would be filled with Rock and Blues and Robert and (part of) Jimmy got the other side, basically filled with folk rock. I wouldn't go so far as to call this Robert's Album because Jimmy had already flirted with Folk music in his Yardbirds days but it is a fact that Robert's later solo-work is much more in line with Led Zeppelin III, than with I and II.
Led Zeppelin III tends to be the " forgotten" album as it was released between the top albums II and IV. Part of this is understandable as the fans of the first hour had expected the third album to be more in line with I and II. But Led Zeppelin III has aged well and with time most fans started to discover the jewels hidden on this Album. Today, there are numerous fans who rank it amongst their favourite Led albums. There is a reason for that namely the intrinsic quality of most of the songs. Let's have a look at them.
The album starts off with one of my favourite Led rockers. I don't care where they got the riff for the Nordic inspired Immigrant Song but it's timeless and Robert's vocals are great here. It had the same impact on me in those days as Paranoid by Black Sabbath. The text is an indication that the band paid more attention to the lyrics when compared to the previous Album. There are two more rockers on III, Celebration Day and the funky offbeat Out on the Tiles. Both are good although not spectacular. The first is a bit of a Glam Rocker that would have fitted on an Album from say T. Rex or David Bowie or the Sweet from the early seventies. The latter however should get much more attention than it usually does. However, they can't beat "Immigrant Song" in my opinion.
Then we have the two blues songs on the Album. The absolute cracker Since I've Been Loving You and the weird and forgettable Hats Off to (Roy) Harper. The first of the two however is one of the all time great blues performances by any band in rock history. It would have fitted perfectly on their Debut Album. As it is, it forms a welcome interlude between the rockers and the folk. It's a very tight song with great vocals by Robert and an excellent solo from Jimmy that would be the inspiration for many solos in the eighties.
Don't you consider Friends a rocker I hear you ask? Well yes, it is, but it's much more complex and almost psychedelic and it has grown a lot on me. For a number of years I considered it to be okay but nothing more but I've come to really appreciate this more experimental song with its unusual rhythm and great acoustic guitar from Jimmy. Today I consider it one of the highlights of the Album.
That leaves us with the acoustic Folk Section. Gallow's Pole starts off slowly but when it gets underway there is no way of stopping it. Some country picking going on there as well if you pay close attention. And who of you is not tapping along with the country-folk rocker Bron-y-Aur Stomp? Impossible to sit still. And finally Tangerine and That's the Way, two beautiful folk/pop/rock songs that I consider to be a couple of the Led's finest moments.
I know, Robert's vocals are a bit cocky from time to time as usual, but on this album it does not scare me off that much. Maybe a bit at the end of Gallows Pole. The Album still takes us back a bit to Led Zeppelin I and II but it also shows us some new directions without getting too eclectic as Houses of the Holy.
There are people who have their reservations about this album and sometimes I do miss a bit of the force and the emotion that made Led Zeppelin I such a great record. Still, I consider it to be the hidden gem in the Led's work and it deserves a solid 8.
Rating: ******** (8 out of 10)
Black = Good Songs
Green = Great Songs
Red = Could Be Better
Who should buy this Record: Everybody!! A great Folk-Rock Album with excellent songs.
Jan van den Ende
April 2012
