Album Review: Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin IV

Led Zeppelin continue to roll out definitive remastered versions of their albums.

Having already sold many millions of copies of this album, they’re sure to sell many more with this edition that comes in both vinyl and compact disc options wrapped in stunningly lavish packaging. The second disc provides an alternative version of the album pieced together from demos and alternative mixes but doesn’t indulge fans with B-sides, live versions, unreleased songs or versions recorded in Bombay with an Indian orchestra in ‘71.

It would be good to report that after much scientific testing the remasters represent an improvement on the sound of the dusty vinyl copy picked up in a Brotherhood sale bin ages ago. While you can only wonder about the parties it must have soundtracked in the ‘70s, all I can say is that the re-mastered MP3s sound pretty fine on headphones. This album of course captures Led Zeppelin at their absolute zenith.

Plant and Page are the dynamic duo that leads the charge. John Bonham totally smashes the skins and John Paul Jones, always more than just bass player, is a talented multi-instrumentalist who deals out that recorder melody on Stairway To Heaven. This album, which features rock standards Black Dog, Rock And Roll and Misty Mountain Hop, was a game changer that put definition to the term hard rock and created a rule book that was to be ripped up and burned by the punks and post-punks a few short years later.