LED ZEPPELIN IV

Of course, this is one of the most famous albums in rock history. The fame of this work derives in large part from Stairway To Heaven, magic and unrepeatable song. It is also the first album where the band includes rather evident elements of progressive rock, especially in The Battle Of Evermore and Stairway To Heaven.

Yet, for myself the real Led Zeppelin, the truly unique legendary Led Zep, remain those of the first three albums. The first three Led Zeppelin albums were certainly less refined and more rough than this one and the band was perhaps more predictable in their inspiration from the masters of Delta Blues and Celtic Folk, but album I, II and III sound incredibly powerful, a real slap in the face to the listener, and in this album I feel it much less.

Analyzing individually the songs emerge the ups and downs of the album.

Black Dog. The most convincing hard rock piece of the album, with obscure lyrics, and the legendary opening scream by Plant "Hey hey mama said the way you move ..." . Rating 8/10.

Rock And Roll. This is what the title suggests. Pure Rock'n'Roll, very aggressive. This is also a convincing track, although not as much as the previous one. In this genre, "Heartbreaker," "Immigrant Song" and "Whole Lotta Love" are also better. Rating: 7/10.

The Battle Of Evermore. With an amazing vocal duet between Plant and Sandy Denny. In this passage emerge all the love of Page and Plant for acoustic music of the Celtic tradition. Considerable use of mandolin. Beautiful. Rating 8/10.

Stairway To Heaven. I cannot rate it 10/10 because of the end, not as good as the rest of the song. But it is still Stairway To Heaven, one of the most famous and beautiful rock songs in history. The mellotron that characterizes the entire first half of the song, the length and the different dynamics are all typical prog elements. Rating 9/10.

Misty Mountain Hop. Not memorable and quite tasteless, characterized by an organ riff by John Paul Jones. I think the less beautiful song of the first four albums of the band. Rating: 4/10.

Four Sticks. A song mostly acoustic, with exotic shades, inspired a bit by Indian and Arabian music, which was very interesting for Page and Plant (whose voice is too shrill, as will be later in "The Song Remains The Same"). John Bohnam uses four sticks...but that does not increase particularly the quality of the track. Rating: 5/10.

Going To California. Undoubtedly when they went to California Led Zeppelin enjoyed a lot. I enjoy a little less listening to this song. The live version contained in BBC Sessions is much better. Not a bad song but I cannot feel the pathos very much here, don't know why. Rating 5/10.

When The Levee Breaks. Blues derivated song (with Robert Plant playing the harmonica), is a very interesting piece, with great use of slide guitar, sound effects and filtered voices (a bit as in the final song of Led Zeppelin III, "Hats Off To Roy Harper"). Here, however, lacks the grit that made "Hats Off" a unique song. Rating 7/10.

In conclusion, an album definitely recommend to all lovers of classic rock, with a jewel not to be missed, but also with some piece of lesser quality. 3, 5 stars for sure and a final rating of 6/10.

Best song: Stairway To Heaven

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