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Led Zeppelin II is the second studio album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, released in October 1969 on Atlantic Records. Recording sessions for the album took place at several locations in the United Kingdom and North America from January to August 1969. Production was entirely credited to lead guitarist and songwriter Jimmy Page, while it also served as Led Zeppelin's first album to utilise the recording techniques of engineer Eddie Kramer.

Led Zeppelin II furthered the lyrical themes established on their debut album, creating a work that became more widely acclaimed and influential than its predecessor. With elements of blues and folk music, it also exhibits the band's evolving musical style of blues-derived material and their guitar and riff-based sound. It is one of the band's heaviest albums.[1]

Upon release, Led Zeppelin II earned a considerable amount of sales and was Led Zeppelin's first album to reach #1 in the UK and the US. In 1970, art director David Juniper was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Recording Package for the album. On 15 November 1999, it was certified 12x Platinum by the RIAA for sales in excess of 12 million copies. Following its initial reception, it has been recognised by writers and music critics as one of the greatest and most influential rock albums ever recorded.

Conception

Background

Led Zeppelin II was conceived during a hectic and much-travelled period of Led Zeppelin's career from January through August 1969, when they completed four European and three American concert tours.[2] The album furthered the lyrical themes established on their debut album, Led Zeppelin (1969). This progress helped create a work that became more widely acclaimed and influential than its predecessor. With elements of blues and folk music, it also exhibited the band's evolving musical style of blues-derived material and their guitar and riff-based sound.

Each song was separately recorded, mixed and produced at various studios in the UK and North America. The album was written on tour, during periods of a couple of hours in between concerts, a studio was booked and the recording process begun, resulting in a sound with spontaneity and urgency through necessity.[2] Bassist John Paul Jones recalled that "We were touring a lot. Jimmy [Page]'s riffs were coming fast and furious. A lot of them came from onstage especially during the long improvised section of 'Dazed and Confused'. We'd remember the good stuff and dart into a studio along the way."[3]

Some of the recording studios used by the band were not the most advanced. One studio in Vancouver, credited as "a hut",[4] had an 8-track set up that did not even have proper headphone facilities.[5][6] The group's lead singer Robert Plant later discussed the writing and recording process, stating "It was crazy really. We were writing the numbers in hotel rooms and then we'd do a rhythm track in London, add the vocal in New York, overdub the harmonica in Vancouver and then come back to finish mixing at New York."[7]

"Thank You", "The Lemon Song" and "Moby Dick" were overdubbed during the tour, while the mixing of "Whole Lotta Love" and "Heartbreaker" was also done on tour. Page later stated "In other words, some of the material came out of rehearsing for the next tour and getting new material together."[6]

Recording

Recording sessions for the album took place at Olympic and Morgan Studios in London, England; A&M, Quantum, Sunset, Mirror Sound and Mystic Studios in Los Angeles, California; Ardent Studios in Memphis, Tennessee; A&R, Juggy Sound, Groove and Mayfair Studios in New York City; and the "hut" in Vancouver.[4] Production was entirely credited to Jimmy Page, while it also served as Led Zeppelin's first album to utilise the skills and recording techniques of engineer Eddie Kramer, whose prior work with Jimi Hendrix had impressed the band's members, especially Page. Led Zeppelin expert Dave Lewis wrote of the album's production, stating "That the album turned out to be such a triumph, in particular for a production quality that still sounds fresh today, was in no small way due to the successful alliance with Page and Kramer in the control room."[5] This partnership was particularly exhibited in the central section of the track "Whole Lotta Love". Kramer later said, "The famous Whole Lotta Love mix, where everything is going bananas, is a combination of Jimmy and myself just flying around on a small console twiddling every knob known to man."[5]

In another interview, Kramer later gave great credit to Page for the sound that was achieved, despite the inconsistent conditions in which it was recorded: "We did that album piece-meal. We cut some of the tracks in some of the most bizarre studios you can imagine, little holes in the wall. Cheap studios. But in the end it sounded bloody marvellous. There was a unification of sound on [Led] Zeppelin II because there was one guy in charge and that was Mr. Page."[8] Page and Kramer spent two days mixing the album at A&R Studios.[8]

Composition

"Whole Lotta Love"
The first single contains strong blues influence and sexual lyrical themes with a predominant guitar riff by Jimmy Page.
Problems playing this file? See media help.

