2012.07.28 Led Zeppelin - IV

Color: Black

Released: 1971, November 8

Label: Atlantic

Saw a used copy hanging out at Wax ‘n Facts not too long ago and had to take this puppy home. Hands down my favorite Led Zep album. The one I’m most familiar with and the one that reminds me of growing up hearing all this amazing music coming from my dad’s stereo via turntable. Kinda shocked that I owned other Led Zeppelin on vinyl before this one. The album begins perfectly with “Black Dog” - still one of the best rock and roll jams ever. I know this also gains a lot of notoriety because it’s “the one with one ‘Stairway’”… but aside from that every damn song on here is solid. “The Battle Of Evermore,” “Misty Mountain Top,” “When The Levee Breaks”… they’re all here. The album cover would go on to become one of the most recognized covers, despite the lack of any text, or for that matter any real official title of the album. Jimmy Page is quoted as saying “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. Names, titles and things like that do not mean a thing.” From a design standpoint the four symbols that would appear on the sleeve and other parts of the artwork would become as equally iconic. Initially something kind of foreign, they are now universally known as iconography associated with the band and more specifically, this album. The album is sometimes referred to as “Zoso” - after the symbol ascribed to Page. As old as this record is, a spin after not spending some time with it for a while can feel quite fresh.