 | Led ZeppelinA Retrospective: 1968-1980 |
Overview:All Music Guide’s Stephen Thomas Erlewine called Led Zeppelin “the definitive heavy metal band.” AMG “It wasn’t just their crushingly loud interpretation of the blues – it was how they incorporated mythology, mysticism, and a variety of other genres (most notably world music and British folk) – into their sound.” AMG They formed in July 1968 in London, England. They were first known as the New Yardbirds. Jimmy Page had formerly worked as a session guitarist and with the Yardbirds from 1966 to 1968. John Paul Jones provided string arrangements for the Yardbirds’ 1967 album Little Games. Robert Plant and John Bonham worked together in Band of Joy prior to Led Zeppelin. Seven of the band’s eight studio albums rank in the DMDB’s top 1000 albums of all time. Three of them, Led Zeppelin I, Led Zeppelin II Led Zeppelin IV and Physical Graffiti are featured in the DMDB book The Top 100 Albums of All Time. Led Zeppelin IV ranks in the top 10. “Stairway to Heaven,” a song from that album, is in the DMDB book of The Top 100 Songs of the Rock Era, 1954-1999 and ranks as the top classic rock song of all time even though it was never released as a single. Led Zeppelin disbanded following the alcohol-related death of John Bonham at age 33 in September 1980. Page and Plant did work together again, recording an EP in 1984 as the Honeydrippers. They also did a live MTV special in 1994 which led to a live album and a studio project. The surviving three members reunited in 2007 for a concert, but never recorded together again. They have sold an estimated 200 to 300 million records. The Players:
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The Studio Albums:Hover over an album cover to see its title and year of release. Click on the album to go to its dedicated DMDB page. 
Compilations:
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Led Zeppelin I (1969): Led Zeppelin got a contract with Atlantic Records in the United States in 1968. Early the next year, they set out on their first American tour, setting the stage for the release of their eponymous album in January. The album reached the top 10 within two months of release. The band toured relentlessly in America and England throughout the year.
Led Zeppelin II (1969): While still on the road, Led Zeppelin recorded their second album. It topped the U.S. charts two months after release, spending seven weeks at #1. It helped establish the band as “an international concert attraction.” AMG
Led Zeppelin III (1970): The band’s third album demonstrated “an overt British folk influence,” AMG demonstrating their desire to be recognized as more than just a loud, guitar-thrashing band. Like its predecessor, it was a #1 album in the U.S. and UK.
Led Zeppelin IV (1971): “The group's infatuation with folk and mythology would reach a fruition on the group’s untitled fourth album.” AMG It was their most successful commercially and ranks as one of the best albums of all time. Stairway to Heaven became “the most played song in the history of album-oriented radio.” AMG
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Early DaysLed Zeppelin |
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Released: November 23, 1999 Covers: 1969-1971 Peak: 71 US, 55 UK Sales (in millions): -- Genre: classic rock/heavy metal |
Tracks: (1) Good Times Bad Times (2) Babe I’m Gonna Leave You (3) Dazed and Confused (4) Communication Breakdown (5) Whole Lotta Love (6) What Is and What Should Never Be (7) Immigrant Song (8) Since I’ve Been Loving You (9) Black Dog (10) Rock and Roll (11) The Battle of Evermore (12) When the Levee Breaks (13) Stairway to Heaven Total Running Time: 1:08:09 |
Rating:  4.469 out of 5.00 (average of 6 ratings)
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About Early Days: This was released as a companion to Latter Days, which followed a few months later. It offers nothing new, featuring studio cuts from the band’s first four studio albums. Early Days and Latter Days were released as a combined set in 2002 and was certified platinum. The album is now out of print, replaced by the 2007 Mothership collection. Houses of the Holy (1973): “Houses of the Holy continued the band’s musical experimentation, featuring touches of funk and reggae among their trademark rock and folk.” AMG It was another #1 album in the US and UK. It was supported with a tour in America that broke numerous box office records previously held by the Beatles. Their Madison Square Garden concert was filmed and released as The Song Remains the Same three years later.
Physical Graffiti (1975): Led Zeppelin formed their own Swan Song label in 1974. They released their own subsequent albums through the label as well as material by Bad Company, Dave Edmunds, the Pretty Things, and others. They were back with a double album in 1975, of which about half the material was recorded in 1974 and half before that. It was their fourth chart-topping album in the U.S. and fifth in the UK. It was certified for sales of 16 million in the U.S. Led Zeppelin were prepared to tour when Robert Plant and his wife were in a serious car accident while on vacation in Greece. Plant spent the remainder of the year recuperating.