The finished tracks reflect the raw, evolving sound of the band and their ability as live performers. The album has been noted for featuring a further development of the lyrical themes established by Robert Plant on Led Zeppelin's debut album, creating a work which would become more widely acclaimed and arguably more influential.[9][10] "Whole Lotta Love" and "The Lemon Song" both feature sexual themes, as the latter contains a metaphor, which, according to one music writer, implores "unnamed ladies to squeeze his lemon 'til the juice runs down my leg.'"[11] As was later observed by Plant himself:

Led Zep II was very virile. That was the album that was going to dictate whether or not we had the staying power and the capacity to stimulate. It was still blues-based but it was a much more carnal approach to the music and quite flamboyant. It was created on the run between hotel rooms and the GTOs, and that was quite something.[12]

Led Zeppelin II also features experimentation with other musical styles and approaches, as on the alternately soft-and-loud "What Is and What Should Never Be" and "Ramble On" (which featured Page's acoustic guitar), or the pop-influenced ballad "Thank You". With its mysterious atmospherics, "Ramble On" helped develop hard rock's association with fantasy themes, which had been partly derived from the psychedelic rock genre of two to three years before, but also from Plant's personal interest in the writings of J. R. R. Tolkien.[5] This musical direction would later culminate on Led Zeppelin IV (and countless subsequent groups would later carry the influence to further extremes). Conversely, the instrumental "Moby Dick" features an extended drum solo by John Bonham, which would be extended further during Led Zeppelin concert performances sometimes for as long as half an hour.[5]

Page's contribution to this album was significant, as his electric guitar solo on the song "Heartbreaker" was emulated by many younger rock guitarists, and exemplifies the group's intense musical attack.[5] Led Zeppelin II is the band's first album to feature Page playing a 1959 Gibson Les Paul, the electric guitar he helped popularise. His innovative recording and drum miking effects on tracks such as "Ramble On" and "Whole Lotta Love" also demonstrated his considerable skill, resourcefulness and originality as a producer.[13] Rolling Stone magazine later called Page's guitar riff for the latter song "one of the most exhilarating guitar riffs in rock & roll."[14] John Paul Jones later discussed Page's contributions:

Jimmy started coming into his own as a producer around "Whole Lotta Love". The backwards echo stuff. A lot of the microphone techniques were just inspired. Everybody thinks he goes into the studio with huge walls of amps, but he doesn't. He uses a really small amp and he just mic's it up really well, so it fits into a sonic picture.[13]

The album's material also marked a certain honing of Plant's vocal approach,[15] and signalled his emergence as a serious songwriter.[6] Plant's name had previously been absent from the songwriting credits of the band's first album due to the previous contractual commitments that resulted from his earlier association with CBS Records as a solo artist. His influence on tracks such as "What Is and What Should Never Be" and "Ramble On" were pointers to the band's musical future.[5] Plant has commented that it was only during the sessions for Led Zeppelin II that he started to feel at home as a vocalist in the studio with Led Zeppelin. In a 2008 interview for Uncut, he stated "[D]uring Led Zep I (1969) as far as I was concerned, I thought that I was going to [leave the band] anyway. I didn't feel that comfortable because there were a lot of demands on me vocally—which there were all the way through the Zeppelin thing. And I was quite nervous and didn't really get into enjoying it until II."[16]

Album sleeve design

The WW1 photograph on which the album sleeve was based

The album sleeve design was from a poster by David Juniper, who was simply told by the band to come up with an idea that was "interesting". His design was based on a photograph of the Jasta 11 Division of the German Air Force during WWI, the famed Flying Circus led by Manfred von Richthofen, the Red Baron.[5] After the picture was tinted, the faces of the four members of the band were airbrushed on from a 1969 publicity photograph, as well as the faces of band manager Peter Grant and tour manager Richard Cole.[5] The woman in the picture is Glynis Johns, the mother from Mary Poppins. Her presence in the photo is an obvious play on the name of recording engineer Glyn Johns. Contrary to popular belief, the guitarist Blind Willie Johnson is not featured on the album cover. There is only one known photo of Johnson in existence, and it is not the same face as the one shown on the album cover.[citation needed] The cover also pictured the outline of a Zeppelin on a brown background, which gave the album its nickname "Brown Bomber".[5]

Release and reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Blender[17]
Yahoo! Music(favourable)[18]
Q[19]
Allmusic[20]
Entertainment Weekly(A+)[21]
Rolling Stone Album Guide[22]
Robert Christgau(B)[23]
BBC Music(favourable)[24]
Rolling Stone[25]
MSN Music[26]

