The most popular song off the album wasn't released as a single but still leads many local radio stations' top 500 countdowns of all-time classic rock songs. All but one of the songs made it on to the first box set the band released in 1991. But with so much music that has come out since its release in 1971 does it still hold up?
Chart Facts: Album Sales and Rankings, Singles Rankings
Led Zeppelin IV (as it will be referred to throughout the article) was ranked as high as no. 2 on the Billboard Top 200 Album Charts (source: Billboard magazine) and hit no. 1 in the United Kingdom (source: Dave Lewis (1994), The Complete Guide to the Music of Led Zeppelin, Omnibus Press). To date, it has sold over 37 million couples worldwide (source: http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/led-zeppelin-a-complete-guide-to-the-bands-studio-albums-763440.html. )
Surprisingly, the album only had two singles that hit the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in the United States (source: Billboard magazine). "Black Dog" hit no. 15 in 1971 and "Rock and Roll" hit no. 47 the year after.
High Notes: Different Styles of Music, Not Overblown
Led Zeppelin IV covers several different styles of music, from the English folk of "The Battle of Evermore" to the dirty leather-pants swagger of "Black Dog". Both sides of the album end with the two longest songs: the psychedelic relation of a fan's interpretation of "Stairway to Heaven" and the hard blues of "When the Levee Breaks". Even though each song clocks in at over seven minutes neither song makes the listener want to reach for the fast forward button to skip an overindulgent guitar solo or extended vocal howling.
Guitarist Jimmy Page can riff with the best of them and has served as an influence on countless guitar players while Robert Plant combined sex appeal and multi-octave range so well that almost every metal vocalist since then has copied extensively from both facets of his on-stage persona.
Still, both artists combined with their vaunted rhythm section of John Paul Jones and John Bonham to not make this album a bloated beast. This comes from artists who know they can play but don't feel the need to show all their tricks like an overblown Fourth of July grand finale of fireworks.
Conclusion: The Legend Continues
When the Beastie Boys sampled "When the Levee Breaks" on their Licensed To Ill album and Robert Plant hooked up with Alison Krauss it was clear that Led Zeppelin would continue to influence artists from across the musical spectrum well after they disbanded. Led Zeppelin IV continues to serve as a classic example of their place among the rock gods.
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