A concerto is basically a three part composition as I understand it.  So, there are three parts to “Concerto for Group and Orchestra”.  They all have a distinctive flow.  Part one is essentially an all out battle between Deep Purple and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra(headed by Sir Malcolm Arnold).  A battle for control of the music.  It’s quite interesting to listen to.  Although the orchestra gets the most play time throughout the piece, when the Deep Purple come bursting in it creates a fantastic contrast and really makes you appreciate the music.  Part one has an epic solo by Blackmore.  Story goes that he was only suppose to play a quick one, maybe a minute, but he goes on for over six minutes.  Jon Lord(who composed the whole thing WOW!) said that he was happy Blackmore did it because he was “making a statement that this was as much about Group and Orchestra”. 

Part two is when a peace treaty sort of begins to form and the Deep Purple and orchestra begin to meld together.  This is also when we get to hear the new lead singer at the time of Deep Purple.  Yes, this was Ian Gillan’s first experience in Deep Purple(”Hey man, I thought this was a rock group!”).  He only gets about a minute in but it’s nice anyways.  Part three is full blown alliance between Group and Orchestra.  At times it’s hard to even tell who is playing.  It’s just a huge wall of music.  It’s fantastic!  Oh yeah, minus a boring drum solo by Ian Paice.  Come on people why does every hard rock group have to have a drum solo!  Boring.

That’s pretty much it.  I really like it.  Especially if you look at the whole thing as a storyline or battle between the Group and Orchestra.  The mood of the music really does tell a story.  Something that might be unique to classical music.  It was panned by critics when it was released and is still not held in high regard.  I don’t think many people even remember it or no it exists today.  I say get it if your a fan of music.  It is a very unique album and although it’s only failure is that it features two totally different styles of music, which makes it hard to assess from a critics point of view, who would have ever thought some rock organ player could successfully meld the two styles into one grand composition?  Jolly good stuff.

P.S.  The live version DVD at the Royal Albert Hall is probably the best way to experience this record.  It’s the same performance that’s on the record.

Best Song: It’s a Concerto?
Album Rating: 7/10

So the album opens with two hard rocking songs.  Perhaps Page is trying to prove he can still rock after the folk rock dominance on “Led Zeppelin III”.  I think they are just following tradition by opening with a riff heavy song.  Every album has opened with a classic hard rock riff and “Black Dog” is no different.  Basically, a perfection of the dirty and in your face cock rock single.  Following is “Rock & Roll”, which is a perfect piece of nostalgia done in a very bogey upbeat fashion.  One of the better songs.

So, now we get a taste of where Plant was getting at with those occasional Tolkien lyrics from the past three albums.  “The Battle Of Evermore” is nothing but Golem this, and the Prince Of Peace, and the Dark Lord that.  The song gets evermore(sorry, I had to) pretentious as it goes on.  I love the melody but the singing is kind of embarrassing.  Apparently, Plant was joined by some singer named Sandy Denny.  A lot of help that did.  That’s my beef with “The Battle Of Evermore”, the lyrics and singing.  I just find it so self important and totally unwarranted.

“Stairway To Heaven”…what should I say that hasn’t been said?  As the fourth track of eight I think the song would have worked much better as a closer or at least second to last.  I don’t like to sit around and try to rewrite song orders for artists, but after hearing “Stairway To Heaven” the album quickly gets a bloated feeling.  In other words, the album climaxes way too soon.  I just heard the greatest song on here and then we are back to the normal Zeppelin numbers.  They aren’t bad either.

The album continues with another, if not more pop-ish, cock rocker called “Misty Mountain Hop”.  I dig it but it’s not that special.  It’s just the average Led Zeppelin pop-rocker.  Then comes one of my favorites.  “Four Sticks” has a very primeval feel to it.  Like The Rolling Stones “Sympathy For The Devil” drumming is very deep sounding and the riff, although monotonous, works well.  The song doesn’t have a lot to it but gets a very good groove going for almost five minutes.  “Going To California” is pure folk.  Very good and listenable.  Be prepared to hear some more Tolkien stuff near the end.

