Led Zeppelin

Coda is a resounding farewell from the greatest heavy-metal band that ever strutted the
boards. Produced by Jimmy Page, the album chronicles a ten-year adventure in high guitar
drama and maximum blast. If the record seems a bit of a cheat timewise–it clocks in at
32:40–the song selection is a marvel of compression, deftly tracing the Zeppelin decade
with eight powerful, previously unreleased tracks, and no unnecessary elabora... More >

They really were pretty great, and these eight outtakes--three from their elephantine blues phase, three from their unintentional swan song--aren't where to start discovering why. But despite the calculated clumsiness of the beginnings and the incomplete orchestrations of the end, everything here but the John Bonham Drum Orchestra would convince a disinterested party--a Martian, say. Jimmy Page provides a protean solo on "I Can't Quit You Baby" and jumbo riffs throughout. (Grade: B+)