The album was released on 22 October 1969 on Atlantic Records, with advance orders of 400,000 copies.[27] The advertising campaign was built around the slogan 'Led Zeppelin II Now Flying'.[5] Commercially, Led Zeppelin II was the band's first album to hit #1 in the US, knocking The Beatles' Abbey Road (1969) twice from the top spot, where it remained for seven weeks.[5] By April 1970 it had registered three million American sales, whilst in Britain it enjoyed a 138 week residence on the LP chart, climbing to the top spot in February 1970.[5]

The album also yielded Led Zeppelin's biggest hit with the track "Whole Lotta Love". This song reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 1970, after Atlantic went against the group's wishes by releasing a shorter version on 45. The single's B-side, "Living Loving Maid (She's Just a Woman)", also hit the Billboard chart, peaking at #65 in April 1970. The album helped establish Led Zeppelin as an international concert attraction, as for the next year, the group continued to tour relentlessly, initially performing in clubs and ballrooms, then in larger auditoriums and eventually stadiums as their popularity grew.[28]

In 1970 art director David Juniper was nominated for a Grammy Award in the category of best album package for Led Zeppelin II.[5] On 10 November 1969, the album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America and in 1990 it was certified 5x platinum reflecting shipping of five million copies. By 14 November 1999, Led Zeppelin II had shipped twelve million copies and was certified 12x platinum by the RIAA.[29]

Legacy

Led Zeppelin II has been cited by music writers as a blueprint for heavy metal bands that followed it.[9][30] Blues-derived songs like "Whole Lotta Love", "Heartbreaker", "The Lemon Song", "Moby Dick", and "Bring It On Home" have been seen as representing standards of the genre, where the guitar-based riff (rather than vocal chorus or verses) defines the song and provides the key hook.[5] Such arrangements and emphasis were at the time atypical in popular music.[9] Page's guitar solo in "Heartbreaker" featuring rapid-fire runs of notes tapped only by the left hand, was a major inspiration to the later work of metal soloists and "shredders" such as Eddie Van Halen and Steve Vai.[31] As such, the album is generally considered to be very influential on the development of rock music, being an early forerunner of heavy metal, and inspiring a host of other rock bands including Aerosmith, Van Halen and Guns N' Roses.[9][32]

Since its initial critical reception, Led Zeppelin II has been acknowledged by many critics and music writers as one of the most influential albums of rock music, and has earned several accolades from music publications, frequently placed at or near the top of "best album" lists.[33] In 1989, Spin magazine ranked the album #5 on its list of The 25 Greatest Albums of All Time.[33] In 2000, Q magazine placed Led Zeppelin II at number 37 in its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever.[34] In 2003, the album was ranked number 75 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.[14]

Accolades

Publication Country Accolade Year Rank
Grammy Award United States "Grammy Award for Best Recording Package"[35] 1970 Nominee
Guitarist United Kingdom "Top 50 Most Influential Guitar Albums of All Time Ever"[36] 1994 3
Mojo United Kingdom "The 100 Greatest Albums Ever Made"[37] 1996 41
The Guitar United States "Album of the Millenium"[38] 1999 6
Rolling Stone United States The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time[39] 2003 75
Q United Kingdom "100 Greatest Albums Ever"[40] 2003 37
Robert Dimery United States 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die[41] 2006 *
Classic Rock United Kingdom "100 Greatest British Rock Album Ever"[42] 2006 8
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame United States "The Definitive 200: Top 200 Albums of All-Time"[43] 2007 47
Q United Kingdom "50 Years of Great British Music (1960s)"[44] 2008 *

(*) designates unordered lists.

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Whole Lotta Love"John Bonham/Willie Dixon/John Paul Jones/Jimmy Page/Robert Plant5:34
2."What Is and What Should Never Be"Page/Plant4:47
3."The Lemon Song"Bonham/Burnett/Jones/Page/Plant6:20
4."Thank You"Page/Plant4:47
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Heartbreaker"Bonham/Jones/Page/Plant4:15
2."Living Loving Maid (She's Just a Woman)"Page/Plant2:40
3."Ramble On"Page/Plant4:35
4."Moby Dick"Bonham/Jones/Page4:25
5."Bring It On Home"Page/Plant/Dixon4:19

Cassette tape releases of the album had "Heartbreaker" ending the first side and "Thank You" starting the second side. "Moby Dick" played as the 2nd track on cassettes with "What Is And What Should Never Be" moved to side 2.

Original LP pressings of the album incorrectly listed the running time of "Thank You" at 3:50, as the song's coda features a false fade at that point.

