III- Led Zeppelin

While the first 4 Led Zeppelin albums were all technically unnamed, the 2nd and 3rd records actually use publish the numerical value on the sleeve. So I think it’s safe to call this album Three. One and Two were fine and all, but Three was a really incredible record. It opens with “The Immigrant Song” which if you don’t recognize by name you would certainly recognize by the first vocal. This track is widely regarded as one of the most hard-rockingest songs in history. I particularly love the live performance of it on BBC television. The songs on Three are the strongest of any of Zeppelin’s previous records, which might be accurately described as just jamming with a central idea. The most free-form song seems to be the slow blues jam “Since I’ve Been Loving You”, but even here it seems like there’s more of an arrangement. “Gallows Pole” features Jimmy Page on the hurdy-gurdy which makes this record cool all by itself. If you don’t know what a hurdy-gurdy is, you should. If you’ve never heard the climax of Gallows Pole either, you need to before you die. “That’s the Way” is probably tied with “Going to California” for Led Zepellin’s most beautiful song, especially in the BBC arrangement where mandolin is substituted for the slide guitar. “Bron-Y-Aur Stomp” is some seriously cool bluegrass turned rock action. And the closer, “Hats Off To Harper” is a really cool study in slide guitar. I looked all over You-Tube unsuccessfully for video of Union Station’s Jerry Douglas playing it on Dobro at a bluegrass festival.