Track Listing

1. Black dog
2. Rock 'n' roll
3. Battle of Evermore
4. Stairway to Heaven
5. Misty mountain hop
6. Four sticks
7. Going to California
8. When the levee breaks

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1485 in Music
• Released on: 1997-08-25
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered

Amazon.co.uk Review
Also known as the "rune" album because of the medieval symbols adorning its cover, Led Zeppelin's fourth album, released in 1971, turned them from mere superstars into giant behemoths of the rock world. On tracks like "Black Dog", "Misty Mountain Hop", and "Rock and Roll", the combination of Robert Plant's banshee wails and Jimmy Page's frenetic guitar playing forever altered the stylistic bent of hard rock music. And the foreboding "When the Levee Breaks" demonstrated that Zeppelin could indeed play the blues fairly straight if they so desired. Still, everything here ultimately took a back seat to the album's (and, ultimately, the band's) magnum opus--the expertly constructed and deftly executed classic, "Stairway to Heaven". --Billy Altman

CD Description
Led Zeppelin's epochal fourth album finds both the band's blues-rock thunder and their gentler, more lyrical side fileddown to a razor-sharp point. "Black Dog" and "Rock and Roll" aren't just perennial air-guitar anthems; they're the ultimate distillation of the blues-inflected, hard-rock fury theband had already been perfecting for the past three years. Robert Plant's Little Richard-on-amphetamines wail rides perfectly atop the band's strategically directed crunch for maximum impact. "When the Levee Breaks"is a titanic take on theblues, with John Bonham's thunderous drums echoing through the subsequent decades. The folkier, acoustic tracks providewelcome moments of beauty and respite, and all the elementsof the band's sound come together in "Stairway to Heaven", a suite of shifting dynamics that would become the Eiffel Tower of classic-rock radio forevermore.

Customer Reviews

Creative classic that time cannot erode
This was a pioneering rock album by the band everyone aspired to be at the time, and are influenced by now. Unlike many other groundbreakers, this isn't particularly dated and still holds its own in a market that has moved on.

'Stairway to Heaven' deserves to be remembered as one of the all-time great tracks, but the others aren't fillers. More a case of 'Stairway' as the pinnacle of the album. Plant's vocals are forthright, bluesy and angst-ridden. Page's guitar lines are ideal in each situation and provide some great riffs. Bonham's drumming really is incredible rock drumming - hard, heavy, and not always as predicted. Somehow John-Paul Jones and his bass are by comparison, merely perfect.

There's a variety here - rocky numbers like 'Black Dog' and 'Rock n Roll', then slow blues like 'When the Levy Breaks'.

Since this album, the rock guitar has become louder and heavier through Motorhead, AC/DC, Anthrax, Slayer, through to the modern thrash. Despite that, this album still sounds fresh and has an edge of creative genius that many new bands just don't have as much of.

I write this not as someone who was there when it came out and is nostalgic (I'm too young!) but someone who found it after discovering the modern rock and metal world. And it's still, really, that good.

essential
Led Zeppelin are the group who have seeped into your consciousness even if you're not aware of having actively listened to any of their music: virtually every rock group since has lifted mannerisms, riffs, attitudes from them, and when you see the variety on II you can understand what a broad inspiration they provided. From the defining, thrilling intro to Rock'n'Roll, through the power of Black Dog, to a gentle tenderness in Going to California - you wouldn't think to associate tenderness with the great cliche of Led Zeppelin and Robert Plant's religion-revealing jeans - this album wraps you up completely. Even if you think you're sick of Stairway to Heaven, hearing it again in the setting of this album freshens it up into a whole new experience. Since discovering Led Zeppelin, I just find most modern music such a let-down, it's almost painful. After a period of total unfashionability, the passion and skill of all four musicians is like a bright light next to today's two-dimensional product.

The greatest album of all time. Bar none.
Four Symbols, Zoso, IV, The Runes Album. To be honest, Led Zeppelin could have called their 4th studio album "A load of b****cks" and it wouldn't have made any difference.

Led Zeppelin IV is simply the greatest album ever recorded. In America, only Thriller, The Wall and Eagles-Very Best Of have sold more. And let's face it, in musical terms, only Pink Floyd of these three can be mentioned in the same breath as Led Zeppelin.

Just looking at the track listing is like looking at a greatesT hits album. Black Dog was the product of a jam between John Paul Jones and John Bonham. It remained a steady fixture of their live shows for years to come.

Misty Mountain Hop is simply mesmerising, fusing the brilliance of multi-instrumentalist/arranger supreme Jones with the awesome riffery of Jimmy Page, arguably the greatest guitarist of all time. I say this because Page's legacy, both as producer, live performer, songwriter and guitarist is far greater than Clapton, Beck and even Hendrix, who didn't stick around long enough to show off his sublime talents.

Going To California is essentially a nod to Joni Mitchell and gives a brief respite from the barbaric rock of numbers such as Rock & Roll and Four Sticks. To finish the album, When The Levee Breaks is just incredible. Robert Plant's wailing lyric above the blues inspired guitar lines and two-bar drum intro is simply breathtaking.

If you haven't heard any Led Zeppelin music, shame on you. And until you do, you haven't heard music. Real arse kicking music, that is.