Rolling Stone - "The swagger is there from the get-go, on 'Good Times Bad Times' Jimmy Page's guitar pounces from the speakers, fat with menace..." Rolling Stone (12/11/03, p.106) - Ranked #29 in Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Albums Of All Time" - "...From the very beginning, Zeppelin had the astonishing fusion of Page's lyrical guitar playing and Robert Plant's paint-peeling love-hound yowl..." Rolling Stone (9/13/01, p.112) - 5 stars out of 5 - "...No Zep album sounds quite as gratifyingly raw or is as comprehensive in defining the band's intentions..." Q (10/94, p.141) - 3 Stars - Good - "...the rites of passage, Marquee-style bluesbreaker album, recorded in just 30 hours (no record contract, no cash), it's peak 'Dazed And Confused,' wherein half-inch blues exploded into riffology..."

Rovi

Led Zeppelin had a fully formed, distinctive sound from the outset, as their eponymous debut illustrates. Taking the heavy, distorted electric blues of Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck, and Cream to an extreme, Zeppelin created a majestic, powerful brand of guitar rock constructed around simple, memorable riffs and lumbering rhythms. But the key to the group's attack was subtlety: it wasn't just an onslaught of guitar noise, it was shaded and textured, filled with alternating dynamics and tempos. As Led Zeppelin proves, the group was capable of such multi-layered music from the start. Although the extended psychedelic blues of "Dazed and Confused," "You Shook Me," and "I Can't Quit You Baby" often gather the most attention, the remainder of the album is a better indication of what would come later. "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" shifts from folky verses to pummeling choruses; "Good Times Bad Times" and "How Many More Times" have groovy, bluesy shuffles; "Your Time Is Gonna Come" is an anthemic hard rocker; "Black Mountain Side" is pure English folk; and "Communication Breakdown" is a frenzied rocker with a nearly punkish attack. Although the album isn't as varied as some of their later efforts, it nevertheless marked a significant turning point in the evolution of hard rock and heavy metal. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Rovi