Led Zeppelin (album)
Publication Country Accolade Year Rank
The Times United Kingdom The 100 Best Albums of All Time 1993 41
Rolling Stone United States The Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums of All Time 2012 29
Grammy Awards United States Grammy Hall of Fame 2004 *
Q United Kingdom The Music That Changed the World 2004 7
Robert Dimery United States 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die 2006 *
Classic Rock United Kingdom 100 Greatest British Rock Album Ever 2006 81
Uncut United Kingdom 100 Greatest Debut Albums 2006 7
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame United States The Definitive 200 2007 165
Q United Kingdom 21 Albums That Changed Music 2007 6
Legacy
The album 's success and influence is widely acknowledged , even by publications that were initially sceptical . In 2006 , Rolling Stone commented on the originality of the music , and Zeppelin 's heavy style , comparing them to Cream , Jimi Hendrix , the MC5 and the Stooges , but reiterated that they had mass appeal . [ 15 ] Led Zeppelin was cited by Stephen Thomas Erlewine as `` a significant turning point in the evolution of hard rock and heavy metal '' . [ 47 ] According to arts and culture scholar Michael Fallon , it `` announced the emergence of a loud and raw new musical genre '' in metal . [ 48 ] and by the BBC as `` a product of the 1960s whose often bombastic style signposted a new decade '' . [ 49 ] Sheldon Pearce from Consequence of Sound regarded it as Zeppelin 's `` ode to rock 's progressive metamorphosis '' and `` the first hard rock domino '' for their future accomplishments : `` Its orchestration delves adventurously through hard rock and heavy metal with bluesy undertones that often cause the chords to weep poignantly as if struck with malice '' . [ 50 ] The album was described as a `` brilliant if heavy-handed blues-rock offensive '' by popular music scholar Ronald Zalkind . [ 51 ] Martin Popoff argued that while the album may not have been the first heavy metal record , it did feature what was likely to be the first metal song – `` Communication Breakdown '' – `` with its no-nonsense machine gun between the numbers riff '' . [ 52 ] In 2003 , VH1 named Led Zeppelin the 44th-greatest album of all time . The same year , the album was ranked 29th on Rolling Stone 's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time ; an accompanying blurb read : `` Heavy metal still lives in its shadow , '' [ 53 ] maintaining the rating in a 2012 revised list . [ 54 ] In 2004 , the album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame . [ 55 ] Jimmy Page , observed Aerosmith 's Joe Perry , `` was an incredible producer and he wrote all these great songs . When he was cutting the first Zeppelin album , he knew what he wanted . His vision was so much more global than Jeff and Eric 's . Playing guitar was just one part of the puzzle … I have to have the first four Led Zeppelin albums on me at all times . `` [ 56 ]
Led Zeppelin is the debut album by English rock band Led Zeppelin. It was released on 12 January 1969 in the United States and on 31 March in the United Kingdom by Atlantic Records. The album was recorded in September and October 1968 at Olympic Studios, London, shortly after the band's formation. It contains a mix of original material worked out in the first rehearsals, and remakes and rearrangements of contemporary blues and folk songs. The sessions took place before the group had secured a recording contract and were paid for directly, and took 36 hours and less than £2,000 to complete. It was self-produced by Jimmy Page, the group's founder, leader, and guitarist. He was joined on the album by band members Robert Plant (lead vocals, harmonica), John Paul Jones (bass, keyboards), and John Bonham (drums). Percussionist Viram Jasani appears as a guest on one track. The album was mixed by Page's childhood friend Glyn Johns, and the iconic album cover showing the Hindenburg disaster was designed by George Hardie. The album showed the group's fusion of blues and rock, and their take on the emerging hard rock sound was immediately commercially successful in both the UK and US, reaching the top-10 on album charts in both countries, as well as several others. Many of the songs were longer and not well suited to be released as singles for radio airplay, and Page was reluctant to release singles, so only one single was released, Good Times Bad Times. However, due to exposure on album-oriented rock radio stations, and growth in popularity of the band, many of the album's songs have become classic rock radio staples.