Led Zeppelin IV
Led Zeppelin
1971
Album Summary
The untitled fourth studio album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, commonly known as Led Zeppelin IV, was released on 8 November 1971 by Atlantic Records. It was produced by guitarist Jimmy Page and recorded between December 1970 and February 1971, mostly in the country house Headley Grange. The album is notable for featuring "Stairway to Heaven", which has been described as the band's signature song.The informal setting at Headley Grange inspired the band, and allowed them to try different arrangements of material and create songs in a variety of styles. After the band's previous album Led Zeppelin III received lukewarm reviews from critics, they decided their fourth album would officially be untitled, and would be represented instead by four symbols chosen by each band member, without featuring the name or any other details on the cover. Unlike the prior two albums, the band was joined by some guest musicians, such as vocalist Sandy Denny on "The Battle of Evermore", and pianist Ian Stewart on "Rock and Roll". As with prior albums, most of the material was written by the band, though there was one cover song, a hard rock re-interpretation of the Memphis Minnie blues song "When the Levee Breaks". The album was a commercial and critical success and is Led Zeppelin's best-selling, shipping over 37 million copies worldwide. It is one of the best-selling albums in the US, while critics have regularly placed it highly on lists of the greatest albums of all time.
WikipediaHard to argue this should be anything but a 5. I won't waste my time justifying. Go live your life
Led Zeppelin IV [conventional title] by Led Zeppelin (1971) In 1982, eleven years after this album’s release, a 17-year-old ‘big man on campus’ named Benny walked into his private-school math class singing: “Hey, hey, mama, said the way you move Gonna make you sweat, gonna make you groove”. His stern, no-nonsense Intermediate Algebra teacher (me) turned from writing the day’s assignment on the blackboard to shoot Benny a disapproving glare. Benny sheepishly clammed up. But as I turned back to the blackboard to finish, I sang softly: “Ah, ah, child, way you shake that thing Gonna make you burn, gonna make you sting” As I put down the chalk and turned again toward the class, smile met smile as Benny and I shared a trans-generational moment of awareness of the power of Led Zeppelin IV. Benny ended the semester with a surprisingly good ‘A-‘ in math. It would have been a ‘B+’, but his anachronistic love for Led Zeppelin tilted the scales in a positive direction, and I don’t regret it one bit. There was a time when I considered Led Zeppelin IV to be the greatest album ever, and I’m not sure that that time is past. Young people today should do themselves a favor and develop such a strong a familiarity with this record that they will be able to recognize each track from its opening strains, like Beethoven’s Symphony #5 or Bach’s Toccata and Fugue. It’s that good. Few albums have ever had both the variety and cohesiveness of Led Zeppelin IV. Each listen is an immersive experience, striding through an aural gallery of head-banging rock, moan-inducing blues, culture-resonating folk, and a time-transcending mysticism that carries perennial fascination. And tying all these disparate features together is a musical synthesis of sounds of today (the ‘now’) and images of the misty past (the ‘then’—see below). As musicians, each of the six performers (including Sandy Denny, ethereal backing vocal on “The Battle of Evermore” and Ian Stewart, piano on “Rock and Roll”) executes at peak virtuosity. The four members of Led Zeppelin (Jimmy Page [guitar], Robert Plant [lead vocals], John Bonham [drums], and John Paul Jones [bass & keyboards]) are each individually on lists of the ‘greatest of all time’ in their respective categories of performance. Yet no rock group (other than The Beatles) ever played better together. From the electro-windup intro on the opening track “Black Dog”, the listener knows he/she is in for a thrill and a treat, in that order. Robert Plant’s inimitably powerful yet soulful a cappella lead vocal storms onto the scene, grabbing the ears. Then, struggling to discern the meter, the listener immediately discovers the groove, even though it seems that John Bonham’s ingenious rhythmic composition is performing a different song altogether, ignoring the standard gum-chewing backbeat of early rock. But everything is in miraculous sync, as Page and Jones muscle on, all pausing to let Plant do his thing before kicking back in with pure power rock. We teenagers listening to this in 1971 had never heard anything like this before, because there never was anything like this before. Then, without letting up, we hear the smashing rock & roll of “Rock & Roll”, where Bonham reminds us that the backbeat still lives, and Page cooks like never before with wild guitar solo work. Page later said the track was written and recorded in fifteen minutes. I would have paid serious