# Okay, first time listener. Tell me what's good RE: Led Zeppelin albums. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 9, 2017, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-first-time-listener-tell-me-whats-good-re-led-zeppelin-albums/784095 "2017-04-09T01:20:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/channing_idaho_banks/32/250_2.png) [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Channing_Idaho_Banks)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2017, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-first-time-listener-tell-me-whats-good-re-led-zeppelin-albums/784095/61 "2017-04-10T17:12:38Z")
I think someone should give the Lemon Song another try. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2017, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-first-time-listener-tell-me-whats-good-re-led-zeppelin-albums/784095/62 "2017-04-10T17:22:48Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > That’s true. It does mix slow swampy blues with some straight-ahead rock (the solo part in particular.) It’s not a tune I think of as upbeat or fast overall, though. It is one of the most intentionally ponderous, ominous, campy, slow songs in rock, until the middle, I guess. I love it, but it’s a brazen theft from Jake Holmes, a folk singer, who later sang hundreds of ads including “You can do it in the army reserves”. Not even a blues interpretation or adaptation. Just plagiarism. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2017, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-first-time-listener-tell-me-whats-good-re-led-zeppelin-albums/784095/63 "2017-04-10T17:42:44Z")
> [@SykoSkotty](#): > > As far as which albums to listen to, I think if you like what you’ve heard so far, **you’ll just naturally want to listen to the remaining albums.** Each Zep LP is a classic in it’s own special way. Except for “Presence”. Nobody wants to listen to that crap. Just listen to “Achilles’ Last Stand” a couple times and call it good. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2017, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-first-time-listener-tell-me-whats-good-re-led-zeppelin-albums/784095/64 "2017-04-10T18:12:29Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > I’m surprised Physical Graffiti isn’t getting more mentions… 2nd-ing. It’s my favorite, it feels the most consistently polished and finished by musicians in their prime, without the erratic “hey guys, check out this theramin I found at a garage sale” bits. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2017, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-first-time-listener-tell-me-whats-good-re-led-zeppelin-albums/784095/65 "2017-04-10T21:26:34Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > In Through the Out Door is one of their most solidly good albums, even if Fool In The Rain has been overplayed so much I can’t listen to it. It _used_ to be a good song, though. I have a weird relationship with that song. I _love_ the drums on that. One of the most iconic drum parts in rock history, at least among drummers and musicians. But I don’t really like the song itself much at all. And now, because of the Dope, whenever I hear Genesis’s “Misunderstanding,” I can’t help but think of “Fool in the Rain.” (There was a thread years ago where somebody remarked on the similarity of the chord progression in that one.) ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2017, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-first-time-listener-tell-me-whats-good-re-led-zeppelin-albums/784095/66 "2017-04-10T23:55:00Z")
😛 > [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Maybe if you’re undergoing the Ludovico treatment, but otherwise, no. 😛 > [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Does no one but me love The Song Remains the Same? I will never ever EVER forgive Robert for going (in “S.T.H.”): “Does anybody rememba laf-_tuh_?” He also should have been wearing gaunch for that gig - sporting his sausage like that - wiener grossness!!! The “trousers thing” worked only for the Rutles, not you, Bob. > [@Shoeless](#): > > Except for “Presence”. Nobody wants to listen to that crap. Just listen to “Achilles’ Last Stand” a couple times and call it good. Actually “Nobody’s Fault But Mine” is sorta kick-ass, no? (especially how the bands kicks back in again after Bob delays the title a bit.) Nifty harmonica solo, methinks. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2017, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-first-time-listener-tell-me-whats-good-re-led-zeppelin-albums/784095/67 "2017-04-10T23:59:56Z")
> [@Eddie The Horrible](#): > > Actually “Nobody’s Fault But Mine” is sorta kick-ass, no? (especially how the bands kicks back in again after Bob delays the title a bit.) > Nifty harmonica solo, methinks. I stand by my original statement. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2017, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-first-time-listener-tell-me-whats-good-re-led-zeppelin-albums/784095/68 "2017-04-11T03:57:44Z")
