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LED ZEPPELIN (I) is a magnificent showcase for a band that has since attained godlike status among their diehard fans. The thunderous volume of their heavier numbers easily matched, and often surpassed, the intensity of most of their contemporaries in 1969. At the same time, their songs were quite dynamic and were inspired by many different genres including folk & blues.

It's never been any great secret that Zeppelin borrowed many of its ideas from other songwriters. Although several other songwriters are credited on this album (including Willie Dixon, who later sued them over "Whole Lotta Love"), there are several others who aren't. One example would be "Dazed And Confused", which was inspired by an obscure folksinger named Jake Holmes. It also seems obvious that Jimmy Page had been paying close attention to Jeff Beck's debut TRUTH while crafting the sound of his new band, even going as far as covering "You Shook Me".

Regardless, they were amazing interpreters who knew how to reshape these ideas and elevate them to another level altogether. Although the members of Led Zeppelin would often reject the "heavy metal" label, the sheer volume & bombast of their performances justified their inclusion into that genre. “Communication Breakdown” showcases their more manic side, while “How Many More Times” throws it’s sonic punches over an incessant bass riff.

That said, Zeppelin's music transcended such generalizations. Their debut album combines elements of folk, blues & hard rock into their own unique gumbo. It was all about dynamics or "light & shade", as one biographer wrote. These sudden changes in mood and volume could occur across the course of the entire album or even within just one song. "Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You" and "Dazed And Confused" are just a few examples of that approach.

What initially impressed me about this album was the almost telepathic interplay between Robert Plant & Jimmy Page. For example, Robert might sing a line and Jimmy would mimic or answer him on the guitar – or even vice versa. On the album, this interplay sounds raw and spontaneous. My favorite example of this occurs during “You Shook Me”. Jimmy & Robert follow each other through the verses, but the climactic ending is especially impressive.

Jimmy Page’s guitar work on this record was a huge inspiration to me personally, as well as thousands of other guitarists. I believe his passion for the music is perfectly evident and his inventive ideas were often the core of Zeppelin’s success. At this time, Jimmy was quite an experienced studio musician and was considered something of a virtuoso. His decision to use a violin bow on his guitar during “Dazed And Confused” was both an inventive musical approach and an extravagant stage move.

Led Zeppelin’s debut album remains a towering achievement to behold, both for musicians wanting to follow in their footsteps and more casual music fans who just can’t get enough of their music.

An absolutely magnificent album that only seems to grow in stature with each listen. Robert Fripp & gang unwittingly created what is now a masterpiece for Prog Rock fans. The title track is both haunting and beautiful in its dynamics - moving from fragile acoustic ballad to almost orchestral grandeur. Fripp couldn't have picked a better vocalist than Greg Lake to sell these lyrics so passionately and with such wonderful tone. The more experimental moments during "Moonchild" are not meandering, but full of inspired spontaneity.

Such a stunning debut would prove challenging for King Crimson to match on later records. Although IN THE WAKE OF POSEIDON follows this one nicely, it lacks that one remarkable song to elevate it to this level. IN THE COURT OF THE CRIMSON KING possesses two amazing songs in the title track & "21st Century Schizoid Man", with its stop/start time changes and wonderful brass and woodwind accompaniments. And if the stereo version isn't great enough, you should really make a point to hear the 5.1 mixes!

Highlights: "21st Century Schizoid Man" & "In The Court Of The Crimson King".

Easily one of my favorite albums EVER. Jimi & the Experience camped out in the studio to create this sprawling double album that contains absolutely NO filler. After completing two irreproachable masterpieces in ARE YOU EXPERIENCED & AXIS: BOLD AS LOVE, Jimi sets his sights for the stratosphere in creating this wonderfully diverse and genius record that guitarists and recording engineers will be referencing for years to come.