money to sit in a room with Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, and Chuck Berry to watch them hear this track for the first time. And by the way, the most convincing cover of this song was done by Heart (the closing track of Greatest Hits/Live [1980]). And just when we think the album is going to mash out hard rock from beginning to end, we are jolted into a little fantasy medievalism with the next two tracks, “The Battle of Evermore” (check out the Tolkien, Lord of the Rings references) and “Stairway to Heaven”, where Page’s first-time (!) experience with mandolin and iconic solo electric guitar passages wrap around Plant’s mystical lyrics (Plant was only 22 years old at the time). “Stairway to Heaven” is in the rock ballad canon because of its dramatically drawn out development and increased intensity over a steady chord structure. It’s one of the greatest songs ever, not because of profound lyrics, but because of its incomparable instrumentation and vocal performance. Yes, it has been overplayed and over analyzed, but it still moves. The amazing guitar solo (at 5:55) and the wailing lead vocal on the closing bridge (at 6:45) still bring shivers after a thousand listens. Side two begins with “Misty Mountain Hop” providing an explanation of the contrast on side one between the ‘now’ of the first two tracks and the ‘then’ of tracks three and four. After a tale of a druggie’s awkward encounter with a cop in the mundane ‘now’, the artist concludes with a flight to ‘then’: “So I'm packing my bags for the Misty Mountains Where the spirits go now Over the hills where the spirits fly, ooh” And the listener, clutching a copy of Tolkien, The Hobbit, is glad to go along for the ride. The ‘now/then’ duality is beautifully pictured in the cover art, where the front side shows the weathered ruins of an interior wall adorned with an old painting of a seemingly even older man, contrasting with a modern but dull and overcast cityscape where buildings battle with trees on the back side. And between concern for “when the river runs dry” (in “Four Sticks”, featuring Bonham’s superlative drumming with four drumsticks in 5/8 alternating with 6/8) to the droning blues dread of what will happen “When the Levee Breaks” we hear of a search for the perfect woman as the acoustic guitar (Page) and mandolin (Jones) accompany the softly melodic tune “Going to California”: “To find a queen without a king They say she plays guitar and cries and sings... La la la la Ride a white mare in the footsteps of dawn Tryin' to find a woman who's never, never, never been born.” When in fact she has been born, and her name is Joni Mitchell, and Robert Plant knows it. But he can dream, and so can we. I will listen to this album till the day I die. 5/5
Oh we heard you like classic rock, lord of the rings, and poetry. Here is an album you might enjoy. Mastapiece
I don't even know what to say about this one. This album is part of the fabric of my life. I remember being ten years old, listening to it as loud as possible with my friends' parents. Songs on this album underscored crushes on boys in Zeppelin t-shirts. I've listened to it on many car rides to cottages in the summer, from my first time having the car for a weekend in high school through to the last summer pre-pandemic. It's impossible to be objective, it's one of the greatest albums of my life.
One of the GOAT rock albums and a truely influential album. Zeppelin is like an all-star cast of musicians for this genre. When The Levee Breaks still has one of the most amazing intros of all time. A masterclass. Favourite Tracks: All of them, but special shout out to Misty Mountain Hop, Battle of Evermore, and When The Levee Breaks
I'm back and forth a lot over which Led Zeppelin album I think is their best. But honestly, I think, song for song, IV really delivers everything that Zeppelin is about as a band. If you listen to classic rock at all, you probably know most if not all of these songs. They are stone cold classics, all of them. I cannot stress enough how rare that is in an album. Yeah, a few have been overplayed somewhat in the past 50(!) years. But this is an album that holds up ridiculously well to repeat listening. From the mega energy “Rock and Roll,” to the grandiose, epic “Stairway to Heaven,” to the delicate acoustic “Going to California,” to the slow burning blues of “When the Levee Breaks,” every flavor of Zeppelin is present here. “Black Dog,” my word. That is possibly the best intro to any album that I have heard. It's perfection. Fave Songs (All songs, in order from most to least favorite, adding that I love them all): When the Levee Breaks, Going to California, Rock and Roll, Black Dog, Stairway to Heaven, Misty Mountain Hop, Four Sticks, The Battle of Evermore
Compelling range, and several great songs - Black Dog, Stairway to Heaven, Going to California, When the Levee Breaks. They avoid the trap that they seem to fall into on other albums, of just rocking out in a way that sounds cool but doesn't go very deep. Their best album?
