Led Zeppelin’s fourth album was released on November 8th, 1971. No official title is printed anywhere on the album, and it is generally referred to as “IV” after the band’s previous three numbered albums. It is also known as “Zoso” (which the first of the four symbols that feature on the album cover appears to spell), “Sticks” and “Runes”, to name but a few.
After the lukewarm critical reaction Led Zeppelin’s “III” had received in the autumn of 1970 (the media labeled the band as “hyped and overrated”), Jimmy Page decided that the next Led Zeppelin album would not have a title, but would instead feature four hand-drawn symbols on the inner sleeve, each chosen by a band member to represent themselves. “We decided that on the fourth album, we would deliberately play down the group name, and there wouldn’t be any information whatsoever on the outer jacket”, Page explained at the time. “Names, titles and things like that do not mean a thing.” Page designed his own symbol. Sometimes referred to as “Zoso”, he has explained that it was not in fact intended to be a word at all. John Bonham’s symbol, the three interlocking rings, was picked by the drummer from Rudolph Koch’s Book of Signs and represents the trinity of mother, father and child. John Paul Jones’ symbol, chosen from the same book, is a single circle intersecting three vesica piscis (a triquetra) and symbolises a person who possessing both confidence and competence. Robert Plant’s symbol was his own design and is based on the sign of the ancient Mu civilization. There is also a fifth, smaller symbol chosen by guest vocalist Fairport Convention frontwoman Sandy Denny representing her contribution to “The Battle of Evermore”; it appears in the credits list on the inner sleeve of the LP and is shaped like three triangles touching at their points.
At one time, “IV” was going to be released as four separate EPs, but because of various delays a single album was produced. Upon its release, “IV” was a huge commercial and critical success and turned the band from simple 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 template for hard rock music. The foreboding “When The Levee Breaks” demonstrated that Zeppelin could play the blues straight if they felt like it, the opening drum beat of which has become one of the most sampled drum tracks ever. Yet everything on the album ultimately took a back seat to its magnum opus; the classic “Stairway to Heaven”. Jimmy Page was a top London studio guitarist before he got rich and famous as the musical leader of Led Zeppelin. Arguably the group’s finest album, “IV” is as much a tribute to his technique as a monument to his versatility. Page produced the album, co-wrote all eight songs, and played mandolin as well as all the guitars. Musically, it ranges from acoustic English folke (“Goin’ to California” and “The Battle of Evermore”, which carried on the band’s acoustic tradition as displayed on “III”) to the bone-crushing centerpiece,
“Stairway to Heaven”. The chiming “Four Sticks” aside, it is the Little Richard-inspired “Rock and Roll” and the tricky and unexpected time changes - a Zeppelin trademark - of “Black Dog” that elevate this album to lofty heights.
Every song is a winner, and you still here echoes of this album influencing new artists today.
1. “Black Dog”
2.
“Rock and Roll” 3. “The Battle of Evermore”
4. “Stairway to Heaven”
5. “Misty Mountain Hop”
6. “Four Sticks”
7. “Going to California”
8. “When the Levee Breaks”
Labels: 1970's
