FBG'S TOP 81 LED ZEPPELIN SONGS: #1 - When The Levee Breaks from Led Zeppelin IV (1971) (2 Viewers)

[Anarchy99]

Significant underperformance from Physical Graffiti relative to most album rankings. 

IV is trending to be the big winner here, maybe we will see 5 of the top 10 from this album? I wonder where Misty Mountain Hop ends up…

Misty is a dead man walking. It's not next, but I would start rounding up all friends, family, and a priest to say your last goodbyes. As far as Graffiti goes, people may think its their best album, but they sure didn't vote that way.

 

[Ghost Rider]

Misty Mountain Hop is pretty overrated, so even being up soon means it is finishing way too high. 

Tangerine is so good. Every time I hear that, I can't help but think of Almost Famous. 

 

[Pip's Invitation]

As far as Graffiti goes, people may think its their best album, but they sure didn't vote that way.

I did! 

 

[Anarchy99]

A no-brainer top 25 for me, this one ended up 11 on my list.

I’m not sure there is a better example of Led Zeppelin magic than this song, which is so much stronger than the sum of its parts.

It's just so funny how we all look at things differently. I consider this song as mostly an album filler tacked on as an after thought. I don't mind the song, but I have never gone looking for it. I wouldn't say if it comes on I dive to skip it, but I certainly have passed over it to get to a more rocking song. I guess for me this is an example of a track, while expertly crafted and performed, is not one that I think of as my image of Zeppelin. I do like the slide guitar, but that's not enough to get me to love it. If we went 50 deep in rankings, it likely would not have made it onto that list either. 

I can think of two examples. One is going to the best steak house in 100 miles . . . and then ordering flounder. Sure, a fish dish could be great, but I doubt I would ever order fish in a steak house. Tangerine would be on my list of "See boys and girls, Zeppelin could mix it up some, they weren't all about hard rocking songs."

The other example would be my memories of Tom Brady. He was one of the best ever at QB sneaks. But my mental image of Brady will never be of him lowering his head and diving forward on a 4th and inches, even if that play had to happen to get to a more exciting play to win a game.

On a similar note, the next song is in my Top 3 but did not make your list at all, so we can have this discussion in reverse. Besides you, 35 other people didn't rank it either, so there certainly are a broad range of tastes and interests. It just speaks to the depth and breadth of their catalog. We are quickly getting to the point (if we haven't already) that any of these songs would have been the pinnacle and best work for the huge majority of bands.

 

[[scooter]]

#29 - In The Light from Physical Graffiti (1975)

In the Light developed out of an early demo called In the Morning, recorded in late 1973, which had a more Gothic, keyboard introduction and different lyrics by Plant. Bassist John Paul Jones composed most of the song on a synthesizer. He been experimenting with an epic synthesizer piece at his home studio before bringing the basic song to the band. Unlike many other Zeppelin songs that were recorded in one or two takes and completed all in one day, this one was reworked multiple times and took close to a year to complete. In The Morning, In The Morning Alternate Take

During the 1974 PG recording sessions, they also recorded a song called Take Me Home, which is said to have some elements that were used in In The Light (which I don’t see, but so be it). (I looked for more info, and apparently there is a different version of In The Light called Take Me Home . . . which is something completely different than this song.

The song linked here as "Take Me Home" is a totally unrelated song which was never officially titled by the band. But a few years ago, some bootlegger listed it as "Take Me Home", which caused people to assume that it was an early version of "In The Light".

The real "Take Me Home" is the song that you linked as "In The Morning".

 

[Pip's Invitation]

We are quickly getting to the point (if we haven't already) that any of these songs would have been the pinnacle and best work for the huge majority of bands.

We already got there with In the Evening, Achilles Last Stand, Nobody’s Fault But Mine and In the Light.

 

[Anarchy99]

I did! 

I'm not going to dissect which songs people voted for as a regular thing, but since you raised your hand . . .

IIRC, you voted for 8 PG songs . . . which means you didn't vote for 7 PG songs. I get it, no one is going to list 15 songs from the same album in their Top 25. But you didn't vote for one of the most prominent tracks on the album. That in a vacuum is no big deal. But when the majority of rankers also didn't vote for it, then it will slide down the rankings. 

I originally thought PG would clean up in this type of exercise because it had twice as many songs on it than other albums. But that was also its Achilles Heel. BECAUSE there were so many songs, everyone was going to leave off at least half of them.

When Zeppelin gets brought up on the boards, a lot of people are quick to jump in and say that PG is their favorite album. Because of that, I expected it to be the top point getter in all of this. SPOILER ALERT: It's not. Overall, I would say it did well in the point tally, but it did not do as well as its reputation would lead us to believe. In that regard, it under performed vs. how much admiration it typically receives. We can speak more to how the albums shook out when we get closer to the end of the rankings.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

I'm not going to dissect which songs people voted for as a regular thing, but since you raised your hand . . .

IIRC, you voted for 8 PG songs . . . which means you didn't vote for 7 PG songs. I get it, no one is going to list 15 songs from the same album in their Top 25. But you didn't vote for one of the most prominent tracks on the album. That in a vacuum is no big deal. But when the majority of rankers also didn't vote for it, then it will slide down the rankings. 

I originally thought PG would clean up in this type of exercise because it had twice as many songs on it than other albums. But that was also its Achilles Heel. BECAUSE there were so many songs, everyone was going to leave off at least half of them.

When Zeppelin gets brought up on the boards, a lot of people are quick to jump in and say that PG is their favorite album. Because of that, I expected it to be the top point getter in all of this. SPOILER ALERT: It's not. Overall, I would say it did well in the point tally, but it did not do as well as its reputation would lead us to believe. In that regard, it under performed vs. how much admiration it typically receives. We can speak more to how the albums shook out when we get closer to the end of the rankings.

Remember how I said there’s a song I don’t really care for that many people revere? It’s one of the 3 remaining from PG. 

From a “more bang for your buck” perspective, PG is one of the greatest albums of all time. But because it has so many great tracks, there isn’t going to be consensus about which ones are the best. Even the most famous one from the album has people who are tired of it or think it’s overrated.

 

[simey]

I ranked Tangerine #4.  It is groovy good. I also ranked Thank You #6. It sounds good to my ears, and I love the spirit of the song.  I now have 4 songs off the board of my Top 10.

 

[Anarchy99]

Remember how I said there’s a song I don’t really care for that many people revere? It’s one of the 3 remaining from PG. 

From a “more bang for your buck” perspective, PG is one of the greatest albums of all time. But because it has so many great tracks, there isn’t going to be consensus about which ones are the best. Even the most famous one from the album has people who are tired of it or think it’s overrated.

What will be interesting is there are likely people that participated that said their favorite album is X, yet they voted the songs on album Y higher than the ones on album X. Again, people can like or not like whatever they want and have opinions on whatever they want. Whatever anyone has to say will mostly elicit a "whatever / don't care / that's interesting" response from me and I won't be outraged by any of it. Sometimes I will revisit what I thought and that song might start getting more attention from me, but after listening to Zeppelin for 40+ years, those instances will be few and far between.

But where people will lose me logically is when they rank a block of songs on album Y higher than the songs on album X and still say album X is better. I'm not going to lose any sleep over that, but to quote Spock, that would be highly illogical.

