The history of rock music can quite comfortably be divided into two categories – before Zeppelin I and after Zeppelin I! Although the undulating, sinuous heavy metal of this record is not without precedent, Hendrix and Cream in particular, Led Zep spawned a hard rock subculture that was quite seperate from the pop music of the time. It was subversive, sexual and anti establishment – listen to Robert Plant’s doom struck howl on Dazed and Confused or Jimmy Page’s savage riffing on Communication Breakdown – this record spoke to people on a primal level. That’s not to say that it’s without craftsmanship or nuance – the musicianship of each member speaks for itself. This record, and many of their later efforts, were critically panned by Rolling Stone, dismissing the songs as “weak and unimaginative” (look up the review, it is scathing!). Fifty years later and a million Rolling Stone covers later, I’m sure that writer never imagined the impact Zeppelin would have. This record was the beginning of a cultural phenomenon that is as potent today as it ever was.
Pete Whelan 