Led zeppelin ii

Background

The album was conceived during the busy touring schedule of the group, which lasted from January to August 1969: during this time, the musicians played four European and three American concert tours ^[2] . Each song was recorded separately: they were mixed and produced at various studios in the UK and North America. The material for the album was composed right during the tour: during the breaks between concerts (usually lasting a couple of hours), the musicians reserved the studio and began the recording process, often the sound turned out spontaneous ^[2] . Bassist John Paul Jones recalled: “We toured a lot. The riffs of Jimmy [Page] turned out to be sharp and furious. Many of them were invented on stage, especially during the long, improvisational part of the song “ Dazed and Confused ”. We noted good options and drove into the studio on the way to the next show ” ^[3] .

Some of the recording studios in which the band stayed did not have advanced equipment. The studio in Vancouver, nicknamed the hut by the musicians ^[4] , had an 8-track recorder that didn't even have a headphone port ^{[5] [6]} . The lead singer of the band, Robert Plant, later talked about the process of composing and recording, stating: “In fact, all this was crazy. We composed songs in hotel rooms, then recorded a rhythm section in London, added vocals in New York, added harmonica in Vancouver, and then returned to finish mixing in New York ” ^[7] .

Overdabbing for the songs “Thank You”, “The Lemon Song” and “Moby Dick” was done during the tour, “ Whole Lotta Love ” and “ Heartbreaker ” were also mixed during the tour. Page later stated: “In other words, part of the material came out of rehearsals for the next tour” ^[6] .

Album Record

The record sessions were held at Olympic and Morgan Studios in London; 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; and the "hut" in Vancouver ^[4] . The producer of the album was Jimmy Page, who already performed in this role on the band's debut disc ; he invited Eddie Kramer to be his assistant to use his writing skills and methods. The production work of Kramer with Jimi Hendrix really impressed the members of the team, and especially Page. Led Zeppelin expert Dave Lewis wrote about the production of the record: “This album turned out to be a triumph, in particular, on the quality of production, and today it still sounds fresh. To a large extent, this is facilitated by the successful union of Page and Kramer in the production room ” ^[5] . This partnership was especially significant in the central part of the track “Whole Lotta Love”. Later, Kramer said: “The famous mix“ Whole Lotta Love “, where everything“ rolls off the coils ”, is our combination with Jimmy - scurrying over a small control panel, turning all the controls known to man” ^[5] .

In another interview, Kramer praised Page for the sound of the album, which was achieved despite the conflicting recording conditions: “We created this album in parts. Sometimes we worked on some of the tracks in the strangest studios you can imagine. Among them were cheap establishments - with holes in the wall. But in the end it all sounded damn amazing. Led Zeppelin II sounded very solid because there was one guy at the head, it was Mr. Page ” ^[8] . Page and Krummer brought the album together in two days at A&R Studios ^[8] .

The resulting compositions reflect the "raw", evolving sound of the group, as well as their skills as concert performers. One of the features of the album was the development of lyrical themes laid down by Robert Plant on the collective's debut album; he created works that would be better known to the mass listener and, perhaps, more influential ^{[9] [10]} . The songs “Whole Lotta Love” and “The Lemon Song” have a sexual connotation, the last of which contains a metaphor in which, according to one music critic, the author addresses “an unknown lady and asks to squeeze his lemon until the juice flows out between his legs ” ^[11] . Plant later remarked on this subject:

Also, at Led Zeppelin II, there were experiments with other musical styles and sound techniques. Some of the most striking examples were the songs: “ What Is and What Should Never Be ” and “ Ramble On ” (Paige plays acoustic guitar on them), the concept of “quiet-loud-quiet” and the lyrical ballad “Thank You”, inspired by pop music . Due to its mystical atmosphere, Ramble On was one of the pioneers in merging hard rock with fantasy themes, which partly stemmed from psychedelic rock two or three years ago, as well as from Plant's personal interest in the works of R. R. Tolkien ^[5] . This musical direction later reached its climax on the album Led Zeppelin IV (as well as in the work of many subsequent groups that began to exploit this topic). On the contrary, the instrumental composition “ Moby Dick ” contains a long solo of drummer John Bonham ; during subsequent Led Zeppelin concerts, he could improvise during this solo for up to half an hour ^[5] .

A significant contribution to the sound of this album was made by Jimmy Page, as his solo in the song “Heartbreaker” became popular among young rock guitarists, and illustrates the swift conquest of the audience ^[5] . Led Zeppelin II is the first album where Paige plays the Gibson Les Paul electric guitar (1959 release) - later it became one of the main popularizers of this model. His innovative recording methods and microphone effects so-called. English drum miking on the tracks “Ramble On” and “Whole Lotta Love” also demonstrated his high qualification, resourcefulness and original approach as a producer ^[13] . Rolling Stone Magazine called Paige's guitar riff in Whole Lotta Love “one of the most exciting rock and roll guitar riffs” ^[14] . John Paul Jones shared his colleague’s input:

The album material also illustrates the improvement of Plant's vocal technique ^[15] , as well as its development as a serious author of texts ^[6] . Plant's name was removed from the list of musicians of the first album, in connection with his obligations under the contract, which he signed with CBS Records , as a solo artist. His contributions to such songs as “ What Is and What Should Never Be ” and “ Ramble On ” were the harbingers of the band's musical development ^[5] . Plant commented that it was only during the sessions for Led Zeppelin II that he began to feel “at ease” while in the studio with Led Zeppelin. In a 2008 interview for Uncut Magazine, he stated: “While recording Led Zep I (1969), I was somewhat worried, I thought I should leave the group anyway. I felt uncomfortable because I had a lot of demands on vocals - everything about Zeppelin material. And I was very nervous, and did not really enjoy the process until the beginning of the Led Zep II period ” ^[16] .