The closer is “When The Levee Breaks”.  An end of the world type of blues epic.  I love the chorus that catches you of guard by giving you an emotionally higher and higher feeling.  Probably the most genuinely pretentious song on here.  Which beats the hell out of the commercially pretentious stuff.  Actually a good way to sum up “Led Zeppelin IV” would be to call it commercially pretentious.  Unlike the debut album which is full of real enthusiasm and skillful playing.  Much like “Led Zeppelin II” though, as fake as most of it may be it’s still a fun listen, and if you aren’t a huge Zeppelin fan, then I would forget about any album after “Led Zeppelin IV”.  This is the end of their early period which is by far their best.  Anything after is only advisable if your curious or a die hard fan.

Best Song: Stairway To Heaven
Album Rating: 8/10

The only song dependent on the last albums formula is the unforgettable “Immigrant Song”.  Who hasn’t heard it?  Even if you don’t recognize the name you will recognize the riff.  One of the bands most memorable, not just to date but ever.  That’s followed by the first of the folk sounding songs “Friends”.  It’s more spacey I think.  Don’t know Plant is talking about but I like the song.  The other rocker on hear is great.  Called “Celebration Day” and it’s kind of paranoid but really rocks.

“Since I’ve Been Loving You” is basically a perfection of the “I Can’t Quit You Baby” vibe.  I can’t really give it a negative mark because the production and playing on this song is the closest thing to perfect the Led Zeppelin would ever get.  Another thing about the song is that it’s a blues epic that sticks out like a sore thumb on this album.  Whether that’s good or bad is your call, but I think it’s a nice change.  My one complaint is that it’s too long and doesn’t feature many different sections.  Mostly the same ones over and over with new licks and lyrics.

The next two songs I call the rave-up section of “Led Zeppelin III”.  Both “Out On The Tiles” and “Gallows Pole” feature slow or slower beginnings and then suddenly rave-up in the latter parts of the songs.  I really love a good rave-up and considering Jimmy Page was a Yardbird(they invented the rave-up) who better to do it.  Although, “Out On The Tiles” is a pretty generic song the fade out guitar is worth the listen.  “Gallows Pole” is the better of the two, but here we go again with the stupid Lord Of the Rings references:  “Gollum and the evil ones…”?  It’s so hokey.  Why does the whole subtext of Led Zeppelin music have to do with black magic, dark lords, or vikings?  The banjo makes me forgive though and the production on Plant’s vocals is interesting.  He tends to clip on the mic like hes singing to loud.  It makes a cool effect though and ultimately sounds like Pages lead guitar tone near the end.

The rest of the album is pure acoustic.  “Tangerine” is the most generic and hard to listen to on the album.  Just a boring and fake ballad with a stupidly annoying chorus(ugh, I’m just going to skip it).  “That’s The Way” does a much better job in the ballad category, even if it is a bit long.  The melody is beautiful and Plant shines.  “Bron-Y-Aur Stomp” is one of my favorites.  A really upbeat acoustic track with a constant bass drum beating in the background.  Also, Plants double track is really cool on the verses.  The last song doesn’t break Led Zeppelin closer tradition but is quite a bit more stripped then “How Many More Times” or “Bring It On Home”.  It’s called “Hats Off To Harper” and when it comes to blues takes the hat(no pun intended).  It’s pretty much a fantastic replication of old time blues and I mean old.  Robert Johnson style old.  Does it fit on a Led Zeppelin album?  For some reason yes.  It just works.  I happen to really like the song, even if most fans and critics hate it.

The most underrated Led Zeppelin album?  Yes.  Still not even close to the best?  Yes.  That’s the thing about “Led Zeppelin III”.  It’s by no means the best but gets too much flack at the same time.  You should definitely hear “Led Zeppelin III”, even if your just a minor Led Zeppelin fan.  It’s important to hear if you want to understand how they get to “Led Zeppelin IV”.

Best Song: Immigrant Song
Album Rating: 7/10

So, the first track is the undeniable classic and Willie Dixon rip off “Whole Lotta Love”.  The boys got sued for this song.  It is still great and will go down in history(or already has) as a perfect sample of Led Zeppelin music.  The track on the album is actually over five minutes and includes a middle section before the solo that you don’t hear on the radio version.  It’s a bunch of congas and Robert Plant howling and moaning.  I’m usually impressed though when a band can be interesting and just kind of low key it for a bit and that’s what they do.

