John Graves
Counsellor, aged 75
I can still remember when I first listened to this album, soon after its release, which was about 55 years ago! It was in a record store, in the days when there were Listening Booths, when money was too tight to mention (for me) and it was therefore imperative that an album was really good value, with a good number of strong tracks- not just 1 or 2 good ones! I was already drawn to bands that incorporated outstanding guitar virtuosity, and by that I mean block-levelling, mind-churning electric guitar, creating an entirely new musical vocabulary!
Jimmy Page did not disappoint. But every member of the band played sublimely, from the opening track , (Whole Lotta Love) with its unprecedented effects, to the last bluesy track ( Bring it on Home ) Only subsequently did I reflect on the debt they owed -and never fully acknowledged- to many relatively unrewarded Black Blues musicians. But this album, together with some of their others, as well as the wonder of Jimi Hendrix ,established my lifelong passion for hard rock and heavy metal, creating soundscapes like no other form of music!
Long live Rock!
Kingston link:
Led Zeppelin played at The Toby Jug in Tolworth on 16/4/1969, in between the release of this record and Led Zeppelin II.
