Line #42 Music/LedZeppelinIV


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/2bd0cf07f3316c69253777e7814a1f34.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:300:''Does anybody remember laughter?''\
3	[[labelnote:Click here to see the four symbols the band members used for this album]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_symbols_from_led_zeppelins_fourth_album.png[[/labelnote]]]]
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5	Music/LedZeppelin's fourth studio album, released in 1971 through Creator/AtlanticRecords, [[NoTitle officially doesn't have a title]], so it's best known as ''Led Zeppelin IV''. This decision represented a clean slate for the band, who wanted to write an album [[NewSoundAlbum completely different from the rest of their material]]. It also served as [[TakeThatCritics a retaliation against critics]] who believed the band had no substance after the mostly negative reactions to ''Music/LedZeppelinIII'' the previous year. Recorded in isolation in the English countryside with support from contemporaries Music/{{The Rolling Stones\|Band}} and Music/FleetwoodMac, the album usually ranks at the pinnacle of Led Zeppelin's songwriting abilities, due to its impressive GenreRoulette and accessibility.
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7	In lieu of indicating their names, the band members each used a symbol since they believed that titles did not matter. Jimmy Page's is probably the most notable, given that [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotSymbolic he has not given a meaning behind it despite extensive speculation]], and the symbol ('''''[=ZoSo=]''''') is not even meant to be spoken. This hasn't stopped most fans from coining the album after Page's symbol, or '''''Four Symbols''''', '''''The Hermit''''', and '''''Runes''''', among others. Nevertheless, the record company, [[ExecutiveMeddling against the band's interests]], released a series of ads hinting that it was indeed a Led Zeppelin record. It has since become one of the best-selling albums of all time.
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9	The record is best known for the fan favorites "Black Dog", "Rock and Roll", "Going to California", "Misty Mountain Hop"... and their SignatureSong "Stairway to Heaven". The latter has become somewhat of a BlackSheepHit to the band, as it's not really indicative of their usual style and has been played, covered and referenced so often that [[CreatorBacklash even Robert Plant is sick of it]]. The songs have been cited to [[TropeCodifier codify]] the HeavyMetal and HardRock genres as they exist today, using [[ThreeChordsAndTheTruth spare instrumentation]] and complex song structures.
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11	This album was a success from the start, selling 30 million copies to date, which is no small feat to begin with. It also serves as one of the first [[TakeThatCritics Take That, Critics!]] albums, later to be joined by Music/Blink182's untitled album, Music/GreenDay's ''Music/{{Nimrod}}'', Music/MyChemicalRomance's ''Music/TheBlackParade'', etc., etc.
12	----
13	!! Tracklist:
14	[[AC:Side One]]
15	# "Black Dog" (4:54)
16	# "Rock and Roll" (3:40)
17	# "The Battle of Evermore" (5:51)
18	# "Stairway to Heaven" (8:01)
19
20	[[AC:Side Two]]
21	[numlist:5]
22	# "Misty Mountain Hop" (4:38)
23	# "Four Sticks" (3:31)
24	# "Going to California" (3:31)
25	# "When the Levee Breaks" (7:07)
26	[/numlist]
27
28	----
29	!!Principal Members:
30	* John Bonham - drums, percussion
31	* John Paul Jones - bass, piano, mellotron, mandolin, recorder, synthesizer, [=VCS3=], guitar
32	* Jimmy Page - guitar, mandolin
33	* Robert Plant - lead vocals, tambourine, harmonica
34
35	----
36	!! If it keeps on tropin', levee's gonna break...:
37	* AlliterativeTitle: "'''M'''isty '''M'''ountain Hop".
38	* BreakUpSong: "When the Levee Breaks", ostensibly. "Going to California" and "Four Sticks" count too.
39	** While "California" opens up with the singer breaking off a bad relationship, the song itself is about heading out that way to find a woman he's heard about "with love in her eyes and flowers in her hair" so that he could begin anew in a better one. (Evidently this was a ShoutOut to Music/JoniMitchell.)
