Led Zeppelin is often called one of the most influential bands to emerge from the late 1960s, and are well known for hits including Immigrant Song, Black Dog, and of course, the unforgettable Stairway to Heaven.
Aside from listening to the usual radio-friendly singles, I’ve never formally been acquainted with a full Zeppelin album. That’s why for April 2017, we’ll be listening to the second eponymous album, Led Zeppelin II.
The album was a commercial success, hitting the number one spot on the charts in both in their home country of England as well as overseas. What intrigues me the most is how the band described the recording process. Songs were written while the band was on tour rotations. They would write whenever they found hours in between concerts. Each track was recorded, mixed, and produced separately at various studios spread out across the UK and North America. The resulting sound is supposedly rife with spontaneity and urgency through necessity. Jimmy Page, the band’s guitarist receives the bulk of the credit for the album’s production oversight. He and engineer Eddie Kramer worked together to cobble the completed album together from recordings taken in piece-meal, sometimes impromptu sessions in cheap studios, hotels and “holes in the wall”.
Interesting? I think so.
Let’s delve into Led Zeppelin II, and we’ll reconvene at the end of the month to see what the group thought.
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Links:
Album Wikipedia
Band Wikipedia
Buy the album on iTunes
Buy the album on Amazon