I have a similar situation with my wife. There is a particular actor that she likes tons of his movies. But yet she says she doesn't like him as an actor, as a person, and she doesn't like his movies. She's not a huge movie person, so if she likes two movies that an actor is it, that's probably a lot. She really likes 6 or 7 of this actor's movies by comparison but insists she can't stand him and won't watch his movies (even though she watches them all the time). Different strokes for different folks, but she lost me with her reasoning . . . even if he had her at hello.

Getting back to PG, the "other" song of the three remaining (not the super popular one and not the one you left off) never really hit my orbit. Again, it's a great song, it just never intersected with me or consumed me. Plenty of other people ranked it extremely high . . . it's the first song we'll get to with 10 Top 5 votes. I looked at the rankings and mentally said, "Huh. I would not have thunk it would be that popular." That's another Zeppelin song that I have never gone looking for and in the future probably never will. I have since listened to it several times, and I stand by my opinion that it doesn't do much for me or move me much at all. Doesn't mean it's not a good song, only that it's not one of my faves.

 

[Dwayne Hoover]

I feel like No Quarter has to be coming soon.  Could be another polarizing one.  Some will have it super high, some may not have it at all (me)

 

[gianmarco]

I feel like No Quarter has to be coming soon.  Could be another polarizing one.  Some will have it super high, some may not have it at all (me)

Yep.

I ranked it as well. And see my post about In the Light and it applies to No Quarter as well.

 

[Dwayne Hoover]

Getting back to PG, the "other" song of the three remaining (not the super popular one and not the one you left off) never really hit my orbit. Again, it's a great song, it just never intersected with me or consumed me. Plenty of other people ranked it extremely high . . . it's the first song we'll get to with 10 Top 5 votes. I looked at the rankings and mentally said, "Huh. I would not have thunk it would be that popular." That's another Zeppelin song that I have never gone looking for and in the future probably never will. I have since listened to it several times, and I stand by my opinion that it doesn't do much for me or move me much at all. Doesn't mean it's not a good song, only that it's not one of my faves.

This is going to be interesting. Im sure I know the 3 songs left and you have given away one of them here.  Now I'm wondering which one didn't register with you.  We will find out soon.

Didn't register can only be one song IMO but if it's the other, will be shocked.

I think I'm going to be shocked though, you've already alluded to this

 

[Zegras11]

Still 20 left

 

[otb_lifer]

Remember how I said there’s a song I don’t really care for that many people revere? It’s one of the 3 remaining from PG. 

1 of them would've made my top 5 (along with 5)Trampled/3)Communication Breakdown/2)Achilles/1)Immigrant Song) - i have a sneaking suspicion the one you're sourcing here is definitely it. 

 

[dickey moe]

Misty is a dead man walking. It's not next, but I would start rounding up all friends, family, and a priest to say your last goodbyes. As far as Graffiti goes, people may think its their best album, but they sure didn't vote that way.

Another example of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts, IMO. 

While I have one more song from IV compared to PG in my Top 25, I have four songs from PG in my Top 10 compared to three songs from IV in my Top 10.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

1 of them would've made my top 5 (along with 5)Trampled/3)Communication Breakdown/2)Achilles/1)Immigrant Song) - i have a sneaking suspicion the one you're sourcing here is definitely it. 

Based on your pattern, it may well be. I love your other 4 — all were on my list — and I can see how people who like those would also like the one I don’t care for, but it’s got certain qualities that rub me the wrong way.

 

[PIK95]

In the Light would be super low for me fwiw.

 

[Anarchy99]

I feel like No Quarter has to be coming soon.  Could be another polarizing one.  Some will have it super high, some may not have it at all (me)

I think you are mostly right. We have come to songs that a lot of people really like but still the majority have left as unranked. The best way to describe what makes the next tier of songs vs. those above them is that some of the zeroes will start turning into people’s lower ranked songs. And the top tier will have those songs on the huge majority of lists. There aren’t many songs where everyone was so enthralled that the song  was Top 5 on every list. 

 

[[scooter]]

Today's side bar is about a relatively obscure album from 1970, which timeline wise fell between LZII and LZIII. It was by Screaming Lord Sutch and was called Lord Sutch and Heavy Friends. He was a musician and politician and founder of the Official Monster Raving Loony Party.

Sutch bumped into Zeppelin manager Peter Grant looking to cut an album. Page and Bonham ended up playing on the album, Page produced it, and there were songs written by Page, Bonham, and Jones that appeared on the album. 

Here's how AllMusic describes it . . .

An infamous album by London scene maker Screaming Lord Sutch, who, among other things, claimed to be a genuine Earl and to have started the long hair craze of the '60s, and ran for Parliament on the youth ticket. His infamy bought him some heavy friends indeed for his first LP. Jimmy Page (who produced and played), John Bonham, Jeff Beck, Nicky Hopkins and Noel Redding are all on hand to support Sutch's R&B retreads ("Baby Come Back" is a steal of Roy Head's "Treat Her Right"). The album is regarded as a kind of Plan 9 from Outer Space of rock LPs: it's bad, but endearingly so, with Sutch's growling vocals providing the laughs. Many Led Zeppelin fans -- who bought this album when it was released on the heels of the first two Zep records -- have never forgiven Page for it.

Wailing Sounds
Cause I Love You
Flashing Lights
Gutty Guitar
Would You Believe
Smoke And Fire
Thumping Beat
Union Jack Car
One For You Baby
L-O-N-D-O-N
Brightest Light
Baby, Come Back

Many of those tracks resurfaced on an album from 2000, which was credited to Jimmy Page and was called Rock and Roll Highway. The musicians on these tracks are Page, John Paul Jones, Albert Lee, Keith DeGroot, Nicky Hopkins, Big Jim Sullivan, Clem Cattini, and Chris Hughes.

This album featured additional recordings that were compiled including:

Everything I Do Wrong
Think It Over
Dixie Fried
Fabulous
Lonely Weekend
Burn Up

Those songs first appeared on a Page collection of pre- / non-Zeppelin tracks from 1984 called No Introduction Needed (best described as rockabilly). In addition to those songs above, the following songs were also included on the album:

Lovin' Up A Storm
Boll Weevil Song
Livin' Lovin' Wreck
One Long Kiss
Down The Line
Breathless
Rave On
Everyday

I don't have any back story as to when all of those tracks were recorded, what the intent was in recording them, and why they sat in a closet for years.

There are two distinct projects here, both produced with the same basic goal -- reviving the career of a washed-up former recording artist via covers of '50s rock & roll songs.

The tracks by Screaming Lord Sutch were recorded in May 1969 and feature Page and Bonham only. Sutch had told them of a plan to revive his fading career by recording heavy interpretations of '50s rock & roll classics, and Page and Bonham agreed to participate. They laid down 6 basic tracks, to which Sutch would later overdub his vocals. However, Sutch then decided to change the plan; instead of singing '50s covers, he decided to sing brand-new, unrelated lyrics -- basically creating entirely new songs that were piggybacked onto the amalgamation of '50s songwriters and Jimmy Page's guitar.

When the album was released in early 1970 -- with Page and Bonham prominently listed on the cover, with no mention of the original plan to release 1950s remakes -- Page was FURIOUS. And embarrassed. Personally, I think the songs have a kitchy charm, and I think "Flashing Lights" has a riff and a groove that would have fit in just fine on the 2nd Led Zeppelin album.