40	* ButNowIMustGo:
41	** "Stairway With Heaven"
42	--->''There's a feeling I get, when I look to the west / And my spirit is crying for leaving...''
43	** "Misty Mountain Hop"
44	--->''So I've decided what I'm gonna do now\
45	So I'm packing my bags for the misty mountains\
46	Where the spirits go now\
47	Over the hills where the spirits fly, ooh\
48	I really don't know''
49	* CallAndResponseSong: "Black Dog" is an interesting example, where the instrumental sections are meant to respond to the verses.
50	* CoverVersion: "When The Levee Breaks" is a cover of a song by blues singer Memphis Minnie.
51	* DesignStudentsOrgasm: The outside cover shows a demolished wall. Hanging on it is a 19th-century rustic oil painting of an old man carrying a bundle of sticks on his back. The back shows that the wall is standing in a bleak Birmingham city-scape. Inside the gatefold is a drawing of a hermit standing on a jagged rock-formation, holding a lamp with the Star of David in it and looking down at a medieval city with a cathedral, while, in some versions of the album, a ragged figure looks up at him. Some also say they can see a face when the rock-formation is held to a mirror, while others see a huge dog's head. The resemblance to a Rorschach test might not be accidental.
52	* DownerEnding: Both sides of the LP end with an EpicRocking song about something sad: "Stairway to Heaven" and "When the Levee Breaks".
53	* DoubleMeaning: "Stairway To Heaven"
54	-->''There's a sign on the wall\
55	But she wants to be sure\
56	Cause you know sometimes words have two meanings''
57	* EchoingAcoustics: The album was famously recorded in an old mansion, and has a massive, echoing sound as a result. This is especially noticeable with the huge drum sound on "When the Levee Breaks", which had its drum part recorded at the bottom of a stairwell with microphones positioned on the third floor landing.
58	* EpicRocking: The 8-minute "Stairway To Heaven" and the 7-minute "When The Levee Breaks".
59	* EruditeStoner: "Misty Mountain Hop" interlaces a Creator/JRRTolkien reference in a song mostly about smoking pot. This could parody the fact that hippies are mocked despite being rather intelligent.
60	* HeavyMithril: "The Battle Of Evermore", inspired by ''Literature/TheHobbit'', talks about an epic Tolkien-esque battle between good and evil, and references the Ringwraiths by name.
61	** Some have identified the "Lady" in "Stairway to Heaven" with Galadriel, probably because another Led Zeppelin song ("Ramble On") quotes a poem Galadriel wrote in "Fellowship of the Ring."
62	* TheGreatFlood: "When The Levee Breaks" was inspired by the Mississippi Floods in the original context of Memphis Minnie song of the same name.
63	* HeavyMeta: "Rock And Roll", a rock 'n' roll song about that very topic.
64	* TheHerosJourney: A possible interpretation of "Stairway to Heaven", going from the status quo (the lady) to the call to adventure (looking to the west), the threshold (the piper), the land of adventure (the two paths), trials (the piper's call), the climactic battle (the guitar solo), and the return (winding down the road).
65	* InTheStyleOf: "Going to California" is an introspective folk song inspired by Music/JoniMitchell.
66	* IndecipherableLyrics: A lot of the lyrics on this album are difficult to comprehend, thanks to Robert Plant's screeching voice.
67	* LastNoteNightmare: The abbreviated crashing guitar squall of "When the Levee Breaks".
68	* LetsDuet: "The Battle Of Evermore", a duet between Robert Plant and Sandy Denny, the only guest vocalist to appear on any of the band's albums. She even got her own symbol for her contributions, making her a [[SixthRanger fifth ranger]] in this case.
69	* LuckyCharmsTitle: While the album officially has NoTitle, the LP sleeve (and [[https://twitter.com/downsampled/status/1365754261808635904 one early CD pressing]] by CBS/Sony Records Inc.) features the band's four symbols on the spine. It's just easier to say "Untitled" or "Led Zeppelin IV".