ELECTRIC LADYLAND is one of the finer examples from the burgeoning Album Rock format that was just taking flight in the late 60s. This album achieves a loose cohesion through Jimi's utilization of recurring musical themes. For example, the lengthy slow blues improvisation of "Voodoo Chile", reprises at the end of the album with the absolutely blazing tour-de-force "Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)". They share the same basic musical theme, but the latter is forged in fire! Most guitarists who have ever owned a wah pedal have likely tried to emulate Jimi's opening licks, as this song is a primer in it's utilization! Also, the wonderful "Rainy Day, Dream Away" is reprises several songs later with "Still Raining, Still Dreaming".

Jimi's decision to pair a harpsichord with a wah wah pedal effected guitar on "Burning Of The Midnight Lamp" was a very unique and interesting creative decision. The swirling "1983" suite (which includes "Moon, Turn The Tides...) is an beautiful & enthralling psychedelic epic.

And if all of that isn't enough, there's still Jimi's classic reading of the Dylan song "All Along The Watchtower" that has done much to reinforce his immortality as a guitar legend. ELECTRIC LADYLAND was a mammoth accomplishment that will definitely please us for many generations to come.

(Special thanks to my old friend Aaron Klehn for turning me on to this album back in high school.)

Highlights: "1983... (A Merman I Should Turn To Be)", "All Along The Watchtower", "Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)", "Gypsy Eyes", "Crosstown Traffic" for starters, but there isn't a dull track to be found.

Just as their friendly rivals The Beatles were announcing their breakup, the Rolling Stones had finally solved their identity crisis. During their formative years with original guitarist Brian Jones & manager Andrew Loog Oldham, the band had struggled and experimented with various musical genres, but weren't always consistently great songwriters. The results could vary between brilliant, decent and just plain mediocre. LET IT BLEED finds the Stones have finally assimilated their blues, country & early rock and roll influences and were now blending them in their own unique and special way. Their mastery is so refined that it is very difficult to decide whether some of these songs contain more of one style than another. Every song here is amazing and there is no mediocrity to be found. This is when the Rolling Stones truly became the band that we know and love today.

Highlights: "Gimme Shelter", "Love In Vain", "Live With Me", "Midnight Rambler", "Monkey Man" and "You Can't Always Get What You Want".

FOREVER CHANGES is a psychedelic masterpiece that deserves much more attention in the 21st century. It’s almost shocking how much Love evolved since their DA CAPO album. The opening song "Alone Again Or" (which was excellently covered by UFO) is a surprisingly well arranged song, very much in the vein of the Spaghetti western music that was showcased in movies from this era. While not every track on the album amazes, the highlights are incredibly moving. “The Red Telephone" is classic psychedelia and “You Set The Scene” is wonderfully arranged and contains some soulful & beautiful themes.

The diversity of their influences is startling and the arrangements are quite progressive and infectiously interesting to the ears. Arthur Lee was a genius. Timeless, ageless, absolutely beautiful stuff!

THE WHITE ALBUM holds a special place in my heart for its warmth, playfulness, & humor. After having completed such a challenging concept record with SGT PEPPER'S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND, here are the Beatles taking the opposite course by not striving for perfection. Instead, they adopt a more daring approach by not conforming their songwriting to any one particular style or concept.

While the songwriting might seem a little scattered and inconsistent in comparison to SGT PEPPER, there are more than enough gems to satisfy. Many of the short ditties on this album are almost a tribute to traditional folk ideas with lots of acoustic guitar sing-a-longs ("Rocky Raccoon", "The Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill", "Blackbird", for example).

With two long play records to work with, this exploration becomes a relaxed & playful journey through the imagination of John, Paul, Ringo & George. An absolutely wonderful & challenging record.

Highlights: "Dear Prudence", "Glass Onion", "The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill", "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", "Blackbird", "Rocky Raccoon", & "Helter Skelter".

The Doors 1967 debut seemed an obvious classic to me upon my very first listen. Their music possesses a magical, hypnotic and sensual quality that seems to instantly resonate both intellectually and on a more primal level. Jim Morrison’s shamanistic approach to fronting a Rock & Roll band has inspired countless vocalists and frontmen. And while the often minimalist and jazz influenced chemistry of Krieger, Manzarek & Densmore might seem a bit lightweight on the surface, their telepathic interplay was often seething with subversive menace. In recording this 1st album, they established their own unique identity and a template from which they would develop their sound from on later records. There should be no need to be convinced of the value of this music. The Doors were a force of nature and this album was a perfect introduction to their magical world.

