Led Zeppelin III (1970)

Garf! Between my trip to New Orleans and fighting this stupid head cold (swamp fever??) I brought back from the Big Easy (compounded with a stomach bug), I've been a little behind here. Don't worry though. Each day a new album is being spawned, but it may not get an immediate write-up. Don't be surprised to see a little more brevity that usual here!

So, Led Zeppelin III? I've heard this album described as the one where the band "goes folk rock", but the band really doesn't get all that pastoral except on a few tracks, even though their Bron-Yr-Aur surroundings were designed to illicit that feel. After all, the wax had barely cooled on Led Zeppelin II when this album was born, so it's not really a huge break or change in direction. In fact most of the first side isn't a huge stretch of the imagination with the usual power ("Immigrant Song") and blues numbers ("Since I've Been Loving You"). It's really in the side two material where the argument can be effectively made that they were out to explore new territory. The acoustic/folk stuff would always remain an element of the rest of the catalog, but understandably anyone in 1970 who started off with "Gallows Pole" may have been wondering what happened. My own personal journey to this album was a bit labored and I think this was one of the last albums I acquired.

A couple posts back I mused about my misunderstanding of the song "Gemini Dream". Well, there is no shortage of mondegreens (misheard lyrics) for "Immigrant Song". Check out this link to an extensive list. I didn't see among these my own interpretations: "I want to go where there's a West End show" or "I want to go where there's a rest and shower." And to think Robert Plant's delivery would only get MORE garbled by mid-decade!