The Best of Zepp: Led Zeppelin's Top 10 Songs

Show of hands: who hasn't, at one time, did some serious air-guitar jamming to the incendiary licks of Rock God legend Jimmy Page? Who hasn't broken a knuckle or two slamming everything in sight as you play along with Bonham? Anyone here not lose their voice as you aped Robert Plant's chick-magnet gilded voice of rock? That's what I thought.

No matter what year you were born in, you've heard of Led Zeppelin. Formed in late 1968 with the lineup of John Bonham, John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, their eclectic style of rock/blues has influenced about a jazillion other bands since their inception, and arguably, no other band in history (including The Rolling Stones, Beatles, and others) has come as close as Zepp has for pure influential rock and roll riffs.

Here then please find an infinitely disputable list of Led Zeppelin's To 10 Songs. This is an abject lesson in futility, really - I don't truly believe one can narrow down such a pioneering, influential rock group's library such as Zeppelin's to a mere ten. As a friend of mine is fond of saying, "I have over 100 in my Top 10." So it is with Zeppelin's music. But for a starting point, begin with these otherworldly tracks taken from the pantheon of Rock Legends: Led Zeppelin's Top 10 Songs.

(In a somewhat particular order, they are):

Song #10: In the Evening

Album: In Through the Out Door

Year of Release: 1979

This album was the last studio album to be released by Zeppelin before the untimely death of drummer Jon Bonham, yet it contains one of my favorite tracks, the opening song "In the Evening." It's a haunting tale of yearning, desire, the challenges of fame, and learning to face your demons. Best line: "Oh whatever that your days may bring/
No use hiding in a corner, cause that wont change a thing."

Song #9: Custard Pie

Album: Physical Graffiti

Year of Release: 1975

A monster of an album (double-disc, actually), Physical Graffiti was released at the height of Zepp's world-wide fame. Again we have a "first track" entry here, from Disc One, the song Custard Pie. Now, it's not so much the meaning of the song that makes it my favorite - it's a very "subtle as a brick" song about enjoying oral sex play with a woman - but it's the sheer "heaviness" of the tune that solidifies it on the list. The crushing bass of the drums and Jones' baseline, along with the almost snarling, distorted riffing from Page make this one of the heaviest songs in a very heavy-intensive library.

Song #8: Nobody's Fault But Mine

Album: Presence

Year of Release: 1976

In my opinion, one of the most overlooked Zeppelin albums, Presence contains some pure Zepp classics, but one of the best is the fourth track in, Nobody's Fault But Mine. It's a "remake/homage" to Blind Willie Johnson's version of the 20's, and is a song about getting out from under the Devil's grasp, and changing one's "rolling ways" and getting a monkey off one's back. What makes this such an amazing track, however, is not only the blistering slide guitar and amazing blues feel to it, but Robert Plant's infectious harmonica playing - I always enjoy when he breaks out the harp as he does on this one, and this reason alone is why it's in my Top 10.

Song #7: Whole Lotta Love

Album: Led Zeppelin II

Year of Release: 1969

There's not too much that can be said that already hasn't about Zepp's classic, and arguably best album, Led Zeppelin II. It's chock full of pure hard-rock Zeppelin classics, including number seven on the list, Whole Lotta Love - again, another opening track; I guess they know how to grab the listener. The song, a classic rock staple and instantly recognizable by the "pseudo guitar/vocal orgasm" in the middle of the track, is once again about two young lovers who've been yearin' for each other - it's not going to end up on the "deeper meanings" list of some of Zeppelin's more philosophical journeys, but it does end up as being one of the heaviest, strongest heavy hitters of theirs ever. When Plant opens up with "You need coolin', baby I'm not foolin'", you know he's serious, and ready to rock. The guitar riff is quintessential Page, with a solid rock/blues feel.

