“Led Zeppelin III”(1970) by Led Zeppelin

Round three in the Led Zeppelin saga is, you guessed it “Led Zeppelin III”.  I commend this album for standing out as the odd ball album.  It’s normally thought of as Jimmy Page’s indulgence in folk rock.  There are a lot of folk sounding songs and acoustic guitar, so I would have to agree.  Not as much blues as the first and hardly any riffing.  If “Led Zeppelin II” was just a bunch of “Dazed and Confused” inspired tracks, then “Led Zeppelin III” is a bunch of “Babe I’m Gonna Leave You” tracks, however it just isn’t that simple.  “Led Zeppelin III”, although outwardly folky, is full of rock and roll.

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