- Although it's known as Led Zeppelin IV, this album was actually left untitled, after critics had given a confused and dismissive reaction to their previous album III. There would be no names or other details on the cover, just four symbols representing each member. 

- The record label didn't like the idea, but the band refused to hand over the master tapes until they agreed. Jimmy Page was told by a press agent that the move would be professional suicide, but he replied with "We just happened to have a lot of faith in what we were doing." He felt it would be an answer to critics who could not review one Led Zeppelin album without point of reference to earlier ones.

- Later on in 2001 , Page said "The cover wasn't meant to antagonise the record company. It was designed as our response to the music critics who maintained that the success of our first three albums was driven by hype and not talent. ... So, we stripped everything away, and let the music do the talking."

- To identify the album, many people called it Led Zeppelin IV, but it has also been referred to as Four Symbols, The Fourth Album, Untitled, Runes, The Hermit and ZoSo.

- the inside cover illustration is the hermit, from the tarot card of the same name (also where I got my book cover)

- The album was released on 8 November 1971, and most of it was recorded between December 1970 and February 1971 at the country house Headley Grange in Hampshire, along with a mobile studio outside. It was produced by Jimmy Page

- It is Led Zeppelin's best-selling album, selling over 37 million copies worldwide, and is highly placed by critics on lists of the greatest albums of all time. It reached No.1 on the UK album charts, and No.2 in the US. At the time, it was widely praised by critics

*

Black Dog

An incredible start to an incredible album. The immediate leap into Plant's solo voice, soaring and powerful, complete with sleazy lyrics, is amazing, oddly graceful, and gets even more so when the rest of the band kicks in with one of the best riffs in rock music, composed by John Paul Jones. The call and response is masterfully done, the band and voice moves seamlessly between very different sections throughout the song, including a key change, and a very interesting choice of time signature (4/4 time set against 5/4). I love the contrast between the solo voice and the rest of the band. This song is simply full of attitude and energy, done to show off the tight playing of the band, and the solo is nothing short of epic. 

The title comes from an old black Labrador retriever that was often seeming hanging around the house during recording. The guitar strumming sound at the beginning is a result of Page's overdubbing; the three guitar tracks had to be synched, and that sound is the result, just the tape rolling. Though this could have been cut out of the final tape, Page left it in as it "sounded like the massing of the guitar armies."

Rock And Roll

Energetic, wild and powerful. Full of energy from the start with an epic drum intro, and never loses that at any point. This is one of those songs you can't help but tap your foot along to at least, and was initially a jam from early on in recording. The band's tribute to classic rock 'n' roll, definitely in that style but with a slightly grittier kind of edge to it, a distinctly Zeppelin take on the genre. I love the 'lonely, lonely, lonely' intervals where the band cuts out, and the vocals screaming over the base of the band. The drums are truly amazing in this song, and later on the piano (played by Ian Stewart of the Rolling Stones, a rare guest musician) heightens the classic rock 'n' roll feel. It feels like more than four people should be playing this song (though I do think I hear an overdubbed second guitar). Love it. 

Battle Of Evermore

Timeless, elegant and folky. This song is immediately different to the songs before it, lacks drums, and is another rare Zeppelin song to feature a guest musician, the folk singer Sandy Denny who sings alongside Plant. The harmonies are beautiful, seamless and weave in and out of each other, along with the instruments. Though it never changes particularly drastically, it doesn't drag on or get dull at all. There's a lot going on, and you hear more the more you listen. The whole song, to me at least, has a sense of warmth and comfort despite the fantasy/Lord of the Rings-type lyrics; my favourite lyric here is the 'tired eyes on the sunrise', perhaps because of the imagery, although plenty of imagery is there throughout. Plant's long, raw note near the end deserves a mention, with whatever echo-like effect they used. Jimmy Page had never played the mandolin before picking up John Paul Jones' and experimenting a while before writing this song. 

Stairway To Heaven

Timeless, masterful and almost sacred. The best song of all time? Perhaps. The guitar riff is instantly recognisable (especially to anyone who's ever worked in a music shop) and liking Stairway is most definitely a cliche, but this is one of the few songs I have listened to my entire life and never grown sick of. I always feel something when I hear it, and that has never changed. The recorders in the intro are gorgeous, mournful and subtle (I learnt the treble part on recorder as a kid and was so pleased with myself). The lyrics are poetic, reflective and practically crooned at first, open to interpretation; I doubt you're meant to think too hard about what they actually mean, they bring up feelings for me regardless. The first section is beautifully understated and subtle, delicate almost, though there are hints of what's to come in the slightly heavier ' oh it makes me wonder' breaks. The different sections flow into each other faultlessly, and the whole song is building up to a natural crescendo, the vocals becoming more intense, and the moment where Bonham's drums come in still gives me chills. The refrain before the solo is practically majestic, then the solo kicks in. Honestly? It isn't one of my favourites of Page's solos, but it is brilliant nonetheless, and the last few notes before the last verse are nothing short of epic. The last heavy, rock section never feels out of place with the rest of the song, it all complements each other, and the essence of the song doesn't ever feel like it changes even going between folk and heavy rock. The scream on final lyric is raw and haunting, whilst the last crooned vocal notes, 'and she's buy-uy-ing a stairway to heaven', finish this masterpiece perfectly by bringing it full circle back to the beginning. If this truly is an ode to Satan, it worked.