Song #6: Immigrant Song

Album: Led Zeppelin III

Year of Release: 1970

This just might be the heaviest Led Zeppelin song of all time, at least lyrics-wise. It's a crushing, punishing tale about Nordic invaders of yore, recanting the tale of how these blood-thirsty warriors crossed the ocean "...with threshing oar" to conquer unsuspecting occupants of the "western shore." Yet again, this is the opening track on the album, and is instantly recognizable with the immediate, pounding guitar riff and Plant's almost screaming "Ahhhhh ahh, AH!" chant. It also has such classic Zeppelin lyrics as "The hammer of the gods" and "We are your overlords", often used in conjunction for descriptors of the band themselves. Indeed, they are our rock Overlords, and this track proves it without a doubt. It's fast, heavy, and filled with powerful lyrical imagery - defining components of Led Zeppelin themselves. Fight the horde!

Song #5: Battle of Evermore

Album: Led Zeppelin IV

Year of Release: 1971

Finally, we get to Led Zeppelin IV, often considered to be the greatest album of their career, and certainly the most defining. It is also the third highest selling album of all time in the United States. We literally find a litany of "best of" Zeppelin tracks, with classics such as Black Dog, Rock and Roll, and of course, Stairway to Heaven, which needs no introduction. However, I have chosen Battle of Evermore to be placed upon my Top 10, for I, like Led Zeppelin, am a huge J.R.R. Tolkien fan, for which this track's inspiration can be attributed to. When one studies the lyrics and references them against Tolkien's Lord of the Rings work, you'll find that the song is a retelling of the events leading up to, and about, the Battle of the Pelennor Fields from Return of the King. It's an epic, sweeping song about the infinite archetypal forces of Good vs. Evil, and the layperson's places within, and of holding on to hope against all odds, all set within Tolkien's inimitable and ground-breaking universe of high-fantasy. The song makes my heart ache upon every listening, it is so moving in the imagery it paints and references - it's one of the most powerfully written songs of theirs, ever. It should be noted that this song also includes the only guest vocalist on a Zeppelin song ever - Sandy Denny - and it's her contribution that solidifies this song in my Top 10.

Song #4: Travelling Riverside Blues

Album: Led Zeppelin - Box Set

Year of Release: 1990 (previously unreleased 1969)

At number four we have another fantastic blues remake, Travelling Riverside Blues. This song was originally done by bluesman Robert Johnson, and remade by Zepp in 1969, though unreleased. Fast-forward twenty-one years later to the release of Zeppelin's first box-set, and the song is (again) the first track on the set's third disc. Though once again we find the song all about young lust and sexual innuendos (the stuff of legendary rock tracks, no?), it's the power-house blues playing of Jimmy Page, and the homage to the blues musicians and their style of the 30's, that makes this song just so damn rocking. It literally drips with the signature style of Zeppelin's blues/rock, and should not be missed.

Song #3: Ramble On

Album: Led Zeppelin II

Year of Release: 1969

I just absolutely love this song - there's no other way to say it. To me, it's a haunting tale of lost love, by a lone rogue traveler who's in search of his long-lost maiden fair. It's the type of song that a Renaissance troubadour would croon to the gathering masses in a warmly-lit out-of-the-way pub or a small gathering in a grove somewhere, and the lyrics are buoyed by rich, vibrant imagery of autumn leaves, warm toasts, and an never-ending search for the love of one's life, all seemingly within a bucolic world enchanted with magic. Again, there are definitive references to J.R.R. Tolkien here, with the lyrics, "T'was in the darkest depths ofMordor/I met a girl so fair./But Gollum, and the evil one crept up/And slipped away with her." What's interesting here is that this direct Tolkien reference isn't to any specific part of The Lord of the Rings, or any other specific work by him, yet it does reference two of Tolkien's most iconic characters, Gollum and Sauron, a.k.a. the "evil one." I do not know, but this was probably added by Plant as yet another homage to one of the band's favorite authors, as Tolkien has influenced several of Zeppelin's songs and or song titles (such as Misty Mountain Hop - the Misty Mountains are part of Tolkien's Middle-Earth landscape). Regardless, being a huge fan of both Tolkien, and the type of story and imagery that this song conjures up, it remains one of my top Zeppelin songs of all time, and one of their best.

