01	Good Times Bad Times						02:46
	02	Babe I'm Gonna Leave You						06:41
	03	You Shook Me						06:28
	04	Dazed and Confused						06:25
	05	Your Time Is Gonna Come						04:34
	06	Black Mountain Side						02:12
	07	Communication Breakdown						02:30
	08	I Can't Quit You Baby						04:42
	09	How Many More Times						08:27

Led Zeppelin
Formed Jul 1968 in England
Disbanded 1980 12 in London, England
Group Members Jimmy Page Robert Plant John Paul Jones John Bonham

Led Zeppelin was the definitive heavy metal band. It wasn't just their crushingly loud interpretation of the blues - it was how they incorporated mythology, mysticism, and a variety of other genres (most notably world music and British folk) - into their sound. Led Zeppelin had mystique. They rarely gave interviews, since the music press detested the band. Consequently, the only connection the audience had with the band was through the records and the concerts. More than any other band, Led Zeppelin established the concept of album-oriented rock, refusing to release popular songs from their albums as singles. In doing so, they established the dominant format for heavy metal, as well as the genre's actual sound.
Led Zeppelin formed out of the ashes of the Yardbirds. Jimmy Page had joined the band in its final days, playing a pivotal role on their final album, 1967's Little Games, which also featured string arrangements from John Paul Jones. During 1967, the Yardbirds were fairly inactive. While the Yardbirds decided their future, Page returned to session work in 1967. In the spring of 1968, he played on Jones' arrangement of Donovan's "Hurdy Gurdy Man." During the sessions, Jones requested to be part of any future project Page would develop. Page would have to assemble a band sooner than he had planned. In the summer of 1968, the Yardbirds' Keith Relf and James McCarty left the band, leaving Page and bassist Chris Dreja with the rights to the name, as well as the obligation of fulfilling an upcoming fall tour. Page set out to find a replacement vocalist and drummer. Initially, he wanted to enlist singer Terry Reid and Procol Harum's drummer B.J. Wilson, but neither musician was able to join the group. Reid suggested that Page contact Robert Plant, who was singing with a band called Hobbstweedle.

After hearing him sing, Page asked Plant to join the band in August of 1968, the same month Chris Dreja dropped out of the new project. Following Dreja's departure, John Paul Jones joined the group as its bassist. Plant recommended that Page hire John Bonham, the drummer for Plant's old band, the Band of Joy. Bonham had to be persuaded to join the group, as he was being courted by other artists who offered the drummer considerably more money. By September, Bonham agreed to join the band. Performing under the name the New Yardbirds, the band fulfilled the Yardbirds' previously booked engagements in late September 1968. The following month, they recorded their debut album in just under 30 hours. Also in October, the group switched their name to Led Zeppelin. The band secured a contract with Atlantic Records in the United States before the end of the year. Early in 1969, Led Zeppelin set out on their first American tour, which helped set the stage for the January release of their eponymous debut album. Two months after its release, Led Zeppelin had climbed into the U.S. Top Ten. Throughout 1969, the band toured relentlessly, playing dates in America and England. While they were on the road, they recorded their second album, Led Zeppelin II, which was released in October of 1969. Like its predecessor, Led Zeppelin II was an immediate hit, topping the American charts two months after its release and spending seven weeks at number one. The album helped establish Led Zeppelin as an international concert attraction, and for the next year, the group continued to tour relentlessly. Led Zeppelin's sound began to deepen with Led Zeppelin III. Released in October of 1970, the album featured an overt British folk influence. The group's infatuation with folk and mythology would reach a fruition on the group's untitled fourth album, which was released in November of 1971. Led Zeppelin IV was the band's most musically diverse effort to date, featuring everything from the crunching rock of "Black Dog" to the folk of "The Battle of Evermore," as well as "Stairway to Heaven," which found the bridge between the two genres. "Stairway to Heaven" was an immediate radio hit, eventually becoming the most played song in the history of album-oriented radio; the song was never released as a single. Despite the fact that the album never reached number one in America, Led Zeppelin IV was their biggest album ever, selling well over 16 million copies over the next two and a half decades.