The other project dates to early 1968, before Page had quit The Yardbirds. The singer is a guy named Keith DeGroot, who had briefly enjoyed some modest British recording success as a teen crooner under the name Gerry Temple in the early 1960s. But by 1968 the gigs had washed up and he was hoping to re-brand himself as a long-haired rocker. (But with a face like this I'd say that the plan was doomed from the start!) Anyway, he enlisted the help of a couple of his friends -- producer Glyn Johns (who would later engineer the first Led Zeppelin album) and session pianist Nicky Hopkins. They leaned on their comrades in the session world to contribute to the recordings at a reduced rate. And that's where Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones come into the picture. Another participant was future country session guitarist (and Everly Brothers bandleader) Albert Lee.

Somehow, DeGroot managed to land a recording contract with RCA Records. But the subsequent single (a cover of the Jerry Lee Lewis track "Lovin' Up A Storm") was a total flop, and RCA canceled plans to release a follow-up album. The session tapes remained in RCA's vaults until 1973, when they realized that they could make some free money by exploiting the demand for Led Zeppelin records. The subsequent album ("No Introduction Necessary") would become a bargain-bin staple for decades, with the tracks being re-released under dozens of different titles over the years -- frequently crediting Page and Jones, much to their embarrassment.

 

[simey]

I can think of two examples. One is going to the best steak house in 100 miles . . . and then ordering flounder. Sure, a fish dish could be great, but I doubt I would ever order fish in a steak house. Tangerine would be on my list of "See boys and girls, Zeppelin could mix it up some, they weren't all about hard rocking songs."

I think a lot of Led Zeppelin songs aren't hard rocking.

 

[Dr. Octopus]

It's just so funny how we all look at things differently. I consider this song as mostly an album filler tacked on as an after thought. I don't mind the song, but I have never gone looking for it. I wouldn't say if it comes on I dive to skip it, but I certainly have passed over it to get to a more rocking song. I guess for me this is an example of a track, while expertly crafted and performed, is not one that I think of as my image of Zeppelin. I do like the slide guitar, but that's not enough to get me to love it. If we went 50 deep in rankings, it likely would not have made it onto that list either. 

I can think of two examples. One is going to the best steak house in 100 miles . . . and then ordering flounder. Sure, a fish dish could be great, but I doubt I would ever order fish in a steak house. Tangerine would be on my list of "See boys and girls, Zeppelin could mix it up some, they weren't all about hard rocking songs."

The other example would be my memories of Tom Brady. He was one of the best ever at QB sneaks. But my mental image of Brady will never be of him lowering his head and diving forward on a 4th and inches, even if that play had to happen to get to a more exciting play to win a game.

On a similar note, the next song is in my Top 3 but did not make your list at all, so we can have this discussion in reverse. Besides you, 35 other people didn't rank it either, so there certainly are a broad range of tastes and interests. It just speaks to the depth and breadth of their catalog. We are quickly getting to the point (if we haven't already) that any of these songs would have been the pinnacle and best work for the huge majority of bands.

I actually find it kind of funny that everyone thinks of Zeppelin as deities for the heavy metal burnouts in high school (and they deserve to be), yet so much of their catalog is acoustic and so much of it is “flowery”. I love both sides of them. If I’m really honest it’s my #1 song but I dropped it to #2 just to add a drop of objectivity to the rankings.

They do songs like this as well as any band ever has. It’s a thing of beauty.

 

[Anarchy99]

I think a lot of Led Zeppelin songs aren't hard rocking.

People can think of them however they want. But Wikipedia, the all knowing information source of the universe, describes them as an English rock band with a heavy, guitar-driven sound, cited as one of the progenitors of hard rock and heavy metal.

I agree they have a lot of songs that aren't hard rocking, but they have plenty of rockers. Harrison Ford has a lot of films that aren't action movies. But yet he is recognized as one of the great actors in the action movie genre.

Even with all those folk, acoustic, and blues songs in LZ catalog, 40-50 years after the fact they are most known for being a hard rock act (fact or fiction, for better or for worse, etc.). IMO, they certainly did bring hard rock to the forefront ad were pioneers in that musical style, even if there with other "loud" acts in the same time frame (Jimi, Sabbath, Steppenwolf, Blue Cheer, Deep Purple, etc.). 

 

[Whyatt]

People can think of them however they want. But Wikipedia, the all knowing information source of the universe, describes them as an English rock band with a heavy, guitar-driven sound, cited as one of the progenitors of hard rock and heavy metal.

I agree they have a lot of songs that aren't hard rocking, but they have plenty of rockers. Harrison Ford has a lot of films that aren't action movies. But yet he is recognized as one of the great actors in the action movie genre.

Even with all those folk, acoustic, and blues songs in LZ catalog, 40-50 years after the fact they are most known for being a hard rock act (fact or fiction, for better or for worse, etc.). IMO, they certainly did bring hard rock to the forefront ad were pioneers in that musical style, even if there with other "loud" acts in the same time frame (Jimi, Sabbath, Steppenwolf, Blue Cheer, Deep Purple, etc.). 

I have no issue with Led Zeppelin being considered a hard rock band, that said it’s pretty clear they weren’t the hardest rocking of even their time.

But what makes LZ special is, in my opinion, the unique flair and passion they brought to the folk, acoustic, blues, and yes even some of the hard rock songs. 

 

[skol asylum]

Tangerine probably should have been in my top 25. I think it suffered from overplay / over awareness when I did my ranking.

 

[AAABatteries]

I'm not going to dissect which songs people voted for as a regular thing, but since you raised your hand . . .

IIRC, you voted for 8 PG songs . . . which means you didn't vote for 7 PG songs. I get it, no one is going to list 15 songs from the same album in their Top 25. But you didn't vote for one of the most prominent tracks on the album. That in a vacuum is no big deal. But when the majority of rankers also didn't vote for it, then it will slide down the rankings. 

I originally thought PG would clean up in this type of exercise because it had twice as many songs on it than other albums. But that was also its Achilles Heel. BECAUSE there were so many songs, everyone was going to leave off at least half of them.

When Zeppelin gets brought up on the boards, a lot of people are quick to jump in and say that PG is their favorite album. Because of that, I expected it to be the top point getter in all of this. SPOILER ALERT: It's not. Overall, I would say it did well in the point tally, but it did not do as well as its reputation would lead us to believe. In that regard, it under performed vs. how much admiration it typically receives. We can speak more to how the albums shook out when we get closer to the end of the rankings.

I only had 3 PG songs in my 25 but had another 3 in my next 10.

 

[skol asylum]

Still 20 left

Still 21 left

 

[FairWarning]

I only had 3 PG songs in my 25 but had another 3 in my next 10.

I had 6-7 in mine.  I’m going to take it in a different direction from anarchy99.I look at it as 25% of my list is from PG.  I think I only had one from IV.  It’s a credit to their catalog.

 

[skol asylum]

I had 6-7 in mine.  I’m going to take it in a different direction from anarchy99.I look at it as 25% of my list is from PG.  I think I only had one from IV.  It’s a credit to their catalog.

I have 4 from PG.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

I had 6-7 in mine.  I’m going to take it in a different direction from anarchy99.I look at it as 25% of my list is from PG.  I think I only had one from IV.  It’s a credit to their catalog.

7 in mine (47% of the album, 28% of my list). 

 

[Dr. Octopus]

Tangerine probably should have been in my top 25. I think it suffered from overplay / over awareness when I did my ranking.

