IN THROUGH THE OUT DOOR

After many albums of following the same basic formula, the Zeppelin folks mustered up enough guts to try something different. Instead of the usual guitar-bash approach, the group saw the wisdom that can come from adding more keyboards to the mix (something Black Sabbath also did to spice up their music in the Sabbath B Sabboth through Never Say Die period).

While some narrow-minded listeners whined, complained, and cried like childish babies, the rest of us applauded the expansion of the Zepp sound. Maybe some people just don't like keyboards, but for many of us true prog-heads, it was a welcome relief and change of pace.

In the Evening does have the traditional Zepp sound, but with some extra keyboards. All of My Love is admittedly popish, but still tastefully done. But it takes some maturity to appreciate this one, something most younger listeners probably won't be able to handle. I'm Gonna Crawl is a beautiful quieter song with lots of mood and atmosphere, going in a territory LZ had never quite done before (this is a good thing, giving more variety to their music).

I'll admit that Hot Dog is a dumb song and one they could have replaced with something better (maybe a heavy guitar jam song or something for better balance).

Carouselambra is kind of cool, and should appeal to proggers.

In summary, not the best Zepp album, but one that definately has a place among the rest, and should be appreciated on its one terms (not for narrow and simplistic minds).