Song #2: Hey Hey What Can I Do

Album: B-side/Led Zeppelin - Box Set

Year of Release: 1970

Arriving at the number two spot is indeed a very special song - it is the only non-album Led Zeppelin track to be released in the band's history! Originally released as a B-side to the 1970 single Immigrant Song, it showed up again years later on the 1990 release Led Zeppelin - Box Set. And oh glory, what a song it is! In fact, it used to hold the highly-coveted #1 spot for me for years, until it was edged out by the track on this list. Hey Hey What Can I Do is a light-hearted, easy-going bluesy sort of song about a man bemoaning the fact that his sweetheart and lover is, in fact, a free-spirited woman who "wants to ball all day", "stays drunk all the time" and, sadly, "won't be true." I can't believe this song remained hidden for so many years, languishing as a b-side track instead of sitting properly on an album - I could easily see this fitting in on Led Zeppelin III, or Physical Graffiti; maybe even Houses of the Holy. Regardless, rather than being hard-hitting and instantly energizing like its sister track Immigrant Song, it's the polar opposite: a gentle, folksy sort of tune that you'd hear in a pub somewhere, and where you'd perhaps drown your sorrows into a beer (if you're male) when you listen to the boys play and sing about the poor man who just can't keep his lover interested. It's summed up best in the closing lyrics:

"I guess there's just one thing left for me to do
gonna pack my bags and move on my way
Cause I got a worried mind
Sharin' what I thought was mine
Gonna leave her where the guitars play."

Ah, so real, so powerful, and so perfect. This track deserves its hard-fought place on the Top 10 Songs.

Song #1: Out on the Tiles

Album: Led Zeppelin III

Year of Release: 1970

Well, here we are - the absolute best, nearly perfect, Number One song of Led Zeppelin. What, did you think it would be Stairway to Heaven? Heck no. That track is, of course, immortal, but in my humble opinion, the greatest song of all time by one of the greatest bands of all time is - da da daaa daaaaaaa - Out on the Tiles, from Led Zeppelin III, which is also arguably one of their most underrated and best albums they've ever done. "Out on the tiles" is British slang for "going out for a night on the town". The song, however, isn't so much about anyone hitting up a night on the town, but rather about two young lovers who are presumably on a journey together, trying to hitch a ride to who-knows-where, and life is - well - life is darn good, but everyone seems to be in a hurry, and no one stops to help them, but instead just pass on by. To me, it has one of the most Zen, powerful, and perfect endings to any Zeppelin song in existence. So far, the lyrics talk about how the two people are in love, rays of sunshine blow blues away, and all they need from each other is their love. And yet, as they try to flag a ride:

"People go and people come,

see my rider right by my side,
It's a total disgrace, they set the pace, it must be a race
And the best thing I can do is run."

And that's it. We don't know if they catch a ride, if anyone helps them, or even if they end up happy together on their journey, but we do know one thing - life appears to be a race, and the best thing we can do is simply run, and try to catch up. It's just such a wonderful existential comment on life, and strikes a huge accord with me, perhaps because most other Zeppelin songs are either mystical, spiritual, sexual, philosophical, or fantastical in nature, but this to me just seems so simple, happy, and yet very Zen and deep.

So why is this my favorite song of theirs? I'm not really certain - it's party because of the lyrics, sure, but one thing that strikes me the most is the drumming at the end - it's a funny thing to get hung up on, I know, but the beat is fantastic, like only Bonham can do, and it is far too short if you ask me. Ultimately, it's hard to explain, but the rhythm, guitar riff, lyrics, voice, and message all combine to make this the best Zeppelin song to me, and it rightfully deserves the Number One spot.

As I said when this list began, it's nigh impossible to create a Top 10 Songs list for Zeppelin without practically starting riots in the streets. I'm certain there were several shoes thrown at some monitors while reading this, with incredulous shouts of "What?! No Stairway to Heaven? No When the Levee Breaks? D'yer M'ker is MIA? Boooo!!" But hey, that's the beauty of Top 10 lists - if you look real close, you'll see there's actually a hundred songs in there - they just don't all fit in at once.

Honorable Mentions: Stairway to Heaven; Friends/Celebration Day; The Lemon Song; I Can't Quit You Baby; When the Levee Breaks; Night Flight

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Led_Zeppelin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blind_Willie_Johnson
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_albums_in_the_United_States
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandy_Denny
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Led_Zeppelin_(box_set)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hey_Hey_What_Can_I_Do
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Out_on_the_Tiles