BUCKET LIST UPDATE No. 253: Listen to Led Zeppelin’s “Led Zeppelin” album

The British rock group Led Zeppelin is one of the most iconic rock bands of all time, and just about everyone on the planet has heard of them. Formed in 1968, the band was composed of bassist and keyboardist John Paul Jones, guitarist Jimmy Page, vocalist Robert Plant and the late John Bonham, who was the band’s drummer. The group produced nine studio albums and is generally considered to be one of the most influential rock groups of all time.

Despite all this and the band’s popularity, I couldn’t honestly say that I’d ever listened to any of Led Zeppelin’s albums from start to finish. This should perhaps come as no surprise, especially when you consider that six of the band’s studio albums were released before I was even born, and their last studio album was released when I was six, that is, two years after the band broke up when Bonham died from alcohol intoxication.

Fast forward to a few years ago to when I ran across a “best of” list published by Rolling Stone magazine called “The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.” I noticed that Led Zeppelin’s first studio album, 1969’s “Led Zeppelin,” was ranked No. 29 on that prestigious list, so I put it on my “bucket list” and vowed to listen to it from start to finish when the opportunity presented itself. I got my chance last Friday and actually ended up listening to the entire album three times.

For those of you unfamiliar with the original “Led Zeppelin” album, it was released on Jan. 12, 1969 and is just under 45 minutes long. There are nine songs on the album and the most famous is arguably “Good Times Bad Times,” which reached No. 80 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. Other songs on the album include “Babe I’m Gonna Leave You,” “You Shook Me,” “Dazed and Confused,” “Your Time Is Gonna Come,” “Black Mountain Side,” “Communication Breakdown,” “I Can’t Quit You Baby” and How Many More Times.”

Now that I’ve listened to the original “Led Zeppelin” album, I’m left wanting to listen to some of the band’s other albums, especially the four others that are ranked on Rolling Stone’s prestigious “500 Best Albums” list. “Led Zeppelin IV” (1971) was ranked No. 69 on Rolling Stone’s list, and “Physical Graffiti” (1975) was ranked No. 73. “Led Zeppelin II” (1969) was ranked No. 79, and “Houses of the Holy” (1973) was ranked No. 148.

Led Zeppelin’s other studio albums include “Led Zeppelin III” (1970), “Presence” (1976), “In Through the Out Door” (1979) and “Coda” (1982). The band’s most famous song is arguably “Stairway to Heaven,” which can be found on 1971’s “Led Zeppelin IV.” My favorite Led Zeppelin song is “Immigrant Song,” which can be found on “Led Zeppelin III.”

In the end, how many of you have listened to Led Zeppelin’s original “Led Zeppelin” album? What did you think about it? Did you like it or not? Let us know in the comments section below.