Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin III

Atlantic Records

"Led Zeppelin III" is one of the more forgotten Zep albums. It spawned many classics among fans but not a substantial amount of radio hits and fans and critics alike were put off when a hard blues band took a sojourn into the world of folk-influenced rock. 

"Zeppelin III" opens with the typical early heavy metal stuff you'd expect from our quartet on "Immigrant Song" (the one you're probably familiar with). It has very pastoral and mythical lyrics that take inspiration from J.R.R. Tolkien's works and is most memorable for Robert Plant's wailing. Anything that can be said about this song already has been said, so it'd be redundant for me to go on any further. 

"Friends" opens with a bit of loose, disorganized studio clatter to give you a little taste of reality before pulling you into the produced finished product, almost as if this band is trying to tell you "we're here, and we're real people, too." This is the fist sign of Zeppelin's lean toward folksiness, with a sort of southern-sour guitar tuning thrown in there to keep some of that "heavy" credibility. Plant's voice is in its standard high, making it almost impossible to figure out just what the hell he is saying. A dark and lively string arrangement appears part way through the song, courtesy of a one John Paul Jones (bet you thought he could only play bass, didn't you?) but that doesn't stop the song from being not the most musically interesting thing this band has had to offer, even if it has a tone like tainted glass. 

Turning back onto the route of experimental hard rock is "Celebration Day", which is probably better remembered as the name of the film showcasing Zeppelin's one-off reunion at the Ahmet Ertegun tribute concert. This is one of the rare occasions where Plant is singing in his lower register, making his voice thicker and more powerful. As opposed to most Zep songs, "Celebration Day" is in a major key (D to be specific) instead of the usual minor keys this group so favors, so what with their blues origins and all, which creates a much more positive tone on the guitar solo and choruses before going back into the blues. If you're one for thinking about lyrics a little too much, here's a good one to chew on: "The price you pay for nowhere/has increased a dollar more". As per usual, the song descends into the chaos of Plant's wordless vocals and Page's guitar droning by the end. 

"Since I've Been Loving You" is one of those reworked standards that typified Zep's first two albums--the typical, seven minute, slow blues clunker. JPJ has some lovely Hammond organ flourishes thrown in here and there, but he never gets the spotlight. That, of course, goes to Page's guitar, and credit where credit is due some of those licks are pretty damn effective. Plant's voice sits comfortably in his lower range: smooth, smoky, and suave. Around three minutes in the rage-fueled singing and guitar build up break into a standard Jimmy Page blues solo--nothing new to say about that--before having a quick come down to a brief interlude, then going right back up before you even have time to think about it. The song just keeps on trucking the whole way through, right up until the inevitable yet somehow not explosive conclusion. 

A more groove-centered song, "Out on the Tiles", is what follows and it features some fantastic drum and bass work. We're still at the hard blues rock we all know and love, with descending guitar riffs and the added bonus of some double-tracked vocals. The song mostly serves as a highlight of John Bonham's skill as a drummer, which is all fine and dandy except for the unsatisfying fade-out ending. 

Another reworked traditional is the medieval "Gallows Pole", which sounds like a Jethro Tull song but with simpler lyrics. It is extremely folky, with mandolin being thrown in along with some banjo, which builds up and layers rather nicely with all the standard instruments. The lyrics tell the story of a maiden who is begging her friends for money so she can escape, but they all retort with "You know that we're too damn poor/to keep you from the gallows pole." So much for the brotherhood of man. Some fiddles and electric guitar join in on the aggressive build towards the end of the song, but just like "Out on the Tiles" it suffers from being handed the fade-out treatment as opposed to an actual conclusion. 

Diving head first into the world of folk influence is the bittersweet "Tangerine". It is very skillfully stripped back, with the full set of instruments being used on the choruses only. The recording even includes a false start in the beginning, which coupled with the calm strummings of Jimmy's acoustic and Robert's lower register makes the song all the more personal and emotional. After a fuzzy and distorted guitar solo, the final chorus pulls in but gets pushed back out again for a nice, clean ending with some steel(?) and acoustic guitars blending wonderfully, stopping on one final arpeggiated chord.

To quote Lester Bangs for this next one, "son of a gun, it's beautiful".  "That's The Way" tells the story of two ::friends:: whose parents disapprove of them because the one has long hair and is generally troubled. To put it frankly, I think "That's The Way" is the best song on this whole damn album. It's lyrics are tattered with evocative imagery ("I don't know what to say about it/when all your ears have turned away/but now's the time to look and look again at what you see/is that the way it oughta stay?") and the song is very laid back, with the electric guitar feeling distant and detached, much like the subject of the song's friendship is becoming. The tonal shifts on the chorus are beautiful and the little pause towards the end where it's just the descending vocals is mesmerizing. If you only take one thing away from this album, it should be this song. 

"Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp" is a more upbeat folk number with a taste of some Appalachian influence on the beginning. The tambourine and stomping make it very much like a campfire song with some blues shots thrown back. Musically and vocally it is not as interesting as the latter two songs, and as far as songs titled "Bron-Yr-Aur" go, I much prefer the one off of "Physical Graffiti". Two-thirds of the way through is a cute little guitar break, and you can feel through the tape how much fun it must've been to play. 

Closing out the album is the infamous "Hats off to (Roy) Harper", named after and in tribute to the (still living) English folk singer. The track is very raw--no drum or bass--with only Robert's bruising vocals and Jimmy shredding for his life on an acoustic. It sounds like the microphone was phased through something while Robert sang through his teeth, but all in all I though the song wasn't that bad (keep in mind this is coming from the same man who thought "Berkshire Poppies" was a good Traffic song) but I can see how it became so detested among fans and why neither Bonham nor JPJ wanted any part of it. It is psychedelic and yet back-to-basics at the same time, and is certainly out there even for a Zeppelin song. 

"Led Zeppelin III" is definitely more of a cult classic Zep album and it isn't hard to see why. How would you feel if your favorite band switched genres with no warning? 

Rating: 5/5