“What Is And What Should Never Be” could be considered a ballad at parts but I think of it as a rocker.  Especially with the unexpected rave up at the end.  It’s a great part.  “The Lemon Song” is about Robert Plant’s lemon(ha ha, get it?).  Somewhere in there he yells out “squeeze my lemon baby, till the juice runs down my leg…”.  The thing that’s obvious if you like blues or rock n’ roll is that “The Lemon Song” as great as it is, is just a big rip off of Howlin’ Wolf’s “Killing Floor”.  Now that’s great.  I mean The Jimi Hendrix Experience did a cover of “Killing Floor” but the difference is he did a cover.  He did not steal the riff and then claim he wrote it.  It’s not all a rip though and what makes it one of the best is the creative parts like to intro and the solo areas.

The ballads on hear are alright.  I really don’t care to much for Led Zeppelin ballads.  Robert Plant’s constant yelping is kind of distracting.  The only song it that comes of pretty good is “Ramble On”.  “Thank You”…No thank you.  To long and not creative enough.  It’s just the same beautiful chords over and over again.  When they try to rev it up I want to gag.  Nice organ from John Paul Jones though.

Perhaps the most famous song after “Whole Lotta Love” is “Heartbreaker”.  It’s one of those songs that kind of becomes a joke because it’s played to much and way overrated.  Having said that it’s an excellent track.  The solo is fantastic.  Regardless of the fact Page is at his most sloppy.  It gives it a realness that say David Gilmour could never pull off.  The reason Jimmy decided to leave it sloppy and not try for a perfect or at least better take is that he supposedly only does three takes maximum and just picks the best.  Sounds lazy but as a guitarist I can relate.  Playing the same thing more then that in one sit can actually make you play worse.  “Living Loving Maid” starts right after without a breath.  This is the only pop rocker and provides a sort of moral boast from all the really heavy stuff and the ballads.

Lastly there’s the boring as hell “Moby Dick”.  The riff is one of the most creative on hear but the three plus minutes of drums…please.  The album ends with my second favorite track “Bring It On Home”.  Starting out as a slow and rough blues number and Robert Plant almost perfectly imitating a true blues man and playing great harmonic to boot.  The blues intro soon breaks into yep you guessed a screaming and howling guitar riff.  The most upbeat of the riff laden “Led Zeppelin II”.  The song is very groovy and funky.  The only thing about this great song is after all that comes before it I feel sort of numbed to it.  I love it on it’s own and the live version but my god there is a lot of riffing on this album.  It ends back in blues mode though and I dig it.  A lot like “Led Zeppelin III”s “Hats Off To Harper”.

Again, all I have to say is this is not as good as “Led Zeppelin” because of the ballads and the over reliance on the “Dazed And Confused” formula.  Other then that, if you want to really rock out to some heavy licks and Robert Plants moaning buy this baby.

Best Song: Whole Lotta Love
Album Rating: 8/10

There seems to be four main categories of songs on “Led Zeppelin”, with two in each.  The ballads “Your Time Is Gonna Come” and “Babe I’m Gonna Leave You”.  The latter is perhaps the best ballad the Led Zeppelin would do and the best folk tune.  That’s right, “Babe I’m Gonna Leave You” is better as a whole then all the folk tunes on “Led Zeppelin III”.  The acoustic guitar is technically perfect and Plant’s vocals are human enough but not too much like on later albums.

Another category is the hardcore blues songs.  “You Shook Me” and “I Can’t Quit You Baby” feature some crazy singing from Plant and great guitar licks from Page.  That’s about all there is to the songs.  Except on “You Shook Me” at the end when they do some studio trickery and make the vocals echo backwards.  It’s really cool sounding.

Next is the rockers.  “Communication Breakdown” is a classic that any rock and roll fan should hear.  The first of it’s kind, with Page hitting the riffs as hard as he can.  This song apparently served as inspiration for the guitar players of the early punk era.  “Good Times Bad Times” opens “Led Zeppelin” and it’s a good number.  Another sort of firsts is the drums, guitar ,and bass all coming in at the beginning and jabbing through the silence “Boom, Boom…Boom, Boom”.  Great stuff.