Really? I always thought of it more of a deep track. Maybe Almost Famous changed that a little?

 

[⚡DEADHEAD⚡]

Yep.

I ranked it as well. And see my post about In the Light and it applies to No Quarter as well.

I did too. In fact, Anarchy called me out for putting a song down twice, which gave me the opportunity to put in No Quarter. Now you might think it'd go in at #25, but no, that's not what happened. I'm glad I got a chance to rank it. Won't be a regret. I'll have other regrets though.

 

[skol asylum]

Really? I always thought of it more of a deep track. Maybe Almost Famous changed that a little?

My exposure to Zeppelin was with the box set version in college. So really I guess I was exposed to all those tracks equally. So maybe I chose my words poorly. More like the song just sounds like one you would hear over and over and sort of just write off as been there done that. IDK how to describe it better than that. My brain is tired as I've been working all afternoon in spreadsheets.

 

[otb_lifer]

Really? I always thought of it more of a deep track. Maybe Almost Famous changed that a little?

same. 

AF was a scourge, full stop.

 

[FairWarning]

I like Tangerine, the biggest problem with III was the album really sounded like crap, production-wise.  

 

[skol asylum]

Reviewing my top 25 and one song sticks out that probably should have been higher - Kashmir.

 

[shuke]

Tangerine probably should have been in my top 25. I think it suffered from overplay / over awareness when I did my ranking.

Overplayed?  Where?  

 

[Neal Cassady]

I did! 

Yeah, me too.  Think I had 7 in top 25. 

 

[skol asylum]

Overplayed?  Where?  

Yeah I'm dumb. See subsequent post.

 

[joffer]

love Tangerine.  Never get tired of it.

 

[DocHolliday]

I figured it would be a polarizing song, but I'm a fan of In the Light. It's my #23, but it could have slotted higher depending on the day and one of those I'm not surprised to see high for some. Similarly, wouldn't begrudge anyone that didn't like it as their cup of tea.

I really like In The Light and ranked at 17.  Maybe that was a little high but honestly my songs in the 15-35 range could be shuffled all over the place.   I like them all.  

In The Light isn’t a rocker.  It’s not the most beautiful work by LZ.  I don’t think the guitar work by Page is outstanding.  But, the song has always grabbed me.   Plants vocals are solid and the song is interesting to me still after many decades.  

 

[2Young2BBald]

Catching up on the thread and am curious where I stand in terms of most songs and points off my list so far.  Unless I missed a song, I have 11 gone, including my #1 & #2:

1.       The Rover

2.       Fool in the Rain

3.      

4.      

5.     

6.       Trampled Underfoot

7.       In The Evening

8.      

9.     

10. 

11. 

12.   All of my Love

13.   Tangerine

14.  

15. 

16.

17.

18.  Nobody's Fault but Mine

19.

20.  Houses of the Holy

21.  Achilles Last Stand

22.

23.

24.  Gallows Pole

25.  Caroselambra

 

[Tom Servo]

When Zeppelin gets brought up on the boards, a lot of people are quick to jump in and say that PG is their favorite album. Because of that, I expected it to be the top point getter in all of this. SPOILER ALERT: It's not. Overall, I would say it did well in the point tally, but it did not do as well as its reputation would lead us to believe. In that regard, it under performed vs. how much admiration it typically receives. We can speak more to how the albums shook out when we get closer to the end of the rankings.

Or, is it a matter of: bell to bell, album X has consistently good songs, but the best songs of album Y are higher (i.e., wider distribution of likes).   

 

[Todem]

I'm not going to dissect which songs people voted for as a regular thing, but since you raised your hand . . .

IIRC, you voted for 8 PG songs . . . which means you didn't vote for 7 PG songs. I get it, no one is going to list 15 songs from the same album in their Top 25. But you didn't vote for one of the most prominent tracks on the album. That in a vacuum is no big deal. But when the majority of rankers also didn't vote for it, then it will slide down the rankings. 

I originally thought PG would clean up in this type of exercise because it had twice as many songs on it than other albums. But that was also its Achilles Heel. BECAUSE there were so many songs, everyone was going to leave off at least half of them.

When Zeppelin gets brought up on the boards, a lot of people are quick to jump in and say that PG is their favorite album. Because of that, I expected it to be the top point getter in all of this. SPOILER ALERT: It's not. Overall, I would say it did well in the point tally, but it did not do as well as its reputation would lead us to believe. In that regard, it under performed vs. how much admiration it typically receives. We can speak more to how the albums shook out when we get closer to the end of the rankings.

3 of my top 5 songs were from PG and In The Light is now off the board. 
 

Gravity Bong Hits and this song……oh my.

 

[Anarchy99]

#27 - How Many More Times from Led Zeppelin I (1969)

Appeared On: 25 ballots (out of 62 . . . 40.3%)
Total Points: 325 points (out of 1,550 possible points . . .  21%)

Top 5 Rankers:  @Anarchy99@neal cassady@shuke@In The Zone
Top 10 Rankers: @Ron Popeil@Ilov80s@MAC_32@Zeppelin@beer 30DEAD HEAD
Highest Ranking: 3

Live Performances:
LZ: 181 (Seattle - 1968-12-30, Stockholm - 1969-03-14, San Francisco - 1969-04-27, London - 1969-10-08, Paris - 1969-10-10, London - 1970-01-09, Montreux - 1970-03-07, Bath Festival - 1970-06-28, Southampton - 1973-01-22)
Page & Plant: 93 (Cologne - 1998-08-23, Vancouver - 1998-09-05)
Plant: 8 (As How Many More Years) Derby - 1981-04-13

Covers: John Bonamassa, Pat Travers, L.A. Guns, Dread Zeppelin, Phish, Alabama Shakes

Ultimate Classic Rock Ranking (out of 92 songs): 37
Vulture Ranking (out of 74 songs): 34
Rolling Stone Ranking (out of 40 songs): Not Ranked
Louder Ranking (out of 50 songs): 25
Uproxx Ranking (out of 50 songs): 19
WMGK Ranking (out of 92 songs): 45
SPIN Ranking (out of 87 songs):65
Ranker Ranking (out of 87 songs): Not Ranked
Anachronarchy Ranking (out of 80 songs): 55

How Many More Times was essentially a love it or hate it proposition. Four people had it in their Top 5 and six others had it in their Top 10. On the flip side, 37 folks said thanks but no thanks. It just missed the Top 25, falling two points short. This is what I think of when I think Led Zeppelin (no offense to the Tangerine lovers). I am sure many rankers and critics alike knock it because the song is so long.

I was the highest ranker, but that would largely be influenced by their early live performances (blistering) followed by the band using it as one of their cornerstone medley songs. And I like me a good medley. I understand most people would not be that familiar with either the live performances or the medleys. If I had to exclude those from consideration, there’s no way I would have ranked it as my #3 song. The studio version is good but not great, while the live versions are filled with energy and carry a wallop. Page would often improvise all sorts of riffs and effects, which to me adds to the live versions. But I can certainly see how some people prefer not to devote 25 minutes to a song. To me, not knowing what happens next creates a sense of mystery that the studio albums can't possibly provide after 1,000 listens over 40+ years.

