Track Listing

1. Whole lotta love
2. What is and what should never be
3. Lemon song
4. Thank you
5. Heartbreaker
6. Livin' lovin' maid (she's just a woman)
7. Ramble on
8. Moby dick
9. Bring it on home

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1657 in Music
• Released on: 1997-08-25
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Dimensions: .20 pounds

Amazon.co.uk Review
Riff rock had been what Jimmy Page's former band, the Yardbirds, were all about and on Led Zeppelin's second album, released, like its predecessor, in 1969, the inventive guitarist demonstrated that he'd indeed learned his lessons well. Witness "Whole Lotta Love", a woozy epic based on one simple, head-banging-friendly guitar riff. Or the mock-dramatic "Heartbreaker", propelled by far more intricate but similarly effective note squashing. Between Page's sonic wizardry, John Bonham beating his drums into submission ("Moby Dick"), and the juice running down Robert Plant's leg ("The Lemon Song"), Led Zeppelin here just about succeeded in raising rock & roll excess to an art form. --Billy Altman

CD Description
From the first grinding notes of the famous vamp that introduces "Whole Lotta Love", LED ZEPPELIN II announces for all to hear that they are the definitive hard rock band of theirgeneration. But before the listener can even settle into the groove, things takes a hard left turn into a spacey new rhythm, exotically flavoured by Page's droning feedback and innovative use of a violin bow. By tune's end, Zeppelin has repeatedly toyed with the listener's expectations.
This subversive quality distinguishes most of the arrangements on LED ZEPPELIN II, as in the soft/hard dynamic shifts of "What Is And What Should Never Be", the gospelish mood of "Thank You", the rocking vamps and funk rhythms of "Heartbreaker" and"Living Loving Maid", and the country music echoes of "Ramble On". And in their appropriations of source materials fromHowlin' Wolf, Robert Johnson, and Sonny Boy Williamson, Page and company continued to mine the rich vein of the blues.

Customer Reviews

the best Led Zeppelin album?
The first time I heard Whole Lotta Love, I blushed - but the truly sexy thing about Led Zep is not Robert Plant's on-heat yowling (tho' it has its moments...), it's Jimmy Page's guitar. This album more than any other, for me, demonstrates the range of his playing style: from the powerful, irresistible riffing of Whole Lotta Love to the delicate sweeps and picks of Ramble On, it's a seductive, mesmerising genius. It helped a lot, of course, that the rhythm section is so instinctive: the bass on the Lemon Song, is perfectly judged, and you can't write any review of a Led Zeppelin album without some reference to the incredible power of John Bonham's drumming. There is a tightness about this album that makes it difficult to dissect, and maybe that is the secret of LZ's enduring appeal: the sum of the parts is far greater than any other band. Even Livin' Lovin' Maid, the one throwaway is fun (there's always one, isn't there?), in a tongue-in-cheek, early '70s manner. If i had to take one album to a desert island, it would be this one.

sheer brilliance
to say that this album is heavy metal is truly misinterpret the musical genius that is plant, page, jones and bonham. from the opening riff of whole lotta love to the spiraling drums of moby dick, this is the quintessential blues rock album. anyone who has lost faith in the redemptive power of music should pick up this album, grab a beer and turn up the stereo. truly this is a masterpeice that combines the sexual desires of robert plant with the musical genius of jimmy page on the guitar and 'bonzo' on the drums. this could have been their undoing becuase to better this album would have been difficualt, however led zep 3 and 4 are no disgrace to the incandescent wonder of the greatest rock and roll band to have graced planet earth. sit back and enjoy people, i did and am still revelling in the light of this epic work.
zeppelin had an almost uncanny relationship between four outstanding musicians that are amoungst the best ever in their respective fields. i only wish that some bands today could find a the same desires and talants that zeppelin had becuase at the moment rock and roll is dying quickly.

Vintage
So, which is the greatest?

First I thought it was "I" for its raw, bluesy, rock and roll. Then I listened to "III" and found the beautiful melodies and delicate acoustics and thought that I loved it the most. But returning to "II" made me realise what Led Zepppelin are all about.

The driving bass lines, the lashing drum beats, the howling vocals and incendiary guitar licks combine to create incredibly powerful rock and roll music that will just blow you away. This album shows how rock and roll should be. Its an example of a hard working band that makes every note and every beat count.

You just cannot get enough of these songs. They inspire a feeling which a lot of other bands forget. The buzz which musicians feel when making the music is something that is often not conveyed to the listener from the CD. On this album however, the band has made the connection to the fans.

If "Heartbreaker" doesn't make you want to weep with joy, and don't know what will. This is vintage: rock and roll at its finest.

Its a lesson in rock music, you just need to hear it...