The last category is the epics.  “Dazed and Confused” is another classic song that any fan should hear.  It has an ominous riff on the front and end, but what is really great is the middle section.  With the famous bow solo and then a crazy rave up that threatens to keep talking you higher and higher.  If anyone is a Yardbirds fan they might notice the solo section is very similar to the Page era song ”Think About It”.  The other epic is the closer “How Many More Times”.  It’s basically a blues jam but the main riff is just so catchy, and the little playful interludes in the middle are not as annoying as they easily could have been.  In fact they’re great.  I think the song is pretty much a bunch of stolen/borrowed parts from old Willie Dixon and Howlin’ Wolf tunes.  Just saying.

Lastly is the acoustic tune “Black Mountain Side” stuck right in the middle.  This is really just an early and much shorter version of Jimmy’s famous “White Summer”.  I like it here though because of the congas in the background.  It gives the album a bit of an earthy feel and a break from the regular blues and rock.

This album is definitely a revolution in rock and roll.  Before “Led Zeppelin” you just didn’t hear this kind of unfazed, no bars hold music.  It’s got all the confidence, the discipline, the inventiveness, and the originality all in one.  Something the Led Zeppelin albums after would only have different parts of.  That is the one problem I have with all Led Zeppelin albums besides this one.  They are all pretty much dependent on formulas set on this album, as is much of the heavy metal/hard rock music that comes after.  Unlike The Beatles, Led Zeppelin never reinvented themselves, aside from maybe some superficial differences and if you want to get into it I could argue that The Beatles really started heavy music with “Helter Skelter”.  Regardless, this album is a true masterpiece and deserves the title.

Best Song: Tracks 2,3,4, and 9 are all great.
Album Rating: 10/10

Let’s start with the long epics that seem to be a tradition on Doors albums.  “Riders On The Storm” is the closing track and one of the most soothing pieces of music around.  Morrison is top notch.  If you listen closely there is a overdub track with Jim almost whispering along with the lead vocal.  The only thing that doesn’t seem totally chilled out is the bass which gives the song a little groove.  Ray Manzarek’s jazz piano in the middle is great as well. 

The other big song is “L.A. Woman”.  I have read comparisons of this song to The Rolling Stones “Midnight Rambler”.  They are spot on.  Both capture similar moods and they each are about some sort of serial killer.  Having said that “L.A. Woman” is the best track on here.  The song has two distinct parts.  The beginning and end are fast paced and optimistic and the middle section is kind of scary and dark(like “Midnight Rambler”).  Manzarek’s upbeat piano and Krieger’s guitar licks are what really make the song.

Okay, as for the “normal Doors stuff” there is the dark sounding “L’America”, the great ballad “Hyacinth House” is much superior to most the Doors love songs.  The boring Morrison only crap ”Crawling King Snake”(at least it’s a song) and also the really good Morrison only crap like “The WASP (Texas Radio and the Big Beat)”.  A song with some of the most unique blues jamming around(well not jamming but still).  Album opener “The Changeling” is the only real rocker on “L.A. Woman”.  It’s good but ages after a few listens.

“Love Her Madly” is the third best track and it’s basically a pop rocker.  Something about it is very cinematic.  It’s got great production value as do most of the songs.  The back to back “Been Down So Long” and “Cars Hiss By My Window” are along with “The WASP (Texas Radio and the Big Beat)” the most hardcore blues, not just on the album but in the whole Doors catalog and probably in the whole pop band genre.

“L.A. Woman” is really something new and fresh.  It’s great blues from a band that’s best known for songs like “Light My Fire” and “Hello, I Love You”.  It’s a pity that Morrison died, who knows what would have followed.  At least he left on a high note.

Best Song: L.A. Woman
Album Rating: 9/10

It starts out with and ends with “Peace- A Beginning” and “Peace- An End”.  Both are short little songs that serve as bookends to the album.  A lot like “Pigs On The Wing” from Pink Floyd’s “Animals”, just not as fleshed out.  The best song is the true opening track “Pictures of a City”.  It is a perfect redo of “21st Century Schizoid Man”.  With fast jazzy parts, and trumpets, and heavy guitar tones, and menacing lyrics King Crimson really did try to outdo themselves.  On a purely superficial level they might have, but it loses all of its freshness since it’s so similar to “21st Century Schizoid Man”.  It’s by far the best song anyways.

