Led Zeppelin II, as its title suggests, is the second studio album by Led Zeppelin, released in October 1969 by Atlantic Records.

The album was recorded between various tours by the group from January to August 1969.

The tour to promote the album began in the United States on October 17, 1969, continuing in Great Britain and Europe from January to March 1970.

The album was a great success, helping their first album to improve its sales. “Led Zeppelin II” rose to the top of the charts in Great Britain, the United States, Germany, Australia, Canada and several other countries worldwide. The album’s first single, “Whole Lotta Love”, was the band’s most successful, reaching No. 4 on the US charts, where it was certified gold. The band themselves were opposed to releasing singles, believing that they reduced album sales. A typical example of this is the fact that Atlantic pressed copies of this song, but the band’s manager, Peter Grant, refused to release them.

The album was certified 12 times platinum in November 1999, having sold 400,000 copies through pre-orders, even before its release. In Great Britain, it reached number one on the charts, a list in which it remained for 125 weeks.

Led Zeppelin II is considered one of the forerunners of the heavy metal musical idiom. In 1994, the British magazine “Guitarist” named it the third most influential album of all time, while in 1999, the American magazine “The Guitar” named it the sixth best album of the previous millennium. Rolling Stone magazine ranked it 79th on its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, while British magazine “Q” ranked it 37th on its list of the 100 greatest albums. In 2006, “Classic Rock” named it the eighth greatest British rock album of all time.

The first track on Led Zeppelin II is “Whole Lotta Love”, the band’s first major hit in the United States. Despite the song’s complexity, Robert Plant recorded the vocals in just one take, and it immediately became a part of the band’s live performances. Some of the lyrics to “Whole Lotta Love” are taken from “You Need Loving” by Small Faces. This is followed by “What Is and What Should Never Be”, which Led Zeppelin played on tour to promote their fourth album in 1972. The lyrics to the song were written by Plant and were based on his relationship with his wife’s sister.

Recorded during Led Zeppelin’s second American tour, “The Lemon Song”, is based on the song “Killing Floor” by Howlin’ Wolf, who was credited as the composer on the first edition of the album, while some of its lyrics are taken from “Travelling Riverside Blues” by Robert Johnson. In general, these lyrics have quite a bit of sexual overtones, which became even more pronounced during the band’s live performances. “Thank You” is dedicated by Robert Plant to his wife and features Jimmy Page’s acoustic guitar solo, something he rarely played.

The first track on the second side of the album is “Heartbreaker”, a song with which they opened their concerts on various tours. Jimmy Page’s solo was an inspiration for the “tapping” technique developed a few years later by Eddie Van Halen. “Livin’ Lovin’ Maid” started directly after the end of “Heartbreaker” and was one of the few songs they never played live, due to Page’s dislike of it.

The lyrics of “Ramble On” are inspired by Tolkien’s “Lord Of The Rings”. This track was recorded during the band’s first American tour, but they never played it live. “Moby Dick” was an instrumental track, during which drummer John Bonham had an excellent drum solo, reaching up to twenty minutes in length, during their concerts. The last song of the album, “Bring It On Home”, is influenced by the Sonny Boy Williamson song of the same name, which was written by Willie Dixon, to whom they give credit by mentioning him among the composers of the song.

Through this excellent album I select, what else, “Whole Lotta Love”.

Tracklist

Side One
1. Whole Lotta Love 5:33
2. What Is And What Should Never Be 4:47
3. The Lemon Song 6:20
4. Thank You 3:50

Side Two
1. Heartbreaker 4:15
2. Living Loving Maid (She’s Just a Woman) 2:40
3. Ramble On 4:35
4. Moby Dick 4:25
5. Bring It On Home 4:19