Led Zeppelin… by this point in their careers, they were major stars, and had claimed their stake as the biggest band of the 70's. They were still riding the success of their first the classic "Stairway to Heaven," which would bless radio airwaves with its presence for years, eventually becoming the most played (or most requested, I can't remember which) song of all time. So, how does one follow up the album with a mega-classic such as that on it?

Nobody knows, and I don't think Zeppelin did, either. Or they were too stuck up to care about following it up. So, they just branched out in every direction they could fit into eight tracks. The mostly instrumental "The Song Remains the Same" kicks things off nicely with funky guitar work, courtesy of Jimmy Page. It segues directly into "Rain Song," a touching, slow song with some nice orchestration form John Paul Jones.

"Over the Hills and Far Away" is folky… but heavy at the same time. It kicks, though, and that's all I ask. "The Crunge" is stupid, but in a good way. If you can think of any situation where "stupid" is good. It's careless and unpretentious… Any time Zeppelin shows those qualities, it HAS to be good. "Dancing Days" is harmless, and has a nice riff to back it up.

"No Quarter" is among Led Zeppelin's masterpieces. Dark and murkey, with some great solos from Page and some nice synth work from John Paul Jones and, of course, John Bonham's steady drums. Nice work there. The closer, "The Ocean" is the most rock-oriented song on the record. Standard stuff for Zeppelin, other than a little bit of an a cappella piece from Plant.

All in all, a decent album by Zeppelin's standards, and for no reason other than personal preference, my favorite Zeppelin album. Hey, it's even their most diverse effort (other than a few things here and there on the later albums). From a critical standpoint, Led Zeppelin had done better, but as shown by some songs on Coda, they were capable of far worse.