Led Zeppelin. Legendary rock band that made their mark on the music scene, even now there are bands taking influences and nuances from them and implementing the ‘Led Zeppelin’ trademark vibe to their own music, no doubt showing just how influential and groundbreaking their music is.
Led Zeppelin III comes a mere year after Led Zeppelin II, which considering how charismatic, smouldering and somewhat sinister the separate records are, you wonder how it’s possible for a band of four to create such staggering records in such a short period of time. The centre point of the record is definitely ‘Immigrant Song’ that kicks off with beats of feedback that immediately gets the good vibes pumping, closely followed by hectic hysterical tribal-like screams from Robert Plant that I have tried to replicate many times, only to bitterly fail but you know, we move. The record itself is built heavily on Norse-mythology which is theatrically paired with howling vocals and striking riffs from Page which are repeated throughout the 2 and a half minute track, concretising the sound and the rhythm of such a bulldozer statement of a record. There’s no surprise that their music has been in high demand in all industries, especially film. However, the London rock-group have a reputation for denying usage of their music in films. Richard Linklater was denied use of Immigrant Song in School of Rock, yet Jack Black eventually convinced the hard-set in their ways, Zeppelin, by recording a video of himself performing the song. Other directors have been able to use the track through relentless and persistent efforts, Taika Waititi the most recent to receive permission.
Aside from iconic tracks (which is hard to do, it’s literally their entire discography), the third studio album was a straightforward progression from classic rock to more acoustic and folk music. Even though there are hard rock influences still present, records such as ‘Gallows Pole’ and ‘That’s The Way’ are acoustic folksy records that showed the endless talent of Led Zeppelin and presented them as a band that is exceptionally versatile and able of playing different styles successfully. The acoustic material was developed directly from Page and Plant from the sanctuary of Brom-Yr-Aur cottage in Wales, very Rockfield Monmouthshire vibes.
40 years go upon release it was one of the most anticipated albums of 1970, and now it’s one of the most celebrated rock albums of all time. Its shipping date was held up by the intricate inner sleeve design based around a volvelle (that originate from astrology) with numerous images visible through holes in the outer cover. The III studio album has since been acknowledged as representing an important milestone in the band’s history and a turning point in not only their music but in the foundations of rock and acoustic folk genres.
Check out the famed ‘Immigrant Song’ below:
