OTHER TECH

Still, none of the above tracks are the best on Led Zeppelin II. That's a toss-up between "Thank You" and "Ramble On."

Sure, girls liked "Thank You" - the same girls who told you to turn the rest of the album down. But that doesn't mean it's substandard and wimpy. Robert sings sincerely without lapsing into pathos. It's this honest emotion that made girls all over the globe spread their legs and surrender to him. The whole song is so MAJESTIC! Like it lives in a place before electricity, in a castle on a hill, far from the rest of the populace.

Still, there's a magic in "Ramble On" that is infectious; the song builds and DAZZLES YOU!

Oh, Jimmy's playing the acoustic. It's his sound, no one else can replicate it.

But the record is nothing without John Paul Jones's bass, dancing all over the bottom of the track, like a court jester. Adding levity to such a serious song. And Bonzo is working his hands over the skins like a 300-pound man tap dancing in slippers.

But about a minute into it, when they reach the chorus, the track EXPLODES! Jimmy and Robert start to rage and John Paul Jones tightens up his lines, they exist in a smaller range and they have an emphasis that goes to your gut.

And after the explosion, there's that SOUND! What is that SOUND! I'm not a forensic listener. Is that something Jimmy's doing on the guitar or one of John Paul Jones's synth workouts? Sounds like the latter.

And then there's the frosting on the cake. Jimmy's trebly guitars. Not edgy, but existing richly up in the upper register. It's as if Catherine Zeta-Jones suddenly started to twirl. Put the track on, at about 2:25. And listen closely. There's the main guitar, and then another one back in the distance. You fall in love with the second the same way you do for the less good-looking, less outgoing younger sister.

And then we're back to two acoustics. With John Paul Jones and Bonzo still doing their dirty work. And when that electric comes back to solo at 3:14, it's so subtle, as if it's being played over the hills and far away. And then the rage comes back. Jimmy's playing starts to sting. Robert's vocal is phasing in and out of the speakers. It's an adventure as rich and exotic as the Lord of the Rings trilogy that inspired the lyrics.

I had to retire Led Zeppelin II for a bunch of years. It was just that burned out.

That's not the band's fault. Stuff this good can't be held back. But all these years later, when playing is no longer revered. When it's about stardom first. When there's no MYSTERY! Led Zeppelin II shines like the masterpiece it is. When I heard "Ramble On" on XM today, I was transported back to high school, and stunningly, I still felt I was the same guy. And that felt good.

See the previous Lefsetz entry.

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