ILM GONNA CRAWL — Led Zeppelin poll RESULTS THREAD

I smell an unrelated list: songs that don't mention the title until the last line! "Stairway to Heaven," "Enjoy the Silence ..." Um ...

hey thanks mr. que

I smell that you haven't listened to the 2nd line of Stairway to Heaven

xp

aight this has been fun cya

damn, bron-yr-aur stomp just missed the list

I smell that you haven't listened to the 2nd line of Stairway to Heaven

I want a poster of this.

listened to "Ten Years Gone"...oh right that one. it's good, i guess. doesn't have shit on "The Rain Song" though.

Shall we complain about songs that didn't make the cut?

I vote: "For Your Life" -- the breakdown for which has always made my spine tingle.

Only thing I didn't vote for that I had to cut was Wearing and Tearing. Everything else I considered, even things I ended up leaving off my ballot, made the top 55.

only one i voted for that didn't make it is "Living Loving Maid," which was admittedly kind of a contrarian pick, but i probably like "Night Flight" and "The Crunge" more.

Biggest surprise for me in preparing my ballot was how awesome "Sick Again" is, it didn't make my ballot but I am really glad it placed.

― grandavis, Friday, August 26, 2011 2:41 PM

Awesome, glad to hear it!

Shall we complain about songs that didn't make the cut?

I vote: "For Your Life" -- the breakdown for which has always made my spine tingle.

― Naive Teen Idol, Friday, August 26, 2011 3:51 PM

Same here, (uncharacteristically?) subtle but something that jumped out at me on review.

Personally missed "I'm Gonna Crawl"--the weird synth-Christmas intro, the all-time Plant scream, and the overall valedictory feeling--but I get that if you're not looking for sentimentality in Zep, this wouldn't be a big favorite.

xpost Ha, I told you I don't know any Zeppelin lyrics!

Something something hobbit bustle something moan

Love "I'm Gonna Crawl", such a great guitar solo. And yeah, the overblown drama of this is song works for me.

It's really great how these results played out. The Rain Song getting all the way to #2 especially because it's so unexpected, but of the ones above Stairway I think only Kashmir got extended discussion on the voting thread, yet they've all reaped tons of votes independently.

Rain Song might actually be the first Zep song I heard - like I've said they were never on any radio that I heard, but I remember MTV running a video which had been cobbled together around 93/94 maybe. It didn't make much of an impression - when you hear about this mysterious, evil, heavy, unmentionable cult band, Rain Song is not really what you're looking for as an introduction.

dude. John Bonham died. :-(

I, like everyone here, have been listening to Zeppelin pretty much non-stop lately. All the albums are in my playlist, chronologically. It's incredible to listen all the way through to the end of "When the Levee Breaks," and then when I hear them kick into "Song Remains the Same" seconds later, my reaction is always all, oh shit, there's more!?! Lesser bands would have played back the "Levee" tape and just though, well, there's no point doing this anymore. Zeppelin barely paused.

Zeppelin barely paused.

tbf, that was the first time they took over a year between albums.

Yeah, after putting out 4 albums in three years, they started waiting at least a couple of years to put them out. Think you can hear this reflection in each of the subsequent albums after LZ IV. But the point being, they didn't listen to IV and say "well, we're not going to top that, are we?"

Also, they were touring a lot in the interim. I want to say the only "break" the band took was when Plant's son died.

"Good Times Bad Times" - didnt expect this to get 3 #1 votes! dont get me wrong though, its a killer song and i had it ranked 11th. was used nicely in The Fighter

"The Song Remains The Same" - one of those 'i remember exactly where i was when i first heard this & how much it blew my mind' songs

"Stairway to Heaven" - don't get it, never have, never will. first Zep song i heard, took me years to recover

"No Quarter" - took me a long time to 'get' this one too actually. snuck into my ballot when i listened again this week and it finally clicked. so moody and cool!

"Over the Hills and Far Away" - agree with Johnny, too low!!! my #3 pick. one of the first zeps i fell in love with when i finally wised up in my late teens and gave them another shot. i think of it as the superior version of Ramble On, tbh! superior version of Stairway too, come to think of it - better rockin section, better acoustic folky section. beautiful and exciting and joyous in equal measures. tremendously fun to sing and play air drums with. kinda think i shoulda made it my #1 now

"Achilles Last Stand" - always kinda went in one ear and out the other, but i don't have a problem with it really.

"Kashmir" - plant's vocal performance makes this song, imo. the long wail @ 4:15 is the highlight, always gives me chills

"Immigrant Song" - this is just a motherfucker of a song!!!!!!!!

"The Rain Song" - this was a grower for me. i never liked that it was the second track on HOTH, right after a rockin openin track. felt too soon for a slow ballad. didnt rank it, but i appreciate it more than i did the first time i listened to it

"Levee" - inevitable, my #2 pick, somewhat out of duty more than anything. undeniable song, but i've probably played it too much. when the opening beat starts i always imagine bonham drumming by himself in some massive, deserted castle. i dont care if it was just a house!!! eat shit!!!!!!!!!!

I love how "Kashmir" jumps right into the riff, like not even at what is the "1" of the riff, if that is the correct way to put it. It's like the song has always been happening, and always will, and you are just tuning into it for a while.

― grandavis, Friday, August 26, 2011 1:11 PM (5 hours ago) Bookmark

great post

I have to admit that I made my ballot before relistening to any of the albums. I went largely by memories and sentimental associations, especially when it came to the first three albums, which I listened to so much from ages 10-12.