Highlights: “The Crystal Ship”, “The End”, “Light My Fire” and “Alabama Song (Whisky Bar)”.

The Pretenders debut album bristles with such kinetic energy even three decades after its original release. Musically, they created their own brand of brash, punky hard rock, while incorporating a melodic sensibility that helped their musical hooks become so tasty and resonant. Guitarist James Honeyman-Scott was responsible for many of these melodic ideas as can be evidenced in his guitar solo for “Kid” and the guitar riffs in their breakthrough single “Brass In Pocket”. The rhythm section was also a very potent machine, combining the melodic bass lines of the late Pete Farndon with the propulsive and tasteful drumming of Martin Chambers.

Chrissie Hynde may have been a reluctant and self conscious rock star when she originally made this album, but her songwriting and overall performance provided the X-factor that makes this album so powerful. She combines an often sneering rock & roll attitude with sexually aggressive lyrics (“Precious” and “Tattooed Love Boys”), while still baring her softer, more vulnerable side on the ballads (“Stop Your Sobbing” and “Lovers Of Today”). Her warbling vibrato is smooth and engaging on these songs. Chrissie’s excellent songwriting and tough chick attitude would influence countless female Indie rockers to follow in her footsteps.

For me, this is a perfect album from start to finish. You can't get much more rock & roll than the edgy "Precious" which it's eye opening lyrics. However, it’s the slamming “Tattooed Love Boys” that really gets the party going. With the unorthodox 15/16 time signature of the verse section and Scott’s tasty solo break, this song is an obvious standout. Chrissie’s lyrics recount her experiences running with bikers in Ohio during 70s. With the exception of their nicely executed cover of The Kinks “Stop Your Sobbing”, the first half of the record is a more edgy and energized affair.

The second half is decidedly more mellow and melodic with the 60s styled Pop of “Kid”, the well-crafted single “Brass In Pocket” and the somewhat langorous, but fragile ballad “Lovers Of Today”. “Private Life” and “Mystery Achievement” are both rather dynamic & catchy songs that keep things from getting too mellow as the album reaches the end.

This original lineup of The Pretenders would sadly be cut short after two albums after the dismissal of Pete Farndon, followed by both his and Jimmy Scott’s tragic drug overdoses within the space of a year. This outstanding debut album remains a bittersweet testament to the potency of Chrissie’s collaboration with these very talented young men. I’ve listened to this album more times than I can count and it never grows tiresome to me. One of my favorite Rock albums of all time.

It's taken me years to make peace with 90125. Upon its release in 1983, I felt very disappointed about the overtly commercial direction they'd chosen to take. Their earlier records were fairly uncompromising affairs that would sometimes yield radio hits as if by accident. This was more calculated approach let me and many other old Yes fans feeling suspicious about the band's future trajectory and intent. The sudden overexposure of their new material via MTV and FM radio at the time only added to my feeling of unease with this album.

30+ years later, my opinion of this contentious anomaly has softened a great deal, especially when considering the inconsistent quality of the albums that followed. I think it's also important to set aside direct comparisons against their earlier work, since this lineup was clearly a new animal with a somewhat different agenda. Trevor Horn's production is truly amazing here and most of these songs contain instantly memorable hooks. The band always possessed a very distinctive style of harmonizing their voices and this is showcased on 90125 more than ever. And while the three closing tracks aren't quite as compelling as their hits, I wouldn't consider any one of them to be throwaways. With my expectations a bit re-calibrated, I can appreciate how superbly executed this album was.

THE best Who studio album - period. Their songwriting had finally coalesced into a sound that they would find themselves trying to live up to on subsequent records. Townshend at his most inspired.

Highlights: “Baba O’Riley”, “Love Ain’t For Keeping”, “Behind Blue Eyes” & “Won’t Get Fooled Again”.