“Cadence and Cascade” is the bands attempt at recreating “Epitaph”(or maybe “I Talk To The Wind” minus flutes).  I like this one a whole lot better.  Set to a piano rich melody the lyrics are a bit corny but work.  The acoustic guitar accents are nice as well.  I forgot to mention a short interlude in the middle called “Peace- A Theme” that just echos the other “Peace” songs.  The song that follows is called “Cat Food”.  It’s the most fun number and is basically a loose jazz jam.  What it has to do with the theme of the album I have no idea but it remains the second best number on “In The Wake Of Poseidon”.

The other big numbers on here are “In The Wake Of Poseidon” and “The Devil’s Triangle”.  The latter features freakish and scary instrumentation.  Giving me the impression of some sort of journey through HELL(The Devil’s Triangle?).  This song serves as the ”Moonchild” style track, although infinitely more interesting.  The title track is good and again a complete formula rip from “In The Court Of The Crimson King”.  It just isn’t as memorable.  I get bored by it.  The songs main flaw is a lack of an epic breakthrough riff to aleve the pain of the slower parts.

So, let me repeat that “In The Wake Of Poseidon” is not as good as “In The Court Of The Crimson King” but really just suffers as an afterthought like The Beatles “Magical Mystery Tour” was to “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”.  The music and production is great but there is a clear lack of innovation.  Having said all that this album remains underrated and you should really get it just because of “Pictures Of A City”.

Best Song: Pictures Of A City
Album Rating: 7/10

The mood of the album is very pessimistic and medieval.  There is also beauty.  Like the second track “I Talk To The Wind”.  Full of orchestration and grandeur, I really don’t know what the heck they are talking about but the flutes are earthy and real.  The change of mood from the first track, the apocalyptic sounding “21st Century Schizoid Man”, is refreshing.  That first track is everywhere in the most perfect sense(kind of hard to describe).  It’s pure crazy and masterful music.  How could someone even write that stuff?

Then there is “Epitaph”.  Sorry to break every King Crimson fan’s heart but the song is eternally boring.  Original yes but nonetheless boring.  Were is the interest in “Epitaph”?  “Moonchild” is far more interesting…for about three minutes at least.  Hear is the main problem with “In The Court Of The Crimson King”.  “Moonchild” starts great with another inventive little track, more like “I Talk To The Wind”.  Very beautiful and peaceful, yet impending doom sounding as well.  Then, the longest song on here becomes a quite organ fiddling session!  Are you guys joking?  Your going to fill almost a quarter of the album with someone messing around in the studio?  This is a huge disappointment.  Imagine if they had displayed the same genius that they do on at least three of the tracks with “Moonchild”.  For that alone I can’t give this classic a perfect rating.

The finale, “The Court Of The Crimson King” rises to the highest of highs.  It is truly a finale to a great album.  I think it probably conjures up images different to everyone.  Personally I think of some medieval fairytale and blue stuff(don’t ask).  There are two perfectly placed false endings as well.

There are three masterpieces on “In The Court Of The Crimson King”  that out weigh many times the mediocre “Epitaph” and the terrible “Moonchild” middle section.  Let me repeat I’m not a major King Crimson fan but I do like the band.  They would never top this album, and it shall at least live on forever in any serious conversation about prog rock. Regardless, any fan of music should hear this album.

Best Song: 21st Century Schizoid Man or The Court Of The Crimson King
Album Rating: 9/10

The opening sounds of “Speed King” set the mood right off the bat.  A wall of noisy fuzz, distorted guitar, and pretty organ introduces the song, which abruptly and suddenly cuts through the intro and delivers the heaviest riff on “In Rock”.  The cool part about this song, as with most of the tracks, is the solo section.  It becomes a jazzy organ/guitar duel.  A famous trademark of Deep Purple.  “Bloodsucker” is a fantastically produced number that Gillan shines on, as is the first and best power ballad “Child In Time”. 

