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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com essential recording
Riff rock had been what Jimmy Page's former band, the Yardbirds, were all about, and on Led Zeppelin's second album, released, like its predecessor, in 1969, the inventive guitarist demonstrated that he'd indeed learned his lessons well. Witness "Whole Lotta Love," a woozy epic based on one simple, head-banging-friendly guitar riff. Or the mock-dramatic "Heartbreaker," propelled by far more intricate but similarly effective note squashing. Between Page's sonic wizardry, John Bonham beating his drums into submission ("Moby Dick"), and the juice running down Robert Plant's leg ("The Lemon Song"), Led Zeppelin here just about succeeded in raising rock & roll excess to an art form. --Billy Altman
Product Description
Japanese only SHM pressing. Digitally remastered. The SHM-CD [Super High Material CD] format features enhanced audio quality through the use of a special polycarbonate plastic. Using a process developed by JVC and Universal Music Japan discovered through the joint companies' research into LCD display manufacturing SHM-CDs feature improved transparency on the data side of the disc allowing for more accurate reading of CD data by the CD player laser head. SHM-CD format CDs are fully compatible with standard CD players.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
55 of 58 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
This album is a prime example of why Bonham, Jones, Page, & Plant are legends in the Rock & Roll industry. It has everything a R & R fan could possibly want. A bluesy feel, tight Guitar riffs, solos from the soul, well constructed songs, layers of music, & passionate vocals. For me the true cohesion comes from the rythym section. Bonham's drums drives the band ever forward while JPJones is ethereal on the keyboards & perfect on the bass Guitar. There are no duds on this their Sophmore album.
These are my seven favorites in no particular order. "Heartbreaker," opens with a classic riff. The midsection flows to an improvisational section with a fine Guitar solo. Here the lyrics & music blend easily. I have always liked this one more than the more publized "Whole Lotta Love." "Moby Dick," is a fine instrumental with Bonham's drum midsection carrying it. "Living Loving Maid," is often paired in direct succession with "Heartbreaker." It's an upbeat rocker with a memorable riff & a contagious melody. "The Lemon Song," has one great bass line as JPJones moves smoothly throughout as the crescendo than picks up & takes flight. "What Is And What Should Never Be," is a very different type of song that is hard to classify. I have been told by musicians that this is one of the harder Zeppelin songs to learn. Here the interesting lyrics play as a melodic counterpoint to Plant's vocals. "Ramble On," is the driving other side of the latter song representing moving on from the angst of love. This is one of the most underated of Led Zeppelin's songs. "Thank You," clearly is the bands best ballad until "In Through The Outdoor's All My Love." This one is smooth & brings out the romantic in the listener. This is one of their three best albums. Buy it, you won't be disappointed.
These are my seven favorites in no particular order. "Heartbreaker," opens with a classic riff. The midsection flows to an improvisational section with a fine Guitar solo. Here the lyrics & music blend easily. I have always liked this one more than the more publized "Whole Lotta Love." "Moby Dick," is a fine instrumental with Bonham's drum midsection carrying it. "Living Loving Maid," is often paired in direct succession with "Heartbreaker." It's an upbeat rocker with a memorable riff & a contagious melody. "The Lemon Song," has one great bass line as JPJones moves smoothly throughout as the crescendo than picks up & takes flight. "What Is And What Should Never Be," is a very different type of song that is hard to classify. I have been told by musicians that this is one of the harder Zeppelin songs to learn. Here the interesting lyrics play as a melodic counterpoint to Plant's vocals. "Ramble On," is the driving other side of the latter song representing moving on from the angst of love. This is one of the most underated of Led Zeppelin's songs. "Thank You," clearly is the bands best ballad until "In Through The Outdoor's All My Love." This one is smooth & brings out the romantic in the listener. This is one of their three best albums. Buy it, you won't be disappointed.
37 of 40 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
After toiling the summer of my 14th year, I finally saved enough money to buy my first turntable (an $88 Pioneer which, I am pleased to say, I still own and, 23 years later, it runs like a champ). Soon thereafter, I began assembling my record collection. Led Zeppelin II was my first purchase. Over time, I bought all the Led Zep albums, and listened to them all until the vinyl was pretty well worn out. However, Led Zep II always remained my favorite Led Zep album. Special memories of Led Zep II include the time that I invited a special young lady over to my house and, to impress her (dumb, I know), I cranked up Whole Lotta Love for the guitar jam following the relatively quiet stuff with the violin bows, only to have most of the speaker componentry of my father's hand built Heathkit speakers explode into a useless, spasmodic pile of writhing, twitching cardboard-like material and coils. It took me about four months to save enough pesos to buy a new pair of speakers.