Led Zeppelin did tour to support both Led Zeppelin III and Led Zeppelin IV, but they played fewer shows than they did on their previous tours. Instead, they concentrated on only playing larger venues. After completing their 1972 tour, the band retreated from the spotlight and recorded their fifth album. Released in the spring of 1973, Houses of the Holy continued the band's musical experimentation, featuring touches of funk and reggae among their trademark rock and folk.The success of Houses of the Holy set the stage for a record-breaking American tour. Throughout their 1973 tour, Led Zeppelin broke box-office records - most of which were previously held by the Beatles - across America. The group's concert at Madison Square Garden in July was filmed for use in the feature film The Song Remains the Same, which was released three years later. After their 1973 tour, Led Zeppelin spent a quiet year during 1974, releasing no new material and performing no concerts. They did, however, establish their own record label, Swan Song, which released all of Led Zeppelin's subsequent albums, as well as records by Dave Edmunds, Bad Company, the Pretty Things, and several others. Physical Graffiti, a double album released in February of 1975, was the band's first release on Swan Song. The album was an immediate success, topping the charts in both America and England. Led Zeppelin launched a large American tour in 1975 but it came to a halt when Robert Plant and his wife suffered a serious car crash while vacationing in Greece. The tour was cancelled and Plant spent the rest of the year recuperating from the accident.

Led Zeppelin returned to action in the spring of 1976 with Presence. Although the album debuted at number one in both America and England, the reviews for the album were lukewarm, as was the reception to the live concert film The Song Remains the Same, which appeared in the fall of 1976. The band finally returned to tour America in the Spring of 1977. A couple of months into the tour, Plant's six-year-old son Karac died of a stomach infection. Led Zeppelin immediately cancelled the tour and offered no word whether or not it would be rescheduled, causing widespread speculation about the band's future. For a while, it did appear that Led Zeppelin was finished. Robert Plant spent the latter half of 1977 and the better part of 1978 in seclusion. The group didn't begin work on a new album until late in the summer of 1978, when they began recording at ABBA's Polar studios in Sweden. A year later, the band played a short European tour, performing in Switzerland, Germany, Holland, Belgium, and Austria. In August of 1979, Led Zeppelin played two large concerts at Knebworth; the shows would be their last English performances.

In Through the Out Door, the band's much-delayed eighth studio album, was finally released in September of 1979. The album entered the charts at number one in both America and England. In May of 1980, Led Zeppelin embarked on their final European tour. In September, Led Zeppelin began rehearsing at Jimmy Page's house in preparation for an American tour. On September 25, John Bonham was found dead in his bed - following an all-day drinking binge, he had passed out and choked on his own vomit. In December of 1980, Led Zeppelin announced they were disbanding, since they could not continue without Bonham.

Following the breakup, the remaining members all began solo careers. John Paul Jones returned to producing and arranging, finally releasing his solo debut Zooma in 1999. After recording the soundtrack for Death Wish II, Jimmy Page compiled the Zeppelin outtakes collection, Coda, which was released at the end of 1982. That same year, Robert Plant began a solo career with the Pictures at Eleven album. In 1984, Plant and Page briefly reunited in the all-star oldies band the Honeydrippers. After recording one EP with the Honeydrippers, Plant returned to his solo career and Page formed the Firm with former Bad Company singer Paul Rogers. In 1985, Led Zeppelin reunited to play Live Aid, sparking off a flurry of reunion rumors; the reunion never materialized. In 1988, the band re-formed to play Atlantic's 25th Anniversary Concert. During 1989, Page remastered the band's catalog for release on the 1990 box set, Led Zeppelin. The four-disc set became the biggest selling multi-disc box set of all time, which was followed up 3 years later by another boxset, the mammoth 10 disc set The Complete Studio Recordings.

In 1994, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant reunited to record a segment for MTV Unplugged, which was released as Unledded in the fall of 1994. Although the album went platinum, the sales were disappointing considering the anticipation of a Zeppelin reunion. The following year, Page and Plant embarked on a successful international tour, which eventually led to an all new studio recording in '98 - the Steve Albini-produced Walking into Clarksdale. Surprisingly, the album was met with a cool reception by the record buying public, as Page and Plant ended their union shortly thereafter, once again going their separate ways (Page would go on to tour with the Black Crowes, while Plant would resume his solo career). Further Zeppelin compilation releases saw the light of day in the late-90s, including 97's stellar double disc BBC Sessions, plus Zep's first true 'best of' collections - 99's Early Days: The Best of Vol. 1 and 2000s Latter Days: The Best of Vol. 2. - Stephen Thomas Erlewine & Greg Prato


1969 Led Zeppelin [I] Atlantic
1969 Led Zeppelin II Atlantic
1970 Led Zeppelin III Atlantic
1971 Led Zeppelin IV Atlantic
1973 Houses of the Holy Atlantic
1975 Physical Graffiti Swan Song
1976 The Song Remains the Same [live] Swan Song
1976 Presence Swan Song
1979 In Through the Out Door Swan Song






Led Zeppelin [I]
Released on January 17, 1969 (US)
Released on March 28, 1969 (UK)
Recorded in November 1968 at Olympic Studios, London.

