The untitled fourth album of English rock band
Led Zeppelin was released on November 8
1971. It has no official title mentioned on the cover and is commonly referred to as Led
Zeppelin IV, in the style of the band's previous three albums. Atlantic Records
catalogues have used the names Four Symbols and The Fourth Album, and it is also variously referred
to as Untitled, Runes, Sticks, Man with Sticks, Four and
ZoSo (after the appearance of the first character or symbol printed on the LP label). Led Zeppelin guitarist
Jimmy Page frequently refers to the album in interviews as Led Zeppelin IV, while
singer Robert Plant thinks of it as "the fourth album, that's it." It is one of the
best-selling albums in history, with over 23 million units sold in the
United States alone[1]; estimates for worldwide figures usually top 37 million units.
Overview
The album was recorded at Island Records's newly opened Basing Street Studios, London, around the same time as
Jethro Tull's Aqualung, and at
Headley Grange, a remote Victorian house in
East Hampshire, England, as well as Sunset
Sound in Los Angeles, CA.
After the lukewarm, if not confused and sometimes dismissive, critical reaction Led
Zeppelin III had received in the autumn of 1970, Jimmy Page decided that the next Led Zeppelin album would not have a
title, but would instead feature four hand-drawn symbols on the inner sleeve and record label, each one chosen by the band member
it represents. "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," Page explained. "Names, titles and things like that do not mean a thing."[2]
Owing to the lack of an official title, Atlantic Records initially distributed graphics of the symbols in many sizes to the
press for inclusion in charts and articles. The album was one of the first to be produced without conventional identification,
and this communicated an anti-commercial stance that was controversial at the time (especially among certain executives at
Atlantic).
Led Zeppelin IV remains a perennial favorite on classic rock radio and features
"Stairway to Heaven", one of the most famous and popular rock songs ever
recorded.
In 1998, Q magazine readers voted Led Zeppelin IV the 26th greatest album
of all time; in 2000 "Q" placed it at #26 in its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever. In 2003, the album was ranked
number 66 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. It is #7 on Pitchfork Media's Top 100 Albums of the 1970s. A 2005 listener poll conducted by Toronto, Ontario classic rock station Q107
named Led Zeppelin IV the #2 best classic rock album of all time. In 2006, the album was rated #1 on Classic Rock magazine's 100 Greatest British
Albums poll; that same year it was voted #1 in Guitar World 100 Greatest Albums
readers' poll and was ranked #7 in ABC media's top ten albums.
The symbols
Each member of the band chose a personal emblem for the cover. Left to right, their members and meanings:
- Jimmy Page's symbol is generally referred to as "ZoSo", though its symbols have
nonalphabetic connotations. It was designed by Page himself.[2]
The four symbols on the cover of
Led Zeppelin IV, representing Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, John Bonham, and Robert Plant
(from left to right) respectively. Although the symbols are sometimes referred to as "
Runes", only the middle two are runes; the other two are
sigils.
The source of the ZoSo symbol itself is no longer a mystery but the meaning of it still is; it originated in 'Ars Magica
Arteficii' (1557) by Gerolamo Cardano (also known as J. Cardan), an old
alchemical grimoire, where it has been identified as a sigil
consisting of zodiac signs. The sigil is reproduced in "Dictionary of Occult, Hermetic
and Alchemical Sigils" by Fred Gettings, published in 1982 by Routledge & Kegan Paul (see here). The symbol used to
represent the planet Saturn for purposes of magic. Page is a Capricorn, a sign ruled
by Saturn, and the Z-like symbol is distinctive as a common astrological mark for Saturn. The oSo portion is similar to the
alchemic symbol for mercury, also associated with Saturn. In cabalistic or hermetic
study, knowledge seekers look to the god Mercury (Hermes, see Hermes Trismegistus
and the Hermetica) for guidance and light, more or less the scene that unfolds in the drawing
on the inside cover of the album and later acted out by Page in the concert film The Song Remains the Same. This part of
the symbol is also strikingly similar to the Lucifer script ciphered by Aleister Crowley in his book The Equinox; and the
symbol as a whole strongly resembles characters of the "alphabet of the Magi", a
seventeenth century text used for fashioning magical talismans. What it means personally to Page is unknown, as he has never
publicly revealed its meaning. His interest in Aleister Crowley, however, is widely
known. The guitarist owns many of Crowley's original manuscripts and other effects, including (until the mid-1980s) Crowley's
former home on Loch Ness, Boleskine House. In the 1970s Page owned the occult bookshop The Equinox in London, also an enterprise
for publishing rare manuscripts.
- John Paul Jones' symbol is a single circle intersecting 3 vesica pisces (a triquetra). Taken from a book of runes, it symbolises a person with confidence and competence.[2]
- John Bonham's symbol, the three interlocking rings, represents the trinity of mother,
father and child. It could also depict an aerial view of a drum kit. It does in fact represent the pagan idea of trilogies and
trios, and, more commonly, is a Christian symbol for the Trinity. In the 1990 Bonham tribute radio special, "It's Been A Long
Time", son Jason Bonham stated that the symbol was chosen as a representation of man,
woman, and child. Jones's and Bonham's symbols fitting together -- one to the other inside out, inverse images -- is no accident.
