The song of the century "Stairway to Heaven" is known by anyone who loves music.
One cannot escape its beauty. The special intimate atmosphere that this piece radiates, the feeling and the magic within take you on a long journey. Thoughts drift away.
Today, 43 years ago on November 8th, the rock legend Led Zeppelin released their fourth long player. It is also called "Four Symbols" or "Zoso" or simply "untitled". This is because the album does not have a title, not even the band name is printed on it. Instead, there are four cryptic symbols in the inner cover. Jimmy Page wanted to see if the album would sell well even without a name. Presumably, this also stems from Jimmy Page's strong interest in occultism.
All albums have now been remastered under his supervision.
Additionally, there are unreleased studio outtakes to listen to. The focus was on making the instruments and details more distinctly audible and creating a transparent sound. This has been very well achieved, but of course, it is only very subtle. The average listener is unlikely to notice it.
The music has lost none of its magic even after such a long time. The unique interpretation of rock music, folk, psychedelic, and blues is timelessly captivating. Moreover, world-class musicians are at work here. Creative musicians who were very innovative for their time and mastered their instruments masterfully. Outstanding features include Robert Plant's high head voice, which is considered the prototype of heavy metal, Jimmy Page's brilliant guitar playing, and of course, the rock-solid flowing rhythm team of John Bonham and John Paul Jones. The band understood each other intuitively, and the songs likely emerged from hours of jamming, later being very intelligently arranged and enhanced with effects. Led Zeppelin pulls out all the stops and extensively utilized the possibilities available at the time. The album is very versatile. The focus, besides rock, is clearly on folk. In addition to the 6-string and 12-string acoustic guitars, a mandolin is also used in some songs. At times, you can also hear a harmonica or a synthesizer.
The album starts with its rockiest number "Black Dog", whose fuzzy guitars and screaming vocals must have made quite an impression on listeners back then. "Rock'n Roll" delivers exactly what it promises. For me, one of the highlights on the album is "Battle of Everymore", which is presented only with a powerfully echoing mandolin and an acoustic guitar, along with Plant's multi-part psychedelic vocals. I don't need to say anything more about the song of the century "Stairway to Heaven". "Misty Mountain Hop" is a very straightforward rock song, with a recurring riff. I am also thrilled by the song "Four Sticks". The song has a driving trance rhythm and a tapestry of oriental-inspired guitars with a lot of reverb. "Going to California" is very folksy, similar to "Battle of Everymore". Another highlight is the closing track "When the Levee Breaks". The song plods along. Here, the blues, slide guitar, and harmonica dominate. You feel like you're on a trip through scorching heat in a dry desert when you listen to it.
The cover shows an old man with a large bundle of reeds on his back. Very psychedelic. On the inside, there is an old wizard with a lantern on a rock, looking down at a place.
There are also a few band photos and some lyrics.
I expected more from the unreleased songs, as they mostly consist of alternate mixes that are not so different from the originals. However, the instrumental version of "Battle of Everymore" is worth highlighting.
I can't give this album of the century anything less than a 10.