Led Zeppelin had a fully formed, distinctive sound from the outset, as their eponymous debut illustrates. Taking the heavy, distorted electric blues of Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck, and Cream to an extreme, Zeppelin created a majestic, powerful brand of guitar rock constructed around simple, memorable riffs and lumbering rhythms. But the key to the group's attack was subtlety: It wasn't just an onslaught of guitar noise, it was shaded and textured, filled with alternating dynamics and tempos. As Led Zeppelin proves, the group was capable of such multi-layered music from the start. Although the extended psychedelic blues of "Dazed and Confused," "You Shook Me," and "I Can't Quit You Baby" often gather the most attention, the remainder of the album is a better indication of what would come later. "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" shifts from folky verses to pummeling choruses; "Good Times Bad Times" and "How Many More Times" have groovy, bluesy shuffles; "Your Time Is Gonna Come" is an anthemic hard rocker; "Black Mountain Side" is pure English folk; and "Communication Breakdown" is a frenzied rocker with a nearly punkish attack. Although the album isn't as varied as some of their later efforts, it nevertheless marked a significant turning point in the evolution of hard rock and heavy metal. - Stephen Thomas Erlewine

1. Good Times Bad Times (Bonham/Jones/Page) - 2:46
2. Babe I'm Gonna Leave You (Bennett/Bredon/Darling) - 6:41
3. You Shook Me (Dixon/Lenoir) - 6:28
4. Dazed and Confused (Page) - 6:26
5. Your Time Is Gonna Come (Jones/Page) - 4:14
6. Black Mountain Side (Page) - 2:05
7. Communication Breakdown (Bonham/Jones/Page) - 2:27
8. I Can't Quit You Baby (Dixon) - 4:42
9. How Many More Times (Bonham/Jones/Page) - 8:28

Sandy Denny - Vocals
Jimmy Page - Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar, Guitar (Electric), Guitar (Steel), Vocals (bckgr), Producer
Robert Plant - Harmonica, Vocals
John Paul Jones - Organ, Bass, Keyboards, Vocals (bckgr)
John Bonham - Drums, Vocals (bckgr), Tympani [Timpani]
Viram Jasani - Tabla

1994 CD Atlantic 82632
1994 CS Atlantic 82632
1969 LP Atlantic 8236
1971 LP Atlantic 7208
1995 CD Atlantic 7567-82632-2/4
LP Atlantic SD-19126
CD Atlantic 19126
1990 CD Atlantic 19126
CS Atlantic 19126-4
CD Atlantic 82144
CD Atlantic 82477
1999 LP Classic Compact Disc 19126



Babe I'm Gonna Leave You
Composed By Paul Bennett/Anne Bredon (Earthchild)/Edward Darling
Performed By Led Zeppelin

AMG REVIEW: From their 1969 debut self-titled LP, "Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You" lays out the road map for what Led Zeppelin would be about for the next decade: a blues-based hard rock/ heavy metal band that was interested as much in acoustic guitars as they were in screaming amplifiers; Celtic, Middle Eastern, and other folk music traditions as much as the American blues tradition; heavy drumming as well as quiet interludes; and using the recording studio and experimentation to the full advantage - resulting in rich, hard-hitting, multi-layered, and multi-faceted records. The song is based around a Jimmy Page minor-key acoustic figure over which vocalist Robert Plant croons a well-worn warning about being a rambling man. The rhythm section - one of the greatest and most influential in rock & roll history - of John Paul Jones on bass and John Bonham on drums, kicks in on an almost flamenco pre-chorus riff and, finally, a descending, syncopated, and hard-rocking chorus that incites Plant into his trademark upper-register howl. Perhaps only Jimi Hendrix and the Experience, who also worked with engineer Eddie Kramer, had as versatile a sound at the time, varying from soft acoustic balladry to pounding hard rock - many times within the same song. Indeed, the drastic swoops of dynamics within their songs laid out a game plan for rock music that could still be heard in the post-punk and alternative rock scene as the 1990s gave way to the new millennium. For Led Zeppelin, "Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You" helped propel their debut into the Top Ten in the U.S. at a time when album oriented rock radio was in its infancy. One bothersome issue about Led Zeppelin is that, unlike their colleagues in the Rolling Stones and other British bands that took a great deal of influence from traditional music and often went to great lengths to pay respect to older artists and writers - Led Zeppelin often placed their own names on works that can easily be attributed, at least in part, to other songwriters. Thus you have "Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You," which on the album is credited as " traditional, arranged by Jimmy Page" when it was in fact written by Anne Bredon (aka Annie Briggs). Apparently, it took legal action to change the credit to " Bredon/ Page/ Plant." There is quite an extensive list of other instances where it can be argued that Led Zeppelin went far beyond merely incorporating their blues and folk influences. Joan Baez did a mournful version of "Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You" in 1962, well before Led Zeppelin, on the live record Joan Baez in Concert, Pt. 1, based on the 1950s Bredon version. Great White, who was almost a Led Zeppelin tribute band, covered the Zeppelin version. - Bill Janovitz