This truly is one of the best albums ever released. 8 tracks, 6 huge hits. It's kinda unbelievable, even for Led Zeppelin.
When they say "they don't make them like they used to", this is what they have in mind. In my humble opinion, Led Zeppelin IV is the second best album of all time. Apart of containing groundbreaking music (which, later, provided some "rejects" to Physical Graffiti) , with songs like Stairway to Heaven, there are plenty of spectacular individual performances here: John Paul Jones on mandolin in Going to California, John Bonham's solo at the start of Rock and Roll, and (of course) his so creatively recorded performance in When the Levee Breaks. Created by four individuals at the top of their craft, this is a masterpiece from start to finish.
You already KNOW this is getting 5 stars! What an incredible showing, from groovin rock songs to intimate, delicate acoustic arrangements, IV may be the peak of Zeppelin's performance. It's more polished than 1, but more raw than later work. Seriously dig it.
This album is a fuckin' masterpiece. IMO stairway is the best song ever written (that I've heard) and totally deserves all the praise it gets. Black dog is surprisingly hard to play on guitar. Really jazzy feel but it's a rock song. Rock n Roll is such a simple tune but Plant's singing just sends it into the stratosphere. Even the more, uh, "adventurous" tunes are still interesting and hypnotic. The Battle of Evermore is basically a vocal solo. Interesting drumming, Jimmy fuckin' Page's leads... there's more or less nothing I can criticise about this album. It even goes for the perfect ~40min. And they were in their early 20s when they wrote it. It defies belief. 6/5 if I could.
1001 Albums To Never Hear Again Before You Die Chapter 1 - Led Zeppelin IV (Zoso, if you’re nasty) Dear Reader, In this first installment, I’ll ask you some baseline questions in order to gauge your eligibility for opting out of this album permanently: 1. Do you often find yourself in relationships (romantic or otherwise) with people you know are no good for you? If you answered no, do you enjoy feeding stray dogs? (Black Dog) 2. Are you partial to American made luxury cars?(Rock and Roll) 3. Do you like songs about hobbits and get amped up by J.R.R Tolkien and/or weed references? (Battle of Evermore, Misty Mountain Hop) 4. Would you like to reminisce about the time you got a chubby while slow dancing with your crush at your 8th grade dinner dance? (Stairway to Heaven) 5. Do you have a predilection for drum circles and a high tolerance for the phrase “oh, baby”? (Four Sticks) 6. Have you ever wondered what a Joni Mitchell song about wanting to sleep with Joni Mitchell would sound like? (Going to California - Give Zep some credit here, they were doing meta in 1971…truly innovative.) 7. Have you ever taken Quaaludes and tried to write a blues song? (When The Levee Breaks) Now, you’re probably asking yourself “how are these questions going to determine if I never have to listen to Led Zeppelin IV ever again?” The short answer is…they’re not. The truth is, you probably don’t ever need to hear this album again. You’ve probably already heard more than half of it on the radio/commercials/films/tv shows, or you’ve heard it in full hanging out at your weed guy’s apartment, or from an older relative who thinks it’s the pinnacle of mankind’s achievements in recorded music. But, if you find yourself enthralled by the prospect finding out the answers to the questions posed earlier, by all means, revisit this record. It’s actually pretty good.
I know this is usually the LZ album that appears on 'greatest albums' lists, but I didn't realise just how many classics they crammed on here. It's also a good touchpoint for a lot of their different styles: rocky, folky, bluesy, Stairway to Heaven-y. It's not perfect but it's still worth 5 stars.
