Led Zeppelin IV (alternatively known as either Untitled, Zoso, Runes, Four Symbols, or The Fourth Album) is the fourth studio album released by the English classic rock, hard rock, folk rock, and heavy metal band Led Zeppelin in 1971. It is one of the most popular and well-crafted studio albums in the history of rock music and a staple of the band’s catalogue, needless to say a huge commercial success. In addition, the record was also critically-acclaimed and praised throughout the passage of time. Overall, it is a mixture of ‘twisted blues’ (to quote singer Robert Plant, alternatively known or referred to as Planty, Percy, or Bobby; well, essentially blues rock, joke aside), hard rock, heavy metal, classic rock, and folk rock.
The frontal cover artwork of Led Zeppelin IV (also known as Untitled or Runes), the band’s fourth studio album, recorded between December, 1970 and March, 1971 and released in November, 1971. For many years, the frontal cover artwork represented a mystery for generations of Led Zeppelin fans, until it was revealed that this is actually a photograph of a Wiltshire thatcher by the name Lot Long from Mere. The photographer was Ernest Howard Farmer. Image source: Wikimedia Commons
The 4 esoteric symbols of Led Zeppelin, as depicted on the album’s inner sleeve (or, in this particular case, taken from a definitive collection mini LP replica CD boxset via Wikimedia Commons), from left to right: the so-called Zoso or ZoSo symbol (essentially an alchemical symbol for the planet Saturn) associated with guitarist Jimmy Page, the triquetra associated with bassist and keyboardist John Paul Jones (the stage name of John Richard Baldwin), the Borromean rings associated with drummer John Bonham (essentially the Holy Christian Trinity), and the ostrich feather of the Egyptian goddess Ma’at (representing divine order, justice, and truth) associated with singer Robert Plant.
The album was released as such (that is to say untitled) because, at that time, it was the right thing to do, according to the legendary English guitarist James ‘Jimmy’ Patrick Page, previously a veteran session musician during the 1960s in London, before joining the Yardbirds and, subsequently, forming his own group, Led Zeppelin, back in 1968 alongside bassist and keyboardist (well, actually highly-talented and technical multi-instrumentalist) John ‘Jonesy’ Paul Jones, singer Robert ‘Planty’ Plant, and drummer John ‘Bonzo’ Bonham. It was the right thing to do in the sense that the band let the album’s music speak more for itself. This decision was made also in response to the critics who didn’t really understand the musical direction the band took with their previous marvellous studio album, Led Zeppelin III (which was released a year earlier).
The inner cover artwork of the studio album also features the 4 well-known (and, to a considerable extent, also quite controversial) symbols or sigils of each constituent band member. In two previous articles, more specifically The Symbolism Of Led Zeppelin IV (1971) and The Meaning Behind The Symbols Of Led Zeppelin, I explored the meaning behind these symbols, in case you are interested to read more on the matter. In a nutshell, these symbols were picked by each band member to best suit his visual identity within the band, but not only the visual identity. 😉
Led Zeppelin IV is the band’s highest-selling record, sold in more than 37 million copies worldwide. Moreover, the LP (i.e. long play) is one of the best-selling records of all time, both in the United States of America (USA) as well as in general. It was mostly recorded at the country house Headley Grange in Hampshire, England, but also at Island Studios in London, and Sunset Sound in Los Angeles, California. It has a total length of 42 minutes and 37 seconds and was issued/released by Atlantic Records, the record label with which the band was affiliated. It produced two singles, namely:
- Black Dog / Misty Mountain Hop (released on 2 December, 1971)
- Rock and Roll / Four Sticks (released on 21 February, 1972)
Last but not least, Led Zeppelin IV was produced by guitarist Jimmy Page. He was also involved in the mastering and digital remastering processes. Otherwise, in terms of the technical personnel, credits are as follows:
- George Chkiantz did the mixing;
- Andy Johns did the engineering and mixing as well;
- Peter Grant (the band’s manager) was in charge of the executive production;
- Barrington Colby M.O.M. did The Hermit illustration (from the inner cover);
- Keith Morris was in charge of photography;
- Graphreaks did design coordination.
Influences
The album’s songs were influenced by J. R. R. Tolkien’s high fantasy legendarium as well as Joni Mitchell, the hippie cultural movement in general, a black Labrador Retriever dog wandering around Headley Grange during the recording sessions, or the American blues artists Memphis Minnie and Kansas Joe McCoy. This interesting blend of influences created a fascinating musical melting pot in which the sound of classic rock sound was defined, redefined, refined, and changed forever (for the better, of course, if you’d ask me).
Collaboration with Sandy Denny
The album also included a rare vocal collaboration (or duet) of Robert Plant with another singer, more specifically wonderful Sandy Denny of Fairport Convention on the song Battle of Evermore (on which Jimmy Page played mandolin, more specifically on 1918 Gibson A2 mandolin he had borrowed from bandmate John Paul Jones). This is also the only Led Zeppelin song with an additional singer.
Additionally, what is interesting about the song in instrumental regards is that guitarist Jimmy Page never played the mandolin before, but composed and arranged his parts for the song in one setting. The song’s lyrics were inspired by the writings of J. R. R. Tolkien. Furthermore, the lyrics were written by Robert Plant after he had finished a book on Scottish history which, from a literary perspective, makes things even more interesting in my humble opinion at least.
Collaboration with Ian Stewart
Pianist Ian Stewart collaborated with the band on the song Rock and Roll. Ian Stewart also collaborated with the band on the song Boogie with Stu which was recorded during the recording sessions for Led Zeppelin IV but was eventually released on Physical Graffiti in 1975.
Tracklist
The album has two sides, side one and side two, each containing 4 songs. The full tracklist is as follows:
Side one
- Black Dog
- Rock and Roll
- The Battle of Evermore
- Stairway to Heaven
Side two
- Misty Mountain Hop
- Four Sticks
- Going to California
- When the Levee Breaks
Recording personnel
The following list includes the band members who represented the main recording personnel of the album:
- Robert Anthony Plant – vocals and harmonica (on When The Levee Breaks)
- James Patrick Page – acoustic and electric guitars, mandolin (on The Battle of Evermore)
- John Paul Jones (John Richard Baldwin) – bass, electric piano, mandolin, recorders, synthesiser
- John Henry Bonham – drums
Memories that I have with this album
I’ve been listening to this great studio album since my early teenage onwards, either in my hometown (Suceava, Romania) or when I was still living in Bucharest, Romania or living abroad in Aalborg, Denmark. I distinctly recall the fact that the only major reason I sometimes took my iPhone with me back in high school was solely for listening to rock music, including the entire discography of Led Zeppelin which I synced on it, including obviously this album as well, heh. I didn’t want to be disturbed so I made sure to put it on airplane mode (quite a wise decision I must add). Last but not least, my top favourite song from the album is by far When The Levee Breaks (which I also learnt to play on guitar way back during my early 20s, when I was still an international student living in Aalborg, Denmark; I initially learnt this song on my acoustic Harley Benton guitar which I still have to this day… although its bridge is unfortunately broken which perhaps isn’t a coincidence while we are at it):
Documentation sources and external links:
- The album’s page on www.wikipedia.org (in Romanian; an article within which I also contributed throughout the passage of time)
- The album’s page on www.wikipedia.org (in English)
- The Battle Of Evermore on www.songfacts.com
- The band’s page on www.britannica.com (Encyclopædia Britannica online)