Welcome to the 2nd installment of my Led Zeppelin studio album reviews! These are tandem reviews with my amazing wife, Sarah who is posting her own reviews over at Caught Me Gaming. So be sure to check out her write up on Led Zeppelin II right here!
As for me, I can sum up Led Zeppelin II like this: Perfection minus one self-indulgent-overlong drum solo. (The guitar solo break in Heartbreaker is a little much too.)
Goodnight everybody!
As a Led Zeppelin Album: 4.5/5
Compared to the Rest: 5/5
OK, if you NEED me to elaborate…
I played Led Zeppelin II relentlessly when I discovered it. It was still early in our relationship, but I remember asking Sarah what she wanted to listen to one day. She said anything but Led Zeppelin II. “If I have to hear Living Loving Maid one more time…” She’s the biggest Zep fan I know and I wore her out on one of their albums! *Achievement unlocked*
I love (almost) everything about it. It is 75%-ish blues, and the folky bits are just the right amount. Thank You and Ramble On are the folkiest and I get enjoyment from focusing on John Paul Jones’ bass on both.
What Is and What Should Never Be lies somewhere in the middle of the two genres. The best part is the stereo play with the guitar riff in the middle.
The rest is hard-rockin’ blues.
Whole Lotta Love and The Lemon Song are basically blues covers done in Zep’s style. I know a lot is made of how the band avoided paying royalties to the artist they took from, but these songs are completely re-arranged and hardly recognizable to the originals. I think it would have been a different story if Plant came up with his own melody and lyrics.
(That’s Muddy Waters singing, BTW.)
Moby Dick could’ve been a cool little track with a giant riff but they felt compelled to add that long drum solo. I think drum solos work better in a concert setting, especially when the drummer can make a show out of it, but make it short and sweet if you need to add one in the studio. See Black Sabbath’s Rat Salad for reference.
One blues number that is completely aped from the original is the intro to Bring it On Home:
Yeah, and not even Sonny Boy is getting any royalties from it because he had to pay Willie Dixon to use those lyrics too. But that is Sonny Boy’s arrangement they are “borrowing”.

Well, that’s Led Zeppelin for you. Especially the early years. It felt like almost every tune was “sort of ripped off, but not really” or “completely ripped off”. I wish they would have taken Cream’s approach and immediately paid props to whomever they lifted from. It would make writing praises for this album a whole lotta easier.
Yeah, I’m having a hard time not thinking Led Zeppelin were complete a$$h0les stealing and not paying royalties.
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Yeah, it was a douchy thing to do.
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LOL, I didn’t remember anything about not wanting to listen to Led Zeppelin II. That must have been a long time ago…
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You were probably in one of your “good” moods.
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This is blogging brilliance right here…
“As for me, I can sum up Led Zeppelin II like this: Perfection minus one self-indulgent-overlong drum solo. (The guitar solo break in Heartbreaker is a little much too.)”
“Goodnight everybody!”
Hahaha. Loved that man! I hear ya on some stuff it’s like I’m ok If I never hear this again! I’m with you on Ramble On and Thank You. Great tracks.
I remember hearing the Lemon Song back in the early 80s and just cracking up at those lyrics.
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Thanks, Deke! Squeeze my Lemon is lifted directly from Robert Johnson who probably lifted it from someone else. Just goes to show how a good the double entendre never gets old!
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Yeah no kidding. Kinda funny how Plant and Page went at Kingdom Come and Whitesnake in the late 80’s when 20 years earlier Zep was nicking parts and giving credit. lol
Silly old sod’s lol
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I bet you that is when people started looking closer that their songs!
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Yeah your right! I guess when Zep they thought whose going to know! Lol
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Great stuff. They aren’t the most honest group of guys.
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Thanks, John. I’m sure they felt they were far enough away from the originals to get a pass but they were not.
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Nice closing line, Kevin – I had a whole lotta fun reading this 2-pack review of LZII!
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Thanks! It means a lotta to me.
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I love this album and admit that I hated Moby Dick when I first listened to it. But then I heard a local band cover the over-indulgent drum solo live once, and the energy was incredible. I’ve been obsessed with the song ever since, even on record!
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I think it is a cool drum solo, I just can listen to it on repeat. I might have a better appreciation for it if I ever do see it done live.
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This where I came on board with Zep. They only had the two records at the time. Still sounds great. I love that Sonny Boy tune . Willie’s also
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I love how you started off with this album is perfection, minus one long drum solo! Alright bye! It really grabs the reader’s attention, it certainly grabbed mine! 🙂
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Also, “Whole Lotta Love” was taken from another song?!?!
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Oh yeah. Zep was basically an excellent cover band.
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Oh yeah, even on their first album, I didn’t know they covered “You Shook Me.”
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Just don’t look up the origins of Stairway to Heaven if you want to stay pure.
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Ah ok got it! I never liked that song to begin with. Don’t hate me please!
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No worries. I never connected with it much too.
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I am an attention seeker so I’m glad my style is working!
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You’re not wrong about the drum solo, and Mitch Lafon would argue that they shouldn’t even be in the live setting. I think it was a trend at the time though. Cream had one too didn’t they?
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Oh yeah. Cream, Hendrix, even Sabbath had Rat Salad. I think Peart and Tommy Lee found ways to make them an experience when seen live.
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