I can’t remember if we covered this before, but prior to reeling in Robert Plant, Jimmy Page had considered other singers when he was trying to put a band together. The most notable (meaning the closest to joining forces with Page) was Terry Reid, who bowed out of consideration (he also said no to Deep Purple as well . . . wonder how much he is kicking himself over those calls). When Page and Peter Grant approached Reid about joining the new band, he was already booked on tours as an opener for The Rolling Stones and another set of shows for Cream (and was already supporting Fleetwood Mac and Jethro Tull). Reid suggested Plant.

In that general time frame when Page was trying to form a band, other considerations included Steve Winwood, who by then had been in the Spencer Davis Group and Traffic and was just starting to get involved with Blind Faith. Another option was Small Faces front man Steve Marriott. That band was in the process of disbanding, but Marriott opted to continue with The Faces with Rod Stewart. Marriott also started Humble Pie as well. I just can’t see Zeppelin with Steve Winwood singing all the songs Plant belted out.

HMMT blended elements of earlier blues recordings including The Hunter - Albert King, How Many More Years - Howlin’ Wolf, and No Place To Go - Howlin’ Wolf. The phrase “I got another child on the way that  makes eleven” is a reference to his wife (who was 8 months pregnant with daughter Carmen at the time). In an ironic twist, Plant was instrumental in developing HMMT, but along with King and Wolf, he initially did not receive any writing credit (he did eventually).

Jimmy Page said, "We had numbers from the Yardbirds that we called free form, like Smokestack Lightnin', where I'd come up with my own riffs and things, and obviously I wasn't going to throw all that away, as they hadn't been recorded, so I remodeled those riffs and used them again, so the bowing on How Many More Times and Good Times, Bad Times was an extension of what I'd been working on with the Yardbirds, although I'd never had that much chance to go to town with it, and to see how far one could stretch the bowing technique on record, and obviously for anyone who saw the band, it became quite a little showpiece in itself.

The song lasts 8:28, but Page had the song listed at 3:30 on the album to try to fool radio stations into thinking is was a shorter song to get it played on the radio.

How Many More Times was one of the highlights of their early tours and was their closer. Biographer recalled, “When they left the stage, the final chords of How Many More Times still bouncing off the walls, the crowd began stamping their feet and chanting Zeppelin! Zeppelin! Zeppelin!” The audience was still calling for more Led Zeppelin as Iron Butterfly began their set.

The song was a staple in 1969-70, at which point the band shifted their penchant for medleys from HMMT to Whole Lotta Love. Oddly enough, when Page injured his finger in 1975, How Many More Times briefly replaced Dazed and Confused in the set for about a week. Overall, HMMT was the 11th most performed song by LZ. Page & Plant performed the song on their 1998 tour, and one of their live performances was released as a single (and we know how much they dislike singles).

Rik Emmett of Triumph rates the guitar performance on this song as one of the best in rock history. "Could there be anything heavier and sexier on a guitar than a low open E riff from Jimmy Page? No, there could not.”

Ultimate Classic Rock (37 of 92 songs): One of the band's earliest songs and one with a sketchy history, seeing that it incorporates lyrics, refrains and even a slightly tweaked title from a handful of earlier blues numbers. Still, it swings, and Page hauls out his bow for a trippy midsection.

Vulture (34 of 74 songs): Another statement of guitar and studio dominance by Page. The beginning, a huge, swaggery beat,  is a little show-offy, but the groove it eventually hits — yet another of those minor Page riffs that would mark the high point of a lesser band — is a heavy one, indeed.

Louder (25 of 50 songs): It may owe substantial debts to both Albert King’s The Hunter and Howlin’ Wolf’s How Many More Years, but this nightmarish eight-and-a-half-minute closer to Zep’s debut album has a dark heart all of its own. Opening with a stinging burst of wah-wah guitar, Plant’s carnivorous vocal ('I was a young man, I couldn’t resist') and Page’s eerie bowed guitar – a nod to his days in The Yardbirds – combine to establish the maleficent mood before the song develops into a molten rolling blues, as chilling as it is awe-inspiring.

Uproxx (19 of 50 songs): Led Zeppelin I is just so tight and focused. Even Dazed And Confused comes and goes in less than seven minutes. But How Many More Times is where they really blow it wide open. Page had pioneered jammy rock with The Yardbirds, and he met his match with Plant and Bonham, whose improvisations with their previous group, The Band Of Joy, emulated the West Coast groups that Plant was enamored with. But whereas The Grateful Dead made head music, How Many More Times is a jam directed at the crotch.

WMGK (45 of 92 songs): The second appearance of Jimmy Page’s bowed guitar on Zeppelin’s debut, How Many More Times brings Led Zeppelin I to a close in epic fashion and sets the table for what was to come a mere nine months later on Led Zeppelin II.

SPIN (65 of 87 songs): Primarily remembered for John Paul Jones’ Green Onions-like walking bass line, and the way the intro unfolds from there. It’s a brilliant first half-minute, and there is no earthly reason why the song should last for another eight minutes after that.

Up next, a song with one of the most perplexing outcomes of all the songs that were ranked (perhaps THE MOST perplexing) . . . a gospel song that turned into the longest track in the Zeppelin catalog.

 

[In The Zone]

#27 - How Many More Times from Led Zeppelin I (1969)

Appeared On: 25 ballots (out of 62 . . . 40.3%)
Total Points: 325 points (out of 1,550 possible points . . .  21%)

Top 5 Rankers:  @Anarchy99@neal cassady@shuke@In The Zone
Top 10 Rankers: @Ron Popeil@Ilov80s@MAC_32@Zeppelin@beer 30DEAD HEAD
Highest Ranking: 3

Live Performances:
LZ: 181 (Seattle - 1968-12-30, Stockholm - 1969-03-14, San Francisco - 1969-04-27, London - 1969-10-08, Paris - 1969-10-10, London - 1970-01-09, Montreux - 1970-03-07, Bath Festival - 1970-06-28, Southampton - 1973-01-22)
Page & Plant: 93 (Cologne - 1998-08-23, Vancouver - 1998-09-05)
Plant: 8 (As How Many More Years) Derby - 1981-04-13

Covers: John Bonamassa, Pat Travers, L.A. Guns, Dread Zeppelin, Phish, Alabama Shakes

Ultimate Classic Rock Ranking (out of 92 songs): 37
Vulture Ranking (out of 74 songs): 34
Rolling Stone Ranking (out of 40 songs): Not Ranked
Louder Ranking (out of 50 songs): 25
Uproxx Ranking (out of 50 songs): 19
WMGK Ranking (out of 92 songs): 45
SPIN Ranking (out of 87 songs):65
Ranker Ranking (out of 87 songs): Not Ranked
Anachronarchy Ranking (out of 80 songs): 55

How Many More Times was essentially a love it or hate it proposition. Four people had it in their Top 5 and six others had it in their Top 10. On the flip side, 37 folks said thanks but no thanks. It just missed the Top 25, falling two points short. This is what I think of when I think Led Zeppelin (no offense to the Tangerine lovers). I am sure many rankers and critics alike knock it because the song is so long.

I was the highest ranker, but that would largely be influenced by their early live performances (blistering) followed by the band using it as one of their cornerstone medley songs. And I like me a good medley. I understand most people would not be that familiar with either the live performances or the medleys. If I had to exclude those from consideration, there’s no way I would have ranked it as my #3 song. The studio version is good but not great, while the live versions are filled with energy and carry a wallop. Page would often improvise all sorts of riffs and effects, which to me adds to the live versions. But I can certainly see how some people prefer not to devote 25 minutes to a song. To me, not knowing what happens next creates a sense of mystery that the studio albums can't possibly provide after 1,000 listens over 40+ years.

