Led Zeppelin IV

This is the greatest album by Led Zeppelin and it happens to be my first LZ album. It is impossible not to fall in love with Led Zeppelin. The music set in it is mind-blowing. It starts with the powerful song - "Back Dog" and ends (with my favorite) with "When the Levees Break". The When the Levees Break shows the power of John Bonham on the drums. Of course, let's not forget one of the greatest songs of all time - "Stairway to Heaven". This is a remastered version and definitely worth it. Jimmy Page did a great job cleaning up the songs from the original tapes to make this version.

What more can you say about this fourth album from Led Zeppelin? It is by no doubt a classic. In fact it was the first Zeppelin album I bought on vinyl once I started high school as the seventies drew to a close. But of course I first this album back in the early seventies when my sister borrowed it from a friend not to mention hearing the songs "Black Dog", "Rock And Roll" and, of course, "Stairway To Heaven" on the radio constantly back in the day. Originally I was going to get the deluxe CD copy of this but then upon discovering the second disc was merely the same set of songs but with different mixes involved as part of head Zep man Jimmy Page's remasters not to mention the altering of the cover so I decided to stick with the standard version as I know it. You have eight great songs on here which is just right[That's four songs per side on vinyl] and much of them classic in their own right. Half of these selections are credited to guitarist Jimmy Page and lead vocalist Robert Plant. Two songs("Black Dog" and "Misty Mountain Hop")has Page and Plant co-credited with bassist John Paul Jones. All four members of the group[The fourth member being drummer John Bonham]collaborate on "Rock And Roll", which is considered a drummer's favorite amongst aspiring rock drummers everywhere. The album's concluding track "When The Levee Breaks" find the entire band co-credited to Memphis Minnie(!) when in actually the song dates back to 1927 as recorded by the artist herself with the help of another blues guitarist. This version makes it a rock classic within itself with its recorded set-up involving a single mike for Bonham's drums, the fantastic harmonica wailing from Robert Plant and Jimmy Page's use of slide guitar with John Paul Jones' bass anchoring the bottom. There are two guest appearances on this album. The first is the piano playing talents of original Rolling Stones co-founder Ian Stewart on "Rock And Roll"[The Zeppelin song "Boogie With Stu" from Physical Graffiti was recorded in the same session reportedly. "Stu" was the nickname of Stewart for those who still don't know]. The second is Fairport Convention vocalist Sandy Denny on "The Battle Of Evermore", the first of two acoustic songs on the album. The other acoustic song is "Going To California" in homage to the Joni Mitchell song "California". Both of these acoustic songs feature mandolin playing by either Jimmy Page or John Paul Jones. The only other track featured on this fourth Zeppelin effort is "Four Sticks" with its barrage of riffs any guitarist and bassist could use. Supposedly the title was literally due to the use of four drumsticks used by John Bonham when recording the piece. Arguably, the best song on here is "Stairway To Heaven" and is considered an anthem for AOR[Album Oriented Rock]and always tends to top the lists of various FM station countdowns with Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Freebird" coming in second. The arrangement itself is crafted out well-the acoustic beginning supplied with double-tracked recorders by John Paul Jones; the middle section half acoustic/half electric featuring electric piano, 12-string electric guitar, bass guitar and drums; the electrifying conclusion including a guitar solo that has force to be reckoned with. Finally, the title of this album has many people puzzled. Even though this was Led Zeppelin's fourth album they never had an appropriate title for it and each member of the band chose his own symbol or rune and they each appeared on the label next to their group name. Many people assumed it was titled after Page's rune Zoso[A 1527 meaning for Saturn reportedly], while Plant's was the feather within a circle, Jones' was the trilateral interlocking within a circle and Bonham's was the interlocking circles meaning man, woman and child which bears striking resemblance to the Ballentine beer logo. Sandy Denny also had a rune for herself which was the three downpointing triangles that looked almost similar to the Fallout Shelter design. Other nicknames for this album were: The Hermit[The front cover design], Runes, The Stairway To Heaven Album[The songs' lyrics were printed inside the inner sleeve plus it showed an illustration of a man carrying a lantern atop of a high hill], The Fourth Album and, of course, Zoso. If you don't have this album in your collection, then you don't know what you're missing. This is one Led Zeppelin album no one should be without. If you want to get the Led out, get it out with this one and you won't go wrong. Rock And Roll!

Love this vinyl album and price along with packaging was fantastic.

Love it!

I love my new Led Zepplin CD I ordered from Amazon. It was fast delivery and in excellent condition. Thanks Amazon, great job!

Led Zeppelin IV’s Japanese version comes packaged in a heavy, clear, re-sealable plastic sleeve. On that sleeve is a clear sticker with the contents of each CD listed. (This is a classy difference compared to the American and Canadian issues of this album. With those, the sticker listing the song titles was on the shrink wrap. It was impossible to peel the sticker off the shrink wrap without creasing or smudging it!)Each CD gets its own plastic sleeve for storage, too. Why don’t American record companies do these things?Whether you’re lucky enough to get the original 2 CD reissue as I did, or just the single CD edition, the Japanese CD version sounds like Led Zeppelin is playing in your living room. Turn it UP! Not that you’ll need to do that to notice the vast difference in quality with Japanese CD mastering!

This is what real heavy metal should sound like. The music is far more complex than what it is today, which lends to replay value. The song Stairway to Heaven is popular for a good reason, and alone is worth the price of the album. The song Black Dog seems to be nearly impossible to remake, which is a testimony to the real talent of the band. Bear in mind that this was before the days when technology could sanitize a take to make it totally error free (and sterile).People who were around in the 1960s and 1070s are probably familiar with this music. Unlike many popular artists that seem bent on releasing strings of hit singles, Led Zeppelin only had six hits on the top 40 charts. And only one got into the Top Ten. However, they are still the most successful rock band of all time, possibly barring The Eagles. And this album is their finest--this album deserves to be ranked highly. By sales, only the Eagles' Greatest volume 1 and Michael Jackson's Thriller, both great albums of their own rights, did better. And they all had many big radio hits. Led Zeppelin made this album a blockbuster without releasing too many singles--only Black Dog was formally released and hit the Billboard Top 40.Even younger listeners should give this a try. People that are teens, or even pre-teens, can sample the album. Listen to Stairway to Heaven and see if it is not worth the price. And see what you are missing out on with that sanitized mush they call music today. Led Zeppelin is definitely not sanitized, and definitely not mush. About the only word of caution is that very devout Christians may find this album offensive or that their church might not condone it. Even there, Led Zeppelin manages to make a solid album without the use of cursing, blatant references to drugs, or senseless violence--so even you might find it worth listening to. For sure, this is one album your parents will NOT likely object to.Also, Led Zeppelin's other albums are worth checking out.