[5][6][7] Music journalist Steve Pilkington described "Moby Dick" as "essentially, a drum solo bookended by a token blues-rock riff.

"[8] The track emerged after Led Zeppelin guitarist and producer Jimmy Page found drummer John Bonham jamming or improvising in the studio, recorded parts of his solos and pieced it all together.

Studio outtakes from the Led Zeppelin II sessions reveal that the drum solo recorded was edited down from a much longer version.

[9] The guitar riff can be traced back to the BBC unused session track "The Girl I Love She Got Long Black Wavy Hair", which was recorded in the summer of 1969.

[9] The last time "Moby Dick" was played by Led Zeppelin was on 17 July 1977 at the Seattle Kingdome and can be found on various audio and video bootleg recordings.