Led Zeppelin’s ‘Coda’ Turns 40: The Album’s 8 Songs Ranked
Led Zeppelin gave the world some of classic rock’s best albums during their 12-year career. Their run effectively ended when drummer John Bonham died in 1980. Jimmy Page, the band’s founder, said there was one reason Led Zeppelin couldn’t continue without Bonham. Yet the band had to turn in one more studio album to Atlantic Records, so Page plumbed the archives and pieced together the surprisingly good Coda, which turns 40 in 2022. Yet some of Coda’s tunes have aged better than others. Let’s rank Coda’s eight songs from worst to best.
8. ‘Walter’s Walk’
Even a band as polished as Led Zeppelin produced a few duds. “Walter’s Walk” is one of them. Bonham’s drums sound great (they almost always did), but Page’s guitar riffs and Robert Plant’s lyrics come off as uninspired.
It’s interesting to hear John Paul Jones’ bass line echo Page’s guitar riff rather than stand as its own melodic element, but not interesting enough to save “Walter’s Walk” from being Coda’s worst song.
7. ‘Ozone Baby’
A potential glimpse of Led Zeppelin’s feature had Bonham not died? The song steps away from Zep’s forte (heavy blues riffing) to take a stab at something approximating new wave. Page’s solo recalls The Cars, but not well enough to prove this style of music would have been viable had Led Zeppelin stayed together.
Still, this is a surprisingly good rendition of new wave for a band that hadn’t attempted the style before.
6. ‘Wearing and Tearing’
Led Zeppelin and their arena-rock brethren fell into punk’s crosshairs in the late 1970s. “Wearing and Tearing” is Led Zeppelin’s response to punk. It misses the mark a little bit in terms of sound and song length, but Zep brings intense energy to this 1978 outtake.
As Coda’s album closer, “Wearing and Tearing” seems to be a statement about the power and passion Led Zeppelin still possessed after a decade of decadent living. It remains one of Zep’s underrated songs.
5. ‘We’re Gonna Groove’
The energetic Coda opener came from one of Led Zeppelin’s early concerts. So why does it appear on an album of studio outtakes? Because Page heavily remixed it and lied to the record company about its origins.
“We’re Gonna Groove” is one of the shortest songs in the band’s catalog, and it serves as a reminder of why Led Zeppelin rose to dizzying heights during their career. It’s a tight tune that sees all four band members in full stride. Plant described “Wearing and Tearing” as Zep’s response to punk. Aside from a Page solo that shares bloodlines with “Whole Lotta Love,” this is the song that puts Zep in the same breath as punk bands that came much later.
4. ‘Darlene’
Ranking Coda’s songs takes a difficult turn the closer you get to the top. “Darlene” included.
Led Zeppelin had an affinity for rockabilly, with mixed results. “Candy Store Rock” from Presence is a solid, Elvis Presley-like throwback. In Through the Out Door’s “Hot Dog” was a sloppy mess. “Darlene” is definitely superior to the latter and might be better than the former.
Jones’ rollicking piano here lends an air of rockabilly authenticity that “Candy Store Rock” lacked. An assembly of some strong Page riffs makes his playing memorable. Plant’s lyrics are sophomoric at best, but he channels the vocal delivery he displayed on Zep’s earliest albums for this In Through the Out Door outtake.
3. ‘Bonzo’s Montreux’
It’s a grower. The first listen to this Bonham solo might not win you over, but just give it time. Bonham’s restrained yet powerful playing is truly a spotlight for one of the best rock drummers of all time.
The effects Page overlaid on Bonzo’s solo reveal more satisfying elements with each listen. The pair worked on it in secret in 1976, and the only question is why it remained buried for so long. It’s a testament to what a powerful performer (Bonham) and a skillful studio wiz (Page) can accomplish when left to their own devices. This song alone is why Coda is Dave Grohl’s favorite Led Zeppelin album.
2. ‘I Can’t Quit You Baby’
This is another case of Page reworking a live song for inclusion on this “studio” album. (Hey, he had to remix it in a studio somewhere, right?) “I Can’t Quit You Baby” might be the most difficult Coda song to rank.
Led Zeppelin covered this blues tune on their 1969 debut, and, overall, the Coda version hews closely to the studio version. So on the surface, there’s not much that’s different.
Yet Page plays blistering guitar throughout, including a solo that unbelievably didn’t melt the fretboard. We also get a Bonham solo at the end, which the original lacked. A young Plant supplies vocals that might be even more expressive than the original studio version.
Once you hear this version of “I Can’t Quit You Baby,” you understand why it ranks so highly among Coda’s songs.
1. ‘Poor Tom’
As folk-centric as anything in the Led Zeppelin catalog, “Poor Tom” features strong performances from all four band members.
Page plays a 12-string riff that approximates the sound of a parlor piano. Bonham, as always, provides impressively steady drumming, and Jones checks in with a bass line that seems to keep tumbling down the stairs, but this could be a Plant highlight. The singer does some great storytelling with his lyrics, and he provides a harmonica solo that brings the song home.
“Poor Tom” probably deserved a spot on Led Zeppelin III, but an already stacked track listing meant it hit the cutting room floor. Being the best-ranked song on Coda, a surprisingly strong Led Zeppelin album, is a nice consolation prize.
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