Led Zeppelin IV

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

Hard to argue this should be anything but a 5. I won't waste my time justifying. Go live your life

Oh we heard you like classic rock, lord of the rings, and poetry. Here is an album you might enjoy. Mastapiece

Unimpeachable. Nearly every song on this album is a classic.

Black Dog, Stairway, AND Levee?! You gotta be kidding me

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.

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

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 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 supposed to love this but I just don't

girl this sucks

Dear Gabriella, I'm sorry I blasted Misty Mountain Hop and Four Sticks in the car on prom night instead of asking if you were excited for the evening but John Bonham's drumming seemed more interesting than the way you had done your hair.

This truly is one of the best albums ever released. 8 tracks, 6 huge hits. It's kinda unbelievable, even for Led Zeppelin.

I feel as if this album should be prescribed--at least every 10 years put on headphones, lie down, and listen to this album a little more loudly than you might typically (to 11, duh). Feel your brain be cleansed as incredibly tight, expertly played pure rock swaggers through your skull. Enjoy the vocals for the sound and whatever you do, don't think too much about the lyrics.

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.

My friend Twelve Pint Simon loves this record. He used to travel to Belgium every weekend and play it LOUD so all Belgians could hear and kiss him on his mouth. I said "Nobody likes phlegmish kisses" and he said "did you just say phlegmish or flemish?" Then I pointed out that they are homonyns and I was making a pun. Simon laughed, went outside and ate crisps in the carpark.

I have already written at length about the pros (great musicians, powerful production, swaggering performances, Bonzo's drums) and cons (weak songwriting, ridiculous lyrics, plagiarism, culpable business behaviour, sexual assault, Bonzo's behaviour) of Led Zeppelin, so I will avoid repeating myself. This album contains all the best and worst of Led Zep. How can an album bookended with Black Dog and When the Levee Breaks go too far wrong? I am going to suggest that Stairway To Heaven is, in fact, the weakest song on the record. It is cobbled together out of disjointed sweepings with the world's naffest lyrics. Robert Plant is right to be be embarrassed by this song. It does have an iconically great guitar solo (and typically great playing from Bonzo and JPJ), BUT THIS IS NO EXCUSE. Just because it was played on FM rock radio a hundred billion times does not make it good, just familiar. Ubiquity is not the same as quality (see also: Hotel California). That said, this album also has Sandy Denny and a couple of tunes with mandolin (hi Dave, those tracks are your favourites, aren't they?) and that monster drum beat on Levee. For all their myriad faults, Led Zep are still a band you have to hear. I'm not convinced it is actually their best record, but it's still pretty damn great. It's really hard to make a case that this isn't a five star classic.

Arguably the best album -by possibly the best rock band to ever grace the planet.

There are days when you are disappointed with the albums, others when you're surprised or pleased. Today is a very special day. It is akin to Charlie finding the golden ticket. Such a brilliant album from the first second to the last. It really makes my Monday feel a bit closer to a Friday.

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?

There is a lot of plagiarism on this album, it’s so brazen, like one of those hiding in plain sight situations (Jimmy Saville). I get that stairway is a boomer anthem but it made me feel nothing. It’s a decent album overall but it’s like they colonised black music and copywrited it.

Led Zep are abysmal. Not even listening.

Really dont like led zeppelin

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm..... i'm bored LMAO

A classic for a reason. Great music, great memories.

Obviously.

That was so good 😊

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.

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

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

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!!

That's a guy with sticks on his back

Heard Before? It seems everyone has a greasy uncle who "shows you real music" when you are ten years old. Notes: - it's not the fault of these songs that they are criminally overplayed and thus meaningless. - although it IS the fault of the lyrics for being so silly. - I've known too many drummers who could "play like Bonzo" by which they meant "hit the drums pointlessly hard". - i forgot how many pretty acoustic segments there are, and how lovely Plant and Denny sound together. Verdict: It is an album which exists. If I could somehow unhear it and then start fresh, I may actually enjoy it. Listen Again? Unavoidable. It will be echoing in subterranean caves long past the time of human extinction.