Misty Mountain Hop

Raw, blunt and lighthearted after Stairway. It swings in as sharply different to the previous song, a non-patronising, non-idealistic ode to hippies with a fairly simple but effective distorted riff played on electric piano by John Paul Jones. Not much in the lyrics needs decoding, though there's an air of confusion and an odd mix of innocent naivety and jadedness all the way through, which ties in with how Plant wrote the lyrics about clashes between students and police resulting from drug possession. The almost droning way the voice mirrors the band during the verse at points adds to this. The vocals are very raw and the screams are impressive, along with the drum fills. Good song, though not one of the greats. 

Four Sticks

With the deliberately difficult time signature and the tight way it all fits together, this song almost feels mathematical, with the vocals soaring over the top, diverging from the steadiness underneath. Bonham literally played his part here using four drum sticks, after getting frustrated over the song not sounding right with just two, grabbing another set and recording the perfect take. I love the contrast of the crooned vocals that suddenly turn sharp and raw with the rest of the instruments. There's a warmish/low synth sound somewhere in there that I love, and countermelodies are weaving their way around each other in a very understated and subtle way. The return to the riff from the start is a nice touch back with the familiar, where the vocal diverge even more from the music. An odd little song, but in my opinion an underrated gem. It was apparently so hard to play it took numerous takes to record, and was only ever played live by Led Zeppelin once.

Going To California

I'll start by saying that I can't stand this song and rarely listen to it. However, I will listen to it objectively for this and give a fair opinion as it is a good song, I just personally don't like it. Immediately it is warm and sweet, with poetic, pretty, slightly lovey-dovey lyrics. I do like the louder, rawer vocals at certain points, then it returns to the same as before. Honestly I can see why people like it. It's sweet, sad and beautiful, but for me it just seems too nice for Led Zeppelin. I'm wrong of course, as they proved again and again they could do any style that took their fancy. This song was written about Californian earthquakes, and trying to find the perfect woman. It was originally going to be called "Guide To California" however the final title comes from the trip to LA to mix the album.

When The Levee Breaks

My favourite Led Zeppelin song. Raw, bluesy, thunderous and wonderfully dark from the start. The drums are the most powerful I've heart, the harmonica the icing on the cake, haunting and painful. Something changes every 8 bars in this song, and every change, as ever, is seamless. The lyrics are raw and typically bluesy, conjuring up bleak and dark mood of cynicism and hopelessness, an unstoppable tide. The contrasting section is in keeping with the mood, but slightly more energetic and I love the screams, but I love the return to the dark riff from the start even more, coupled with the harmonica that complements the guitar perfectly. Every instrument in the band stars in this, like in Stairway, but I'd say even more so here. The drum fills from Bonham are genius. The outro is one of the best bits, not that any part of this song is anything less than brilliant. The reversed echo sound on the guitar gives me chills, the panning, the vocals, everything else, there's so much going on here it's hard to follow each part. The fact it doesn't fade out is doubly great given that it's the last song on the album. It's a cathartic end. 

This is a cover of an old blues song by Memphis Minnie, written in 1929. Bonham's drumming was recorded in the lobby of Headley Grange using microphones hung over a flight of stairs to get an ambient sound, having sounded flat in earlier sessions. To get the truly heavy sound, echo effect was added along with that natural echo, and the whole mix was slowed down ever so slightly, apart from the vocals. 

The drum intro has also been sampled a lot in hip-hop music.

Worst To Best (for me)

Going To California, Misty Mountain Hop, Rock And Roll, Four Sticks, Battle Of Evermore, Black Dog, Stairway To Heaven, When The Levee Breaks

*

I know it seems very typical and cliche to say that this is my favourite Led Zeppelin album, but I can't think of many others where I only dislike one song, which isn't even that bad. This album was the band at their height, in my opinion. 

It's been two years and three days since I last updated this, and I'll be surprised if anyone is still reading. Not going to lie, I lost heart a little due to shit that's happened but no one needs to hear my whinging. Given the whole corona situation, I thought I might as well finish this off properly having left a few loose ends. I can't kid myself with the excuse that I haven't got time anymore, not having to do any revision for exams, go to work or any other everyday shit.

So here we are. I'm going to finish the rest of the album chapters (I've got three left after this one) and we'll see how things go from there, but unless I suddenly get hit with new inspiration, I won't be doing much more than that apart from tidying a few things up and finishing this book off properly. 

Also, I wrote most of this two or three years ago, and obviously a lot of things have changed (I still love Led Zeppelin, of course, that won't ever change haha). This book will be staying up, as I really have put a lot of effort into it, and a big thank you to everyone who still reads, votes and comments. I hope you are all safe and well despite the lockdown.