10 Best Hard Rock Cover Songs

Once Jimmy Page got the ball rolling with Led Zeppelin, the band seemed to embody all the great aspects of the blues through the filter of psychedelic hard rock. So once the listener got through the band's first record, it may have been perplexing to hear a folk tune stand out amongst the rest of the hard rock riffs.

Originally a folk standard by Anne Bredon, "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" became famous for its interpretation by Joan Baez in the early 60's. With Zeppelin trying their hand at blues standards, Page's use of acoustic guitar on this track gives the tune a unique balance of calm fingerpicking and elaborate leads filled with tension. While the verses set up the scene, each connecting section piles on the dread as the acoustics give way to dissonant chords. When the song reaches its mid-point, John Bonham turns to his tom toms to deliver a truly monstrous soundscape.

The pained voice of Robert Plant puts the icing on the cake for this spellbinding run through one man's heartache away from his lover. Across 6 minutes, Led Zeppelin took this quiet folk ballad and transformed it into an unrelenting parade of doom as the track stampedes across your eardrums.