Probably their best I've heard so far, which isn't really saying much. Stairway to Heaven is cool (if over played), the rest is pretty bland and typical. I'll be nice and give a 3 I guess. I don't hate it, but I definitely don't love it either.

Messieurs Boombastic (Not quite telephontastic) The good here is very very good. The not so good is just that.

what else would I give this

This was my first Zeppelin album. For some reason, when I was 16 years old I got it into my head that I needed to listen to Zeppelin. My dad had missed them completely back in the 70s which means I had missed them when he was raising me, choosing instead to bring me up on The Beatles, Bob Dylan, and Billy Joel. I asked a friend who was into classic rock where to start and he said once you listen to Four you'll go back and listen to the rest, and he was right. I became a Zeppelin fiend. I was driving around another friend of mine (yes, I had two whole friends in high school) and he was flipping through my bag of cassette tapes. "Which one is this?" Zeppelin. "Which one is this?" Zeppelin. "And this one?"......Zeppelin. "DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING THAT ISN'T LED ZEPPELIN IN THIS CAR" ......../......Zeppelin. But yeah - this album is perfect, no skips. People hate on "Four Sticks" a bit, but I like it. The flow is perfect - two rockers, followed up by an acoustic folk tune, followed up by a huge rock "ballad," more rockers, a beautiful acoustic song, and then you get arguably the best closer in rock music. It's the most overused drum sample in history for a reason. Good God. Inject it into my veins, hang it in the Louvre, etc. etc. FIVE STARS

I didn’t know I’d like Led Zeppelin this much. I think I liked every song in this album. Nothing that I didn’t like. Wide range of types of songs which allow me to listen to it at any time. I will come back to this album again. Favorite Songs: Black Dog - I knew this song, but not the title. I feel a little…spicy listening to this one. It’s fun! Rock And Roll - Great drum work throughout and what a great ending with the drum. Stairway To Heaven - I think everyone knows this song. Long piece, but beautiful guitar work. I think it uses a recorder? It’s very neat in all. Going To California - Beautiful lyrics. Beautiful melody. I think this is my favorite song of the whole album. When The Levee Breaks - Great combo of drum, harmonica and some bass as well. Nice, steady rhythm. Love the jazz undertone throughout this song.

Powerhouse of an album!

Led Zeppelin IV Hobbit me up, bitch. Definitely my favourite Led Zep album, their best synthesis of blues-rock and elves and goblins, with one of my favourite ever Led Zep songs in The Battle of Evermore. But then there isn’t a weak song on here - I suppose if you are only putting 8 songs on the album they all have to be bangers, and they are. Black Dog for lascivious blues rock, Rock’n’Roll for breakneck rock’n’roll, The Battle of Evermore for wailing Sandy Denny and folky mystical Hobbitry. Stairway is of course overfamiliar, but listening objectively it is a stupendously great song. I love the electric piano on Misty Mountain Hop. I’ve never really thought about it until today, but Four Sticks, particularly the guitar, sounds quite like Bodysnatchers from In Rainbows to me? Going to California has that lovely folky lilt and When the Levee Breaks with its oft-sampled powerhouse drumming. There’s not a bad song or weak moment, it’s a masterpiece in 70s blues-folk-rock. Simple 5. 🔣🔣🔣🔣🔣 Playlist submission: The Battle of Evermore

This. In a sea of amazing albums from Led Zeppelin, this one, Led Zeppelin IV, is their magnum opus. "Stairway to Heaven" is not my favorite Led Zeppelin song, but I'd be remiss not to mention this song. It's a masterwork of a song that tips the scales on this already stacked album. This song builds and progresses expertly from a musical, lyrical, and vocal standpoint. It creates mystery and intrigue, it tells a story, it climbs upward, and it unleashes. It does all of this while dabbling across multiple genres, refusing to be pinned into any one box. It really is a stellar song. The important thing is that the rest of the album really lives up to "Stairway", though. Each song is epic, creative, and unique in its own right. While they may not be 8 minute long epics, these other tracks really do stand out, as well. This album doesn't just rest on its laurels, though it could. Every listen, across every year, across the passing decades, is a reminder of why this album really is a no-skip masterpiece. It's just one of the greatest albums that has and ever will exist, and that's saying something when your basis of comparison starts at "every other outstanding Led Zeppelin album".

