“Led Zeppelin II”(1969) by Led Zeppelin

Let us just go straight into this, because the truth is that it’s more of the same.  I don’t hate it for that but I don’t have a lot to say about it that I didn’t say about “Led Zeppelin”.  It’s just heavy blues.  The only difference this time is a lot of songs are rip offs and there are also some girly ballads.

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