I can’t remember if we covered this before, but prior to reeling in Robert Plant, Jimmy Page had considered other singers when he was trying to put a band together. The most notable (meaning the closest to joining forces with Page) was Terry Reid, who bowed out of consideration (he also said no to Deep Purple as well . . . wonder how much he is kicking himself over those calls). When Page and Peter Grant approached Reid about joining the new band, he was already booked on tours as an opener for The Rolling Stones and another set of shows for Cream (and was already supporting Fleetwood Mac and Jethro Tull). Reid suggested Plant.

In that general time frame when Page was trying to form a band, other considerations included Steve Winwood, who by then had been in the Spencer Davis Group and Traffic and was just starting to get involved with Blind Faith. Another option was Small Faces front man Steve Marriott. That band was in the process of disbanding, but Marriott opted to continue with The Faces with Rod Stewart. Marriott also started Humble Pie as well. I just can’t see Zeppelin with Steve Winwood singing all the songs Plant belted out.

HMMT blended elements of earlier blues recordings including The Hunter - Albert King, How Many More Years - Howlin’ Wolf, and No Place To Go - Howlin’ Wolf. The phrase “I got another child on the way that  makes eleven” is a reference to his wife (who was 8 months pregnant with daughter Carmen at the time). In an ironic twist, Plant was instrumental in developing HMMT, but along with King and Wolf, he initially did not receive any writing credit (he did eventually).

Jimmy Page said, "We had numbers from the Yardbirds that we called free form, like Smokestack Lightnin', where I'd come up with my own riffs and things, and obviously I wasn't going to throw all that away, as they hadn't been recorded, so I remodeled those riffs and used them again, so the bowing on How Many More Times and Good Times, Bad Times was an extension of what I'd been working on with the Yardbirds, although I'd never had that much chance to go to town with it, and to see how far one could stretch the bowing technique on record, and obviously for anyone who saw the band, it became quite a little showpiece in itself.

The song lasts 8:28, but Page had the song listed at 3:30 on the album to try to fool radio stations into thinking is was a shorter song to get it played on the radio.

How Many More Times was one of the highlights of their early tours and was their closer. Biographer recalled, “When they left the stage, the final chords of How Many More Times still bouncing off the walls, the crowd began stamping their feet and chanting Zeppelin! Zeppelin! Zeppelin!” The audience was still calling for more Led Zeppelin as Iron Butterfly began their set.

The song was a staple in 1969-70, at which point the band shifted their penchant for medleys from HMMT to Whole Lotta Love. Oddly enough, when Page injured his finger in 1975, How Many More Times briefly replaced Dazed and Confused in the set for about a week. Overall, HMMT was the 11th most performed song by LZ. Page & Plant performed the song on their 1998 tour, and one of their live performances was released as a single (and we know how much they dislike singles).

Rik Emmett of Triumph rates the guitar performance on this song as one of the best in rock history. "Could there be anything heavier and sexier on a guitar than a low open E riff from Jimmy Page? No, there could not.”

Ultimate Classic Rock (37 of 92 songs): One of the band's earliest songs and one with a sketchy history, seeing that it incorporates lyrics, refrains and even a slightly tweaked title from a handful of earlier blues numbers. Still, it swings, and Page hauls out his bow for a trippy midsection.

Vulture (34 of 74 songs): Another statement of guitar and studio dominance by Page. The beginning, a huge, swaggery beat,  is a little show-offy, but the groove it eventually hits — yet another of those minor Page riffs that would mark the high point of a lesser band — is a heavy one, indeed.

Louder (25 of 50 songs): It may owe substantial debts to both Albert King’s The Hunter and Howlin’ Wolf’s How Many More Years, but this nightmarish eight-and-a-half-minute closer to Zep’s debut album has a dark heart all of its own. Opening with a stinging burst of wah-wah guitar, Plant’s carnivorous vocal ('I was a young man, I couldn’t resist') and Page’s eerie bowed guitar – a nod to his days in The Yardbirds – combine to establish the maleficent mood before the song develops into a molten rolling blues, as chilling as it is awe-inspiring.

Uproxx (19 of 50 songs): Led Zeppelin I is just so tight and focused. Even Dazed And Confused comes and goes in less than seven minutes. But How Many More Times is where they really blow it wide open. Page had pioneered jammy rock with The Yardbirds, and he met his match with Plant and Bonham, whose improvisations with their previous group, The Band Of Joy, emulated the West Coast groups that Plant was enamored with. But whereas The Grateful Dead made head music, How Many More Times is a jam directed at the crotch.

WMGK (45 of 92 songs): The second appearance of Jimmy Page’s bowed guitar on Zeppelin’s debut, How Many More Times brings Led Zeppelin I to a close in epic fashion and sets the table for what was to come a mere nine months later on Led Zeppelin II.

SPIN (65 of 87 songs): Primarily remembered for John Paul Jones’ Green Onions-like walking bass line, and the way the intro unfolds from there. It’s a brilliant first half-minute, and there is no earthly reason why the song should last for another eight minutes after that.

Up next, a song with one of the most perplexing outcomes of all the songs that were ranked (perhaps THE MOST perplexing) . . . a gospel song that turned into the longest track in the Zeppelin catalog.

Looking back I'm kind of surprised that I had this at #5 but damn what a song. 

 

[beer 30]

#27 - How Many More Times from Led Zeppelin I (1969)

Appeared On: 25 ballots (out of 62 . . . 40.3%)
Total Points: 325 points (out of 1,550 possible points . . .  21%)

Top 5 Rankers:  @Anarchy99@neal cassady@shuke@In The Zone
Top 10 Rankers: @Ron Popeil@Ilov80s@MAC_32@Zeppelin@beer 30DEAD HEAD
Highest Ranking: 3

Live Performances:
LZ: 181 (Seattle - 1968-12-30, Stockholm - 1969-03-14, San Francisco - 1969-04-27, London - 1969-10-08, Paris - 1969-10-10, London - 1970-01-09, Montreux - 1970-03-07, Bath Festival - 1970-06-28, Southampton - 1973-01-22)
Page & Plant: 93 (Cologne - 1998-08-23, Vancouver - 1998-09-05)
Plant: 8 (As How Many More Years) Derby - 1981-04-13

Covers: John Bonamassa, Pat Travers, L.A. Guns, Dread Zeppelin, Phish, Alabama Shakes

Ultimate Classic Rock Ranking (out of 92 songs): 37
Vulture Ranking (out of 74 songs): 34
Rolling Stone Ranking (out of 40 songs): Not Ranked
Louder Ranking (out of 50 songs): 25
Uproxx Ranking (out of 50 songs): 19
WMGK Ranking (out of 92 songs): 45
SPIN Ranking (out of 87 songs):65
Ranker Ranking (out of 87 songs): Not Ranked
Anachronarchy Ranking (out of 80 songs): 55

How Many More Times was essentially a love it or hate it proposition. Four people had it in their Top 5 and six others had it in their Top 10. On the flip side, 37 folks said thanks but no thanks. It just missed the Top 25, falling two points short. This is what I think of when I think Led Zeppelin (no offense to the Tangerine lovers). I am sure many rankers and critics alike knock it because the song is so long.