Sales chart performance

Album
Chart (1969) Peak position
Japanese Albums Chart[45] 8
US Billboard 200[46] 1
US Billboard Soul LP's[47] 32
French Albums Chart[48] 3
Canadian RPM Top 100 Albums Chart[49] 1
Chart (1970) Peak position
UK Albums Chart[50] 1
US Record World Top Pop Albums[51] 1
US Cash Box Top 100 Albums[52] 1
Norwegian Albums Chart[53] 2
Australian Kent Music Report Top 100 Albums Chart[54] 1
Spanish Albums Chart[55] 1
German Albums Chart[56] 1
Preceded by UK Albums Chart number-one album
7 February 1970 - 14 February 1970 		Succeeded by
Motown Chartbusters Volume 3 by
Various artists
Singles
Year Single Chart Position
1970 "Whole Lotta Love" US Billboard Hot 100[57] 4
1997 "Whole Lotta Love" UK Singles Chart[58] 21
1970 "Living Loving Maid (She's Just a Woman)" US Billboard Hot 100[59] 65

Sales certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Argentina (CAPIF)[60]
Remastered edition 		Gold 30,000^
Australia (ARIA)[61] 4× Platinum 280,000^
Austria (IFPI Austria)[62] Gold 25,000*
Canada (Music Canada)[63] 9× Platinum 900,000^
France (SNEP)[64] 2× Gold 200,000*
Germany (BVMI)[65] Platinum 500,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[66] 4× Platinum 1,200,000^
United States (RIAA)[29] 12× Platinum 12,000,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Personnel