Okay, so…done with LZ III. I had heard Immigrant Song before, apparently…and just didn’t know it. I recognized it from Shrek 3 and a few other movies/shows where they play the opening. It’s a distinctive opening. That was the only song I had heard before tonight, though. I did not like Gallows Pole or Hats Off To [Roy] Harper. I did, however, really like/love That’s The Way. Best song by them that I have heard so far (among only the songs I had never heard by them before). All of the other songs were fine. Nothing special. I thought this was the weakest album so far, however. I would rank 1 above it by a little bit and 2 above it by a whole lot. LZ IV I will listen to tomorrow. ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2017, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-first-time-listener-tell-me-whats-good-re-led-zeppelin-albums/784095/69 "2017-04-11T04:05:37Z")
So far, overall, I haven’t really been impressed with any of their albums or songs I didn’t already know. Maybe it’s a nostalgia thing? Maybe if I had grown up hearing and listening to these songs over and over, they’d eventually grow on me and I’d eventually come to think of them as old, familiar tunes that I know well… …but hearing them for the first time, just once, nothing is really jumping out at me. I think doing it that way loses something in becoming a fan. Not just with Led Zeppelin, either…with any band or artist. I developed a liking for those songs that I already knew simply because they had massive radio play quite often and I had been exposed to them all of my life, over time, but when you hear a song for the first time and just once, it’s like…there isn’t any significant change right away. Maybe if I listened to each album three or four times–like, once a week over the course of a month–it’d be different; that’s the only thing I can think of that might make a difference. I mean, none of it is BAD. It’s listenable and fine. It’s not anything that makes me want to shut the radio off or turn it down, but it’s not anything I would ever describe as overly ABOVE average, let alone very above average. It’s just…average stuff. I’m not disliking it, but I’m not extremely liking it either. It’s not something I’d ever go out and actually buy on an album for myself. I think I’ll listen to one more album and then go onto the next artist/band that I have planned in this series. I feel kinda bad, I wish I liked them more. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2017, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-first-time-listener-tell-me-whats-good-re-led-zeppelin-albums/784095/70 "2017-04-11T04:11:11Z")
> [@Idle\_Thoughts](#): > > I did not like Gallows Pole. Aw, man. That’s one of the best songs on the album! Good call on That’s the Way, though. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![mikecurtis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikecurtis/32/3284_2.png) [@mikecurtis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikecurtis)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2017, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-first-time-listener-tell-me-whats-good-re-led-zeppelin-albums/784095/71 "2017-04-11T04:40:38Z")
> [@Idle\_Thoughts](#): > > So far, overall, I haven’t really been impressed with any of their albums or songs I didn’t already know. Maybe it’s a nostalgia thing? Maybe if I had grown up hearing and listening to these songs over and over, they’d eventually grow on me and I’d eventually come to think of them as old, familiar tunes that I know well… > …but hearing them for the first time, just once, nothing is really jumping out at me. I think doing it that way loses something in becoming a fan. Not just with Led Zeppelin, either…with any band or artist. . . > > I feel kinda bad, I wish I liked them more. i think you may be on to something. that, and raised expectations - the first time i saw citizen kane after hearing about it for so many years, i had much the same reaction youre having now. i will say, as a lifelong zep fan myself, if you think thats the way is the best song on the first three albums then youre prob never gonna truly get hooked! mc ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2017, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-first-time-listener-tell-me-whats-good-re-led-zeppelin-albums/784095/72 "2017-04-11T11:39:37Z")
“Since I’ve Been Loving You” is far and away the best song on III, although I’ve always been a sucker for their blues tunes. ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2017, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-first-time-listener-tell-me-whats-good-re-led-zeppelin-albums/784095/73 "2017-04-11T11:48:52Z")
I’m late to the party, but my knee jerk reaction was that anyone new to Zep should start with Houses of the Holy, then 2, then 4. Then (if they were still interested) physical graffiti, 3 and 1. Maybe In Through the Out Door. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2017, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-first-time-listener-tell-me-whats-good-re-led-zeppelin-albums/784095/74 "2017-04-11T14:24:58Z")
> [@Idle\_Thoughts](#): > > LZ IV I will listen to tomorrow. Prepare to rock hard. Their best, IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2017, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-first-time-listener-tell-me-whats-good-re-led-zeppelin-albums/784095/75 "2017-04-11T14:54:35Z")