I was the highest ranker, but that would largely be influenced by their early live performances (blistering) followed by the band using it as one of their cornerstone medley songs. And I like me a good medley. I understand most people would not be that familiar with either the live performances or the medleys. If I had to exclude those from consideration, there’s no way I would have ranked it as my #3 song. The studio version is good but not great, while the live versions are filled with energy and carry a wallop. Page would often improvise all sorts of riffs and effects, which to me adds to the live versions. But I can certainly see how some people prefer not to devote 25 minutes to a song. To me, not knowing what happens next creates a sense of mystery that the studio albums can't possibly provide after 1,000 listens over 40+ years.

I can’t remember if we covered this before, but prior to reeling in Robert Plant, Jimmy Page had considered other singers when he was trying to put a band together. The most notable (meaning the closest to joining forces with Page) was Terry Reid, who bowed out of consideration (he also said no to Deep Purple as well . . . wonder how much he is kicking himself over those calls). When Page and Peter Grant approached Reid about joining the new band, he was already booked on tours as an opener for The Rolling Stones and another set of shows for Cream (and was already supporting Fleetwood Mac and Jethro Tull). Reid suggested Plant.

In that general time frame when Page was trying to form a band, other considerations included Steve Winwood, who by then had been in the Spencer Davis Group and Traffic and was just starting to get involved with Blind Faith. Another option was Small Faces front man Steve Marriott. That band was in the process of disbanding, but Marriott opted to continue with The Faces with Rod Stewart. Marriott also started Humble Pie as well. I just can’t see Zeppelin with Steve Winwood singing all the songs Plant belted out.

HMMT blended elements of earlier blues recordings including The Hunter - Albert King, How Many More Years - Howlin’ Wolf, and No Place To Go - Howlin’ Wolf. The phrase “I got another child on the way that  makes eleven” is a reference to his wife (who was 8 months pregnant with daughter Carmen at the time). In an ironic twist, Plant was instrumental in developing HMMT, but along with King and Wolf, he initially did not receive any writing credit (he did eventually).

Jimmy Page said, "We had numbers from the Yardbirds that we called free form, like Smokestack Lightnin', where I'd come up with my own riffs and things, and obviously I wasn't going to throw all that away, as they hadn't been recorded, so I remodeled those riffs and used them again, so the bowing on How Many More Times and Good Times, Bad Times was an extension of what I'd been working on with the Yardbirds, although I'd never had that much chance to go to town with it, and to see how far one could stretch the bowing technique on record, and obviously for anyone who saw the band, it became quite a little showpiece in itself.

The song lasts 8:28, but Page had the song listed at 3:30 on the album to try to fool radio stations into thinking is was a shorter song to get it played on the radio.

How Many More Times was one of the highlights of their early tours and was their closer. Biographer recalled, “When they left the stage, the final chords of How Many More Times still bouncing off the walls, the crowd began stamping their feet and chanting Zeppelin! Zeppelin! Zeppelin!” The audience was still calling for more Led Zeppelin as Iron Butterfly began their set.

The song was a staple in 1969-70, at which point the band shifted their penchant for medleys from HMMT to Whole Lotta Love. Oddly enough, when Page injured his finger in 1975, How Many More Times briefly replaced Dazed and Confused in the set for about a week. Overall, HMMT was the 11th most performed song by LZ. Page & Plant performed the song on their 1998 tour, and one of their live performances was released as a single (and we know how much they dislike singles).

Rik Emmett of Triumph rates the guitar performance on this song as one of the best in rock history. "Could there be anything heavier and sexier on a guitar than a low open E riff from Jimmy Page? No, there could not.”

Ultimate Classic Rock (37 of 92 songs): One of the band's earliest songs and one with a sketchy history, seeing that it incorporates lyrics, refrains and even a slightly tweaked title from a handful of earlier blues numbers. Still, it swings, and Page hauls out his bow for a trippy midsection.

Vulture (34 of 74 songs): Another statement of guitar and studio dominance by Page. The beginning, a huge, swaggery beat,  is a little show-offy, but the groove it eventually hits — yet another of those minor Page riffs that would mark the high point of a lesser band — is a heavy one, indeed.

Louder (25 of 50 songs): It may owe substantial debts to both Albert King’s The Hunter and Howlin’ Wolf’s How Many More Years, but this nightmarish eight-and-a-half-minute closer to Zep’s debut album has a dark heart all of its own. Opening with a stinging burst of wah-wah guitar, Plant’s carnivorous vocal ('I was a young man, I couldn’t resist') and Page’s eerie bowed guitar – a nod to his days in The Yardbirds – combine to establish the maleficent mood before the song develops into a molten rolling blues, as chilling as it is awe-inspiring.

Uproxx (19 of 50 songs): Led Zeppelin I is just so tight and focused. Even Dazed And Confused comes and goes in less than seven minutes. But How Many More Times is where they really blow it wide open. Page had pioneered jammy rock with The Yardbirds, and he met his match with Plant and Bonham, whose improvisations with their previous group, The Band Of Joy, emulated the West Coast groups that Plant was enamored with. But whereas The Grateful Dead made head music, How Many More Times is a jam directed at the crotch.

WMGK (45 of 92 songs): The second appearance of Jimmy Page’s bowed guitar on Zeppelin’s debut, How Many More Times brings Led Zeppelin I to a close in epic fashion and sets the table for what was to come a mere nine months later on Led Zeppelin II.

SPIN (65 of 87 songs): Primarily remembered for John Paul Jones’ Green Onions-like walking bass line, and the way the intro unfolds from there. It’s a brilliant first half-minute, and there is no earthly reason why the song should last for another eight minutes after that.

Up next, a song with one of the most perplexing outcomes of all the songs that were ranked (perhaps THE MOST perplexing) . . . a gospel song that turned into the longest track in the Zeppelin catalog.

HMMT encapsulates everything LZ stands for. Just a wall of sound that also isolates each member and his contributions to LZ. It's also 8 minutes long a straight FU to radio. It was rare for a band to waste album space with something this long, especially a new band just trying to get radio time. LZ didn't care and that makes all the more special.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

It was rare for a band to waste album space with something this long, especially a new band just trying to get radio time. 

You must not be familiar with the hippie bands. 

 

[Pip's Invitation]

#27 - How Many More Times from Led Zeppelin I (1969)

Appeared On: 25 ballots (out of 62 . . . 40.3%)
Total Points: 325 points (out of 1,550 possible points . . .  21%)

Top 5 Rankers:  @Anarchy99@neal cassady@shuke@In The Zone
Top 10 Rankers: @Ron Popeil@Ilov80s@MAC_32@Zeppelin@beer 30DEAD HEAD
Highest Ranking: 3

Live Performances:
LZ: 181 (Seattle - 1968-12-30, Stockholm - 1969-03-14, San Francisco - 1969-04-27, London - 1969-10-08, Paris - 1969-10-10, London - 1970-01-09, Montreux - 1970-03-07, Bath Festival - 1970-06-28, Southampton - 1973-01-22)
Page & Plant: 93 (Cologne - 1998-08-23, Vancouver - 1998-09-05)
Plant: 8 (As How Many More Years) Derby - 1981-04-13

Covers: John Bonamassa, Pat Travers, L.A. Guns, Dread Zeppelin, Phish, Alabama Shakes

Ultimate Classic Rock Ranking (out of 92 songs): 37
Vulture Ranking (out of 74 songs): 34
Rolling Stone Ranking (out of 40 songs): Not Ranked
Louder Ranking (out of 50 songs): 25
Uproxx Ranking (out of 50 songs): 19
WMGK Ranking (out of 92 songs): 45
SPIN Ranking (out of 87 songs):65
Ranker Ranking (out of 87 songs): Not Ranked
Anachronarchy Ranking (out of 80 songs): 55

How Many More Times was essentially a love it or hate it proposition. Four people had it in their Top 5 and six others had it in their Top 10. On the flip side, 37 folks said thanks but no thanks. It just missed the Top 25, falling two points short. This is what I think of when I think Led Zeppelin (no offense to the Tangerine lovers). I am sure many rankers and critics alike knock it because the song is so long.

