Led Zeppelin

IV 

By Jac Taylor

A blast from the past, that still today remains a surprisingly cohesive timeless masterpiece. Therefore, there is no better time to reminisce about it than now. Led Zeppelin IV is a recollection of an enormously powerful golden era of rock. It is not clear exactly whether Zeppelin knew that it would be such a prominent album, but the music hipsters of the time certainly knew it. Even in recent years, the mystery photo on the album was recently found out of potluck to be a 19^th century thatcher. (Check out the BBC article here - Original photo from Led Zeppelin IV album cover discovered - BBC News ). Cool right?

Led Zeppelin IV ranges from some of Rob, Jimmy, John, and John’s greatest hits to covers and seriously underrated projects. From start to finish, all out bangers. To this day, this album strikes us as incredibly unique and such an important moment for Zeppelin; being a massive contributor to their later, more infamous live show at Madison Square Garden.

The sheer fusion of progressive and hard rock in tracks such as ‘Stairway to Heaven’ or ‘Four Sticks’ where Bonham uses four drum sticks to play it. The songs on this album clearly seem like they have taken an extraordinarily long time to compose. I find this thing's music and emotions to be quite intense and edgy, and it is the exact thing to love about it the most. It is so easy to get attached to any one of the tracks in this album.

Furthermore, the versatility on the vocals is important for the fact that it conveys distinct stages of a moody emotion in the album. This could have been the way the band wanted to strike a newer, darker edge that most bands simply were not at the time. You are warned! This album will take your mind to another place. The darker edge of the album features a genius level of musicianship; trapping your ears in a gaze that is psychedelic but frightening. For example, cover song ‘When the Levee Breaks’ was initially a very folky track from the 1920s but has been remastered into a heavier, deep sounding melody.

The more meditative moods can be seen in songs like ‘Going to California’ or ‘The Battle of Evermore.’ These sound of a perfect stillness within its classic rock roots that previous Led Zeppelin records such as the first two self-titled albums share. The absolute best thing about the album is a consistent reference to J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit,with track ‘Misty Mountain Hop.’

On one hand (long-story short), this is 42 minutes and 37 seconds of a psychedelic, heavenly hard rock album. And however contradictory that sounds, we all know it is true. On the other hand, the layout of each song builds up for the next in a necessary but odd fashion. A perfect album for every kind of music fan. Whatever the genre, this one stands out above all.