“Child In Time” is also the Deep Purples big anti-war number.  It isn’t an in-your-face anti-war song but the lyrics are pretty obvious.  Also, the walk up at the end with Gillian literally screaming and moaning out the terror and horror of war.  It could easily come off as contrived but doesn’t.  The solo in the middle is breath talking.  Richie truly reaches new heights of technicality and confidence that we have not seen before and won’t see again.  Not even “Highway Star” can beat this solo.  It’s a nearly two and a half minutes long and never looses your attention.  It builds and builds and builds until they break back into one more verse.

“Flight Of The Rat” is a catchy but simple pop number.  Still disguised in heavy metal to say the least.  Gillan’s vocals are a bit in the back ground sometimes but it still works.  “Into The Fire” and “Living Wreck” are a bit boring.  And the former sounds way to similar to “No No No” from their next album(not that this song gets points off but still).  Lastly, is “Hard Lovin’ Man” features the first “speed riffing” I’ve ever heard up to this point.  Remember folks this is 1970!  Flower power is just getting done with and people had never heard this type of stuff.

The album artwork is the best Deep Purple cover.  It’s great stuff, with the bands faces carved in the rock of Mount Rushmore.  Would the Deep Purple eventually top this record?  Yes, but in the sense of purity and focus “In Rock” has no equal.

Best Song: Child In Time
Album Rating: 8/10

The album kicks off on a high note with the trippy rocker “Most Anything You Want”.  This is my favorite of the fist side.  A catchy and powerful riff opens with all instruments pounding it out.  A big change from the slow and creepy organ opening on the previous album “Heavy”.  Then, pretty vocal harmonies come in and add to the rhythm throughout the song.  It’s all about making some girl happy(maybe the most written about subject in music).  A masterful organ solo in the middle gives the song some more depth. 

Then we move on to the forgotten flower power anthem “Flowers and Beads”.  The lines each start with “flowers and beads are one thing but…[fill in the blank]“.  It is really a reminder of what the whole flower power, hippie thing was about.  Not flowers and beads but love, baby!

Now for a couple more creepy/spaced out numbers.  The first is “My Mirage”.  The lyrics are first rate again, “In my mind I see a mirage on the wall, but unfortunately it’s not there at all…”  I really love the tripped out stuff that Doug Ingle sings on this album.  It all culminates in the finale of course.  Then comes the paranoid “Termination”.  This song has the second most identifiable riff on “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida”.  I can’t say what the song is about but it sounds like the rest of the stuff.  That’s the thing about “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida”.  Be ready to get nothing but psychedelic rock n’ roll.  Not a lot of diversity on this one and that could be good or bad.

The closing track on side one is “Are You Happy”.  This is a nice song.  Definitely my least favorite but it’s good up until the breaks when they belt out a bunch of “Are you happy?!!!!!” in a very crude manner.  Kind of scary and reminds me of Jack Bruce singing the banal “We’re Going Wrong” from “Disraeli Gears”.  The solos are top notch though.

Now lets get to the second side.  Let me give a little explanation of the title of the song and album “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” for anyone who doesn’t already know.  Rumor has it the song was originally written and called “In The Garden Of Eden” but Doug Ingle was so stoned when he sang it the lyrics just came out all slobber mouthed.  The boys liked it and kept it that way. 

So, whats so great about this song?  Well most of you have heard the single version that consists only of the core song.  You already know what makes that great.  The main riff is an absolute classic heavy riff and is the reason so many like to call Iron Butterfly an early heavy metal group, which they are clearly not if you listen to more then that single.  Add to that the literally tripped out lyrics and you have a #1 Hit on your hands(not really a #1 Hit for you perfectionists).  Anyways, the version on the album is actually seventeen minutes and if I had to compare to other long epic songs I would say the song structure is comparable to The Doors “Light My Fire” and the instrumentation is probably more like a cross of Mark I Deep Purple and Cream(manly the drumming).  There is no doubt this song is epic and if you haven’t, you should really listen to the full seventeen minute version some time.  The drum solo is probably the most interesting of the boring drum solo genre and the organ, guitar, and bass are all superbly bad in the technical sense but fantastic in soul and feeling.

This album is an acquired taste as it has an overall sound to it that almost makes it sound like a concept album.  If you were to buy any Iron Butterfly album, no any psychedelic hard rock album it must be “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida”.

Best Song: In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida
Album Rating: 8/10