themusicaddict's Greatest CDs of All-Time: "Led Zeppelin III" (Finished June 16th, 2014)

Hello,

Led Zeppelin's first 3 CDs were all amazing, but they still hadn't released their best CD yet. "Led Zeppelin IV" (aka "ZOSO") would be released on November 8th, 1971.

"Led Zeppelin III" was recorded between January to August, 1970. This CD showed Led Zeppelin was expanding it's musical palate, they just weren't only a hard rock band. Of course from the opening howl of "Immigrant Song" this CD also shows that Led Zeppelin still rocks. Indeed "Immigrant Song" gives the title of one of the mighty Zep's definitive biographies, Stephen Davis' "Hammer of The Gods". (Thanks to Wikipedia for much of the information in this blog.)

The initial reaction to "III" was less than enthusiastic. Some people didn't like the acoustic songs and some didn't like the heavier rock songs. I'm sorry, but I don't see how this CD can not be considered a classic. Any CD that has "Immigrant Song", "Gallows Pole", "That's The Way" and "Tangerine" is a classic. Even a lesser known song like "Bron-Y-Aur Stomp" is a great song. Although it's an amazing CD, it's only on a few top albums of all-time lists.

"Led Zeppelin III" was released on October 5th, 1970. It went to #1 in the USA, where it stayed for 4 weeks. It's sold over 6 million copies here in America.

The original "Led Zeppelin III":



This is the bonus disc attached to the June 3rd, 2014 Deluxe Edition of "Led Zeppelin III":



The tracks on the above bonus disc are:

1."The Immigrant Song" (Alternate Mix) Page, Plant 2:25
2."Friends" (Track, No Vocal) Page, Plant 3:43
3"Celebration Day" (Alternate Mix  )Jones, Page, Plant 3:18
4."Since I've Been Loving You" (Rough Mix of First Recording) Jones, Page, Plant 7:16
5."Bathroom Sound" (Track, No Vocal) Bonham, Page, Plant 4:00
6."Gallows Pole" (Rough Mix) Traditional, arr. Page, Plant 5:17
7."That's the Way" (Rough Mix with Dulcimer & Backwards Echo) Page, Plant 5:22
8."Jennings Farm Blues" (Rough Mix of All Guitar Overdubs That Day) Jones, Page, Plant 5:54
9."Key To The Highway/Trouble In Mind" (Rough Mix)  Big Bill Bronzy, Charlie Segar, Richard M. Jones

Here's the original "Led Zeppelin III" track list:

1) "Immigrant Song" 2:26 (Written by Page & Plant)



"Immigrant Song" (Live):



2) "Friends" 3:55 (Page & Plant):



3) "Celebration Day" 3:29 (Jones, Page & Plant):



"Celebration Day" (Live):



Here's the full 2007 Reunion Concert, which is titled "Celebration Day":



4) "Since I've Been Loving You" 7:25 (Jones, Page & Plant)



"Since I've Been Loving You" (Live):



5) "Out On The Tiles" 4:04 (Bonham, Page & Plant)



6) Easily one of my favorite Zep songs: "Gallows Pole" 4:58 (Traditional Arr. Page & Plant)



"Gallows Pole" (Live) the sound quality is poor:



Page and Plant's "Gallows Pole":



Led Zeppelin were a student of the Blues, that's where they borrowed/ stole some of their greatest songs. Some songs like "Gallows Pole", they took a traditional arrangement and improved considerably on it. Nirvana covered Leadbelly's "Where Did You Sleep Last Night" for their MTV Unplugged show. This is Leadbelly's "Gallows Pole":



7) "Tangerine" 3:12 (Page):



"Tangerine" (Live):



8) "That's The Way" 5:38 (Page & Plant):



"That's The Way" (Live):



9) "Bron-Y-Aur Stomp" 4:20 (Jones, Page & Plant):



10) "Hats Off To (Roy) Harper" 3:41 (Traditional Arr. Charles Obscure aka Jimmy Page):



themusicaddict