1137. Led Zeppelin / Led Zeppelin [IV]. 1971. 3.5/5

Back in the days when bands released albums almost at the drop of a hat, Led Zeppelin came out and released their first three albums in an 18 month period in 1969-70. All three had been well received by the fans, although the final of those three albums, Led Zeppelin III, had been a bit cool with the music critics, something that hadn’t sat well with the band. Apparently as a result of this, the band decided that their fourth album would not have a title at all, and would be represented by four symbols on the inside sleeve, with each of the members of the band – Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and John Bonham – designing one. Given the difficulty this would have in both promoting the album and selling the album, let alone when people wanted to discuss the album, it has almost universally been labelled as Led Zeppelin [IV]. In interviews, Page and Plant have mostly only ever referred to it as ‘the fourth album’.To write and record the album, the band moved to Hampshire into a place called Headley Grange, an old house built in 1795 where several bands had rehearsed and recorded – indeed Led Zeppelin had utilised it in the past also. It was here that perhaps their best known album and songs were written and recorded. Once recorded, the album was originally set to be released in April, but the band disliked the original mix, so after tour dates were played Page remixed it entirely. There was then some debate over the cover of the album, and also whether or not all of the songs the band had recorded should be included to make it a double album, but eventually the format that was released was the one that was confirmed, and fifty years ago it hit the shelves to an adoring public.

The quieter, acoustic-like songs still seem to dominate the album despite the appearance of the big hitters here. “The Battle of Evermore” is basically Jimmy Page playing on the mandolin, while Plant duets the song with Sandy Denny, who was the lead vocalist of British folk-rock band Fairport Convention. It is an interesting segue on side one of the album, as it passes from the two opening rock tracks and then into the number one hit that follows it. No John Bonham for quite a length of time through that period. “Misty Mountain Hop” mixes moments of that same folk rock with a more progressive rock sound, with Page’s guitar riffing in the back half of the song showcasing the sound that he brought to music, and is similar in that era that Brian May of Queen also began using. “Going to California” is a much quieter, acoustic number, with interviews from both Plant and page saying that it was inspired by the music of Joni Mitchell. You can certainly tie her sound to this track. “Four Sticks” lifts the tempo and barometer of the second side as Bonham gets his moment to impress, while the closing track is a cover of an old blues song “When the Levee Breaks”, and allows all four members to improvise their way in the music that is a heavy base to their own style.
That leaves the three most famous songs from the album, ones where even if you don’t know their names you would know if you heard them. Two of them you have already heard here. “Black Dog” is always known by Plant’s opening monologue, while “Rock and Roll” for me is dominated by John Bonham’s drumkit, which he pounds into oblivion throughout the song. It must have been something to witness live.
Led Zeppelin was one of those bands that I was always told I should be listening heavily to, but in general I just cherry picked at the songs and moments that actually enticed me and left the rest of the carcass for the other listeners. That wasn’t my way of being blasé about a band that had a crucial and massive part in forming the genre of heavy metal at its core. It was more about the fact that a lot of their songs for me just weren’t in anyway near the sphere of music that I enjoyed, and so rather than pushing blindly through these types of dongs constantly in order to appease others, or to find some way to enjoy them myself, I generally just left them, happy to enjoy those songs that appealed to me and not feeling as though I had to own the whole Zeppelin discography just because ‘everyone has to have those albums’. Even to this day, I only own Led Zeppelin CDs that were gifted to me or were cheap at the time I felt like buying something. As a result, I am no expert when it comes to Led Zeppelin and their music. My most played Led Zeppelin album is the Remasters double CD that was released in 1990, which acts as their greatest hits. The second most played album of theirs would be this one, and pretty much just for those songs I have chosen to play here.

The last track to discuss is of course their most famous. “Stairway to Heaven” has been one of those tracks that, for many people, is a constant, and that applies to me as well. One of my friends from high school actually did “Stairway to Heaven” as his performance piece for his music exam at the end of high school, and several other of my friends were involved in supporting him in that performance piece. Many of us sat outside the hall as they performed it, and it is still my favourite memory of any Led Zeppelin song. When I lived in Sydney and frequented the Erskineville Hotel on a regular basis, I would always slot the same twelve songs on the jukebox, in the same order. It became known as “Bill’s Burly Dozen”, and when regulars heard the opening strains to Deep Purple’s “Highway Star”, they would look around to find me. That dozen always finished with “Stairway to Heaven”, the perfect way to end that playlist.

What do YOU really think of Led Zeppelin, and in particular this album? Like I’ve said, Led Zeppelin is a band where I tend to like songs rather than albums. I wouldn’t say that I think any of their albums are rated more than a 7 out of 10, and the main reason for that is just that they all have songs I like, but others I could happily not listen to. There isn’t on album that I can put on and listen all the way through without thinking... “man, this song is still a bit average”. And this album is still like that for me. I have listened to this album quite a bit over the last couple of weeks, probably more in that time than I have in the previous 50 years since its release. And my taste in music is different from most of the stuff Led Zeppelin released, because they are of a different era. It’s a bit like that old mantra – I can appreciate it, but I just don’t love it. Apart from those three songs.