Ahh, the pleasure that fills your heart as you open the CD player, set the CD in, close it, and press play… the sweet, gummy anticipation, as tangible as a rich stew, bubbling in the air, settling around you… the imperceptible perk of your ear as the first light note groans into existence… that happy, mournful moan…

Ahh, the scream that erupts from within your shocked, confounded mind when four cellists suddenly erupt into a popular Metallica ballad! Too late you realize that you are not listening to any ordinary group of cellists… indeed, the band you are listening to is Apocalyptica, a group of four musical nomads who express their diehard adoration for Metallica and a few other metal bands by transcribing their songs for the cello.

Soon, however, you forget your outrage. You settle back in your chair, whistle for the maid and have her clean up your spilt brandy, light another fifty dollar cigar. As the music, raucous yet played with love and practice, continues, you even allot yourself another snifter of brandy. The music may be unorthodox… but it’s thoroughly enjoyable, and by gosh, who cares what the neighbors say! You allot yourself several more snifters of brandy and presently you find yourself dancing joyously to "One", which, you think to yourself, is definitely the best Metallica song Apocalyptica plays. The maid enters the room and stares quizzically at you. You waltz over, buoyant and beaming, and grasp her quickly, pull her towards you, hold her tight and ignore her frightened attempts at release. For Apocalyptica is playing, and the mood is right for dancing and adultery.

How any group of such young musicians could play with such inspirational skill is truly amazing. Listening to their music, I am constantly reminded of my own inept guitar playing, compared to the talent they displayed by the time they were little more than legal adults. My friend Cassa summed up the godly skills of Led Zeppelin quite aptly when she quipped, "I feel hella inadequate compared to them!"

However, aside from instilling untold numbers of youngsters with the urge to engage in sometimes less than flattering introspection, Led Zeppelin has also given folks musical ecstasy for over 30 years. Their first album was probably the greatest and most heartfelt album they ever cut. Zeppelin 1, as the fans often refer to it as, features songs both spawned purely from the unique, brilliant minds of Led Zeppelin, and adaptations of bluesy hits such as "You Shook Me" and "I Can’t Quit You Baby", by blues legend Willie Dixon- the inspiration of a different, earlier generation. Every song is sung with such feeling by Robert Plant that one can’t help but squint up their eyes in pain and empathy when Plant cries out immortal lines such as, "Lyin’… Cheatin’… Hurtin’… that’s ALL you seem to do!" Later, in the same song (Your Time Is Gonna Come, the fifth track of the album), Plant drops the line "Messin’ around every guy in town!" with such raw, savage passion, that the listener clenches their fist and jaw with enough brutality to scare a police officer! How a man of only 19 could sound so righteously pained about a situation he probably could have only been in once, if ever at all in his short life, is very awe-inspiring. One would almost think Plant to be an elderly blues musician who had already lived a long life replete with pain and betrayal, when in fact, at the time of Zeppelin 1′s release, Plant was a blue-eyed pup with curly frocks of blonde hair and a boyish, friendly smile. Guitarist Jimmy Page, whose talent has led to many discussions with topics like "Who was the greatest guitarist of this century?" and "Who was the greatest guitarist ever?" plays with a soulful rythym equal or greater to Plant’s own. His licks and riffs pound deep, throbbing rythym into the music, and when he plays "Black Mountain Side", a piece featuring himself on guitar and guest musician Viram Jasani on Tabla drums, the sound is as rapturous as a prayer is to a devout monk. John Paul Jones, whose skill on the bass is illustrated in hits such as "Dazed and Confused" and "How Many More Times", comes across as a dedicated, professional young musician with as much love for his instrument as the rest of Zeppelin displays for theirs. Finally, John Bonham’s legendary drumming defies description- the listener must form their own opinion about his perfectly crafted, never-off beats. Listen to "Good Times Bad Times", the first track on the album, to hear his original, avant-garde style at it’s finest.

Led Zeppelin’s first album is their best for a myriad of reasons. The members all share a love for the music that most musicians, including Zeppelin, lose in their later compositions. There is an energetic idealism that reflects the fiery passions of youth from any generation- a kid today can pick up an album, listen to it, and instantly connect with the four artists who sing and play without restraint, who demonstrate their love for the blues and for rock as purely as possible, and who truly illustrate the truth in youth by representing love, passion, idealism, and a penchant for playing rock that carried them from obscurity into undying fame, where they will remain forever- etched into the history of civilization like acid into granite.