Led Zeppelin II [Remastered]

by Led Zeppelin

Overview

Recorded quickly during Led Zeppelin's first American tours, Led Zeppelin II provided the blueprint for all the heavy metal bands that followed it. Since the group could only enter the studio for brief amounts of time, most of the songs that compose II are reworked blues and rock & roll standards that the band was performing on-stage at the time. Not only did the short amount of time result in a lack of original material, it made the sound more direct. Jimmy Page still provided layers of guitar overdubs, but the overall sound of the album is heavy and hard, brutal and direct. "Whole Lotta Love," "The Lemon Song," and "Bring It on Home" are all based on classic blues songs -- only, the riffs are simpler and louder and each song has an extended section for instrumental solos. Of the remaining six songs, two sport light acoustic touches ("Thank You," "Ramble On"), but the other four are straight-ahead heavy rock that follows the formula of the revamped blues songs. While Led Zeppelin II doesn't have the eclecticism of the group's debut, it's arguably more influential. After all, nearly every one of the hundreds of Zeppelin imitators used this record, with its lack of dynamics and its pummeling riffs, as a blueprint. [A remastered version was released in 2014.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	06/03/2014
Label:	Atlantic
UPC:	0081227964566
Rank:	1451

Tracks

1. Whole Lotta Love
2. What Is and What Should Never Be
3. The Lemon Song
4. Thank You
5. Heartbreaker
6. Living Loving Maid (She's Just a Woman)
7. Ramble On
8. Moby Dick
9. Bring It On Home

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Led Zeppelin   Primary Artist
Jimmy Page   Theremin,Guitar (Steel),Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric),Vocals (Background),Guitar
John Bonham   Drums,Bongos,Timpani,Vocals (Background)
John Paul Jones   Bass,Organ,Bass (Electric),Vocals (Background)
Robert Plant   Vocals,Harmonica,Lead Vocals,Vocals (Background)

Technical Credits

George Chiantz   Engineer
Jimmy Page   Producer,Digital Remastering,Composer
Chris Huston   Engineer
Chester Burnett   Composer
Led Zeppelin   Composer
Eddie Kramer   Mixing,Engineer,Mixing Engineer,Director of Engineering
Edwin H. Kramer   Engineer,Director of Engineering
John Bonham   Composer
John Paul Jones   Composer
Howlin' Wolf   Composer
Stuart Epps   Mixing Engineer
George Marino   Digital Remastering
George Chkiantz   Engineer
Drew Griffiths   Engineer
Andy Johns   Engineer
Robert Plant   Composer
Willie Dixon   Composer
David Juniper   Artwork
Roger   Engineer
Peter Grant   Executive Producer