Led Zeppelin

Despite three glorious chapters already behind them, at the dawn of the '70s Led Zeppelin were restless, eager to bring their "perfect record" to fruition. The difficulties already encountered while recording their second and third albums had shown this thirst for perfectionism, which, with their fourth work, would reach its peak, to the despair of producers and sound engineers. Shrouded in uncertainty for months (it had first been announced as a double album, then even as a collection of four EPs), the new record was finally born in the traditional form of a long player after an exhausting gestation. Recorded in London, between Island and Olympic studios, following a laborious remixing process, it was released four months late, fuelling fans' morbid anticipation.

When the album hit shops on November 8, 1971, it was immediately clear that Page and company had wanted to reaffirm, starting with the iconography itself, their rejection of anything extra-musical, in open defiance of the British press, which had mocked their behaviour as comfortable rock stars. The cover, in fact, bearing neither name nor title, deliberately avoids any reference to the band. A "bold" choice, starkly at odds with the dictates of music marketing at the time.

The image depicts a crumbling wall with torn wallpaper, on which hangs a painting of an old farmer struggling to carry bundles of sticks on his back. Behind the wall, the back cover reveals itself: the bare, grey landscape of a vast urban outskirts, where only silence and desolation seem to reign.

Produced artistically by Jimmy Page, with Peter Grant as executive producer, the album would go by several names: "Untitled", "Led Zeppelin IV", "Runes Album", "Four Symbols" or "Zoso". The latter was the symbol chosen by Page, among the four representing the band's members: one reflects Plant's love of home life, another represents Bonham's love of fast cars, while the guitarist's symbol and John Paul Jones's three-pointed circle express their shared passion for black magic.

Eight tracks, in which the style of previous albums is revisited but enriched with new sounds: hard rock, blues, country-folk and tones evoking mystical, esoteric fantasies pour literally into a landmark musical volume, almost a definitive summa of the entire Zeppelin repertoire.

It opens with "Black Dog", introduced by Robert Plant's wild scream: a tremendous rock-blues number, embellished with melodic guitar virtuosity that blends beautifully with the asymmetrical drive of Bonham's drumming, full of spectacular rhythmic shifts. It's precisely the drumming that kicks off the next track, "Rock And Roll", which, true to its title, unfolds over rock and roll cadences, bolstered by hard-edged vigour: Mitch Ryder's "Good Golly Miss Molly" and Little Richard's "Keep A Knocking" are openly referenced, and Muddy Waters's influence is palpable; the track, born out of a jam session with Ian Stuart, is built around a bluesy riff and a lively pace, made even more energetic by Plant's vocal peaks.

In "The Battle Of Evermore", by contrast, a medieval air prevails, through a mix of acoustic guitars, mandolins and dulcimer, with the magical vocal contribution of Sandy Denny, singer of Fairport Convention. The band's flair for crafting refined ballads is confirmed by "Going To California", this time set against country landscapes, where the acoustic guitars sometimes lose themselves in an idyllic, almost unreal swirl. The girl "with love in her eyes and flowers in her hair", fantasised about in the lyrics, is in all likelihood Joni Mitchell, one of Robert Plant's favourites.

The masterpiece par excellence, however, is "Stairway To Heaven", which would become the Zeppelin airship's passport to eternity. An eight-minute track unfolding across several distinct phases: the introductory section is marked by the now-iconic acoustic guitar arpeggio, tracing a descending, poignant harmony, aided by the gentle sound of the flute, while Plant's subdued voice fits the mood perfectly; in the second phase, the sound grows more forceful, with the twelve-string guitar arpeggio rising repeatedly, set apart from the six-string guitar's sound; the latter, finally, ushers in the closing section, where the ballad turns into a powerful slab of hard rock, branded by a lush electric guitar solo and a vocal performance from a more unleashed-than-ever Plant. For the lyrics, Plant drew inspiration from the myths in "Magic Arts In Celtic Britain", a book by Lewis Spence.

Despite the cyclical accusations of Satanism it has faced over the years (some will even swear that playing it backwards reveals a demonic message), "Stairway To Heaven" would become Led Zeppelin's quintessential anthem, appearing in every kind of poll on the greatest rock songs of all time. Curiously, though, it would never be released as a single, due to the band's stubborn refusal, who kept proudly resisting the record label's pressure.

Among the other tracks, standouts include the rock-driven "Misty Mountain Hop", propelled by John Paul Jones's Rhodes piano, and above all the closing "When The Levee Breaks", a remake of a blues song recorded in 1929 by Memphis Minnie together with her husband Kansas Joe McCoy; to capture the peculiar reverb of the rhythm section, the drums were placed near a staircase, with microphones set at various heights, while for the song's vocal structure Plant drew inspiration from early Elvis Presley. The main theme runs through a succession of instrumental variations, with Bonham's drumming paving the way for Page's virtuosic bottleneck lines and Plant's harmonica phrases. 

It's uncertain whether it's truly their "perfect record", but "Zoso" would fully satisfy Led Zeppelin's ambition to break every record, overcoming all the record labels' misgivings, who were wary of the provocation of its "anonymous" cover. It would sell over ten million copies in the States alone, becoming their best-selling album ever. But it would also be Page and co.'s last triumph. After the hot autumn of 1971, in fact, the Airship would begin its downward arc.

Ride the wave of great music

Add OndaRock to your favorite sources on Google Discover. Don't miss our reviews, milestones and latest news straight in your feed.

Follow on Google

06/06/2007