Feels a little silly writing a review of this, so all I'll say is that in case you weren't aware, "When the Levee Breaks" is one of the most sampled beats of all time, for example on fellow 1001 album lister Beastie Boys' Licensed to Ill (Rhymin' and Stealin'). It's one of the hugest, heaviest grooves you'll ever hear, mainly because John Bonham is has a devastating sense of time that makes him one of the funkiest drummers ever and people will continue to borrow his beats for many years to come. Go listen to it again right now if you can, focusing on the drums. Magnificent. Listen to Black Dog, for example. The guitar and bass are playing these ridiculously complicated riffs and Bonham cuts through it all like Alexander The Great slicing through the Gordian knot, with an incredibly simple beat that takes great maturity and musical instinct to conceive, and immaculate sense of time to execute so effectively, and provides a powerful contrast to the busy strings. People tend to get distracted with the fiery guitar and Lord of the Rings references and blues thievery but for me at least, Bonham is the most interesting and probably most influential musician in this band and this album is a tremendous showcase for his talents.

Well, come on now…. Could there be a more influential rock album? Rock song? There’s an argument to be made, but probably a waste of breath. It’s not my all-time, but deserves the accolades of a top ten. So 5, despite the plagiarism.

Another classic, even if Stairway is the most overplayed song in history.

Starts well, ends well, goes on a bit in the middle. Honestly, like, Zeppelin are good, they're just not as good as their fans or, more important, they themselves think they are.

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.

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...

I could see it being really good if the only alternatives were the Beatles and Charles Mingus and shit but most songs weren’t very memorable

Music for hobbits and dragons

Not much care here. III for me. But yeah, should be on this here list.

Misty Mountain Hop and Going to California are forever favorites. It's really hard not to love this album and really hard not to skip Stairway to Heaven.

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.

it’s like a country album but with rock. i don’t like it, i only like one song. 4/10

Album six. Time to ruffle a few feathers... I've never understood the widespread reverence for this boring, self-indulgent, self-important wank. The emperor is well and truly stark-bollock naked here. A real chore to listen to, despite some deservedly famous drum production and great guitar sounds. Plant's voice never fails to grate as he wails his way through the least melodically and rhythmically interesting route between two points time after time. One star, awarded purely for the groove Page, Bonham and Jones create amid the pretentious pentatonic rock-blues wankery.

Strong contender for "best Led Zeppelin album". There isn't much to say - almost every song is a classic. Every time I listen to this album, I'm surprised by how well it withstood the test of time, even for songs that have been overplayed to death like Stairway To Heaven. It's hard to imagine this was released 55 years ago. I don't listen to this as much as I used to, but it remains an era-defining album. The magic still works for me, at least. 9/10

“Zep time 4: led zep fury road” So I took February and March off from thinking about Led Zeppelin at all, because I wasn’t going to be listening to ROBERT PLANT’S voice during BLACK HISTORY MONTH AND INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S MONTH. Then in April I wrote a really great review of this album but it was deleted because the site reloaded before I could save it. Discouraged, I took a month and a half off from any Led Zeppelin related stuff. And then I got this album for the “1001 Albums You Must Listen To Before You Die” album generator, and I, not wanting to break the run of Zep time reviews, rushed to the RYM review box to review this project. And lemme just say, this is their first genuinely great album, hands down. “Black Dog” is a great opener. Though I prefer “2122,” which is the opener off of Geese’s 3D Country and is directly derived from “Black Dog,” it’s still an incredible opener and a great way to start off this album. I mean, Plant’s vocals are the best they’ve ever been!! And I mean that! Then we have “Rock and Roll,” which, obviously, slaps SO hard. The rawness of the guitars and the vocals is great, and it’s just a driving song that really provides some serious momentum. After that is “The Battle of Evermore” which is a pretty underrated song that actually has some awesome melodies and vocal passages. I love the end of that song too, it’s super intense in a really great way. And then comes what’s arguably the best song on this album the legendary “Stairway to Heaven.” Iconic, every second. The intro, the vocals, the strummy riff, when the drums come in, everything is insanely good. It’s a simply unbelievable song and it takes the A-side to the next fucking level. Opening up the B-side is “Misty Mountain Hop,” which while being one of the less favorable songs on the album, is still respectable and great. Just kinda basic and not at all memorable and uhh… worst vocals on the album. But then we have “Four Sticks,”which is also kinda memorable except for IT’S IN MY FAVORITE TIME SIGNATURE!!! Ily 5/4 you make everything okay 🥰 then is “Going to California” which is a really pretty, sweet little folksong that Plant sings bearably, which is impressive for him. It’s pretty. It fills time well. And then is “When The Levee Breaks,” which is the best “cover” zep ever, EVER did. When you hear those drums… it’s like everything stops, and the song washes over you. It’s genuinely a transcendental experience of a song. And seven whole minutes! It’s ridiculous. Ridiculous and incredible and the perfect end to this album. So, I do indeed love this album. Easily the best Zep album so far, and one of the highest 9s I’ve ever given. Like, the sequencing? And the vocals? The guitar tones? The DRUM TONES???? Duuuuude don’t even play. This album is ridiculous and deserves pretty much all the praise it gets. 9.7/10