Led Zeppelin provides crucial evidence in the age old debate about what would happen if the greatest cock rock band of all time was made up of a bunch of Tolkien nerds. Turns out it's pretty cool. This album is excellent the whole way through, and it finishes even stronger than it starts. Stairway to Heaven gets a lot of the attention for this album, but When the Levee Breaks is my nomination for the best Zeppelin song of all time. 5/5
Almost totally non-experimental, with the narrow exception of some parts of Four Sticks. Still an immaculate straight rock album: Inescapable, cohesive, with many corners which have been partially duplicated since. Even Battle, the low point of the tracklist, manages to make moving upper notes on a guitar sound moving, plaintive, not done-a-million times. The followup fails the latter criterion through no fault of its own.
A bona fide goddamn rock 'n' roll masterpiece! It's way nerdier than you'd think, but it's fucking glorious. Imagine buying this album in 1971? You get it home, you put it on thinking "sweet, new Zep" and then they relentlessly assault you with so much motherfucking badassery for 42 minutes and 35 seconds you don't even think your brain can process one more shit hot guitar lick? What a time to be alive. Wish that's how I heard it for the first time.
The fiviest of five stars. Theory: though Robert Plant was necessary, as every hard rock band had to have a wailer, this is all about the other three. Case in point: Bonham's drumming on When The Levee Breaks. Case two: Stairway to Heaven is the best example of can hardly hear it/quiet/soft/nice/loud/very loud dynamics ever recorded. Who cares about the lady who knows? Not me Clive.
Man, the hits here are absolute bangers. But the tracks that aren't hits are major misses. Miles off the mark. It's insane to me that the same album that contains "Black Dog," "When the Levee Breaks," and "Stairway to Heaven" also contains "The Battle of Evermore" and "Four Sticks" which are ... well, there's a reason you probably haven't heard them. They're not bad enough to tank the album but they do pull the rating down a star.
Yes! Finally an album that I'm quite familiar with. Immersed my self in all the 60's classic bands when I was just a young pup coming of age to the realization of what music means. What an album. Hell, what a band! Full blown classic Zep' immediately on display in Led Zeppelin IV from the opening riff of Black Dog to the unmistakable hard drumming of Bonham in When the Levee Breaks. Been a long time since America simply rock and rolled and no one did it better than LZ. The fantasy interlude of The Battle of Evermore slows down the album and not one of my favorites but an enjoyable tune non the less. Admittedly, I switch the station if Stairway to Heaven comes on but still fully appreciate the impact and value of Stairway and the lyrics. And if I do listen to it, can still bring on the goose bumps...does anybody remember laughter (added in one of their live versions). Right back into the head banging, body thumpin' with Misty Mountain hop. Why don't you take a good look at yourself and describe what you see and Baby, Baby, Baby do you like it? Always thought the lyrics were drowned out in Four Sticks. Going to California is one of my favorites, not of just Led Zeppelin's. Could listen to it over and over. Meet you up there where the path runs straight and high...Tellin' myself it's not as hard, hard, hard as it seems...it's hard (it's hard included in a live version). And one last full blown hard rock song with Plant's unique singing exhibited: Don't it make you feel bad When you're tryin' to find your way home You don't know which way to go? If you're goin' down south They got no work to do If you're going down to Chicago. A-ah, a-ah, a-ah...
Probably my favorite album of theirs, has quite a bit of range and they are quite far along with their style that this is a great vertical slice of Zeppelin. Unfortunately it's almost become too ubiquitous that I have a hard time separating it from a lot of people that taints the impression. However, it's not my favorite style of rock and I don't always wanna listen to Zeppelin in general. I actually prefer the slower songs like The Battle of Evermore and Stairway to Heaven (as much as it was overplayed). I quite enjoyed Four Sticks with the addition of synths and the percussion is a lot of fun. Culturally and of the genre a 5 but in terms of listening pleasure it's a 4.
I seem to be mostly alone with this opinion, but here goes: I find Led Zeppelin overrated. That said, this is still a really good album. I like it much better than the other two LZ albums we've had. And Stairway To Heaven and When The Levee Breaks are great songs. But I really can't see this as a masterpiece and tracks 5-7 were pretty weak.
A classic of course - can't really review it neutrally as I have the vinyl and have listened to it repeatedly, though not for a while. Not sure my 52 year old self likes it quite as much as my 17 year old self did, but it is still pretty good.
