Led Zeppelin II

Japanese only SHM pressing. Digitally remastered. The SHM-CD [Super High Material CD] format features enhanced audio quality through the use of a special polycarbonate plastic. Using a process developed by JVC and Universal Music Japan discovered through the joint companies' research into LCD display manufacturing SHM-CDs feature improved transparency on the data side of the disc allowing for more accurate reading of CD data by the CD player laser head. SHM-CD format CDs are fully compatible with standard CD players.

Riff rock had been what Jimmy Page's former band, the Yardbirds, were all about, and on Led Zeppelin's second album, released, like its predecessor, in 1969, the inventive guitarist demonstrated that he'd indeed learned his lessons well. Witness "Whole Lotta Love," a woozy epic based on one simple, head-banging-friendly guitar riff. Or the mock-dramatic "Heartbreaker," propelled by far more intricate but similarly effective note squashing. Between Page's sonic wizardry, John Bonham beating his drums into submission ("Moby Dick"), and the juice running down Robert Plant's leg ("The Lemon Song"), Led Zeppelin here just about succeeded in raising rock roll excess to an art form. I--Billy Altman/I

ILed Zeppelin II/I is an album of Jimmy Page riffs so huge, and John Paul Jones/John Bonham rhythms so deep, that the heavy metal genre this classic helped create has tried for decades to catch up, mostly without success. And no wonder: since III/I catches the band before they'd headed too far into their ridiculous medieval fancies, this might be as good as Zep would ever be. Regardless, the thunderous "Whole Lotta Love," a Top 5 hit, and "Bring It on Home" are very nearly as fierce and twisted as British white blues would ever get. I--David Cantwell/I