Presence (1976): This was Led Zeppelin’s least successful album, although it still hit #1 in the U.S. and UK and sold more than six million worldwide. “Reviews for the album were lukewarm, as was the reception to the live concert film The Song Remains the Same, which appeared in the fall of 1976.” AMG The band returned to tour America in 1977, but it was canceled when Plant’s five-year-old son Karac died from a stomach infection.
In Through the Out Door (1979): After a several-year hiatus, Led Zeppelin returned with their eighth studio album. It was another #1 hit in the U.S. and UK. Sadly, it would be their last release before John Bonham’s death in September 1980. The drummer was found dead after an all-day drinking binge, having passed out and choked to death on his own vomit. The band announced in December 1980 that they were disbanding.
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Latter DaysLed Zeppelin |
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Released: March 21, 2000 Covers: 1973-1979 Peak: 81 US, 40 UK Sales (in millions): 1.37 m (worldwide) Genre: classic rock/heavy metal |
Tracks: (1) The Song Remains the Same (2) No Quarter (3) Houses of the Holy (4) Trampled Under Foot (5) Kashmir (6) Ten Years Gone (7) Achilles Last Stand (8) Nobody’s Fault But Mine (9) All My Love (10) In the Evening Total Running Time: 1:06:36 |
Rating:  3.816 out of 5.00 (average of 7 ratings)
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About Latter Days: This was released as a companion to Early Days, released a few months earlier. It offers nothing new, featuring studio cuts from the band’s last four studio albums. Early Days and Latter Days were released as a combined set in 2002 and was certified platinum. The album is now out of print, replaced by the 2007 Mothership collection. |
RemastersLed Zeppelin |
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Released: January 1, 1992 Covers: 1969-1979 Peak: 47 US, 10 UK, 46 CN, 11 AU Sales (in millions): 1.0 US, 0.6 UK, 6.0 world (includes US and UK) Genre: classic rock/heavy metal |
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Tracks, Disc 1: (1) Communication Breakdown (2) Babe I’m Gonna Leave You (3) Good Times Bad Times (4) Dazed and Confused (5) Whole Lotta Love (6) Heartbreaker (7) Ramble On (8) Immigrant Song (9) Celebration Day (10) Since I’ve Been Loving You (11) Black Dog (12) Rock and Roll (13) The Battle of Evermore (14) Misty Mountain Hop (15) Stairway to Heaven Tracks, Disc 2: (1) The Song Remains the Same (2) The Rain Song (3) D’yer Mak’er (4) No Quarter (5) Houses of the Holy (6) Kashmir (7) Trampled Under Foot (8) Nobody’s Fault But Mine (9) Achilles Last Stand (10) All My Love (11) In the Evening Total Running Time: 2:05:01 |
Rating: 4.488 out of 5.00 (average of 15 ratings)
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About Remasters: The first Led Zeppelin retrospective sold six million copies worldwide, but seemed like it should have been bigger. The album only reached #47 in the U.S., a surprise since all of their studio albums went top ten and six of those hit #1. Of course, a four-disc box set had been released just two years prior. This also offered nothing new. All of the songs were previously featured on studio albums. |
MothershipLed Zeppelin |
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Released: November 12, 2007 Covers: 1969-1979 Peak: 7 US, 4 UK, 7 CN, 8 AU Sales (in millions): 2.0 US, 0.9 UK, 4.71 world (includes US and UK) Genre: classic rock/heavy metal |
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Tracks, Disc 1: (1) Good Times Bad Times (2) Communication Breakdown (3) Dazed and Confused (4) Babe I’m Gonna Leave You (5) Whole Lotta Love (6) Ramble On (7) Heartbreaker (8) Immigrant Song (9) Since I’ve Been Loving You (10) Rock and Roll (11) Black Dog (12) When the Levee Breaks (13) Stairway to Heaven Tracks, Disc 2: (1) The Song Remains the Same (2) Over the Hills and Far Away (3) D’yer Mak’er (4) No Quarter (5) Trampled Under Foot (6) Houses of the Holy (7) Kashmir (8) Nobody’s Fault But Mine (9) Achilles Last Stand (10) In the Evening (11) All My Love Total Running Time: 136:18 |
Rating: 4.472 out of 5.00 (average of 18 ratings)
Awards: (Click on award to learn more).
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About Mothership: Early Days (1999) and Latter Days (2000) didn’t come anywhere close to the chart heights and sales one would have expected. Mothership, however, was a top 10 success in the U.S. and UK and reached multi-platinum status in America. It became the chart juggernaut one would have expected of the previous Led Zeppelin compilations, logging more than four years on the charts. Resources and Related Links:
First posted 7/1/2008; last updated 8/18/2021. |
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