Led Zeppelin by Led Zeppelin

So, we have five Led Zep albums on this list. I really liked IV, but found Physical Graffiti and II a bit overblown. I haven’t heard III so far, but let’s talk about I (which was never officially numbered if you want to be picky).

It’s a bit misleading to call this a debut album, as the band at this point were more or less a continuation of The Yardbirds in that curious period of British rock in the late 60s where everyone was in everyone else’s band. The band was just guitarist Jimmy Page and manager Peter Grant and even carried on as the New Yardbirds for a while before coalescing into Led Zeppelin with the addition of Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and John Bonham to complete the lineup.

As for the sound, it’s pretty much by the numbers rock and blues. There are no orcs and goblins and the other folderol that made IV enjoyable for a Tolkien head like me, and it all felt very flat and plodding, and ended up being a bit of a disappointment. If I had picked this up as my first Led Zep album I doubt I would have bothered with any of the others. It’s all ok, but nothing that really grabbed me.