{"id":11739,"date":"1969-10-22T00:00:19","date_gmt":"1969-10-22T00:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=11739"},"modified":"2013-06-01T15:00:02","modified_gmt":"2013-06-01T15:00:02","slug":"album-review-led-zeppelin-led-zeppelin-ii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-led-zeppelin-led-zeppelin-ii\/","title":{"rendered":"LED ZEPPELIN – Led Zeppelin II (1969) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

LED ZEPPELIN
Led Zeppelin II<\/strong><\/span>
\n\"\"
\nAtlantic (1969)<\/span>
Rating: 9\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Two albums in one year! That is unthinkable in today\u2019s climate, and yet Brit rockers Led Zeppelin<\/a> hit the studio to record what has been described as one of rock\u2019s greatest ever albums, backed up by astonishing sales figures and a batch of songs that are unlikely to ever fade from mankind.<\/p>\n

Again, Jimmy Page produces, but his magic touch doesn\u2019t end on the knob twiddling, because there\u2019s a handful of tracks on this opus that contain some of the greatest ever riffs.<\/p>\n

Immediately, the band are on the offensive, striding with arrogance on \u2018Whole Lotta Love\u2019; a track that, in its simplicity, has stood the test of time, swaggering on an absolutely killer riff and Robert Plant\u2019s soaring vocals. It\u2019s one of those immortal tracks \u2013 even with its bewildering mid-section \u2013 that has embedded itself into musical folklore, and comes with John Paul Jones\u2019 sturdy bass-lines and John Bonham\u2019s pounding beats.<\/p>\n

And yet that\u2019s not where the genius ends. \u2018Heartbreaker\u2019 cruises into the ears on another boastful riff and Plant\u2019s steamy rasp, and \u2018Living Loving Maid (She\u2019s Just A Woman)\u2019 is equally infectious \u2013 Zeppelin suddenly bragging like the stadium rock band so many others could only dream of being.<\/p>\n

And the riff monsters keep on tumbling from the speakers. \u2018Moby Dick\u2019 is a gargantuan track that boasts another leviathan riff and sassy shake. \u2018Ramble On\u2019 begins with wistful aplomb, a breezy, sun-drenched folk rock jig which transforms itself into a shuffling groove before resorting back to the blustery.<\/p>\n

Led Zeppelin\u2019s second opus is clearly a more rewarding experience than the debut<\/a>, offering more weight throughout despite its mellower passages. The soulful supernova that is \u2018What Is And What Should Never Be\u2019 is a fine example of how the band effortlessly combine more tranquil periods with raging currents stirred by Page\u2019s riffs, which have the ability to shift between bluesy dirges and serpentine roller coasters.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard to find a duff track on the album. The epic clunk of \u2018The Lemon Song\u2019 clatters in with Bonham\u2019s distinctive thump and a grating riff. Robert Plant has suddenly propelled himself to godly heights, the ultimate rock \u2019n\u2019 roll chief with unmatchable vocals that ooze charisma over those sultry grooves.<\/p>\n

Strangely, there appears to be nothing complicated about Led Zeppelin\u2019s structures, the quartet simply melting together blue-eyed soul, folk-laced rock \u2013 nothing more and nothing less \u2013 and yet the magic lies in the pastures these guys create with a deft flick of their mental paint brush.<\/p>\n

\u2018Thank You\u2019 and \u2018Bring It On Home\u2019 are earth-shattering specimens the foursome created. The former is a pensive rambler that has more in common with Pink Floyd and the Small Faces than anything remotely stormy, while the latter brings American-born blues to the streets of Britain, wheezing through a delicate harmonica and Deep South guitar chug. Eventually the track becomes an avalanche of bass, guitar and drums, before bringing Led Zeppelin\u2019s sophomore platter to a close.<\/p>\n

Led Zeppelin II<\/em> is another rock \u2019n\u2019 roll humdinger that would lead us into the 1970s where the four-piece would become the biggest thing on the planet.<\/p>\n

Neil Arnold<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

LED ZEPPELINLed Zeppelin II Atlantic (1969)Rating: 9\/10 Two albums in one year! That is unthinkable in today\u2019s climate, and yet Brit rockers Led Zeppelin hit the studio to record what has been described as one of rock\u2019s greatest ever albums, backed up by astonishing sales figures and a batch of songs that are unlikely to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[587],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11739","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-led-zeppelin"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11739","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11739"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11739\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12122,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11739\/revisions\/12122"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11739"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11739"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11739"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}