The fourth album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin was released on 8 November 1971. No title is printed on the album, so it is usually referred to as Led Zeppelin IV, following the naming sequence used by the band's first three studio albums. The album has alternatively been referred to as [1], Four Symbols, The Fourth Album (those two titles each having been used in the Atlantic catalogue), Untitled, Runes, The Hermit, and ZoSo, the latter of which is derived from the symbol used by Jimmy Page for the album sleeve. Page often had the ZoSosymbol embroidered on his clothes.
Containing many of the band's most famous songs, including "Black Dog", "Rock and Roll", "Going to California" and the band's signature song, "Stairway to Heaven", Led Zeppelin IV was a commercial and critical success. The album is one of the best-selling albums worldwide at 32 million units. It is also certified 23-times platinum by the RIAA, making it the third-best-selling album ever in the US. In 2003, the album was ranked 69th on Rolling Stone magazine's list of "500 Greatest Albums of All Time".
Track listing[]
| Side one | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | |||||||
| 1. | "Black Dog" | John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page, and Robert Plant | 4:54 | |||||||
| 2. | "Rock and Roll" | John Bonham, Jones, Page, and Plant | 3:40 | |||||||
| 3. | "The Battle of Evermore" | Page and Plant | 5:51 | |||||||
| 4. | "Stairway to Heaven" | Page and Plant | 8:02 | |||||||
| Side two | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | |||||||
| 5. | "Misty Mountain Hop" | Jones, Page, and Plant | 4:38 | |||||||
| 6. | "Four Sticks" | Page and Plant | 4:44 | |||||||
| 7. | "Going to California" | Page and Plant | 3:31 | |||||||
| 8. | "When the Levee Breaks" | Bonham, Jones, Memphis Minnie, Page, and Plant | 7:07 | |||||||
Recording sessions[]
The album was initially recorded at Island Records' newly opened Basing Street Studios, London, at the same time as Jethro Tull's Aqualung in December 1970. Upon the suggestion of Fleetwood Mac, the band then moved toHeadley Grange, a remote Victorian house in East Hampshire, England, to conduct additional recordings. Here they used the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio. Jimmy Page later recalled: "We needed the sort of facilities where we could have a cup of tea and wander around the garden and go in and do what we had to do." This relaxed, atmospheric environment at Headley Grange also provided other advantages for the band. As is explained by Dave Lewis, "By moving into Headley Grange for the whole period of recording, many of the tracks [on the album] were made up on the spot and committed to tape almost there and then."
Once the basic tracks had been recorded, the band later added overdubs at Island Studios, then took the completed master tapes to Sunset Sound in Los Angeles for mixing. However, the mix ultimately proved to be less than satisfactory, creating an unwanted delay in the album's release. Further mixing had to be undertaken in London, pushing the final release date back by some months.
Three other songs from the sessions, "Down by the Seaside", "Night Flight" and "Boogie with Stu" (featuring Rolling Stones cofounder/collaborator Ian Stewart on piano), did not appear on the album, but were included four years later on the double album Physical Graffiti.