The fourth rock album from Led Zeppelin was a critical and commercial success, as well as the band's best selling album. The album is certified 24x platinum which makes it diamond certified too. The band's most popular song "Stairway to Heaven" also comes from this album. This album is regarded as a cornerstone of the 1970's hard rock music, because it had a great diversity of songs and was so popular. I thoroughly liked this album and will listen to more Led Zeppelin songs I haven't heard yet.
Wait, this is supposed to be one of the greatest Rock albums of the early 70s? THIS?!? Granted, Stairway to Heaven is a powerful and classic (albeit severely overplayed) track, but outside of that, I hear a lot of generic white-men-playing-the-blues rambling and songs without too much variation or ideas. The Battle of Evermore is pointlessley meandering without going anywhere. The same could be said about Four sticks. Going to California is a welcome change of pace, but is too generic to be really good and sounds the same throughout. When the Levee Breaks left me shrugging. Led Zeppelin are supposed to be one of the best bands of the 60s/70s, but I've been suspecting for some time now that they are simply overrated. This is another case in point. 2/5
Another classic, even if Stairway is the most overplayed song in history.
Led Zeppelin's 4th (1971) and the most successful album which has got a lot of awards. The 1'st position in the top "Classic rock - 100 greatest British rock albums ever" (april 2006) and a lot LOT more... "Stairway to Heaven" still is the most played song on various american radio stations, and still one of the best rock ballads ever!
ashamed this is the first time i'm listening to led zeppelin... liked this album to listen to again. misty mountain hop is dooooope i love the discordance and atonality!!
One of my top 10 albums of all time I think. Every song on here is great, it's really hard to pick favourites Favourite songs: Black dog, Going to California, When the Levee Breaks
The only Led Zeppelin album I've ever listened to (and owned). Good album, too! Pretty simple 5 stars for me, even though some of the weird timings and uneven performance make it seem less great than it actually is. Everyone should listen to this album at some point.
Any album that has Stairway To Heaven on it has to get 5 stars by default, but Led Zeppelin is 42 minutes of gold. Something new to find on every listen still.
Oh yeah, this is badass - liked it a whole lot more than III. Most of these tracks feel iconic rather than generic. Fave track - "Misty Mountain Hop" - I'm pretty sure there's a Linda Perry cover of that song that kicks ass...
I feel weird writing about this one. One of the most important albums to my awkward tween and early teen self, and still one of my favorites. I don't care how often I hear it, Stairway still moves me.
This is another one that needs half star ratings. I'm gonna give it 5 stars because it's chock full of iconic memorable melodies and arrangements. But some of the vocals are so screechy it makes my ears bleed.
Best Song: Stairway to Heaven. For a song so famous, it still delivers. Maybe because it isn't as overplayed on the radio as other similar mega-songs. Worst Song: Four Sticks. Not bad, just boring. Overall: Hard to listen naively given how ubiquitous this album is, but even under that weight it feels monumental.
Not quite as coherent as III, but it makes up for it in the heavenly heights the songs hit.
Legendary band, great album. With Stairway to heaven as the absolute highlight of the album. Favourite songs: - Black dog - Stairway to heaven - Going to California
Look this is one of those albums that a lot of people, especially certain types of people, call ‘the greatest of all time’. And they’re not necessarily wrong. Stairway to Heaven is one of, if not THE greatest rock song ever recorded. AND ITS THE WORST TRACK ON THE ALBUM HANDS DOWN. Going to California is the best one don't @ me
*inhales* HEY HEY MOMMA SAID THE WAY YOU MOVE GONNA MAKE YOU SWEAT GONNE MAKE YOU GROOOOOVE"
One of the greatest rock albums ever. Absolutely perfect. Led Zeppelin's best. 10/10 1. When the Levee Breaks 2. Stairway to Heaven 3. Going to California
A beautiful album. Whenever Levee comes on during shuffle, we never skip it. Winston: "This is my maaasterpieeeece"
My favourite Led Zep album, got to be up there as the best hard rock album ever. A masterpiece
There’s nothing I can say that hasn’t already said about this album. Genre defining stuff!
Masterpiece. Solid heavy metal album the whole way through. Basically every track is a home run.
A few of the classics, many others that I just don't hear very often. All great.
Amazing! Pure gold and deserves a spot on the top 3 best albums of all time.