Led Zeppelin
Production

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Buckley 2003, p. 502, "The heaviest Zep album, but showcasing Plant's growing confidence as a songwriter".
  2. ^ a b Rosen, Craig (1996). The Billboard Book of Number One Albums: The Inside Story Behind Pop Music's Blockbuster Records (1st ed.). New York: Billboard Books. p. 118. ISBN 0-8230-7586-9.
  3. ^ Liner notes for the Led Zeppelin boxed set.
  4. ^ a b Cleveland, Barry.Guitar Player: Mixing Led Zeppelin II. New Bay Media, LLC. Retrieved on 11 February 2009.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Lewis, Dave (1994), The Complete Guide to the Music of Led Zeppelin, Omnibus Press, pp. 13–19. ISBN 0-7119-3528-9
  6. ^ a b c Schulps, Dave. Interview with Jimmy Page, Trouser Press, October 1977.
  7. ^ Lewis, Dave and Pallett, Simon (1997) Led Zeppelin: The Concert File, London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-7119-5307-4, p. 32.
  8. ^ a b "Their Time is Gonna Come", Classic Rock Magazine: Classic Rock Presents Led Zeppelin, 2008, p. 21.
  9. ^ a b c d allmusic: Led Zeppelin II. All Media Guide, LLC. Retrieved on 11 February 2009.
  10. ^ Gilmore, Mikal (10 August 2006). "The Long Shadow of Led Zeppelin". Rolling Stone (1006). Retrieved 9 December 2007.[dead link]
  11. ^ Twist, Carlo. Blender: The Ultimate Guide to Music and More – Led Zeppelin[dead link]. Maxim Digital. Retrieved on 9 February 2009.
  12. ^ Nigel Williamson, "Good Times...Bad Times", Uncut, May 2005, p. 56.
  13. ^ a b "I first met Jimmy on Tolworth Broadway, holding a bag of exotic fish...", Uncut, January 2009, p. 40.
  14. ^ a b RS500: 75) Led Zeppelin II[dead link]. Rolling Stone. Retrieved on 11 February 2009.
  15. ^ Liner notes by Cameron Crowe for The Complete Studio Recordings, p. 9.
  16. ^ Jones, Allan. "Robert Plant: 'We did what we set out to do...'", Uncut Magazine, May 2008, pp. 38–43.
  17. ^ Blender (magazine)|Blender Review[dead link]
  18. ^ Yahoo! Music Review
  19. ^ Q (magazine)|Q Review
  20. ^ Allmusic Review
  21. ^ Entertainment Weekly Review
  22. ^ Rolling Stone Review
  23. ^ Robert Christgau Review
  24. ^ BBC Music Review
  25. ^ Rolling Stone Review
  26. ^ MSN Music Review
  27. ^ Welch, Chris (1994) Led Zeppelin, London: Orion Books. ISBN 1857979303, p. 40.
  28. ^ allmusic: Led Zeppelin – Bio. All Media Guide, LLC. Retrieved on 11 February 2009.
  29. ^ a b "American album certifications – Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin II". Recording Industry Association of America.
  30. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (2007). All Music Guide Required Listening: Classic Rock (1st ed.). San Francisco: Backbeat Books. p. 98. ISBN 0-87930-917-2.
  31. ^ Brown, Pete (1997). Legends of Rock Guitar: The Essential Reference of Rock's Greatest Guitarists (1st ed.). San Francisco: Hal Leonard. p. 165. ISBN 0-7935-4042-9.
  32. ^ Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004): p. 479
  33. ^ a b Acclaimed Music: Led Zeppelin II. AcclaimedMusic. Retrieved on 11 February 2009.
  34. ^ Tower: Led Zeppelin II. Tower.com. Retrieved on 11 February 2009.
  35. ^ "Grammy Award for Best Recording Package (David Juniper) – 11 March 1970". Grammy. 9 February 1970. Retrieved 10 February 2009.
  36. ^ "Top 50 Most Influential Guitar Albums of All Time Ever – December 1994". Guitarist. Retrieved 10 February 2009. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  37. ^ "The 100 Greatest Albums Ever Made – January 1996". Mojo. Retrieved 10 February 2009. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  38. ^ "Album of the Millenium – December 1999". The Guitar. Retrieved 10 February 2009. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  39. ^ "The Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 18 August 2007.[dead link]
  40. ^ 2003 "100 Greatest Albums Ever – January 2003". Q. Retrieved 10 February 2009. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  41. ^ Dimery, Robert (7 February 2006). "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die". Universe. New York, NY (ISBN 0-7893-1371-5). p. 156.
  42. ^ "Classic Rock – 100 Greatest British Rock Album Ever – April 2006". Classic Rock. Retrieved 10 February 2009.
  43. ^ "The Definitive 200: Top 200 Albums of All-Time". Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (United States). Retrieved 10 February 2009.[dead link]
  44. ^ "50 Years of Great British Music – March 2008". Q. Retrieved 10 February 2009.
  45. ^ "Top 100 Albums – 25 December 1969". Oricon. Retrieved 19 January 2009.
  46. ^ "The Billboard 200 – 27 December 1969". Billboard. Retrieved 19 January 2009. [dead link]
  47. ^ "allmusic (((Led Zeppelin II > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums)))". Retrieved 26 May 2008.
  48. ^ "Top 100 Albums – 1969". infodisc.fr. Retrieved 19 January 2009.
  49. ^ "RPM Albums Chart – 24 January 1970". RPM. Retrieved 19 January 2009.
  50. ^ "Chart stats - Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin II". chartstats.com. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  51. ^ "Top Pop Albums – 3 January 1970". Record World. Retrieved 19 January 2009.[dead link]
  52. ^ "Top 100 Albums – 31 January 1970". Cash Box. Retrieved 19 January 2009. [dead link]
  53. ^ "Top 20 Albums – 1 March 1970". norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved 19 January 2009.
  54. ^ Kent, David (1993). "Top 100 Albums – 2 March 1970". Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (1st ed.). Turramurra: Australian Chart Book. p. 53. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  55. ^ "Top 100 Albums – 4 April 1970". PROMUSICAE. Retrieved 19 January 2009.
  56. ^ "Top 100 Albums – 6 April 1970". charts-surfer.de. Archived from the original on 29 October 2007. Retrieved 19 January 2009.
  57. ^ "Hot 100 Singles – 31 January 1970". Billboard. Retrieved 19 January 2009. [dead link]
  58. ^ "Top 100 Singles – 13 September 1997". chartstats.com. Retrieved 19 January 2009.
  59. ^ "Hot 100 Singles – 4 April 1970". Billboard. Retrieved 19 January 2009. [dead link]
  60. ^ "Argentinian album certifications – Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin II". Argentine Chamber of Phonograms and Videograms Producers.
  61. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2007 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association.
  62. ^ "Austrian album certifications – Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin II" (in German). IFPI Austria.
  63. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin II". Music Canada.
  64. ^ "French album certifications – Led Zeppelin – Volume 2" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.
  65. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Led Zeppelin; 'II')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  66. ^ "British album certifications – Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin II". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type Led Zeppelin II in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.

References

  • Nathan Brackett, Christian Hoard (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide: Completely Revised and Updated 4th Edition. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0-74320-169-8.
    • Buckley, Peter (2003). The Rough Guide to Rock. London: Rough Guides. ISBN 1-85828-201-2.

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