At the same time that Led Zeppelin represented a band that already knew full well what they were doing and what they were capable of, in a way Led Zeppelin II was the moment where the band became more fully themselves. When people think of the iconic Zeppelin sound, so much of it can be traced to the archetype established on II, to “Whole Lotta Love” and “Heartbreaker” or even to “What Is And What Should Never Be,” despite that song being a lot stranger than I remembered. When people credit Led Zeppelin as progenitors of heavy metal, this is the album they’re talking about. When people talk about about Led Zeppelin simply sounding titanic in a way that doesn’t seem humanly possible, but somehow elemental and unfathomable, this is the album they’re talking about.

Perhaps because of those things, I’d sort of written Led Zeppelin II off in my head for a while. I’d probably throw Led Zeppelin III or Houses Of The Holy on before I’d throw Led Zeppelin II on, but in revisiting it for this piece I realized maybe I shouldn’t be doing that. II is simply packed with heavy hitters. There’s the obvious, massive Zeppelin riff of “Whole Lotta Love,” the kind of song that launched thousands of bands into existence before it even hits the minute mark. While “What Is And What Should Never Be” is a weirder song that I remembered, it’s also a way better song than I remembered; it’s become one of my favorites currently. “Ramble On” expertly does the whole quiet verse-loud chorus business over two decades before grunge became obsessed with it. And unlike the band members themselves and seemingly anyone I know, I actually even like “Living Loving Maid (She’s Just A Woman).” Of course, there’s “Thank You,” which, yeah, that’s another one of those perfect Led Zeppelin songs.

Led Zeppelin II might be the single best entry point into Zeppelin’s catalog. It gives you a good idea of what they’re about, with the right balance of legendary songs and relatively lesser-known classics. Most of Zeppelin’s records display an intensely confident control of their vision, but it stands out all the more on those early records when it was just this young band blazing through these brilliant records. And it stands out the most on Led Zeppelin II, the most sustained burst of this kind of raw, swaggering energy that Zeppelin ever put together. If you put an album together that starts with “Whole Lotta Love” and ends with “Bring It On Home” and does all this in between, it’s almost a dare: “Try to make this thing let go of you.” It’s one of those albums that plays like a greatest hits collection — and, in a way, that’s because it is one.