The five best acoustic songs by Led Zeppelin
Rock music today, in its expansive and dynamic form, owes much of its existence to Led Zeppelin. While The Beatles pioneered studio experimentation and embodied the complete package of aesthetics and philosophy, it was Led Zeppelin who took that foundation and expanded it further. They pushed the boundaries of musical exploration, honed their sound, and perfected the live stadium show—a feat the Fab Four famously struggled to achieve. In doing so, Led Zep became instrumental in shaping the future of rock.
Led Zeppelin’s founder, Jimmy Page, always dreamed of creating a form of rock music that was both darker and much more sonically robust than that of the mid-to-late 1960s, with the shoots of this idea first heard during his stint in The Yardbirds. Still, it wasn’t until he formed The New Yardbirds, soon to be Led Zeppelin 1968, that he would finally make good on this simple but game-changing concept.
Tying together an esoteric spin on psychedelia and mystical folk and tapping into the mystery at the heart of the blues that had inspired Page as a wide-eyed child, Led Zeppelin covered all the suitable bases apropos the time. Furthermore, his previous work as a session musician provided a fast track to realising his dream. Not only was the guitarist an accomplished six-string player and composer, but he also knew how to weaponise the studio after working with some of the best in the business for years.
The group released their first two albums in 1969, which confirmed them as the most exciting guitar band around, toppling The Beatles off their perch with their muscular, electric sound. However, it’s arguable that Led Zeppelin rose so monumentally because of their sonic dynamism and that towering heavy rock was not the only trick in their arsenal. As each member was a master at their craft, they could dip in and out of sounds as they saw fit, sowing together a multifaceted back catalogue.
One area they did incredibly well was acoustic. Putting a genuinely metaphysical spin on folk music, they would use this to tap into the mythologies and esotericism that had long fascinated them while also propping up their own storied career, which also blends the line between fact and fiction.
Find the best acoustic Led Zeppelin songs below.
The best Led Zeppelin acoustic songs:
‘Gallows Pole’ (Led Zeppelin III, 1970)
As the members of Led Zeppelin are all folk aficionados, they would sometimes cover genre standards. A centuries-old folk number they tried their hand at is ‘The Maid Freed from the Gallows’, which has plenty of other titles, such as ‘The Gallows Pole’ and ‘The Gallis Pole’. Fittingly, it is about a condemned woman pleading for someone to buy her freedom and save her from the executioner.
While the likes of Lead Belly and Bob Dylan have put their own spin on this song, Led Zeppelin’s is the best, with its rumbling bluegrass essence, a refreshing moment on their divisive break from the past, Led Zeppelin III. A resounding example of the direction the band were about to move in, which would draw more heavily on folk and acoustic music over the next decade, this was an excellent way to plant their flag in the ground.
‘The Battle of Evermore’ (Led Zeppelin IV, 1971)
Led Zeppelin are one of the most highly mythologised groups out there, and it is thanks to songs such as ‘The Battle of Evermore’ that they hold such a status. A magical folk duet sung between frontman Robert Plant and the late Fairport Convention vocalist Sandy Denny, it is most famously remembered for Page playing bassist John Paul Jones’s mandolin, whose atmospheric chimes underpin the entire track.
It is a classic Led Zeppelin moment; not only are the vocals and mandolin incredibly potent, but Plant’s lyrics are also notable. Stoking much fantastical intrigue, his lyrics refer to the inspiration of JRR Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, an epic work which the vocalist would refer to on several occasions in the band. When Denny belts out, “Oh dance in the dark of night / Sing to the mornin’ light”, it’s as if one of the elves from Tolkien’s works is singing themself.
‘Going to California’ (Led Zeppelin IV, 1971)
It wasn’t just fantasy and European mythology that Led Zeppelin were masters at bringing to life in their music. ‘Going to California’ is not only one of their finest acoustic tracks but compositions in general, as Page and Plant wrote a heady, wistful number in the vein of the counterculture’s premium folkists such as Joni Mitchell. It showed they could be topical.
Both men were artistically rapt by Mitchell. Utilising an alternative guitar tuning, and with Jones playing his mandolin to full effect, they sought to make good on her influence. They even openly revealed how ‘California’ from Mitchell’s 1971 masterwork Blue was one of the main inspirations behind the stunning composition. The track is so indebted to the Canadian that in the acoustic segments of their sets, Plant would sometimes sing the word “Joni” after the line, “She plays guitar and cries and sings”.
‘Bron-Yr-Aur’ (Physical Graffiti, 1975)
Physical Graffiti is often deemed the record of when Plant finally realised his long-term vision and made Led Zeppelin’s music more searing and otherworldly. Featuring cuts such as the timelessly enormous ‘Kashmir’, the funky ‘Trampled Under Foot’ and the simply epic ‘The Rover’, it was the first stadium rock classic. However, on the extensive record, the group also artfully offset their hard rock proclivities with touches of traditional, acoustic beauty.
The absolute pinnacle of this is the fleeting instrumental, ‘Bron-Yr-Aur’, an outtake from Led Zeppelin III, which was named after the 18th-century Welsh cottage where Page and Plant penned much of the material on their third and fourth albums, significant releases which confirmed them as true innovators. A sliding, hypnotic moment, wherein Page displays his excellent fingerwork, it’s one of the most underrated compositions in their oeuvre, and today appears something of a spiritual ancestor to Jonny Greenwood’s ‘Amethyst’.
‘That’s the Way’ (Led Zeppelin III, 1970)
Led Zeppelin III was such a stark shift for the band. Given that they drew upon a greater berth of instruments than before, from synthesisers to mandolins, the follow-up to the universally loved Led Zeppelin II was critically derided. However, this was purely because it was far ahead of its time, and listeners simply hadn’t refined their tastes to align with the coming era. It has always been a robust and accomplished album, but as we’ve seen so many times over the years, artworks that are innovative or refreshing aren’t often fully understood or accepted when released.
Although ‘Gallows Pole’ and ‘Immigrant Song’ are the two most iconic numbers from the record, it does contain much brilliance elsewhere. Outside of the Nordic frost of the latter track, I’d wager that the best song on the album is ‘That’s the Way’. Marrying celestial acoustic strings and a slide guitar, with Page’s delivery particularly captivating delivery, it is by far the finest acoustic moment the quartet ever laid down.
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