I want to take a look at some iconic rockers of certain decades and just take a look at their accomplishments to music and how they became legends of rock.
I'll start with the decade of music in which I listen to most of the time,
The 70s
Icons of the 70s: Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Eric Clapton, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, The Doors, Aerosmith, AC/DC (Bon Scott years) etc...
Led Zeppelin:
The godfathers of rock and truly the ones who stood out and helped create the whole 70s rock scene. Everyone has heard a Zeppelin song once in their life and they truly made music something special. They've created epic tracks like Stairway to Heaven, Kashmir and Achilles' Last Stand but they also had teenage anthem such as Dazed and Confused. They were the ones who essentially created hard rock and paved the way for bands such as Black Sabbath to come in and created a darker and bolder rock scene.
They started their careers by touring as "The New Yardbirds" and took the name Led Zeppelin by the quote that of a member of the who would always say after a bad show, "We fell harder then a lead zeppelin".
LZ's first album (Led Zeppelin I) contained such great tracks like Dazed and Confused, Good Ties bad Times and Communication Breakdown. The first album is among one of the best of rock & roll but isn't even Zep's best stuff.
Here comes in Led Zeppelin II, at the time it was one of the hardest rocking albums out there. It is still considered one of the best albums for the guitar and just goes to prove it by having hardcore tracks like Heartbreaker and Whole Lotta Love. Some great riffs were bestowed to LZ II and is considered one of their best albums. A
fter the rise of sales from I - II there was a decline when in came III. LZ II ended up selling 12M albums (up from I's 10M) and III ended up selling rougly 6M. The sad and funny part is selling 6M albums for Led Zeppelin is kinda considered a failure!!! By today's standard 6M would make artists go friggin crazy. But let's talk about some of the tracks on III. This album starts off with a bang and an iconic song like The Immigrant Song (watch School of Rock and the scene where Jack is screaming to the song inside the van with kids :wink:). There are also other rock greats like the song Celebration Day. Then here comes what many consider III's greatest flaw, the amount of acoustic. There were many songs in this album that featured the acoustic but it's a nice change from what I and II had to offer. The songs Tangerine and Bron-Yr-Stomp really stand out for the acoustic prowess.
Then the titan of rock albums we got Led Zeppelin IV. Though IV isn't really the name of the album it is just named like that because there isn't anything else to call it! Sometimes called ZoSo or Four Symbols because of the four symbols on it (and ZoSo being one of them). This album contains the grandios track (and Zeppelin's most popular) Stairway to Heaven. It is considered to be one of the greatest rock & roll songs in its time and still is considered one of the best. There are also 2 great rock songs that kick the album off with Black Dog and Rock and Roll (R&R is from the chrysler commercial... sadly LZ sold out on that one). But this album also contains a hint of popish feel with the track Misty Mountain Hop. Again they use the acoustic (but not over doing it) with songs like Going to California and Four Sticks. The album finishes off with the rock blues song When the Levee Breaks. An amazing album.
I won't comment on the album Houses of the Holy because I've yet to buy it and I haven't listened to the album as a whole to really get a good critique on it.
After HOTH in comes LZ's 2nd most selling album Physical Graffiti. This album is a double disc with both cd's giving a really different touch. We'll start off with the first cd (or record if you actually still have one) which contains 6 tracks on it. The usual LZ rock comes into play with the song Custard Pie then comes in another one of Zep's great rock songs The Rover. In My Time of Dying brings in a great guitar/drum solo which goes to show how well both artists can really play. After IMTOD there's the song houses of the holy once again. It really isn't that great of a led song but still good. Trampled Underfoot gives a fun sided music scene for the zep fans. Then to finish off the first cd comes in the epic song Kashmir. It is dashed with a good Indo feel to it and you can tell by the lyrics that it's very well indo themed. An amazing song. The second cd of PG isn't my favorite by is still a nice addition. There's a nice instrumental called Bron-Yr-Aur (not the III song) and an awesome rock ballad in Ten Years Gone. But my favorite track of the second disc would have to be Down by the Seaside. It's a smooth track that's easy to listen to and is a really nice song.
In comes one of Led Zeppelin's most underrated album with Presence. Sure it's not their best stuff but LZ's worst stuff is still considered rock & roll glory! It's got Jimmy Page's fav LZ song with Achilles' Last Stand which happends to stand in at over 10 minutes long. Some other great song on the album are Tea for One, Nobody's Fault But Mine and For Your Life. It's a very good album to listen to if you're bored and looking for a good listen.
I won't give you much my critique on In Through the Out Door because I've yet to buy it and thus haven't really given it a real good listen.
When the great John Bonham passed away (R.I.P.) Led decided to release an album of "outtakes" that never really made it to their albums. Except for a few songs that are on there that were on others.
That's my little review of the biggest icon in 70s rock. I'll continue with other artists out there later on because it took me a good 1/2 an hour just to do Zeppelin and I love my zeppelin!
