Led Zeppelin cover a range of styles within the boundaries of rock music. From prog rock epics such as “Stairway To Heaven”, funk tinged songs like “Trampled Under Foot”, and light ballads in the vein of “All My Love”, there’s a diverse selection of sounds and feelings in the Led Zeppelin back catalogue. Perhaps the core of their sound, nevertheless, is simple hard rock.
“Good Times Bad Times” exemplifies this sort of classic, almost genre defining hard rock sound. There’s energy in spades, and the members of the band all put their unique stamp on the song. There’s deft guitar work from Jimmy Page, John Bonham’s imitable drum style rolls and splashes, John Paul Jones puts down a lively running bassline, and then of course Robert Plant sings with some real conviction as well.
It’s about life and love, with the experiences changing with age, and for that reason the classic quality of the song is even more notable.
The song opened the band’s eponymous debut album in 1969, kicking the thing off in a suitably zesty fashion. It’s got a noticeable influence from Page’s old band, The Yardbirds, with a late 60s rock and roll vibe.
What a jam!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFj0rxyNCtc