Not since December of 2017 if I’m recalling correctly have I review anything outside my comfort zone, but this is one of the few times that I am. Like I hinted at in my review around the middle of this month, I’m taking a look at the oldest album in my collection. Turning 40 years old back in August, this release was the final official album from a rock titan, and was a highly significant one at that (For somewhat negative reasons). So, let’s take a seat up at the bar, order some scotch on the rocks, and take a look at my review of Led Zeppelin’s concluding release, In Through The Out Door. Let’s begin.
Background
By the end of the 70s, things did not look good for Led Zeppelin. Robert Plant’s son Karac passed away in 1977, John Bonham was struggling with alcoholism, and Jimmy Page had been battling heroin addiction. Coupled with a taxation exile from the UK (Which prevented them from performing in their home country for 2 years), it meant that the band had to struggle to get back into the mind of the public, and it was this struggle that led to the release of In Through The Out Door. Put out on the 15th of August, 1979, In Through The Out Door was much more influenced by John Paul Jones and Robert Plant, and less influenced by Bonham and Page (For obvious reasons). Due to the issues with half the band, Jones & Plant would put together most of the songs in the day, while Bonham and Page would add their parts at night. Jones was also inspired to create new songs after he got a Yamaha GX-1 synthesizer prior to the album's recording, and was "working closely with Robert, which was something that had not happened before."
In Through The Out Door was meet with fierce criticism at the time of it’s original release (Though some looked at it more positively than others). Charles M. Young from Rolling Stone said that Page's diminishing creativity resulted in little good material to work with for Plant, whose lyrics Young found inane, and Bonham, whose drumming was viewed as heavy handed. This brought to the forefront the keyboard playing of Jones, who Young said "functions best behind Page, not in front of him". Chris Bohn from Melody Maker said "the impressionable first play" of the record "had everyone in the office rolling around laughing", while accusing the band of being "totally out of touch" and "displaying the first intimations of mortality". Ironically enough, In Through The Out Door would go on to be a huge commercial success. In the United States, it would sit at the No.1 slot on Billboard's chart in just its second week on the chart, though it would be the last record of the band to chart in America for heavily obvious reasons.
To further the irony, the 2015 re-release would be highly well received by critics and fans. Q Magazine said that "it's aged remarkably well and All My Love is breathtakingly beautiful", while Classic Rock writer Tim Batcup observed on the bonus disc “a scruffier, rambunctious Hot Dog and a sparser In The Evening, the drone intro truncated and Jones's synths high in the mix”. Andrew Doscas of PopMatters was more critical than other reviewers, especially in regards to the bonus material. He said that "While In Through the Out Door does have some merit, it's cruel of Led Zeppelin to think that anyone, even a dedicated fan, could muster the strength to listen to the album twice in a row". That’s a harsh way to look at it, but a little understandable at the same time.
Basic Description
The only Led Zeppelin album I like.
Now, that will sound like blasphemy to about 90 percent of all Led Zeppelin fans, and I can kind of understand why. For the longest time I was not a fan of the band, and I gotta blame my Dad for playing them over & over when I was younger. This persists to this very day to a degree, and while I’m still not a full-blown fan.....my opinion on them has changed. When I was younger I thought they were obnoxious & weird, now it’s more of the fact that I find them a little too artistic for their own good. That being said, I have far more respect for the band now than I ever did when I was younger! Without this fine Brits, Heavy Metal wouldn’t be what it is today. Hell, Rock ‘n’ Roll and other genres of music might not have their respective flair and spice.
So what does this have to do with why I like In Through The Out Door? Well, I always found this album to be the least Led Zeppelin feeling release in the entirety of Led Zeppelin. It most certain sounds like something you’d hear from the band, but due to the usage of synthesizer & odd experimentation, it almost sounds like a band that’s trying to not be like Led Zeppelin. Whether this is because of the conflict within the band at the time or because of outside influences, I’m not sure. Regardless, I think it’s because of this deviation that I like the band so much. I’m weird, I know.
Best Track
Even before I got this album, I was always a sucker for All My Love. An incredible tribute to his son, Robert Plant is the driving force behind the song. His voice goes between crooning, blues, & beautiful sorrow at the drop of a needle, and he never misses a step. The instrumentation is equally beautiful, as everything is incredibly emotional but not complex. The guitar & drums are played rather simply, and while the keyboard might be a tiny bit ear-piercing, they just add to the atmosphere of the track. I can’t skip this song at all, and neither should you.
All My Love
Worst Track
Their really isn’t any one track on In Through The Out Door that’s bad, Like I said before, due to the fact that it sounds like Led Zeppelin the least, I have a far stronger attachment to the music on this album that some. That being said, I can see why some Led Zeppelin don’t like this one. They seem a little too reliant on keyboards at times, and the band also seems to try & relive moments from their older works in some places (Not necessarily for the better, btw). Again, I’m not really affected by this, but for long time fans I can see why this would be a turn-off.
Other
If you’re curious about listening to this album, click on the link below:
In Through The Out Door
Overall Impression & Rating
In Through The Out Door was definitely a divider back in 1979. The more Synth direction definitely confused at best, or turned them off at worst. However, the album is a paragon of emotionally-charged music, and while it might not be as heavy as earlier material, Led Zeppelin still know how to craft tunes that just stick & tugs at the heartstrings. It might not be an essential record to listen to from this band, yet it’s legacy as the final Led Zeppelin release cannot be denied.
In Through The Out Door gets a 7.5 out of 10.
And with that, we conclude November 2019. Some interesting albums were reviewed this month, and they all have cemented their legacy in music history in some way. With that out of the way, the end of the year has come, and thus it’s time for the final posts of the year. See you all really soon!
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