The album cover was created by designer David Juniper, who was asked by the band members to "just come up with something unusual." For his photo montage, he took as a basis an old photograph of the aces of the Jasta 11 fighter squadron under the command of the "Red Baron" Manfred von Richthofen ^{[5] [17]} , the so-called. " Air Circus ."

All original faces were changed or replaced, Juniper added some pilots beards and glasses ^[18] . In his work, the designer used a technique for combining collage / photo with airbrush illustration, innovative for that time. In addition to the Led Zeppelin participants, whose faces were taken from a public photo of 1969, the photo included: bluesman Blind Willy Johnson (perhaps it was jazz trumpeter Miles Davis ), actress Mary Voronov and astronaut Frank Borman ^{[18] [19]} . The album in Britain was sometimes called "Brown Bomber" - referring to the contour of a zeppelin against a brown background ^[5] .

The album was released on October 22, 1969 via Atlantic Records , with pre-orders for 400,000 copies. An advertising campaign was built around the slogan - “Led Zeppelin - the only way to fly” and “Led Zeppelin II - now flying” ^{[5] [30]} . Commercially, Led Zeppelin II was the band’s first album to reach No. 1 in the United States, having twice removed The Beatles' Abbey Road record; Led Zeppelin's album was No. 1 on the US chart for seven weeks. By April 1970, 3 million CDs were sold in America. In the homeland of musicians, the album climbed to first place in February 1970 and stayed within the UK Albums Chart for 138 consecutive weeks ^[5] .

Also, the album included the biggest hit Led Zeppelin at that time - "Whole Lotta Love". In January 1970, this single reached number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart - after Atlantic bosses, contrary to the band’s wishes, released a short version of the song on a 45 'record. The single’s bi-side , “Living Loving Maid (She's Just a Woman),” also hit, reaching the 65th line of the Bollboard chart in April 1970. The album contributed to the international fame of Led Zeppelin as a talented concert band; the next year, musicians continued to tour relentlessly, initially performing in clubs and dance halls, then on more spacious venues and, finally, in stadiums, along with their increasing popularity ^[31] .

In 1970, the art director of the album, David Juniper, was nominated for a Grammy Award in the category " Best Album Design " for the cover of Led Zeppelin II ^[5] . On November 10, 1969, the album received a gold certificate from the Recording Industry Association of America , and by 1990 its sales amounted to more than 5 million copies. On November 14, 1999, more than 12 million copies of the Led Zeppelin II were sold in the United States ^[32] . In 2014, thanks to a re-release, the album returned to the Top 10 on the Billboard , rising to ninth place ^[33] .

Many music critics called Led Zeppelin II a "reader" for heavy metal bands who were followers of the musical ideas embedded in it ^{[9] [34]} . Blues-based compositions such as Whole Lotta Love, Heartbreaker, The Lemon Song, Moby Dick and Bring It On Home were noted by experts as a classic of the genre where the guitar riff (rather than the vocal chorus or verse ) has a dominant place in the song and contains the key “ hook ” ^[5] . Such receptions and accents were not typical for popular music of that time ^[9] . Page's guitar solo in Heartbreaker, which included quick tapping with just one left hand, had a key impact on the creativity of the next generation of metal guitarists and shredders such as Eddie Van Halen and Steve Wye ^[35] . As a rule, this album is considered one of the most influential records in rock music, as well as a predecessor of heavy metal ^[9] . Having made an invaluable contribution to the development of the genre, he inspired many other rock bands, including Aerosmith , Iron Maiden and Guns N 'Roses ^{[9] [36]} .

Since its release, many critics and music journalists have noted Led Zeppelin II as one of the most influential rock music albums. He received several awards from music publications, often at the top of various lists a la “Best Album” ^[37] . In 1989, Spin put the album on the fifth line in its ranking of “25 greatest albums of all time” ^[37] . In 2000, Q magazine placed Led Zeppelin II 37th on the list of “100 Greatest British Albums of All Time” ^[38] . In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine put the album in 75th position on the list of “500 Greatest Albums of All Time” ^[14] .

Rewards

(*) means unordered list.

In the cassette edition, the first side ended with the song “Heartbreaker” and the second began with “Thank You”.

Led Zeppelin

• Jimmy Page - guitar , backing vocals , theremin (“Whole Lotta Love”), producer
• Robert Plant - vocals , harmonica
• John Paul Jones - bass , organ , backing vocals
• John Bonham - drums , backing vocals

Production

• Barry Dyment - sound engineer (adapted the original tape for reissue on CD in 1987)
• George Shkants - Sound Engineer for Whole Lotta Love and What Is and What Should Never Be
• Peter Grant - Executive Producer
• Chris Houston - Sound Engineer for The Lemon Song and Moby Dick
• Andy Jones Sound Engineer at Thank You
• Eddie Kramer - Sound Engineer Mixing
• Bob Ludwig - mastering , sound engineer
• George Marino - engineering ( remastered CD , 1990)
• John Davis - engineering ( remastered CD, 2014)

• List of Top Selling Albums in the USA

• Led Zeppelin II on Last.fm
• Led Zeppelin II on Discogs
• Led Zeppelin II (English) on the AllMusic website
• Led Zeppelin II on MusicBrainz