The Favorite 5: Led Zeppelin
by 
Jennifer on July 17th, 2007
Here’s a band that I’ve never actually heard anyone say they didn’t like. That’s pretty rare. Of course now ten of you will log on to say I’m crazy; but I honestly can’t remember hearing anyone frown on them. Not once.
Another Led Zeppelin perk is that people do covers of them that I can actually stand. More than one cover I mean. Back in 1995 when Encomium A Tribute To Led Zeppelin came out I was skeptical. I’m not the biggest cover fan ever. Some covers I love but a large majority suck and thus an entire cover album has the potential to suck even harder.
Encomium was surprisingly very good. The artists (with a couple exceptions) really stand their own. Cracker and Big Head Todd did the best covers in my opinion, of respectfully, Good Times Bad Times and Tangerine.
I’m not a huge Hootie fan but love their version of Hey Hey What Can I Do; they brought it down a notch and sort of soothed it out. STP, Duran Duran, Rollings Band also covering in a stand up manner. I hated the Sheryl Crow D’yer Mak’er cover and double hated Never the Bride’s cover of Going To California (way to ruin the song). Still, that many good cover in one place is an accomplishment.
But of course you don’t need covers to understand how amazing Led Zeppelin is; here are my favorite 5 in no particular order (well, cept number one)
- Going To California; not only is this my favorite Led Zeppelin song but likely one of my top 100 EVER favorite songs. Top hundred may not sound impressive but if you saw my current album collection you’d understand.
- Your Time Is Gonna Come: Ok, now in the argument of better Zeppelin songs this one usually falls behind. I however, love the build up to the chorus and it’s short but you want more — the mark of a good song (leaves you wanting more).
- The Battle of Evermore: Reminds me of someone; every time I hear it.
- Night Flight
- Ten Years Gone
The last two; it is what it is, these are my other two favorites. No real reason.
Now, what are your favorite 5 by this legendary band?
Bonus Question of the Day: Above I mentioned that cover and or tribute albums mainly suck. There’s another great exception in addition to the afore mentioned Encomium — anyone care to guess what it is? Need a hint? It was released in early 2000 and was a movie soundtrack.
Tags: Big-Head-Todd, Cover-albums, Cracker, Encomium, going-to-california, hootie, Led Zeppelin, rollings-band| 2.8 |
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11 opinions for The Favorite 5: Led Zeppelin
Jul 20, 2007 at 10:03 am
1. Hey Hey What Can I Do ?
2. Bron-yr-Aur
3. Fool In The Rain( i know lotsa people hate “In Through The Out Door”, but I love thsi song.)
4.Over The Hills And Far Away
5. Houses of the Holy
Jul 20, 2007 at 2:12 pm
Wow, we didn’t match at all this time. Although, I’ve been listening to Hey Hey What Can I Do.. over and over the last few days though. You know how you get a song fixation. That’s mine lately.
Jul 22, 2007 at 4:33 pm
Picking favorites is a near impossibility of mine. That actually makes it quite a honor when I say that I KNOW Led Zeppelin is among my top TWO favorite bands of all time. That I can be that precise is amazing. But as for picking my favorite songs of theirs? And only picking five? I don’t imagine I’m capable of such a feat. Not because I don’t absolutely love some songs more than others, but just because I might have a 20-way-tie for first place.
I will say this: I love IN THROUGH THE OUT DOOR. I know it’s not supposed to be one of their best albums, but I really like it. And I just might go with Paticus’ nod to “Fool in the Rain.” That is one of my very favorites, even if I’d hesitate to commit to the top five. (Really good odds, though, as much as that can be said.)
Jennifer, “Ten Years Gone” is another exceptional song. That also has a lot of promise to be very high on the list. Again, probably among my very tops, but I’ll leave it at that. Also, “Your Time is Gonna Come” is probably my #1 song from their debut album, for all that’s worth.