70	* MeaninglessMeaningfulWords: The lyrics of "Stairway to Heaven".
71	* MotherNature: Referenced somewhat in "Stairway to Heaven":
72	-->''If there's a bustle in your hedgerow, don't be alarmed now\
73	It's just a spring clean for the May queen''
74	* MundaneMadeAwesome: "Black Dog" about a... well... black Labrador Retriever. "Four Sticks" was inspired by the fact that John Bonham played the songs with two sets of two drumsticks.
75	* NoGuyWantsAnAmazon: From "Black Dog":
76	-->"I don't know but I've been told\
77	Big leg woman ain't got no soul"
78	* NonAppearingTitle: The title of "Black Dog", "The Battle Of Evermore" and "Four Sticks" don't appear in the lyrics.
79	* NoTitle: The album is deliberately nameless in reaction to the lukewarm press reviews of their previous album ''Music/LedZeppelinIII'' (1971). The band decided to avoid including a title, a band name, or any other indication that would prevent people from judging the record on its own terms. Meanwhile, for ease of cataloging, Creator/AtlanticRecords internally and interchangeably refer to the album as ''Four Symbols'' and ''The Fourth Album''.
80	* ThePowerOfRock: "Rock 'N' Roll"
81	-->''It's been a long time since I rock and rolled\
82	It's been a long time since I did the stroll''
83	* RealLifeWritesThePlot: "Black Dog" was inspired by a black Labrador retriever who wandered around the studio when the band recorded this album. "Misty Mountain Hop" took its lyrics from events during the "Legalize Pot Rally" in Hyde Park, London in 1968, where the police arrested several people for marijuana possession.
84	* ShoutOut: Numerous Creator/JRRTolkien references. "Battle of Evermore" refers to things and places that are not found in ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'', but it also references Ringwraiths and seems to hearken back to the siege of Minas Tirith in "Return of the King." "Misty Mountain Hop" also seems to reference a location from ''Literature/TheHobbit'' in its title and lyrics.
85	* TheSoulless: "Black Dog"
86	-->''I don't know but I been told\
87	A big legged woman ain't got no soul.''
88	* SpecialGuest: Sandy Denny of Music/FairportConvention duets with Robert Plant during "The Battle of Evermore". She is the only guest vocalist ever to perform with Led Zeppelin.
89	* SubliminalSeduction: Conspiracy theorists often allege that "Stairway to Heaven" has a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:STH_reverse.ogg Satanic message]] hidden in the "''Bustle in your hedgerow''" section ("Here's to my sweet Satan / The one whose little path would make me sad whose power is Satan, / He'll give you, he'll give you 666 / There was a little tool shed where he made us suffer, sad Satan."). Plant and the rest of the band have vigorously denied any such intent, though it didn't help matters that Jimmy Page has an interest in occultism.
90	** The "Sad Satan" backwards lyric later served as inspiration for the shock video game ''VideoGame/SadSatan'' which gained notoriety for its use of child abuse imagery.
91	* TarotMotifs: The cover is strongly reminiscent of the way the Ten of Wands is interpreted in some decks, sometimes featuring a figure bearing a bundle of sticks.
92	* TextlessAlbumCover: Just an image, no band name or title.
93	* TitleByNumber: This album is often referred to as "Led Zeppelin IV".
94	* UncommonTime:
95	** The main "call-and-response" section in "Black Dog" is in what sounds like (3/4 + 4/4 + 5/4).
96	** "Four Sticks" switches between 5/8 and 6/8 for most of the song. The synthesizer section in the middle is in 3/4.
97	* WordSaladLyrics: The verses of "Stairway to Heaven" are laden with these, by Robert Plant's own admission. This hasn't stopped millions from trying to guess the meaning.
98	----

Context Music / LedZeppelinIV