Taken with Early Days, the compilation of Led Zeppelin's best-known songs from the first four albums, Latter Days helps complete the story of one of the best rock bands of all time. The two can be purchased as a set or individually, making them a good introduction for newcomers or for the casual fan (is there such a thing?) who wants only the biggest songs that get the airplay.

Latter Days covers the band's final four albums, starting from the career peak of Houses Of The Holy and working through Physical Graffiti and the declining years of Presence and In Through The Out Door. This was the period when the band was beset by drug and alcohol abuse, personal accidents, and tragedies; the music became longer, less blues-oriented, and much more epic. These ten songs are equal parts grace and power, force, and beauty, and time has only strengthened their attack.

Good rock radio stations play a variety of Zeppelin songs, and because there are so many of these, the list of what should be here is as long as the list of what actually is here. Houses Of The Holy is a fantastic album and needs to be heard in its entirety, but "No Quarter" and "The Song Remains The Same" are good representations of it; the former is a moody keyboard-oriented piece that remains John Paul Jones' finest songwriting moment, while the latter is a fine slab of hard rock that nobody could pull off better than these guys.

Where this collection falters is its choices from Physical Graffiti vs. Houses. Yes, the crushing, mystical "Kashmir" and the swinging stomp of "Trampled Underfoot" – two of the band's greatest songs – are here, but why are "Ten Years Gone" and "Houses Of The Holy" present? The latter gets some airplay, but it's only a mediocre song, and the former is a minor gem but nowhere near the exalted status of the other songs. Taking these two off for the superior "The Rain Song" or rock radio favorites "The Ocean" and the acoustic "Over The Hills And Far Away" would have made more sense, at least for casual fans, which is who this is aimed at.

Presence is represented by "Nobody's Fault But Mine" and the band's last stand, the truly epic "Achilles' Last Stand." An unparalleled masterpiece of drama, emotion and layers of riffs and solos in the "guitar army" approach favored by Jimmy Page, the song's most wrenching moment may be Robert Plant's closing wail in the final minute. Following that up is "All My Love," Plant's elegy to his son, and the deadly dull "In The Evening," which should have been swapped out for the tropical "Fool In The Rain," which is not only more popular on radio but shows yet another side to the band, one that probably earned them a few new fans during the disco era.

Latter Days is not without its flaws in track selection, but as a whole it encompasses the second phase of the band's career well, ably summarizing three uneven albums and one excellent one. Casual fans may be happy with this, but all who hear it are advised to dig deeper and discover the band's catalog on an album-by-album basis, the time-honored method for truly understanding Led Zeppelin.

Rating: A-

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