Bibek Acharya
Mere months after 1969’s eponymous debut had introduced a new lauded ensemble to the world of stadium rock, Led Zeppelin II arrived in October of that year with an even greater heft of gargantuan proto-metal and a widescreen approach to songcraft that would only swell to loftier echelons across their mythic run of 1970s LPs. The electric crackle harnessed between the band began to spark with fierce creativity on their sophomore effort, the riffs coming in thick and the studio’s sonic possibilities further realised.
Their second album was cut in hectic conditions. Recorded across multiple studios in the UK and North America and shaped during jam sessions, Led Zeppelin II‘s imbued with a sharper sense of ephemeral urgency than what would follow.
This rushed process perhaps is responsible for the record’s bluesy flavour—reaching back into their shared love of old Howlin’ Wolf and Willie Dixon Chicago blues numbers to light pronto fires of inspiration beneath them.
Despite the restless circumstances and touring pressures, Led Zeppelin II yielded one of the band’s most beloved numbers, standing as an archetypal Zepp formula boasting frontman Robert Plant’s potent sexual innuendos and scored with one of guitarist Jimmy Page’s most hypnotic riffs. When asked about one of his favourite songs they’d cut together during a 2014 press conference for their album remaster series, Page inexorably cast his mind back to Led Zeppelin II‘s primal opener: “Because I have separate memories for each one, how they were recorded, the sentiment, what they mean is all about. But I would say a track, to actually be able to access the idea of what comes with these companion disc audio and the release would be ‘Whole Lotta Love’”.
While triggering for many the theme of BBC’s long-running Top of the Pops for British fans of a certain age, ‘Whole Lotta Love’ raucous trance captures Led Zeppelin firing on every cylinder. Plant’s barechested bellow, Page’s hair-rising guitar licks, John Paul Jones’ skulking bass groove and John Bonham’s powerhouse percussion bouncing off the 28ft ceiling it was recorded in all coalescing with strutting majesty.
It’s Page’s post-production with engineer Eddie Kramer that adds the song’s otherwordly heft. “The famous ‘Whole Lotta Love’ mix, where everything is going bananas, is a combination of Jimmy and myself just flying around on a small console twiddling every knob known to man,” Kramer recalled when casting his mind back to their mixing duties at A&R Studios.
He added: “We cut some of the tracks in some of the most bizarre studios you can imagine … but in the end it sounded bloody marvellous … there was one guy in charge and that was Mr. Page”.
Guided as much by the hours spent fine-tuning its divine power as well as how well it went down live, ‘Whole Lotta Love’ reflects Page’s love of the studio as an instrument in its own right. Sitting in the producer’s chair for every album, Led Zeppelin II‘s classic opener set a sonic precedent that would enrich later LPs with their fantastical sensibilities.
