Search - Led Zeppelin :: 4 (Shm)

One of the Greatest Albums of the Rock Era

popmusicfan | northeastern Ohio | 02/24/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Led Zeppelin IV (which technically isn't its title, but you can't really have an untitled album, can you?) is one of the greatest albums of the entire rock era. After just about wearing out a vinyl copy, I decided to bite when Amazon offered a download of the mp3 version of the album for $5. Rather than repeating endless words for the many reviews of the album, I will deal specifically with the digital download. The downloadable album is crystal clear -- if it is not technically CD quality, it is difficult to tell. The remastering and the Amazon version is brilliant, with the acoustic instruments of "The Battle of Evermore" sounding clear and resonant. I have never heard any CD version of this album, so it is somewhat difficult to compare the mp3 version to other digital versions; however, it is important to note that this download lacks the overly edgy quality of some of the early digital versions of recordings from the analog era. Excellent music, one of the great rock performances ever, excellent writing, and a solid digitalization with both depth and clarity -- what more could you ask for? Oh, yes, at $5 it is one of the best bargains at Amazon.com."

Yes, it sounds better

Justo A. Ruiz | 03/27/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"To this ears, this SHM edition from japan sure sounds much better and less distorted than previous releases of the same remaster everywhere else.The same, although not so noticeable than in Zepp IV, goes to similar SHM editions of Zepp I, and ZeppII"

Reasons why this is my favorite album ever

Alan Gilfoy | 03/28/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"5 out of 5 stars, no question. Maybe isn't perfect, but to me it seems damn close.

To call it the "Stairway to Heaven album", as great as that song is, is to shortchange the other seven.



Zeppelin has huge stylistic range, and this album does a great job of tightly encapsulating that.



Stairway: Led Zeppelin seemed to excel at songs with an epic-length-storytelling feel, with Stairway as the prime example. We still don't know exactly what the story is here, but after 39 years, I doubt we'll ever figure it out entirely. This song seems to have everything, as so many different sonic elements come together. And even after the culminating explosion of Page's epic guitar solo, they still ain't done. No other song is so gripping.



The Battle Of Evermore has a similarly epic feel to it, and to me, it's the one that makes their Tolkien interest most obvious. The smooth integration between Plant's and Denny's vocals is handled brilliantly.



From the first Zeppelin songs I heard, I was amazed by how well they fused heaviness with sophistication, intricacy, polish, whatever you wish to call it, it's something I feel many heavy bands miss. That's on full display in "Black Dog", "Rock and Roll" and "When The Levee Breaks" in particular.



Zeppelin's blues influences can't be denied, and while they have many such songs in that vein, "Levee" stands out because it seems to be the most uniquely 'Zeppelin' take on such material.



The acidic feel of Misty Mountain Hop, itself with classic Zep instrumentation, seems to be in part a parody of hippie music, and Going to California is in part their attempt at an actual hippie song. Both succeed in that and in many other aspects.



My favorite album ever, with my favorite song ever. And for darn good reasons."