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In Led Zeppelin's later years, they were often mocked by the current punk groups for having become symbols of excess and showiness. 'Communication Breakdown' coming almost 10 years before punk's uprising, demonstrates that, musically anyway, Led Zeppelin was occasionally on a similar page to their late '70s detractors. Punk is known for it's energy and attitude - two things which this track has in abundance. The guitar riff and the song is taylor made for energizing an audience, and one listen to an early bootleg or two proves that it served its purpose well.
Plant's lyrics and vocals have an improvised feel, and he is yet again dripping with that young stud attitude (as on nearly all of 'LED ZEPPELIN'). He seems to be saying everything he wants to say ('I want to hold you in my arms/I'm never gonna let you go 'cause I like your charms'), but the song has an unsure point of view. He's nervous and worrying whether his words will have effect. There is even a slight hindsight feel of regret to it... like Plant is singing these words a few minutes too late, as he's just figuring out how to express his feelings, but he's been left yet again ('it's always the same').
The biggest evident difference to punk though is Led Zeppelin's individaul and group skills. The offspring of The Yardbirds' (and Zeppelin live performances of) 'The Train Kept A-Rollin', Page and Plant's infusion of a supersonic guitar solo and a wailing rock chorus make 'Communication Breakdown' an early ancestor of heavy metal. Jimmy's playing is great in its own right, but as always he made a deliberate attempt to get a certain sound for the track, 'I put it [the guitar] in a small room, a little tiny vocal booth-type thing and miked it from a distance.'
Despite it's rock'n'roll nature, Jones and Bonham's skills still made the song swing (check out the right channel during the chorus). Jones is proud of that rhythmic accomplishment. 'We were more funky than other rock bands at that time, and [Bonzo and I] were huge James Brown and Motown fans,' Jones explained. 'We'd incorporate that element into the live shows and on the records.' More personally, he felt 'it was always great fun to play live.'
Mix all these things in with a simple chorus (sung by the entire group) and some of the old rocker influence (Eddie Cochran's 'Nervous Breakdown'), and 'Communication Breakdown' is a surprisingly effective track. Jones recalls that it 'was an instant thing that came out of the first rehearsals' -- with the new band's spark of energy igniting the song, it's no wonder it's a classic!
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