Anyway, on to something Amazon readers might find useful:
Led Zep II is a classic rock and roll album, but what makes it particularly good is the way each song works so well with the songs around it. I've noticed other reviewers have made similar comments. You could not pull this material and drop it into a "Greatest Hits" album and have it work. Imagine going from Whole Lotta Love, straight into Stairway to Heaven! No way! Another key is to have the right stereo equipment. It is my opinion that stereo equipment is designed to complement the music of the day. Hence, one would be best served to find a vintage amplifier or receiver to play this music. You don't want some amplifier-on-a-chip setup. Also, milquetoast speakers are out. A simple rule of thumb is, if you can lift your speakers, they are insufficient for this album.
One negative, the sound quality on Led Zep II is pretty poor. Not as dreadful as on Led Zep I, but not up to today's standards. Of course, Michelangelo's cracked and faded painting of the Sistine Chapel doesn't exactly exhibit the highest "signal-to-noise" ratio ever, but it's still a classic. The reason why I bring this up is because I just bought the "digitally remastered" CD to replace my older "original CD" version of Led Zep II. In doing side by side comparisons, the improvement in sound quality is remarkable. Particularly in the quiet parts of Moby Dick, the background hiss of the older CD is much more apparent than in the new. Hiss is still there, but much less noticeable. For purists, the new mixing does not eradicate the rawness of the original. Bottom line: if you own Led Zep II, but in the older CD version or, God forbid, on vinyl, you owe it to yourself to upgrade. It's worth the money.
Finally, the obligatory ranking of my favorite Led Zep albums in order: II, I, IV, Houses of the Holy, Physical Graffiti.
As I mature and mellow (or more accurately, get older), I like III much more.
15 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
After their ground breaking debut album, Led Zeppelin quickly followed the album up with Led Zeppelin II. Whereas their debut contained a few blues covers and longer jams, II is a much tighter affair. Jimmy Page was a master at coming up with memorable guitar riffs and they abound throughout II. "Whole Lotta Love" opens the album with a earth moving riff and then guitars soar and come crashing down throughout the song that is marked by a glass shattering vocal from Robert Plant. The song became a big hit and their only top ten single peaking at number 4 in early 1970. "The Lemon Song" is a bluesy jam that finds Mr. Plant scatting along with some memorable lyrics. "Ramble On" is perfectly titled as the song just kind of scuffles around with a chooglin guitar riff as its backbone. John Bonham gets to show off why they call him Bonzo on the drum workout "Moby Dick". "Thank You" has to rank as one of the prettiest songs in rock and probably the most tender number the band has ever recorded. Mr. Plant provides an almost whisper like vocal that is framed by ethereal keyboards from John Paul Jones. The song's quiet beauty merges into the stinging guitars of "Heartbreaker" which merges seamlessly into the rollicking "Living Loving Maid". Led Zeppelin II became the band's first number one album.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
SUPER
REMINDS ME OF THE OLD DAYS OF TOP NOTCH ROCK N ROLL ! STILL TRULY APPRECIATE "WHOLE LOTTA LOVE"------------GREAT CD
Published 1 month ago by james muxen
SECOND MASTERPIECE!!!!
LED ZEPPELIN is simply a great rock band...Their debut is a total masterpiece, and LED ZEPPELIN II is another great great album! Can't tell which one is better... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Rio Fluzăo
Little Disappointed
Product showed up on time but with broken jewel case. Also, I was a little disappointed to find out this was a copy originally released in Argentina. Read more
Published 2 months ago by TheKlep
Best Led Zeppelin album.
II is more consistent than I and far superior to IV. I always found that album overrated. It's still good but I'd take their first 2 any day. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Mumba Beal
Frank Tibbetts
This is one of my favorite albums of all time! In my opinion, this album set the trend for Heavy Metal Rock as we know it today. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Frank Tibbetts
Open reel sounds best
I'm surprised that out of all these reviews, no one has chosen to comment directly on the fact this recording is on an open-reel, analog tape. Read more
Published 4 months ago by P. Corson
great collector's album!
It is extremely difficult to find this album in brand new condition. Led Zeppelin 2 has taken the band to a further and deeper attraction of most rock listeners and lovers back in... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Aidi Hou
Something for everyone
Led Zeppelin II (1969) is the album that really put Led Zeppelin on the map. Loaded with hits and memorable guitar riffs, this album is one of their hardest and most commercial... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Joker
As great as their first
Led Zeppelin/ II : The second Masterpiece album from Led Zeppelin. If you don't have it, you ought to get it.
Published 5 months ago by J. Bynum
Best Second Coming
in Rock & Roll. Best "everything". Jimmy Page has to be the Very Best Guitarist of ALL*TIME. Robert Plant has to be the Best Rock-Pop Singer of ALL*TIME... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Gerardo Martinez Casas
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Led Zeppelin's album Led Zeppelin II was produced by Jimmy Page.
Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones, John Bonham, and Jason Bonhamhave been a member of Led Zeppelin.
Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones, John Bonham, and Jason Bonhamhave been a member of Led Zeppelin.
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