LED ZEPPELIN IV

Although it does represent a peak for the band both in terms of songwriting and performance - Black Dog is their best rock and roll number, When the Levee Breaks is the heaviest blues- rock they ever deployed, and Stairway to Heaven is justly their most famous song - I can't bring myself to give the fourth Led Zeppelin album a perfect mark. The fact is that aside from the named songs and the energetic rock and roll, the album contains a lot of filler.

In particular, I can't get into the two acoustic numbers, The Battle of Evermore and Going to California, both of which seem to be inferior stabs at the sort of acoustic experimentation that made the band's third album so very compelling. The Battle of Evermore, in particular, is a big letdown - it feels like the extended intro to a song that never kicks into high gear. As for Misty Mountain Hop or Four Stick, frankly once the record's over I can barely remember what they sound like.

I don't dispute that this album has some fine five-star songs on it, but the fact is that half the songs just completely fail to engage me. Three stars is a more than fair compromise.