Led Zeppelin II (Remastered)

iTunes Review

Known affectionately as “The Brown Bomber,” Led Zeppelin II is one of the pillars of hard rock and heavy metal. From the opening stuttering guitar riff of “Whole Lotta Love” through the frenzied, overdriven riffs of “Living Loving Maid,” “Heartbreaker” and “Ramble On,” the album is the textbook for Hard Rock 101. Singer Robert Plant pulls out the sexual bravado for the orgasmic interlude of “Whole Lotta Love,” while Page employs all the production tricks at his disposal to ensure that every beat of John Bonham’s drum hits in the solar plexus. The band pieced the album together during their early tours and the album feeds off both the band’s dynamic energy and their innate need to have more material that could resound in arenas throughout the land. Everything about II is huge. Their reworkings of the blues — “The Lemon Song,” “Bring It On Home” — are loud and furious. But the best material remains the group’s most complex. “What Is and What Should Never Be” runs up and down the dynamic scale while “Thank You” features John Paul Jones’ ethereal organ, exuding an otherworldly pathos the group would explore more fully on their next release.