This was the transitional album after the first four self-titled Led Zeppelin records - and sustaining the quality of those previous four would have been a daunting prospect for any band - but hey, this is Led Zeppelin, and they rose to the challenge admirably. Featuring slicker production, more complex musical arrangements and frequent use of synthesizer & mellotron, the band released this album in early 1973 - round about the time they became the hottest act on Earth.
The layers of guitar on "The Song Remains The Same", the spooky electronic treatment of Robert Plant's vocals of "No Quarter" and the grandiosity of "The Rain Song" all help to make this a great listen - along with some brief left-field excursions into reggae ("D'Yer Mak'er) and funk ("The Crunge").
As for the cover, I remember reading an interview somewhere with Jimmy Page where the interviewer remarked that he always thought of this album as a very "orange-sounding" album - to which Jimmy responded something like "yeah, I know what you mean".
And that's how I like to remember it too. Without being funny, it's the best orange-sounding album I own.
No comments:
Post a Comment