Led Zeppelin IV

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LED ZEPPELIN IV

Led Zeppelin IV is the common name of the fourth studio album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, which was released on 8 November 1971 on Atlantic Records. The fact that the album is officially untitled, along with the inner sleeve’s design featuring four symbols that represented each band member, led to the album being referred to variously by the Four Symbols logo (), Four Symbols, The Fourth Album, Untitled, Runes, The Hermit, and ZoSo (which was derived from Page’s symbol). Led Zeppelin IV was a commercial and critical success, producing many of the band’s most well-known songs, including “Black Dog”, “Rock and Roll”, “Going to California”, and the band’s signature song, “Stairway to Heaven”. The album is one of the best-selling albums worldwide at 37 million units, and with a 23-times platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America, it is the third-best-selling album in the United States. Writers and critics have regularly cited it on lists of rock’s greatest albums. (More from Wikipedia)

Guest vocalists are another common feature of rock albums and rock concerts. The only time Led Zeppelin used one was when Sandy Denny gave a stirring performance as the second vocalist on “The Battle of Evermore” on their landmark fourth album, Led Zeppelin IV; she even got a special symbol by her name in the musician credits to go with the “ZOSO” symbols used by the four bandmembers. For those of you who know her only from that song, you owe it to yourself to check out her ground-breaking work on the early albums of Fairport Convention, particularly Liege and Lief, which is generally considered to be the greatest English folk album of all time. Her alto voice had a purity and a piercing clarity that even most opera divas can't muster.

(August 2011)

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People bought more albums in the 1970’s than at any time before or since.  For what it’s worth, 6 of the 10 biggest selling albums of all time were released during the 1970’s – in order, they are The Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd; Bat out of Hell by Meat Loaf; Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975) by the Eagles; the Saturday Night Fever Soundtrack (featuring the Bee Gees and others); Rumours by Fleetwood Mac; and Led Zeppelin IV by Led Zeppelin.  However you might feel about these chestnuts, it is hard to imagine a more varied group of albums.  Thriller by Michael Jackson (1983) remains Number One, but I was certainly surprised to see Back in Black (1980) by AC/DC in second place.  

(December 2016)