This project really has some surprising aspects. On the one hand, I’m discovering new music that makes me wonder why I didn’t listen to it much earlier. Then I listen to albums where I don’t understand why they’re supposed to be special. With Led Zeppelin, the thing is, I’ve always enjoyed listening to the band, but it’s only now that I’ve realized I’ve been a fan for a long time. I didn’t own this album myself until much later, but I listened to it often at friends’ houses when I was younger. I can’t figure out why I didn’t spend my allowance on this record. An all-around great album that I love listening to over and over again. 5/5

How can I praise this album in a way I haven't before? ... uh, let's see ... Straight bangers, back to back!

I mean, is there any other rating to give this?

My reaction on seeing the album come up: “Oh, sure, Zep 4, easy 5 rating. Wait, I forgot Black Dog *and* Rock and Roll are on this one. Can I go higher than 5?” Such a pleasure to listen to it start to end. I thought long ago that I'd filled my lifetime Stairway quota, but that was apparently wrong. It deserves every bit of its overplay during the album rock FM years of my youth, and every one of its 1.3 billion plays on Spotify, and whatever other airing it gets. Every other song on IV is a classic too. This isn't even my favorite Zeppelin album (that would be Physical Graffiti, and yes I'll be pissed off if that's not on this list) but it's perfect.

5/5 - The most classic of classic rock albums? Probably. My nostalgia for the album is endless, but I'd still listen to it any day. From the opening call of Black Dog to the relentless pounding of When the Levee Breaks, this is great.

Might even be better than Zeppelin 3 but either way, both 5 stars

fuckin wild that you could put the songs on this in any order and it would still be ☆☆☆☆☆ the drums on"when the levee breaks" deserve a nobel, a Ramon Magsaysay,a Victoria cross, and fields medal.

It’s amazing and everyone knows it.

Ну тут слов не хватит описать, насколько это важный альбом для музыки вообще. Одна из лучших групп в истории на своем абсолютном пике. Разнообразие материала зашкаливает, при этом каждый трек - идеальное попадание. Один из величайших риффов в Black Dog, одна из самых известных рок-баллад (что-то там про лестницы), невероятно крутое и качовое исполнение старенькой When The Levee Breaks, поразительно красивая переносящая в средневековье The Battle of Evermore, даже вроде бы стандартная с музыкальной точки зрения Rock and Roll так круто исполнена, что каверы на нее до сих пор выходят в огромном количестве. Этому альбому действительно не нужно было официальное название, чтобы взорвать индустрию и навсегда остаться в истории как одно из величайших творений рок-музыки.

Хайп. The Battle of Evermore и Going to California очень понравились. Бриты сверхлюди.

несмотря на главный хит, который слушать у меня уже нет сил, проходных песен на альбоме для меня нет, все очень хорошо, еще одна 5ка, просто рад был в очередной раз переслушать шедевр

This album is an all-timer for a reason. Every song an anthem, not a single misstep.