I was the highest ranker, but that would largely be influenced by their early live performances (blistering) followed by the band using it as one of their cornerstone medley songs. And I like me a good medley. I understand most people would not be that familiar with either the live performances or the medleys. If I had to exclude those from consideration, there’s no way I would have ranked it as my #3 song. The studio version is good but not great, while the live versions are filled with energy and carry a wallop. Page would often improvise all sorts of riffs and effects, which to me adds to the live versions. But I can certainly see how some people prefer not to devote 25 minutes to a song. To me, not knowing what happens next creates a sense of mystery that the studio albums can't possibly provide after 1,000 listens over 40+ years.

I can’t remember if we covered this before, but prior to reeling in Robert Plant, Jimmy Page had considered other singers when he was trying to put a band together. The most notable (meaning the closest to joining forces with Page) was Terry Reid, who bowed out of consideration (he also said no to Deep Purple as well . . . wonder how much he is kicking himself over those calls). When Page and Peter Grant approached Reid about joining the new band, he was already booked on tours as an opener for The Rolling Stones and another set of shows for Cream (and was already supporting Fleetwood Mac and Jethro Tull). Reid suggested Plant.

In that general time frame when Page was trying to form a band, other considerations included Steve Winwood, who by then had been in the Spencer Davis Group and Traffic and was just starting to get involved with Blind Faith. Another option was Small Faces front man Steve Marriott. That band was in the process of disbanding, but Marriott opted to continue with The Faces with Rod Stewart. Marriott also started Humble Pie as well. I just can’t see Zeppelin with Steve Winwood singing all the songs Plant belted out.

HMMT blended elements of earlier blues recordings including The Hunter - Albert King, How Many More Years - Howlin’ Wolf, and No Place To Go - Howlin’ Wolf. The phrase “I got another child on the way that  makes eleven” is a reference to his wife (who was 8 months pregnant with daughter Carmen at the time). In an ironic twist, Plant was instrumental in developing HMMT, but along with King and Wolf, he initially did not receive any writing credit (he did eventually).

Jimmy Page said, "We had numbers from the Yardbirds that we called free form, like Smokestack Lightnin', where I'd come up with my own riffs and things, and obviously I wasn't going to throw all that away, as they hadn't been recorded, so I remodeled those riffs and used them again, so the bowing on How Many More Times and Good Times, Bad Times was an extension of what I'd been working on with the Yardbirds, although I'd never had that much chance to go to town with it, and to see how far one could stretch the bowing technique on record, and obviously for anyone who saw the band, it became quite a little showpiece in itself.

The song lasts 8:28, but Page had the song listed at 3:30 on the album to try to fool radio stations into thinking is was a shorter song to get it played on the radio.

How Many More Times was one of the highlights of their early tours and was their closer. Biographer recalled, “When they left the stage, the final chords of How Many More Times still bouncing off the walls, the crowd began stamping their feet and chanting Zeppelin! Zeppelin! Zeppelin!” The audience was still calling for more Led Zeppelin as Iron Butterfly began their set.

The song was a staple in 1969-70, at which point the band shifted their penchant for medleys from HMMT to Whole Lotta Love. Oddly enough, when Page injured his finger in 1975, How Many More Times briefly replaced Dazed and Confused in the set for about a week. Overall, HMMT was the 11th most performed song by LZ. Page & Plant performed the song on their 1998 tour, and one of their live performances was released as a single (and we know how much they dislike singles).

Rik Emmett of Triumph rates the guitar performance on this song as one of the best in rock history. "Could there be anything heavier and sexier on a guitar than a low open E riff from Jimmy Page? No, there could not.”

Ultimate Classic Rock (37 of 92 songs): One of the band's earliest songs and one with a sketchy history, seeing that it incorporates lyrics, refrains and even a slightly tweaked title from a handful of earlier blues numbers. Still, it swings, and Page hauls out his bow for a trippy midsection.

Vulture (34 of 74 songs): Another statement of guitar and studio dominance by Page. The beginning, a huge, swaggery beat,  is a little show-offy, but the groove it eventually hits — yet another of those minor Page riffs that would mark the high point of a lesser band — is a heavy one, indeed.

Louder (25 of 50 songs): It may owe substantial debts to both Albert King’s The Hunter and Howlin’ Wolf’s How Many More Years, but this nightmarish eight-and-a-half-minute closer to Zep’s debut album has a dark heart all of its own. Opening with a stinging burst of wah-wah guitar, Plant’s carnivorous vocal ('I was a young man, I couldn’t resist') and Page’s eerie bowed guitar – a nod to his days in The Yardbirds – combine to establish the maleficent mood before the song develops into a molten rolling blues, as chilling as it is awe-inspiring.

Uproxx (19 of 50 songs): Led Zeppelin I is just so tight and focused. Even Dazed And Confused comes and goes in less than seven minutes. But How Many More Times is where they really blow it wide open. Page had pioneered jammy rock with The Yardbirds, and he met his match with Plant and Bonham, whose improvisations with their previous group, The Band Of Joy, emulated the West Coast groups that Plant was enamored with. But whereas The Grateful Dead made head music, How Many More Times is a jam directed at the crotch.

WMGK (45 of 92 songs): The second appearance of Jimmy Page’s bowed guitar on Zeppelin’s debut, How Many More Times brings Led Zeppelin I to a close in epic fashion and sets the table for what was to come a mere nine months later on Led Zeppelin II.

SPIN (65 of 87 songs): Primarily remembered for John Paul Jones’ Green Onions-like walking bass line, and the way the intro unfolds from there. It’s a brilliant first half-minute, and there is no earthly reason why the song should last for another eight minutes after that.

Up next, a song with one of the most perplexing outcomes of all the songs that were ranked (perhaps THE MOST perplexing) . . . a gospel song that turned into the longest track in the Zeppelin catalog.

I love it and it just missed my cut. It is a victim of my current mentality, in which I’m not as interested in Zep’s blues reworkings as their other stuff. But this was a top 10 for teenage me. I am not too familiar with their early live stuff. If I was, this might have ranked higher. 

My friend prefers their early stuff to their later stuff, but I suspect this was too over the top for him. Their blues reworkings have never been a big selling point for him. 

FYI Marriott was never part of Rod’s Faces. He quit the Small Faces, and the others brought Rod in to replace him on vocals and Ron Wood in to replace him on guitar. Because Rod and Ronnie were not short, they dropped the “Small” from the name. Look at pics of the band sometime — Rod and Ronnie just tower over the rest of them. 

 

[Todem]

HMMT came in ranked 16th on my top 25.

A Tour De Force Jam for LZ. I love this tune.