LED ZEPPELIN – III LP – Nr MINT- UK IMMIGRANT SONG GALLOWS POLE

Led Zeppelin – III
(Atlantic Records  K50002)
Matrix No’s: A6/B2 – UK Pressing

Die Cut Gatefold Sleeve in Nr MINT- condition
– wheel still spins but is not fixed

Vinyl in Nr MINT- condition
(there are a few small marks on side 1 (in tracks 2 & 3) that give a few light crackles but nothing really noticeable)

Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist and keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. The band’s heavy, guitar-driven sound has led them to be cited as one of the progenitors of heavy metal, though their unique style drew from a wide variety of influences, including blues, psychedelia, and folk music.

After changing their name from the New Yardbirds, Led Zeppelin signed a deal with Atlantic Records that afforded them considerable artistic freedom. Although the group was initially unpopular with critics, they achieved significant commercial success with albums such as Led Zeppelin (1969), Led Zeppelin II (1969), Led Zeppelin III (1970), Led Zeppelin IV (1971), Houses of the Holy (1973), and Physical Graffiti (1975). Their fourth album, which features the song “Stairway to Heaven”, is among the most popular and influential works in rock music, and it helped to secure the group’s popularity.

Page wrote most of Led Zeppelin’s music, particularly early in their career, while Plant generally supplied the lyrics. Jones’ keyboard-based compositions later became central to the group’s catalogue, which featured increasing experimentation. The latter half of their career saw a series of record-breaking tours that earned the group a reputation for excess and debauchery. Although they remained commercially and critically successful, their output and touring schedule were limited during the late 1970s, and the group disbanded following Bonham’s death from alcohol-related asphyxia in 1980. In the decades that followed, the surviving members sporadically collaborated and participated in one-off Led Zeppelin reunions. The most successful of these was the 2007 Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert in London, with Jason Bonham taking his late father’s place behind the drums.

Led Zeppelin are widely considered one of the most successful, innovative, and influential rock groups in history. They are one of the best-selling music artists in the history of audio recording; various sources estimate the group’s record sales at 200 to 300 million units worldwide. With RIAA-certified sales of 111.5 million units, they are the second-best-selling band in the US. Each of their nine studio albums placed in the top 10 of the Billboard album chart and six reached the number-one spot. They achieved eight consecutive UK number-one albums. Rolling Stone magazine described them as “the heaviest band of all time”, “the biggest band of the Seventies”, and “unquestionably one of the most enduring bands in rock history”. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995; the museum’s biography of the band states that they were “as influential” during the 1970s as the Beatles were during the 1960s.

Led Zeppelin III is the third studio album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin. It was recorded between January and August 1970 and released on 5 October by Atlantic Records. Composed largely at a remote cottage in Wales known as Bron-Yr-Aur, this work represented a maturing of the band’s music towards a greater emphasis on folk and acoustic sounds. This surprised many fans and critics, and upon its release the album received rather indifferent reviews.

Although it is not one of the highest sellers in Zeppelin’s catalogue, Led Zeppelin III is now generally praised, and acknowledged as representing an important milestone in their history. Although acoustic songs are featured on its predecessors, it is this album which is widely acknowledged for showing that Led Zeppelin was more than just a conventional rock band and that they could branch out into wider musical territory.

Track listing

Personnel

Led Zeppelin

• John Bonham – drums, percussion
• John Paul Jones – bass guitar, organ, moog synthesiser, mandolin, double bass in “Bron-Y-Aur Stomp”
• Jimmy Page – acoustic, electric and pedal steel guitar, banjo, dulcimer, production, bass guitar on “That’s the Way”
• Robert Plant – lead vocals, harmonica

Production

• Barry Diament – mastering, engineering
• Peter Grant – executive producer
• Andy Johns – recording engineer, mixing engineer
• Eddie Kramer – mixing engineer
• Terry Manning – mixing engineer, mastering engineer
• Paul Richmond – mastering