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AlbumReview: Led Zeppelin III

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1 Led Zeppelin: Led Zeppelin III
- 1.1 Track listing
- 1.2 SIDE 1
2 THE ACOUSTIC SIDE
- 2.1 Side 2
- 2.2 Personnel
  - 2.2.1 Index

Led Zeppelin: Led Zeppelin III

Original Release Date: October 5, 1970 Atlantic

Produced by Jimmy Page & Peter Grant

Track listing

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"Immigrant Song" (Page/Plant) 2:23
"Friends" (Page/Plant) 3:54
"Celebration Day" (Page/Plant/Jones) 3:28
"Since I've Been Loving You" (Page/Plant/Jones) 7:24
"Out On the Tiles" (Page/Plant/Bonham) 4:05
"Gallows Pole" (trad arr Page/Plant) 4:56
"Tangerine" (Page) 2:57
"That's the Way" (Page/Plant) 5:37
"Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp" (Page/Plant/Jones) 4:16 (misspelled as Bron-Y-Aur Stomp on most pressings)
"Hats Off to (Roy) Harper" (trad arr Charles Obscure...a pseudonym?) 3:42

After the widespread success of their previous two efforts (Led Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin II). The band made a quick retreat after finishing their seemingly never ending, exhausting tour. The band had taken a beating in many ways, chemically more than others, but Robert was afflicted with a deteriorating voice box that was barely audible in a silent room. The band consulted a doctor about the problem and cancelled the last few dates, Robert persisted he could do the last Las Vegas show but managers Richard Cole, Peter Grant and guitarist Jimmy Page convinced Robert otherwise. They told him that there could be permanent damage to his voice, he told them he didn't care and that priority #1 was putting on a great show. He eventually bowed down to the pressure.

So after that close call, Jimmy and Robert make a quick escape to Bron-Yr-Aur, an English cottage resort 1.5 hours outside London. Here was where the bulk of the songwriting took place. Songs like Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp, Out on the Tiles, Friends, Celebration Day all came from Bron-Yr-Aur (Celtic for Golden Breast).

After returning to meet with the band with demo tapes from Bron-Yr-Aur, they all agreed they wanted to record this one differently than any of their previous studio outings. They decided to record everything in seclusion at a cottage called Headley Grange (later used for recording Untitled (fourth album). They rented the rolling stones mobile studio for the recordings. This allowed the band the freedom to go in and out of the studio at will and not be pressured by time constraints. It also allowed the band time to experiment with different instrumentations.

The banjo line in "Gallow's Pole" was made when Jimmy noticed John Paul had brought a banjo along with him. He became fascinated with it and was bent on putting a banjo line in a song; Gallow's Pole just so happened to fit the bill. Some of the album's songs were written at Headley Grange during the band's spare time. Immigrant Song was one of them. It finally allowed an output for Robert and Jimmy's fascination with the occult. It also features the coolest scream ever.

Led Zeppelin III, however as groundbreaking and experimental as it was, never made as big an impact as other such albums like, Are You Experienced? or Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Bandit is still the least popular (sales-wise) of anything in the Led Zeppelin catalogue. Its influence on Led Zeppelin's later work cannot be under-appreciated. As it laid the groundwork for the kind of eclectic mix that came out of the #3 album of all time, Led Zeppelin's fourth Untitled album.

Alright, I can't agree more with what Vince already said. It's a pretty nice sketch of what happened between the 2nd and third. Led Zep III had surprised the audience of the time.

With the Beatles gone, Led Zep was on top by 1970 with only the Rolling Stones as rivals.

So, anyone would have expected a continuity of 'bluesy' Led Zep II, but instead they had chosen the folk option, and thereby inventing 'Hard Folk if that genre existed. Led Zeppelin had decided to branch out, and it just worked.

Gone where much of the gritty Blues elements that prevailed on the first two albums. Led Zep III brought more fans in.

Those songs, will later provide something new for their concerts acoustic sets, with Page on acoustic plant singing with an occasional tambourine to shake, John Paul Jones on mandolin, and 'Bonzo' playing bongos.