After listening to all the albums (after the countdown/discussion started, ha), I feel like I'd rank more layered compositions like "Ten Years Gone", "In the Light", and "The Ocean" over some tracks on my list such as "The Lemon Song", "How Many More Times?", and "Out on the Tiles". Also, while I still rate "Stairway", I probably wouldn't place it at #1, especially with those goofy lyrics. I think "Achilles' Last Stand" is my current #1. (I ranked it at #2 on my ballot. Don't know what to tell you, clemenza, my friend!). I'd probably place "Ten Years Gone" in the top 5, maybe even at #2. "The Rain Song" would place higher as well. And I'd include "No Quarter". "The Crunge" is total horseshit though.

This confirmed that I don't care much at all for In Through the Out Door, aside from "All of My Love". I'd even take most of my least favourite earlier songs over most of ITTOD; it just sounds like a band I don't care about. I'd much rather listen to solo Plant, actually, if I want to hear him sing over synthy art-pop/rock.

Weirdly, it never really occurred to me that Plant's voice might be sped up or otherwise processed on "Song Remains the Same", although it seems obvious now. I'd just assumed that he had some vocal technique to sound like that! Generally, Page's skills as producer/arranger stand out most.

xp: I think that dizzying in medias res effect is caused by Page playing 3/4 over Bonham's march beat (2/4)

sund4r OTM

Thanks. You're OTM about the polymetre on "Kashmir" yourself!

I also appreciate "Friends" a whole lot more now. I didn't really get it in Gr 6.

wow i completely forgot about "thank you" until right now. i had to check which song it was.

would have considered voting for it--especially given the great version on bbc sessions.

Also, they were touring a lot in the interim. I want to say the only "break" the band took was when Plant's son died.

I was fixing to cite Plant's car accident in '75, but then I remembered that they used the aftermath to develop & record Presence.

Was reading a how to play like Bonham post online, and came across this gem: "Realize, too, that brute force is half the battle."

"Achilles Last Stand" - always kinda went in one ear and out the other, but i don't have a problem with it really.

In Through the Out Ear!

I also made my ballot before relistening to anything, so it turned out like the ballot I might have made when I was seventeen. Although I never would have picked "When the Levee Breaks" as my #1 back then, it probably would have been "Over the Hills and Far Away".

Total points sorted by album:

IV 5479
PG 5476
HOTH 4612
III 3837
I 3374
II 2487
ITTOD 1598
Presence 1576
Box set 555
Coda 273
BBC sessions 36

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hFrD_JXEMvw/TZJLBqPcwLI/AAAAAAAAAcA/yRKB-xf9efI/s400/FINISH%2BLINE.jpg

ha, wow. Eight songs vs. 15 songs, though.

Random thoughts...

I like "Immigrant Song," but its power or whatever seems a tad overestimated herein.

I was really surprised by "The Rain Song" placing so high, but not at all upset by it.

I thought "No Quarter" was creepy when I was 13, but it seems a bit silly now. I don't dislike it, but top 10 material?!?

Songs I like OK, but mostly am tired of: Dancing Days, Misty Mountain Hop, Black Dog, RNR, Kashmir, Trampled Under Foot, Fool in the Rain, Gallows Pole.

Songs I always find a bit of a chore to get through and wish they were shorter: In My Time of Dying, Since I've Been Loving You.

"Whole Lotta Love" at 34?! You people just hate rock and roll, innit. Actually, I find the overall attitude toward LZ II a bit bewildering. That album is recorded wonderfully - the mix is awesome. "The Lemon Song" is a bit of a bore, but it still sounds great. "Living Loving Maid" is not as bad as you all make out - it's better than "Heartbreaker" with that extended solo.

"Wearing And Tearing" deserved better treatment from ILM.

yeah II is a pretty killer record, rehabbing III's reputation to the point of rating it over II is classic ILM overcorrection

One of the many ILM overcorrections in this whole process that made it somewhat annoying yet endearingly ILM

The in through the out door over correction is way more egregious than the iii over correction

I don't like II very much at all. It's not that it's a weak album, it's just a record by the heavy-blooz LZ, my least favorite aspect of the band.

"Rain Song" is killing me at No. 2. You guys.

The in through the out door over correction is way more egregious than the iii over correction

― little dog (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Saturday, August 27, 2011 10:33 AM (1 minute ago) Bookmark

in what sense? it was the lowest of the proper albums in the fav albums poll, and 2nd lowest in the points breakdown of the tracks poll, which seems consistent with its 'least among equals' rep in the band's catalog.

I don't like II very much at all. It's not that it's a weak album, it's just a record by the heavy-blooz LZ, my least favorite aspect of the band.

ME TOO, the same thing, except about I.

those first 2 albums are pretty diverse records that resist pigeonholing, if not as much as some of the later ones

I hate II - it's just so full-on, you know? It's like hearing a modern record that's been too heavily compressed.

yeah an album with "Thank You", "Ramble On", & "What Is & What Should Never Be" isn't a "heavy blooz" album. If anything, the band got less "poppy" after the first two albums. The "blooz" were always there.

Thank You apart, I feel bludgeoned by it

Let the meta begin!!

have been thinking about the job i worked in college where at least a couple nights a week i'd be in there w/ the classic rock station on late enough to here the Get The Led Out block, and that was when i really got into the LZ deep cuts and decided to get the box set and have all the albums (although i listened to the Zep set on another station in high school pretty consistently too). that was where i fell in love with "The Rain Song" and "Achilles," although i remember the beginning of "Ten Years Gone" always getting me hyped and thinking it was going somewhere and then the rest of the song never really felt like much of anything.

how can you hate led zep ii. mentalists!