Led Zeppelin II | 
| Artist: Led Zeppelin
Label: Atlantic / Wea
Category: Music
List Price: $18.98
Buy New: $5.51
You Save: $13.47 (71%)
New (55) Used (46) Collectible (4) from $4.13
Rating:  417 reviews
Sales Rank: 555
Format: Original Recording Remastered
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.4 x 4.9 x 0.8
MPN: 075678263323
UPC: 075678263323
EAN: 0075678263323
ASIN: B000002J03
Release Date: June 21, 1994
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Tracks:
| • | Whole Lotta Love | | • | What Is and What Should Never Be | | • | Lemon Song | | • | Thank You | | • | Heartbreaker | | • | Living Loving Maid (She's Just a Woman) | | • | Ramble On | | • | Moby Dick | | • | Bring It on Home |
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Product Description
No Description Available
No Track Information Available
Media Type: CD
Artist: LED ZEPPELIN
Title: LED ZEPPELIN 2
Street Release Date: 06/21/1994
Domestic
Genre: ROCK/POP
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
Amazon.com
Led Zeppelin II is an album of Jimmy Page riffs so huge, and John Paul Jones/John Bonham rhythms so deep, that the heavy metal genre this classic helped create has tried for decades to catch up, mostly without success. And no wonder: since II catches the band before they'd headed too far into their ridiculous medieval fancies, this might be as good as Zep would ever be. Regardless, the thunderous "Whole Lotta Love," a Top 5 hit, and "Bring It on Home" are very nearly as fierce and twisted as British white blues would ever get. --David Cantwell
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| Customer Reviews: Read 412 more reviews...
 A Juggernaut Classic!!! March 21, 2008
Steve Guardala (?????)
46 out of 46 found this review helpful
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.
As hard-rocking as it gets. Led Zeppelin's best album. May 28, 2007
Rock 'N' Roll Head (North Carolina, USA)
22 out of 22 found this review helpful
Led Zeppelin's second album is sure to please all music fans of any genre. Led Zeppelin II, released in the same year as the first album in 1969, is as hard-rocking as it gets when it comes to Zeppelin. All nine tracks are Led Zeppelin at their best, whether it's world-renowned blues rock ("Whole Lotta Love"), racing guitar play ("Heartbreaker"), or awesome, creative drum solos ("Moby Dick"). This album is a representative of late-60s rock, and I find it quite similar to Axis Bold As Love, by The Jimi Hendrix Experience. The album starts to amaze you with the recognizable blues-rocker "Whole Lotta Love," which has a creative interlude consisting of distorted radio waves; after said song, Zeppelin attempts to cool you down a bit with the bluesy ballad "What is and What Should Never Be," which, like "The Rain Song" from the Houses Of The Holy album, is where you'll find Robert Plant's vocals at their peak. This is followed by "The Lemon Song," which actually sounds like something Jimi Hendrix would play. "Thank You" is also a very nice Led Zeppelin song and is a very easy listen. The album's turning point is at track five, which happens to be the instant rocker "Heartbreaker". It's definately one of the band's greatest songs, and Jimmy Page is at his best in it. The hard-rocking Sabbath-like main riff is a great combination with John Bonham's rapid drumming, and the solo is easily one of the best of all time, as it is not only awesome and awestriking, but it was improvised; that proves Page can ad-lib his way through solos and STILL make it sound good. "Living Loving Maid (She's Just a Woman)" is also a very easy listen, and quite catchy at that. "Ramble On," yet another acoustic song, also contains great vocals and guitar playing. "Moby Dick" is probably where drummer John Bonham is putting forth his best effort, as the song starts out with a guitar and drum combination and then drops into a complete drum solo where at first, Bonham plays with his hands, and about two and a half minutes into the song he picks up the sticks and delivers a heavy rain of thunderous drumming. The outro of the song is when Jimmy Page comes in again and finishes it off with John, making the song a very powerful instrumental. The last song, "Bring it on Home," is very convenient for the album, as it first leaves you with a blues impression, but later picks up in a hard rock style, just as Zeppelin would do. Overall, Led Zeppelin's second album is what I think is the crown jewel in their albumography. Whenever you get the chance, buy it--you'll be pleasently surprised.
Whole Lotta Led April 17, 2001
Thomas Magnum (NJ, USA)
13 out of 14 found this review helpful
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.
The best Led Zeppelin album April 14, 2001
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
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.
For those who appreciate music August 2, 2000
12 out of 13 found this review helpful
Anyone who does not give this album five stars has serious issues. The fact that some of these songs are overplayed on the radio is not a reason to give this album a low rating. If anything that should say something about the quality of the songs on the album.This album is brilliant. LZII offers a mix of styles, mostly hard rock with persistent melodies. "Ramble on" is my fav, but they're all really good. "Heartbreaker" and then "Living Loving Maid" is an amazing combo and reminds me of Yes's "All Good People." "Thank You" is incredible. Plant can do anything with that voice of his. "What Is and What Should Never Be" is classic LZ. I'm not the biggest fan of "Whole Lotta Love," because it's a little repetitive, but the messed up part in the middle is great. "Bring It on Home" is really great and bluesy. This is one of those albums where every track is really good. The only problem with Led Zeppelin is that they did not produce a bad song. I would actually say that this album ranks 4th out of the 9 studio albums they released, but every album has a different sound and feel, so choose for yourself.
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