IN THROUGH THE OUT DOOR

Oh this album is painful. Painful in a Big Generator kind of way. If you like this album please stop reading now because I'm not going to hold back here. I've been a huge Zeppelin fan since my school days. My friends and I knew this album blew back then and I know it even more now. There is nothing redeeming about it. Coda is better. The first Plant solo album is better. This is not maturity, musical growth, or their "most progressive" album. It is lifeless, boring, and horrible.

I'll spare you my track by track wrath because there is not one 3 star track on this album for me. All 1's and 2's. The better songs are South Bound with its jumpy piano energy and All My Love which is at the least a decent pop ballad. The worst offenders are "In the Evening" which is my vote for the worst Zeppelin song ever, just awful and completely throwaway guitar work; and "Hot Dog" which must be a constant source of embarrassment for the lads to this day. It truly pains me to give a Zep album 1 star but the rating guide says 1 means "poor" and that accurately reflects my view of this album. The band is a favorite of mine. For whatever reason they were musically impotent at this time and the sad part is they should have known better than to release this. They didn't need the cash. They could have taken off more time to take care of their obvious personal problems and try again when they were healthy. Instead they threw together this mess proving how lost Plant and Jones were without Page's clear attention and wizardry in the studio. It is clear that without Jimmy Page's talent in playing, arranging, and writing, Zeppelin would have been another Nazareth, Foghat, or Bad Co but with a better drummer. The success of this group is all about Jimmy Page and it always was. Sure the others have talent but Page was the most important catalyst. His being smacked out here tanked this group as much as Garcia's habit did to the Dead.

If you happen to be discovering Zeppelin for the first time, buy everything except this album. Don't waste your cash on this one.

Share this LED ZEPPELIN review

Social review comments () BETA

---

---

Review related links

• Send comments to Finnforest
• Report this review (#135660)
• Buy LED ZEPPELIN music online with PA partners
• Show all LED ZEPPELIN MP3/Stream
• Go to LED ZEPPELIN page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to In Through the Out Door page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for LED ZEPPELIN related discussions