Led Zeppelin "Good Times Bad Times"

This one rates as a "Classic," the highest possible ranking on the Led Zeppelin "Classic-Meter," (the next three rankings being Sub-Classic, Mini-Classic and the intolerable Not-So-Classic). This tune explodes with a few back-to-back power chords coupled with Bonzo's rhythmic high-hat sifting, snare chomps and bass drum thumping before Bob Plant wails out the opening "In the days of my youth, I was told blah blah blah..."

Nice. This powerful opening to Zepp's debut album matches the band's explosion onto the rock and roll scene in 1969. Would anyone have guessed back then that we'd be writing about this song almost 40 years later?

Why the "Classic" rating? Because overall this song represents the essence of Led Zeppelin: 4 dudes with long hair, jamming in a studio with their own cheap instruments to a song they wrote, with limited studio effects. It's a tight, raw example of what Zepp would sound like if you heard them rehearsing in your neighbor's garage. Oh, where have the good times gone? Today it's a bunch of teeny-boppers with an entourage of hairdressers, makeup artists, publicists and personal trainers forecasting every move. Today the artists record a few songs written by other people, dance a few dances choreographed and rehearsed by a cast of thousands and don't go out in public until their pink buckle-cap hats have the perfect 10-degree tilt.

"Good Times Bad Times" is a reminder that music was once a labor of love, where guys worried about their image but cared more about their sound; more about the music.

GTBT is raw passion. Who can resist Jimmy Page's guitar riffs? John Paul Jones's walking bass line (some would call that little part a "solo") Plant's harmonizing dual-voice over and Bonzo's thunderous pounding? The song is short, tight and sweet. And listen to Bonham's drum fills as the song fades out. It's classic air-drum material!

What's better than "Good Times Bad Times?" Cheeseburgers for starters, but in the world of Led Zeppelin's music, only few songs compare. This was a great opening to a great classic rock album. Sure Zepp has better songs, lots of better songs, but I can only imagine those teenagers who flipped the first Led Zeppelin album onto their turntables for the first time in 1969 and heard the opening crunch of this song. Oh, the after-school smoke-a-thons that were inspired! "Good Time Bad Times" would give birth to a whole new subculture of rock fans: the metal heads, the head bangers, the longhairs. The Zepelin took flight with this song and began a legacy that continues to this day. If only I could have been there in the winter of '69 with GTBT first blasted its way across the airwaves!