IN THROUGH THE OUT DOOR

Perhaps this should have been titled "Thud" in reference to the impact this album made on the group's fans when it was released in 1979. All of us desperately wanted to hear a triumphant return to glory and if Page and Plant had spent half as much time and effort on the songs as Atlantic did on the artwork and packaging we might be praising this collection of songs instead of ragging on it. I was working in a record store when this arrived and the hoopla and promotion surrounding it was enormous. But once the promising "In the Evening" faded away all we were left with was what sounded like a continuation of the mediocre rock we had sadly experienced with "Presence." By the time the syrupy "All My Love" reached my ears I was ready for the band to announce their immediate retirement. It is simply hideous and I rush to change radio channels any time it is played. Yark. Looking on the bright side of life, maybe the poor reception this album received spared us from Led Zep trying to get on the MTV bandwagon that started up as the 80s began. It would have tragically stained an otherwise magnificent legacy.