10/10 - Already one of my favourite albums of all time. Zeppelin's magnum opus. Not much more to say.
In my opinion the best Led Zeppelin album. It's just very solid, no duds, everything is very good.
Really a masterpiece of an album with the greatest rock song ever written, in "Stairway to Heaven". Fantastic from start to finish. 9/10.
Can we give more than 5 stars? It's been quite some time since I listened to this album start-to-finish, and it transported me back to the excitement of the first time. Amazing record!!
What’s the best Led Zeppelin song, and why is it “when the levee breaks”
14th March 2022 Listened throughout the day while working from home, went to see the godfather in East Dulwich with Jen and Adam. Was really struck by the drumming when listening this time around. But what can you say? It’s Led Zeppelin IV.
This album fucking rules, and I do not need this app to remind me of it.
I think my favorite LZ album is Houses of the Holy but still it’s really damn hard to beat LZIV this is definitely a 10/10 album, I love how they kinda moved back into the classic sound after making LZIII overall super cool album
Gran disco! No entenderé porque Stairway to heaven es la más conocida de Zeppellin cuando no es la mejor.
Great album, some real classics on this one. Standout tracks: Black Dog Going to California When the Levee Breaks Some deep-cut song I got kicked out of Guitar Center for playing
It's Led Zeppelin IV. What more do you fucking want? Best Tracks: Black Dog; Stairway to Heaven; When The Levee Breaks
Really great when in the soft spots. The big songs are of course good, but I actually enjoyed Going to California most.
What can I say about this one that hasn't already been said? It is a legendary album that absolutely deserves that status.
Like swallowing a deep zen pill, takes you to a very good place. Love the integration of harmonica and mandolin to complement the other sounds. Bonham my favourite drummer.
A perfect album. Black Dog and Rock and Roll start it off rocking with everyone in top form. Plant has a great duet with Sandy Denny on the Battle of Evermore, but it's probably my least favorite song on the album. Not that it's bad - as I said, it's a perfect album. Stairway to Heaven is a perfect song, start to finish. Any time I hear it, I have to listen all the way through. The opening riff (which sounds nothing like Spirit's Taurus), the verses as the song builds and builds, that guitar solo - one of the greatest ever - and the powerful ending. Yes, it's overplayed, but for good reason. Misty Mountain Hop - another great rocker, with awesome harmonies. Four Sticks has a great unusual riff and time signature, with amazing drumming. RIP Bonzo. Going to California calms things down...great guitar and mandolin parts and fantastic vocals from Robert Plant (like all of the album). Finally, When the Levee Breaks: possibly the greatest opening drum line of any song ever, followed by a massively cool riff and bass line, harmonica, slide guitar, and moaning wails. Bottom line - this is one of the greatest bands of all time at their peak. Can I score it higher than 5?
Too easy. A cover to cover beauty. It must have been both satisfying and frustrating for Led Zeppelin to release this album after getting panned for III to say "ya happy now?" I'm not sure Four Sticks gets enough credit for being every bit as good and rocking as Black Dog or Rock and Roll. When the Levee Breaks is also just as good a sweeping epic as Stairway to Heaven. I was explaining to my kids yesterday how Whole Lotta Love is actually a reinterpretation of an old blues song and that LZ has done that a few times to great effect. When the Levee Breaks was their best of that. This album just has so much in your face rock yet also has some incredible softer or acoustic pieces. Again, too easy.
Huh, that's weird. I didn't know this band had a fourth album.... Just kidding. My son discovered this album a few months ago and has been playing it nonstop. He has great taste. Someone asked me a while ago what is Zeppelin's best album, and it obviously has to be this one. Yes, it's overplayed. But there's a reason for that. It's because the songs themselves hold up so well. There are very few albums that radio stations will play any track from, I think I can count them on one hand: Who's Next, Dark Side Of The Moon and this one. Even "Stairway" as many billions of times I have heard it is still a great song. It just doesn't get old. I vacillate as to what is my favorite song, and right now it's "When The Levee Breaks." Ask me next week and it will be something else. Just a great, great album.
Not actually my personal fav Zeppelin album but brilliant nonetheless. Going to California always makes me cry
A classic album ! Every track a good ‘un ! Just to stop being average I’m awarding 5* !