So why is Led Zeppelin III on this best 1,000 albums ever thing?
For many casual Led Zeppelin and classic rock fans, “Immigrant Song” is way up there in terms of songs most associated with the band.
And for good reason, with its crushing guitar riff that is the very essence of 1970s heavy metal, and its evocation of hammer of the gods*.
* And I’d wager that most of these same Led Zepp casuals would be more likely to summon up “hammer of the gods” with relation to “Immigrant Song” versus the song title itself.
After the groundbreaking and earth-shaking heavy metal and British hard rock and psychedelic blues of Led Zeppelin’s first two albums, it would be natural to expect Led Zeppelin III to be very much in the same vein – especially after “Immigrant Song” wonderfully bludgeons our ears with the lead-off track.
But the exciting, kind-of-magical thing is that it’s not true at all.
The next nine tracks are an eclectic assortment of mostly gentler material that shows off Led Zeppelin’s astonishing range. Here’s what I jotted down about Led Zeppelin III during the research phase for this here best 1,000 albums ever project.
This is the album that fully shows off the band’s many and surprising sides, from the “hammer of the gods” of “Immigrant Song” to the acoustic stomp of “Friends” to the hard rock hippie jam of “Celebration Day” to the blues of “Since I’ve Been Loving You” to the country stomp of “Gallows Pole” to the gorgeous pop orchestrations of “Tangerine.” Led Zeppelin III bridges the best of 1960s rock with what’s coming in the ’70s.
Led Zeppelin was an absolute revelation when I discovered them somewhere around the 8th grade. After feeling like I understood their deal – largely aided by a fabulous mix tape that my friend Jake passed along to me – I eventually was able to do a deeper album dive.
And it was “Gallows Pole” specifically that opened me up to this entirely different side of Led Zeppelin: a band that could shift gears within the same song while consistently producing sounds that I had never really experienced before. “No Quarter,” off of Led Zeppelin IV, has a similar quality too in terms of the strange and mystical lands that I feel swept off to while listening to it.
I was all prepared to write that the final track, “Hats Off to (Roy) Harper,” a tribute to an English folk singer and an old timey-styled blues number, was one of my least favorite Led Zeppelin songs, but upon listening to it again as of this writing, I find myself very much enjoying it!
“Bron-Y-Aur Stomp” is just an absolute delight – I can listen to it endlessly.
Some stats & info about Led Zeppelin III
- What kind of musical stylings does this album represent? Rock Music, British Bands, Heavy Metal, Hard Rock, Album Rock, Arena Rock, Folk Rock
- Rolling Stone’s greatest 500 albums ranking – not ranked!
- All Music’s rating – 5 out of 5 stars
- When was Led Zeppelin III released? 1970
- My ranking, the one you’re reading right now – #233 out of 1,000
Led Zeppelin III on Spotify
A lyrical snippet from Led Zeppelin III that’s evocative of the album in some way, maybe
What did you bring me my dear friends to keep me from the gallows pole?
What does the “best 1,000 albums ever” mean and why are you doing this?
Yeah, I know it’s audacious, a little crazy (okay, maybe a lot cray cray), bordering on criminal nerdery.
But here’s what it’s NOT: a definitive list of the Greatest Albums of All-Time. This is 100% my own personal super biased, incredibly subjective review of what my top 1,000 albums are, ranked in painstaking order over the course of doing research for nearly a year, Rob from High Fidelity style. Find out more about why I embarked on a best 1,000 albums ever project.