SIDE 1

1.Immigrant song

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Opens with the wordless wails of AHHH AHHH AHHH. The best hard song they've ever made . The lyrics are about the Vikings as demonstrated by the lines "we come from the land of the ice and snow/we drive our ships to new lands/Valhalla I’m coming" And with that brilliant line by the last verse "so now you better stop and rebuild all your ruins/for peace and trust can win the day in spite of all your losing" That song really was a powerful rocker used as an album intro. It does not have those insane solos Page will go off with in concert, but Robert Plant's voice on that track, is beyond compare.

2. Friends

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Personally, I’ve never been an enthusiast for that one. It's a kind of experiment. It's an odd acoustic experimental. Jones's synthetizer drone by the end, is to cover up a production mistake by Jimmy Page during the sessions. (he had accidentally erased the bass & drum intro of 'Celebration Day'...

3. Celebration Day

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I've always loved that one. The drums, the chorus, and that screwy slide guitar is very powerful. "Mama I’m so happy, I’m gonna join a band..." That was a very successful humorous attempt by Robert Plant.

4. Since I've Been Lovin You

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I've always thought that one could have been part of the II. It's the closest we come to blues in that album. And those lyrics could have been written by B.B King himself. Many prefer that one live. I think it's the best track of the whole project. No less.

5. Out On The Tiles

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That intro, that solo, when the chorus kicks in... Big guitar, booming drums, that track has ever been underrated, like the album itself. Anyway, it's been a great way to close the side one of the vinyl album.

THE ACOUSTIC SIDE

Side 2

1. Gallows Pole

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The acoustic, the lyrics Page's mandolin, when the bass kicks in, announcing the drums, everything is just...perfect. Robert sung really well. This song,was a remake of an old song by Bluesman Hudley Ledbetter A.K.A 'Leadbelly'. Plant pleads for his unnamed sister to...'take him by the hand/take him to some shady bower/save me from the wrath of this mam'. A beautiful emotional song that could be branded as 'Folk Rock' if there were.

2. Tangerine

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Now, I really love that one, always did, always will. Everything is perfect here; the acoustic, Plant's voice, and that little elegant solo. The lyrics were from Jimmy Page by the way, Many have said that Page is an inferior lyricist to Plant, so be it, but in that case that sad song has the ability to take my blues away. That song, featured prominently in an excellent movie; 'Almost Famous' just like the next...

3. That's The Way

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That one will always recall nice memories in me. The acoustic, the slide, the chorus, the story. It's like the rays of the sun reflecting on that album. I believe 'That's The Way is the Led Zep acoustic fav of many. Its very emo like 'Tangerine' and it offered proof that Led Zeppelin was about more than volume and extended guitar solos. There was great songwriting as well.

4. Bron-Y-Aur-Stomp

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Like Vince pointed out, that's the place where they had recorded most of those tracks. There is a fantastic strumming job here as well. It's a very original track, and not at all a filler like some like to suggest. That song, was simply about Robert Plant's dog.

5. Hats of To Roy Harper

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The closing track of that mythical side two of Led Zeppelin III It's often been underrated, with its reverbs vocals and slides. The truth behind it was it was actually Bukka White's 'Shake Em On Down', dedicated to English Folk Blues Singer Roy Harper. Jimmy Page is on Bottleneck acoustic on the left side, and Robert Plant's Howling vocals are on the right side (ran through a Vibrato Amp, Leslie cabinet or a Fender Vibratone I don't know) and it was heavily filtered so as to sound like Shellac 78 record. This track, evokes the old delta Blues Gods. A glorious way to close that legendary album...

...a legendary album that takes a lot of playing to really be appreciated. But when it hits you it's aiming at the guts.

Personnel

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Jimmy Page - Acoustic, electric, and pedal steel guitar, backing vocals, producer
Robert Plant - Vocals, harmonica
John Paul Jones - Bass guitar, organ, mandolin, backing vocals
John Bonham - Drums, percussion, backing vocals
Peter Grant - Executive producer
Andy Johns - Engineer, mixing
Eddie Kramer - Mixing (Track 6)
Zacron - Visual creations
"That's the Way" (Page/Plant) 5:37
"Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp" (Page/Plant/Jones) 4:16 (misspelled as Bron-Y-Aur Stomp on most pressings)
"Hats Off to (Roy) Harper" (trad arr Charles Obscure...a pseudonym?) 3:42

'Total album length: 43:04 minutes' Only!