To many, September is just the month that comes after August
and is an official sign to the end of summer and the beginning of fall and the
school year. To Zeppelin fans it’s much, much more. In our hearts, this month
is known as Zeptember. An entire month dedicated to the greatest heavy rock
band to ever walk the earth.
During Zeptember we wake a little earlier and go
to bed much later each day to dedicate more of our time to listening to our
favorite Zeppelin albums. Sometimes we splurge and buy a new Zeppelin shirt to
show off our pride. And for us younger fans, we weep at the fact that we never
got to see our favorite band live. Mainly though it’s thirty Celebration Days
in a row for Led Zeppelin. Which for the first seven days of this glorious we
are celebrating Led Zeppelin III.
Led Zeppelin III is definitely the more forgotten album of
the early days. Its predecessors definitely had the power behind them and with
Zeppelin being new on the scene, took the world by storm. Then you have Zeppelin
IV, which is heavily renowned as the “greatest Zeppelin album” for its track
listing that reads like a ‘best of’ compilation. Zeppelin III is very important album though
in the history of the band though. Although acoustic songs were featured on the
first two albums, this album showed that they were more than just a blues-rock
band. Hints of more folk influence can be heard on the third album. A lot of
this new sound can be attributed to the small cottage in Wales called
Bron-Yr-Aur where Page and Plant spent time writing most of the album. Coming
off an extensive North American tour in 1970 they went to Bron-Yr-Aur to get
away from everything and work on their next album. It was a simple place that
lacked even running water. Plant describes their time there and the music that
was created as a “pastoral” and “natural” side of Led Zeppelin. I think the
Golden God himself hit the nail right on the head.
Personally, Zeppelin III has always hovered around being one
of my favorite Zeppelin albums. Even though summer is drawing to a close it’s a
great album to blast with your windows down while driving down country roads.
Some obvious highlights of the album are the opener, Immigrant Song, Out On The
Tiles, and beautiful, almost tragic song of Since I’ve Been Loving You. The
dynamics of this album are diverse and really show all of Zeppelin’s colors.
It may fall to the wayside next to its peers occasionally
among mainstream rock radio, but to the true Led Heads it’s a timeless treasure
that shines all on its own.
Happy Zeptember to all and enjoy your month of getting the
Led out!!
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