Like a good friend, this album is always there for you

Very Nice album!

Glorious

Really good album. All killer, no filler

Near prefect, Zepplin 4 is just hit after heavy hit

yeah, 5/5. Easily. Some amazing reviews in here, nothing to add for me.

Great album, not my fave led Zep but still a classic

Every song is incredible. I think the one I liked the least is Four Sticks. There’s something about it that doesn’t hit me like the others do but it’s still a masterful piece of music. Great album. Great band.

10/10

When you put aside all the 'greatest ever' nonsense that surrounds both the band and this album, this is a really good record. Yes, I occasionally get a little tired of some of the songs, and Stairway is over-praised and over-played, but when the guitar solo in that song starts, or the first drum hit thunders on When The Levee Breaks, or the Jew's harp opening to the album leads into "Hey Hey Mama" on Black Dog, it can still raise the pulse. The album is never less than good, sometimes overblown, sometimes exactly what is required. Today I noticed just how idiotic the lyrics in 'Misty Mountain Hop' are, but how wonderful the guitars under the OOO-OOH fade out are.

It’s become fashionable to bash Led Zeppelin, this album, and “Stairway to Heaven“. After all, much of the punk ethos of the mid-70s was a backlash to the bloated excesses of multiple performers (sometimes including Led Zep themselves) trying to copy/re-create/outdo this album. But forget all that. This is just a great album. Led Zeppelin sets out to make a rock tour de force as in “we’re going to show you how to play rock ‘n’ roll” and then does exactly that. The blues-based call and response of “Black Dog” opens the album, followed by the loud/fast warping of Chuck Berry that is “Rock and Roll”. Next comes the medieval/fantasy “Battle of Evermore” with its delicate guitar/mandolin sound. The side ends with “Stairway”, which comes across as a suite, with its opening acoustic section, a different middle, and then ending with a hard rock coda. For better or worse, “Bohemian Rhapsody“ doesn’t exist without this one showing the way. Side two opens with the iconic riff of “Misty Mountain Hop” while Robert Plant sings us a funny story about a riot. This is followed by the ultra heavy riff of “Four Sticks” (so named because John Bonham was bashing his kit with two mallets in each hand) with Plant wailing over the top of it. The mood lightens with the next song, the acoustic hippie anthem “Going to California” with its delicate acoustic guitar. The album closer “When the Levee Breaks” opens with a wailing harmonica over another heavy blues riff. This song sounds absolutely apocalyptic, like the world might actually end TOMORROW. This is right up there with Hendrix’s version of “All Along the Watchtower” for implied menace. Easy five stars.

Amazing album!

Overall: 10/10 I would love to write some big long review for this, but I also have absolutely nothing new or original to add to the conversation so...... Classic. Fav Song: When the Levee Breaks

ja dizia jeff buckley: "My main music influences? Love, anger, depression, joy... And Zeppelin totally."

é tipo dizer que o seu é azul

Zeitlos, geht für mich fast immer.

Oh, I could try to be contrarian. But why bother?

I know this album inside out. I haven’t listened for years because I over did it. A couple years ago I finally learned to play black dog correctly. Led Zeppelin II will always be my favorite. I will be skipping Stairway. No desire to hear that again. 😂 This album is a masterpiece. I will never understand how they used odd times, and traditional instruments and made the rock album that’s everyone’s reference point. The sound and grooves of “when the levee breaks” are just legendary.

Listened to the 180g vinyl reissue. So far ahead of its time compared to everything else I’ve heard from the list around then. Great drum mix, stellar songs.

Can't deny that this is great rock and roll. If you were ever a teenage boy (I was) there may be a specific kind of hard wiring of this music in your brain. There is a reason classic rock stations have played the shit out of this for FIFTY years.

Loistava levy kuten olettaa saattaa. Ei kuitenkaan Zeppelinin paras. 4,75/5.

personal rating: 9/10

I really like the first 4 songs but I fell asleep because i barely got any sleep the album was really nice other than that so I'm giving this a five stars

Sometimes you dont feel like Led Zep but when you do nothing hits quite like it.