To cite a couple of lesser obvious picks that nobody has yet mentioned, I really love “That’s The Way.” Lyrically, I’m not blown away by it, but it’s a Led Zep song I’d hate to have someone interrupt while I’m listening to it. That’s always a good sign. Second, for a long time I thought “The Rain Song” was my favorite song of all time. Maybe it’s too lush for some people, but I really dig it. And there’s all these little nuances, little piano notes and whatnot, that just hit me. It’s great.
As far as their more famous tunes go, I think “Ramble On” has to be noted. Maybe nobody wants to admit to this because LORD OF THE RINGS is so trendy now, but I love the music here, independently of the lyrics.
If you want me to choose my three favorite songs from each album, I can do that. That’s been a trend of mine for some time. I don’t know why I started doing that, but I try to do it with every album I listen to. Except maybe for double albums. Give me five picks there, eh?
Jul 22, 2007 at 6:09 pm
Holy smokes, I guess you have some opinions about LZ. I have no idea where to start. Ramble On is a good song, just not in my top five. Actually, untill you said that I didn’t even think about the Lord of the Rings connection - but I haven’t seen LOTR either. I feel the same way about That’s the Way, it almost inched it’s way into my top five but it’s just not quite as good as the others — but yes an interruption would suck.
“Good comment” is I guess in order. And also if you do have it narrowed down, who’s your second top in the top two favorites. I’m going to guess… Um, I have no clue… maybe, knowing you, Cream or Eric Clapton?
You’ve likely said before on your music blog and I wasn’t paying attention.
Jul 22, 2007 at 9:44 pm
Not even close, Jennifer. I’ll be honest with you, I’m not that into Clapton. I don’t really know much of Clapton beyond what you’d hear on the radio, though. Even a lot of that is very iffy, in my opinion (though I admit to owning THE CREAM OF CLAPTON, which does have some great songs on it). Though some people have wanted to proclaim him God, I’d often be inclined to hear what the other stations are playing when Clapton comes on the radio.
It may surprise you to learn that my other top band is Barenaked Ladies. Completely different ballpark … well, I guess. It’s not like jumping from Zeppelin to Britney Spears or anything.
I have to mention, since I forgot to before — although I enjoy Sheryl Crow to a decent degree, her remakes generally make me want to gag (and to choke her). “D’yer Mak’er” is a more particular abomination, given my love for Zeppelin. But, as you’ll probably be able to attest, she isn’t much better when she tries to cover, say, CAT STEVENS! For shame.
Jul 23, 2007 at 12:16 pm
Dang, I think I knew that somewhere in the back of my mind. I swear you’ve mentioned it before. I like Cream more than solo Clapton. Badge is one of my favorite songs ever. And yes Mrs. Crow should never attempt to cover anyone; ever.
Have you ever visited the Barenaked Family? They’re linked on Balance under favorite sites. They’re cool and LOVE BNL.
Thanks for sharing — I’d be up night wondering ;) Actually, I would. I ponder too much.
Jul 24, 2007 at 9:44 pm
Check out the all-girl cover band Lez Zeppelin, who have just released their debut album. You’ll find a bunch of videos on youtube. Also, worth mentioning Dread Zeppelin, though they’re a tribute band on a whole different level.
Jul 25, 2007 at 2:08 am
Know about Dread Zep, haven’t heard of Lez Zep though. Do you not like the real Led Zeppelin?
Thanks for the input and for stopping by…
Jul 25, 2007 at 8:45 am
Jennifer, I assure you, the original Zep is one of my faves. Impossible to choose favorites, though I’ll weigh in with Houses as probably my favorite LZ album and also submit that Presence is underrated.
Aug 7, 2007 at 1:07 am
1. Rock and Roll
2. When The Levee Breaks
3. Kashmir
4. Whole Lotta Love (the 45rpm single, without the boring bit in the middle)
5. Communication Breakdown
Aug 8, 2007 at 7:05 pm
Jonh good picks. “without the boring bit in the middle” Cool, I like when people make sure to say which version is best. There is a difference often times between album versions; live, studio, bootlegs, etc. Thanks for stopping by.
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