LED ZEPPELIN IV

Led Zeppelin IV has already been reviewed numerous times by reviewers far more knowledgable about music than me, and also by numerous reviewers who were there when it happened. Therefore, there really isn't all that much that I can add other than personal feelings about this album. Led Zeppelin IV is my all-time favorite album that doesn't have the name Rush on the front cover, if not my all time favorite album ever. All 8 songs on this album are excellent quality songs and all are songs that I have heard hundreds, if not thousands of times, and yet they have never grown old with me. Included in all of the excellent songs that are included on Led Zeppelin IV, is the song that I have historically called my all-time favorite song and that, of course, is Stairway to Heaven. (To continue into the insanity that is me, although Stairway to Heaven is my all-time favorite song, it is not my favorite Led Zeppelin song. That title goes to Kashmir. I hope that that makes some sense to some of you). In some ways, it is this song that has probably most significantly effected my tastes in music. The way that this song is extremely melodic and balladic throughout most of the song but after a significant time change it ends on a ballistic metal high. All these years later these are characteristics of music that I still look for and still love.

Something else that I would like to share within this review is a story about Stairway to Heaven that I once heard many years ago. I will probably bungle some of the facts and name the wrong innocent and guilty parties, but I think that some readers might find this interesting. Probably about 20 years ago I was listening to a local radio station late at night, and they were broadcasting a Led Zeppelin concert as well as an interview with Robert Plant and Jimmy Page. During the interview, I forget which guy said what, but they were talking about the first time that they played Stairway to Heaven live in front of an audience. I assume it was before the album had been released. At any rate, they played the entire 8 minute plus song, and when they finished it the crowd was absolutely silent. As I remember the interview, Robert Plant turned around to Jimmy Page and said something like I told you that song was crap. Then the crowd stood up and gave them the loudest standing ovation they received that night. It turns out that the crowd was just so stunned by what they had just heard they didn't know what to make of it.

Anyhow, in my mind this album is about as complete of a masterpiece as has ever existed. This album is easily a 10 out of 10 album for me.