> [@mikecurtis](#): > > i will say, as a lifelong zep fan myself, if you think thats the way is the best song on the first three albums then youre prob never gonna truly get hooked! > mc Probably true, but I’ll be curious to hear his reaction to “Battle of Evermore” and “Going to California” based on his enjoyment of “That’s the Way.” I suspect OP may like IV best of the bunch–it seems to have a combination of things he enjoyed in I - III. I’ll forgive him for skipping “Stairway” if he wants, though. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2017, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-first-time-listener-tell-me-whats-good-re-led-zeppelin-albums/784095/76 "2017-04-11T15:35:35Z")
> [@Eddie The Horrible](#): > > I will never ever EVER forgive Robert for going (in “S.T.H.”): “Does anybody rememba laf-_tuh_?” > He also should have been wearing gaunch for that gig - sporting his sausage like that - wiener grossness!!! The “trousers thing” worked only for the Rutles, not you, Bob. And Spinal Tap. I haven’t watched the movie in decades, I’d never noticed (or perhaps blanked out) that detail about the trousers. But I love the album. However, I dislike Plant’s dissertation on family life in the middle of Whole Lotta Love more distracting than Page’s “laf-tah”. 🙂 I use the album as an example of why CDs are better than vinyl. I have NEVER heard copy in vinyl that didn’t have noise, even mint out of the package. You just can’t cram 30 minutes onto a side of an LP! ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2017, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-first-time-listener-tell-me-whats-good-re-led-zeppelin-albums/784095/77 "2017-04-11T15:47:06Z")
too late to edit. Plant not Page in my previous post. Don’t know what I was typing… ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2017, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-first-time-listener-tell-me-whats-good-re-led-zeppelin-albums/784095/78 "2017-04-11T16:07:49Z")
> [@Idle\_Thoughts](#): > > So far, overall, I haven’t really been impressed with any of their albums or songs I didn’t already know. Maybe it’s a nostalgia thing? Maybe if I had grown up hearing and listening to these songs over and over, they’d eventually grow on me and I’d eventually come to think of them as old, familiar tunes that I know well… Indeed. You are the Led Zeppelin equivalent of someone who’s only eaten at McDonald’s once, when you were a little kid, and you just walked into one and asked the person at the counter, “What’s good?” You have asked a question to which there is no answer. Nothing is good. Nothing is bad. It just is. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2017, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-first-time-listener-tell-me-whats-good-re-led-zeppelin-albums/784095/79 "2017-04-11T17:26:17Z")
> [@Idle\_Thoughts](#): > > So far, overall, I haven’t really been impressed with any of their albums or songs I didn’t already know. Maybe it’s a nostalgia thing? Maybe if I had grown up hearing and listening to these songs over and over, they’d eventually grow on me and I’d eventually come to think of them as old, familiar tunes that I know well… > …but hearing them for the first time, just once, nothing is really jumping out at me. I think doing it that way loses something in becoming a fan. Not just with Led Zeppelin, either…with any band or artist. > > I developed a liking for those songs that I already knew simply because they had massive radio play quite often and I had been exposed to them all of my life, over time, but when you hear a song for the first time and just once, it’s like…there isn’t any significant change right away. Maybe if I listened to each album three or four times–like, once a week over the course of a month–it’d be different; that’s the only thing I can think of that might make a difference. > I mean, none of it is BAD. It’s listenable and fine. It’s not anything that makes me want to shut the radio off or turn it down, but it’s not anything I would ever describe as overly ABOVE average, let alone very above average. It’s just…average stuff. I’m not disliking it, but I’m not extremely liking it either. It’s not something I’d ever go out and actually buy on an album for myself. I think I’ll listen to one more album and then go onto the next artist/band that I have planned in this series. > > I feel kinda bad, I wish I liked them more. You should just be careful that you don’t get more impatient to find an answer or resolution for your question, so you can move past it, than just letting the quality of the work sink in. When I do that things tend to slip away. If you like other bands from the same era then Zeps tunes are part of the larger mix. In that respect it shouldn’t matter when you hear them. Are you comparing them to any specific bands that are “very above average”? Are they from the same era? What is your taste like? ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2017, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-first-time-listener-tell-me-whats-good-re-led-zeppelin-albums/784095/80 "2017-04-11T21:36:14Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > What is your taste like? Well, to give an example: I like pretty much EVERY Billy Joel song in existence. I don’t believe Billy Joel has a bad song. He was kinda/sorta a 70s singer, right? 70s and 80s? I also love almost every song by The Steve Miller Band and The Eagles. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-first-time-listener-tell-me-whats-good-re-led-zeppelin-albums/784095.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-first-time-listener-tell-me-whats-good-re-led-zeppelin-albums/784095.md?page=5)