187. Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin III (1970)





















Track Listing

1. Immigrant song
2. Friends
3. Celebration day
4. Since I've been loving you
5. Out on the tiles
6. Gallows pole
7. Tangerine
8. That's the way
9. Bron Y Aur stomp
10. Hats off to (Roy) Harper

Review

Another great album, and the third great Led Zeppelin album in a row. Don't worry, ratings will go down a bit tomorrow. I've been rediscovering Led Zeppelin with this project, and in the proper way by seeing their evolution in albums. This album sees Zeppelin moving more towards folk while still keeping their rock hard.

This is the beggining of the direction they would take from now on, the folk element is probably even more prevalent in Led Zeppelin IV, with Stairway To Heaven and Battle Of Evermore for example, but the seeds are definitely here, and probably in a better way than in Led IV. At least it hasn't been played to death as much as that album.

Of course there is a big hit here with Immigrant Song, one of the tracks with the funniest lyrics in the story of rock, but fortunately it is such a good track that you forgive them sentences like "Val-ha-lla I am Coming". The bluesier Since I've Been Loving You is another highlight here, and even though there are accusations of theft from Moby Grape bandied about, Led Zeppelin still manage to make this a better track than anything ever recorded by Grape. I am not here do preside in judgment of the less than transparent copyright problems of Led Zeppelin, I just know it sounds great. The second part of the album goes into folkier mode and some highlights of that are Tangerine and Gallows Pole, probably the only British folk song about a Polish Executioner, two great uses of acoustic instruments by Zep. Highly Reccomended. Buy it at Amazon UK or US.

Track Highlights

1. Immigrant Song
2. Since I've Been Loving You
3. Tangerine
4. Gallows Pole

Final Grade

9/10

Trivia

From Wikipedia:

Led Zeppelin III's original vinyl edition was packaged in a gatefold sleeve with a novelty cover. The cover and interior gatefold art consisted of a surreal collection of seemingly random images on a white background, many of them connected with flight or aviation (as in "Zeppelin"). Behind the front cover was a rotatable paper disc covered with more images, including photos of the band members, which showed through holes in the cover. Moving an image into place behind one hole would usually bring one or two others into place behind other holes. This could not be replicated on a conventional cassette or CD cover, but there have been Japanese and British CDs packaged in miniature versions of the original sleeve. In France this album was released with a different album cover, simply showing a photo of the four band members.

The first pressings of the album included the phrases "Do What Thou Wilt" and "So Mote Be It", inscribed on the record itself. This phrase is derived from an important tenet of Aleister Crowley's philosophy of Thelema: "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law. Love is the law, love under will." Led Zeppelin's guitarist Jimmy Page was interested in Crowley's work and even bought one of his residences.

CROWLEY FTW!

Immigrant Song, in a heavier Live version: