LED ZEPPELIN IV

After hearing it countless times following my discovery of classic rock (particulary Zeppelin,Sabbath and Deep Purple)some two and a half years ago,and since then expanding my tastes towards prog,jazz and others,it is still hard for me to get over the fact that Led Zeppelin IV is in it's whole one of the best albums ever made.Everything this band's legend is built upon is more evident here;the massive wall of sound formed by an unmatchably heavy and driving percussion(Bonham's furious drumming does actually sound like a crashing led zeppelin),the perfect sense of arrangement and equally stuning bass lines of John Paul Jones,the distortioned and messy multiple guitar strike by the Les Paul genious Jimmy Page,and over all this,rock n' roll's definitive vocalist and frontman of Led Zeppelin,Robert Plant with his high-pitched cryings at their very best.

So being,it's not hard to figure out that this group of songs spread through two Lp sides are some of the very best offerings in rock music as a whole.All-time classics such as the provocative and groovy blues-rock monster Black Dog,the live favourite and instantly recognizable Rock And Roll(with it's old-fashioned lines echoing in one's mind for days after the first lintenings) and the keyboard-led hippie feast Misty Mountain Hop would be enough to classify this untitled album as being of undisputed importance.The main reason for which the record is remembered,however,is for presenting us to Stairway To Heaven,one of the greatest anthems of the 20th century and most radio overplayed song in the US...and needless to say,it absolutely tramples every other composition by a performing group in the planet by then,hands down.What a song.I could right a whole text just about the nuances and subtlety of what is in fact likely to be Zep's most rewarding piece.But it's enough to mention it's brilliantly structured pattern of growing intesity until a climax is reached (in one of the most beautifull guitar solos ever written), and the burst out that follows,stating in a last minute the essence of Led Zeppelin in a truly rocking session.

So what could the band possibly wrote for the remaing LP minutes,that wouldn't be forever overshadowed by this collection of numbers that are part of rock's basic vocabulary?Well,the folk-influenced side of the group that was brightly used in the previous album is enhanced here in truly remarkable pieces.While Going To California is a beautifull acoustic song with the classic Zeppelin trademark,The Battle of Evermore is a true gem like few the band wrote throughout their career.Perhaps this is the ultimate composition out of the Tolkien(and other traditional english mistic references)-inspired tracks that were so frequent in rock albums by that time,at least in the emerging Brittish progressive rock scene.Personally,I wouldn't hesitate to say it is one of my favourite songs by the band.

Four Sticks may be a bit of a slip,but only if compared by the excellence that surrounds it.This is all in all an experimental piece in which John Bonham palys his drum kit using four sticks,while Plant supports the ledding percussion all the way through.The album closes with the classical blues interpretation of When the Levee Breaks,with a stunningly melodic pace and yet an unmatchably cool spectrum,as no other band in the world could achieve.The thundering drums lead the song to several climaxes,including Plant's harmonica dramatic echoings and impressive vocal emergings.

While the power of this album expands in all directions to create a magical and enchanting classic,the true mighty of the IV resides in the fact that it is likely to be Led Zeppelin's finest hour as a group.