Led Zeppelin's officially-untitled fourth album
Released	November 8, 1971
Recorded	December, 1970 - March, 1971 at Headley Grange, Hampshire, with The Rolling Stones Mobile Studio ; Island Studios , London; Sunset Sound , Los Angeles. Mixed at Island Studios , London; Olympic Studios, London.
Producer	Jimmy Page
Genre	Hard rock
Length	42 min 38 s
Record label	Atlantic Records
Catalogue	(US) Atlantic SD 7208 (UK) Atlantic 2401 002
Professional reviews
Q review	5/5	July 1994 (remastered version)
Robert Christgau	Grade: A	link
Rolling Stone	Favourable	December 11, 1971 p. 63
New Musical Express	9/10	October 2, 1992 p. 29
Allmusic.com	5/5	link
Led Zeppelin Chronology
Led Zeppelin III (1970)	Led Zeppelin IV (1971)	Houses of the Holy (1973)

The fourth album released by the British blues/rock band Led Zeppelin is variously referred to as "Led Zeppelin IV", "Runes", "Sticks", "Zoso" (after the approximate shape of the symbols used as a title), "Four Symbols", or even "untitled." Indeed it has no official title. After the critical mauling Led Zeppelin III had received in late 1970, Jimmy Page decided that the next album would not have a proper title - in order to see if the music could sell itself. The original pressing did not have a readable title or the name Led Zeppelin anywhere on the outside, instead featuring four hand-drawn symbols (one designed by and representing each band member). These symbols inspired the various informal names used for the album. However, in subsequent press interviews since the album's release, both Jimmy Page and Robert Plant have occasionally referred to the album as "Four Symbols". Still, most fans and critics refer to it as "Led Zeppelin IV", its most common reference name.

The album remains a perennial favorite on classic rock radio, and features "Stairway to Heaven", widely recognized as one of the greatest rock music songs ever recorded. While reaching #2 in the US, it was the band's third consecutive UK chart topper.

Released on November 8, 1971 by Atlantic Records

Contents

1 Track Listing 2 Personnel 3 Chart positions 4 Additional notes 5 External Links

Track Listing

1. "Black Dog" (Page/Plant/Jones) - 4:54
2. "Rock and Roll" (Page/Plant/Jones/Bonham) - 3:40
3. "The Battle of Evermore" (Page/Plant) - 5:51
4. "Stairway to Heaven" (Page/Plant) - 8:00
5. "Misty Mountain Hop" (Page/Plant/Jones) - 4:38
6. "Four Sticks" (Page/Plant) - 4:44
7. "Going to California" (Page/Plant) - 3:31
8. "When the Levee Breaks" (Page/Plant/Jones/Bonham/Minnie) - 7:07

Personnel

• Jimmy Page - Acoustic guitar, electric guitar, producer, remastering, digital remastering
• Robert Plant - Vocals, harmonica
• John Paul Jones - Synthesizer, bass guitar, keyboards
• John Bonham - Drums
• Ian Stewart - Piano (Track 2)
• Sandy Denny - Vocals (Track 3)
• Peter Grant - Executive producer
• George Chkiantz - Mixing
• Andy Johns - Engineer, mixing
• George Marino - Digital remastering
• Graphreaks - Design coordinator
• Barrington Colby Mom - Inside illustration - The Hermit

Chart positions

Billboard Music Charts (North America) - album

1971       Led Zeppelin IV  The Billboard 200              No. 2

Billboard (North America) - singles

1972       Black Dog        Pop Singles                    No. 15
1972       Rock and Roll    Pop Singles                    No. 47

Additional notes

• Despite the immense popularity of "Stairway to Heaven", which received heavy AOR radio rotation in the early 1970s, and remains one of the most popular rock songs of all time, the song was never officially released as a single and thus it was never seen on the Billboard charts.

• Although the symbols that form its title (and the album itself) are sometimes referred to as "Runes", only two of the middle symbols (for John Paul Jones and John Bonham) are in fact runes. The symbols for Robert Plant, Maàt's feather of Truth encapsulated by an unbroken circle representing life, and Jimmy Page, a stylised Capricorn ruled by Saturn, are called sigla. Although looking almost like the word "Zoso" it is not intended to be written or pronounced as such. Page's symbol is remarkably similar to other sigils of hermetist J. Cardan and magician Austin Osman Spare found in: Gettings, Fred (1982) Dictionary of Occult, Hermetic and Alchemical Sigils, ISBN 0-7100-0095-2.

• In 1998 Q magazine readers voted Led Zeppelin IV the 26th greatest album of all time.

• It is number 66 on the List of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

External Links

• Led Zeppelin IV Lyrics