Альбом, вошедший в историю как "Led Zeppelin" (с взрывающимся дирижаблем "Гинденбург" на обложке), был записан в Лондоне в конце 1968 года в рекордные по нынешним временам сроки - всего за 30 часов студийного времени. Непосредственно перед его выходом Питеру Гранту, менеджеру группы, удалось организовать своим подопечным небольшое турне. Интерес публики был более чем умеренным, но зато коллективу удалось подписать в США фантастический по тем временам контракт с "Atlantic Records". После месяца концертов предварительные заказы на дебютную пластинку составили около 50 тыс. экземпляров, а в результате альбом, вышедший 12 января 1969 г., добрался до 10-го места хит-парада США и 6-го - Великобритании, став, как и его последователи, "мультиплатиновым". Среди песен, ставших классикой, - "Dazed and Confused", "Communication Breakdown", "Good Times Bad Times" и "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" (хотя каждый, видимо, может перечислить здесь любые другие названия: дело вкуса). По решению Гранта, ни одна песня из альбома, вопреки мировой практике, не выходила на синглах. В Великобритании музыканты придерживались этого принципа до конца карьеры (хотя в США им иногда приходилось от него отказываться). Такая тактика объяснялась отчасти тем, что композиции Led Zeppelin не очень-то подходили форматам коммерческих радиостанций, предназначаясь скорее для индивидуального прослушивания.

Atlantic 588 171
Released on January 17, 1969 (US)
Released on March 28, 1969 (UK)
Recorded in November 1968 at Olympic Studios, London.
Produced by: Jimmy Page
Director of engineering: Glyn Johns
Executive producer: Peter Grant
CD Mastering by: Barry Diament, Atlantic Studios
Cover Design: Goerge Hardie
Back liner photo: Chris Dreja
Jimmy Page Electric guitar, acoustic guitar,
pedal steel guitar, backing vocal
Robert Plant Lead vocal, harmonica
John Bonham Drums, tympani, backing vocal
John Paul Jones Bass, organ, backing vocal
Viram Jasani Tabla drums on "Black Mountain Side"

1) Good Times Bad Times (2:43)
(Page/Jones/Bonham)
2) Babe I'm Gonna Leave You (6:40)
(Anne Bredon/Page/Plant)
Recorded and mixed in October 1968 at Olympic Studios, London.
Engineered by Glyn Johns.
Originally released on January 12, 1969 on "LED ZEPPELIN."
3) You Shook Me (6:30)
(Willie Dixon)
4) Dazed And Confused (6:27)
(Jimmy Page)
Recorded and mixed in October 1968 at Olympic Studios, London.
Engineered by Glyn Johns.
Originally released on January 12, 1969 on "LED ZEPPELIN."
5) Your Time Is Gonna Come (4:41)
(Page/Jones)
Recorded and mixed in October 1968 at Olympic Studios, London.
Engineered by Glyn Johns.
Originally released on January 12, 1969 on "LED ZEPPELIN."
6) Black Mountain Side (2:06)
(Page)
7) Communication Breakdown (2:26)
(Page/Jones/Bonham)
Recorded and mixed in October 1968 at Olympic Studios, London.
Engineered by Glyn Johns.
Originally released on January 12, 1969 on "LED ZEPPELIN."
Released as a single on 3/10/69
8) I Can't Quit You Baby (4:42)
(Willie Dixon)
9) How Many More Times (8:30)
(Page/Jones/Bonham)