The 1970 album that marked a new Led Zeppelin chapter: “Our finest moment”
Great musicians aren’t often the ones we want at any given time, but the ones we need. In 1969, Led Zeppelin somehow managed to be both and rightly became the biggest band in the world.
Because when the rumours became true, and The Beatles announced their imminent split, the music world needed a replacement. But they didn’t want a carbon copy of the Fab Four; not only would pastiche have been artistically underwhelming, but times were ready to move on in the wake of this break-up and rock fans wanted to push into a new space.
Led Zeppelin arrived and gave them an almighty shove in 1969, with triumphant debut and sophomore albums released in quick succession. The former announced Zeppelin to the world in powerful fashion, while the latter saw them dominate it with uncompromising fury, combining powerful innovative guitar riffs with a brutal rhythm section to cement their place as the pioneers of this new era.
Life inside the studio walls of Led Zeppelin felt impenetrable. The band quickly realised that they could do no wrong and so, as curious artists, decided to truly acid test that theory and embark on a sonic pivot. Despite approaching their third album, it was an inherently brave thing to do, given how early on in their career they were and how successful they had become in mastering a particular formula. But they didn’t care what people wanted, but rather focused on what they thought was needed.
“We wanted to try and stretch it out and open it up and change, just shock ourselves to see exactly what we could do,” Plant explained. “We just started trying going back into more of an acoustic vein. It wasn’t an area that we hadn’t touched because ‘Your Time Is Going To Come’, ‘Babe I’m Going To Leave You’ and all that.”
But what came was a distinct shift from ‘Your Time Is Going To Come’ and ‘Babe I’m Going To Leave You’. Capturing the ancient sounds of their makeshift studio in Bron-Yr-Aur cottage, Wales, the band sounded almost unrecognisable to the heaviest of rock heads. But they didn’t care; they knew in their hearts they would return to rock and roll when the time was right, but this exploration was an exercise for the head.
Plant continued: “Just being exposed to the incredible string band and Roy Harper and all that sort of stuff around, which was music for the head, which was coming from more acoustic-based. And that’s what we did, you know, and I think it was a great success. The least successful Led Zeppelin album. And with the critics screaming for our lives and blood saying, what’s this crap? It was probably one of our finest moments. And the fact that we deemed we had to do it all was a fine moment.”
Fans didn’t have to sulk for long, as Led Zeppelin’s fourth album brought them back to rock and roll form, and they continued on their trajectory to become the biggest band in the world. On it was perhaps their standout moment, ‘Stairway To Heaven’. A globally adored track that simply would not have existed without the band’s foray into folk, and thus proves that when music fans get what they want, it’s because the artist has decided it is what they need.
Never Miss A Beat
The Far Out Led Zeppelin Newsletter
All the latest stories about Led Zeppelin from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.