In jazz music which inspired Led Zeppelin, the bassist and drummer form interlocking parts of a rhythm section. In reality the symbol originally appeared as the emblem of Ballantine beer, which happened to be Bonzo's favorite so when choosing symbols he decided to borrow this
one.[2]
- The symbol for Robert Plant is the feather of the Egyptian goddess Ma'at, representing truth, justice, fairness and writing, encapsulated by an unbroken circle representing life.
According to Egyptian mythology, Anubis, the god of judgment and death, would take the heart of
those who died and put it on a balance with the feather of Ma'at. If the heart outweighed the feather, the person's soul would go
to hell, but on the other hand, if the heart was lighter than the feather, the soul would go to heaven.[2]
There is also a fifth, smaller symbol chosen by guest vocalist Sandy Denny representing
her contribution to "The Battle of Evermore"; it appears in the credits list on
the inner sleeve of the LP, serving as an asterisk.
Album cover and inside sleeve
The painting on the front of the album, showing an old man carrying a faggot, was
allegedly purchased from a junk shop in Reading,
Berkshire by a Led Zeppelin roadie (Jimmy Page has stated it was bought by Robert Plant)[3] and affixed to the internal, papered wall of the partly
demolished house for the photograph to be taken. 'The man with the sticks on his back' can also refer to the biblical Cain, who
in legend was said to have ended his journeys on the moon, contributing to the image on the face of the moon. Film critic Robert
Ring has also suggested that the picture might be a reference to the 1920s witchcraft documentary Häxan: Witchcraft through the Ages. In the film, there is a similar-looking witch, and inside the bundle of
sticks are body parts from a thief hung on the gallows [4].
This would be fitting, given Page's interest in hermetic studies. The house and surrounding area in the picture are by
Butterfield Court in the Eve Hill area of Dudley; the use of Eve Hill may be an in-joke ["Ev-il"] by the band.
The tower block on the back cover is of Butterfield Court in Dudley, England (not the now demolished Prince of Wales Court,
as is sometimes incorrectly stated). Butterfield Court can be seen, owing to it being 20-stories high and on top of a ridge, 25
miles away in rural Worcestershire and Shropshire and
on a clear day, over 45 miles away in Wales. A contemporary image of Butterfield Court can be seen
here.
The inside sleeve represents the tarot card of the Hermit it was painted by Barrington Coleby
(the name is misspelled on the album sleeve), a friend of Jimmy Page's who lives in Switzerland. Contrary to some sources, there
is no hidden "Black Dog" in the painting.
The typeface for the lyrics to "Stairway to Heaven", printed on the inside sleeve of the album, was Page's contribution. He
found it in an old arts and crafts magazine called Studio which started in the late 1800s.
He thought the lettering interesting and got someone to work up a whole alphabet.[3]
Track listing
Side one
- "Black Dog" (Page/Plant/Jones) – 4:55
- "Rock and Roll" (Page/Plant/Jones/Bonham) – 3:40
- "The Battle of Evermore" (Page/Plant) – 5:38
- "Stairway to Heaven" (Page/Plant) – 8:01
Side two
- "Misty Mountain Hop" (Page/Plant/Jones) – 4:39
- "Four Sticks" (Page/Plant) – 4:49
- "Going to California" (Page/Plant) – 3:36
- "When the Levee Breaks" (Page/Plant/Jones/Bonham/Memphis Minnie) – 7:08
Personnel
- Jimmy Page – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, mandolin, producer, remastering, digital
remastering
- Robert Plant – vocals, harmonica
- John Paul Jones – synthesizer,
bass guitar, keyboards, mandolin, recorders
- John Bonham – drums
- Ian Stewart – piano (on "Rock and Roll", uncredited)
- Sandy Denny – vocals (on track 3)
- Peter Grant – executive producer
- George Chkiantz – mixing
- Andy Johns – engineer, mixing
- George Marino – digital remastering
- Graphreaks – design coordinator
- Barrington Colby Mom – inside illustration (The Hermit)
Chart positions
Album
| Year |
Chart |
Position |
| 1971 |
Billboard Pop albums (Billboard 200) |
2 |
Singles
| Year |
Single |
Chart |
Position |
| 1971 |
"Black Dog" |
Billboard Pop Singles (Billboard Hot 100) |
15 |
| 1972 |
"Rock and Roll" |
Billboard Pop Singles |
47 |
Certifications
| Certifier |
Certification |
Sales |
| RIAA (U.S.) |
23x Platinum |
23,000,000 |
Cultural references
Side one of the album was made somewhat infamous as make-out music in the movie Fast Times At Ridgemont High; Mike Damone (Robert
Romanus) tells Mark Ratner (Brian Backer) to always play side 1 of Led Zeppelin
IV when he's on a date. In the next scene, he is on the date with Physical
Grafitti's "Kashmir" playing in the car. Mark therefore "blows" the date,
since he plays the wrong Led Zeppelin album. In actuality, Universal Pictures couldn't
get the rights to any of the songs on Led Zeppelin IV, despite screenwriter Cameron
Crowe's prior relationship to the band, so they opted to use "Kashmir" instead.
See also
References
External links
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