Led Zeppelin IV
Led Zeppelin IV is the fourth album from the rock band Led Zeppelin. The real title of the album is , but since it's impossible to say these symbols, it is normal just to say Led Zeppelin IV. Some people also say The fourth album, 'Zoso', Symbols or simply call it Untitled. It was released on November 8, 1971 and recorded at a big house called Headley Grange in 1971. The album received widespread acclaim, and is considered the band's most famous and most successful album. It also has their best known song, "Stairway to Heaven". For this album, the band used many different genres and recording techniques, they had rock and roll songs, acoustic songs and heavy blues songs. Many fans and critics considered "Stairway to Heaven" to be one of the best songs of all time, if not the greatest, as well as the album itself. There are also many other notable songs on the album, "Rock and Roll" was played in almost every concert the band did after the release of the album, while songs such as "Black Dog and "Going to California" were played for most of the shows. All of the songs have become regulars on American rock radio.
Led Zeppelin IV | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 8 November 1971 | |||
Recorded | December 1970 – March 1971 at various locations | |||
Genre | Hard rock, blues rock, heavy metal, folk | |||
Length | 42:33 | |||
Label | Atlantic | |||
Producer | Jimmy Page | |||
Led Zeppelin chronology | ||||
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The four symbols
For this album, the band chose to not have a normal name for their album, so that people would just listen to the music without caring about the title and get wrong expectations. Jimmy Page got the idea that each member of the band should choose their own symbol to represent them on the album title. Each band member have been closely associated with their symbol during and after the career of Led Zeppelin, and they have all used them after the release of the album. For example, John Bonham used to have the three rings on his bass drum and Jimmy Page has used the Zoso symbol on his amplifier as recent as the reunion concert in 2007 at the London 02 Arena.
Track listing
Original release
Side one[1] | |||||||||
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No. | Title | Length | |||||||
1. | "Black Dog" | 4:55 | |||||||
2. | "Rock and Roll" | 3:40 | |||||||
3. | "The Battle of Evermore" | 5:38 | |||||||
4. | "Stairway to Heaven" | 7:55 |
Side two[1] | |||||||||
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No. | Title | Length | |||||||
1. | "Misty Mountain Hop" | 4:39 | |||||||
2. | "Four Sticks" | 4:49 | |||||||
3. | "Going to California" | 3:36 | |||||||
4. | "When the Levee Breaks" | 7:08 | |||||||
Total length: |
42:20 |
Deluxe edition (2014)
2014 deluxe edition bonus disc | |||||||||
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No. | Title | Length | |||||||
1. | "Black Dog" (Basic track with guitar overdubs) | 4:34 | |||||||
2. | "Rock and Roll" (Alternate mix) | 3:39 | |||||||
3. | "The Battle of Evermore" (Mandolin/Guitar mix from Headley Grange) | 4:13 | |||||||
4. | "Stairway to Heaven" (Sunset Sound mix) | 8:03 | |||||||
5. | "Misty Mountain Hop" (Alternate mix) | 4:45 | |||||||
6. | "Four Sticks" (Alternate mix) | 4:33 | |||||||
7. | "Going to California" (Mandolin/Guitar mix) | 3:34 | |||||||
8. | "When the Levee Breaks" (Alternate UK mix) | 7:08 | |||||||
Total length: |
40:32 |
Led Zeppelin IV Media
Most of the album was recorded at Headley Grange in Hampshire.
A Gibson EDS-1275 similar to this was used for live performances of "Stairway to Heaven". The stop bars on the actual guitar were farther from the bridges.
Sandy Denny's symbol of three downward-pointing equilateral triangles
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Untitled (a.k.a. Led Zeppelin IV) (Album notes). Led Zeppelin. New York City: Atlantic Records. 1971. LP labels. SD 7208.
Other websites
- Official website Archived 2010-03-05 at the Wayback Machine
- Jimmy Page on Led Zeppelin IV