Led Zeppelin β In Through the Out Door
- intothewellsabyss
- Aug 15, 2023
- 6 min read
π πππ πππ ππππππ - πππππππππππ ππππ πππππ ππππππππ π’π§ ππ‘π πππππππ π¨πΒ ππππ ππππ & πππππ πππππβ¦
August 15, 1979 β Led Zeppelin released their eighth studio album, In Through the Out Door via Swan Song Records. (Listen)
It was recorded over a three-week period in November and December 1978 at ABBA's Polar Studios in Stockholm, Sweden. In 1980, Led Zeppelin disbanded following the death of drummer John Bonham.
The release became a huge commercial success, particularly in the United States (sitting at the No. 1 slot on Billboard's chart in just its second week on the chart). In Through the Out Door was the band's eighth and final studio release to reach the top of the charts in America.
Background:
The music on In Through the Out Door was dominated by Jones. Two songs from the album β South Bound Saurez and All My Love β were the only two original Led Zeppelin songs that Jimmy Page had no part in writing. Aside from Darlene, a boogie-woogie based song credited to all band members (which was eventually released on the 1982 album, Coda), John Bonham did not receive writing credits for any of the songs.
Side One:
In The Evening was planned as the opening track for the album as "π ππππ-ππππ π ππππ", in order to show that Led Zeppelin could still make good music. Page played the guitar with a violin bow, as he had done in the early days of the band. The track features a contrast between the powerful riffs in the main part of the track, against a relatively quiet middle section.
South Bound Saurez was a straightforward rocker. John Paul Jones played piano on the track.
Fool in the Rain was an attempt to combine a samba rhythm with a basic rock tune, resulting in a polyrhythm part way through the song. The idea was inspired by Robert Plant explaining that the group must explore new musical territory in order to remain current.
Hot Dog was a rockabilly inspired track, that came out of initial rehearsals, where the group warmed up by playing a series of old Elvis Presley and Ricky Nelson covers. A precursor (or a foreshadowing of days to come) to the days of MTV and VH1, a music video was filmed for this song, even though there wasn't a strong platform for this format at the time. (Watch video)
Side Two:
Carouselambra is a ten-minute track, dominated by Jones' keyboards and covering a variety of musical styles. Page played his Gibson EDS-1275 double neck guitar, which was normally only used for live performances. The group had intended to play the song live for the planned 1980 US tour, which was cancelled after Bonham's death.
All My Love was a love song composed by Plant and Jones when they were the first to arrive at the studio. Jones played a classically inspired synthesizer solo in the middle of the track.
I'm Gonna Crawl was a relaxed blues. Plant arranged the track to be in the style of mid-1960s soul music such as Wilson Pickett and Otis Redding. Jones contributed a string synthesizer arrangement.
Album Packaging:
The original album featured an unusual gimmick: the album had an outer sleeve which was made to look like a plain brown paper bag (reminiscent of similarly packaged bootleg album sleeves with the title rubber-stamped on it), and the inner sleeve featured black and white line artwork which, if washed with water, would become permanently fully colored.
There were also six different sleeves featuring a different pair of photos (one on each side), and the external brown paper sleeve meant that it was impossible for record buyers to tell which sleeve they were getting. The pictures all depicted the same scene in a bar (in which a man burns a Dear John letter), and each photo was taken from the separate point of view of someone who appeared in the other photos.
Each of the 6 sleeves is identifiable by a letter code (A-F) at the top of the spine.
(π²ππππ βπ°β)
(π²ππππ βπ±β)
(π²ππππ βπ²β)
(π²ππππ βπ³β)
(π²ππππ βπ΄β)
(π²ππππ βπ΅β)
The Watchers:
β’ Fat guy in the doorway
β’ Blondie next to the bar
β’ Barman
β’ Black woman laughing at the end of the bar
β’ Piano player
β’ Brunette woman next to the jukebox
The walls are covered with thousands of yellowed business cards and dollar bills. The photo session in a London studio was meant to look like a re-creation of the Old Absinthe House, in New Orleans, Louisiana.
The album artwork was designed by Hipgnosis' Storm Thorgerson. In 1980, Hipgnosis were nominated for a Grammy Award in the category of Best Album Package for In Through the Out Door.
The album was intended to be released before the band's twin concerts at Knebworth in 1979, but production delays meant that it was released shortly after their performances at this event, on August 15th. Plant jokingly referred to the delays at times during the performance on August 4th.
Album Performance:
The album went to No. 1 on Billboard's chart in its second week on the chart, reportedly selling 1.7 million copies within days of release. On this album's release, Led Zeppelin's entire catalogue made the Billboard 200 between the weeks of October 22 and November 3, 1979, an unprecedented feat, topping their own record in 1975, when all their albums up to Physical Graffiti were on the chart.
(π»ππ ππππππππ ππ πΊππππ ππππ ππ π°πππππ π·π·ππ, π·πΏπ½πΏ. πΏππππ ππ’ ππππ π·πππππ)
The album remained on the US top spot for seven weeks and sold three million copies by the end of September 1979. It was credited with helping to revive the US record industry, which had begun to struggle. In January 1980, Fool in the Rain was released as a single to further promote the album, but it narrowly missed the top 20 of the singles chart. It featured Hot DogΒ as the b-side.
There were many different variations of the single, depending on where it was released.
In Through the Out Door is the Led Zeppelin album that has spent the most weeks on the top of the charts (tied along with Led Zeppelin II and Physical Graffiti). To date, the album has sold six million copies in the US.
In Through the Out Door divided contemporary critics and Led Zeppelin fans; some found its synthesizer-influenced music inevitable but forward-thinking while others felt the band had forsaken their heavy, fast sound.
According to Jimmy Page biographer Martin Power, "πππππππππππ’, ππ πππ π πππ ππ ππππ, πΈπ πππππππ πππ πΎππ π³πππ ππππππππ π πππππ ππππ ππππ ππππ πππππππ, π πππ πππβπ πππππππ ππππππ ππ πππ πππππ ππππππππ πππ ππππ ππ π πππππ π πππ π ππππ ππ ππππ ππππ."
Critical Reception:
Reviewing the album in Rolling Stone, Charles M. Young said 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 "πππππππππ ππππ ππππππ πΏπππ, πππ ππ πππππ ππ πππ".
Chris Bohn from Melody Maker said "πππ ππππππππππππππ πππππ ππππ’" of the record "πππ πππππ’πππππ πππ ππππππ πππππππ ππππππ ππππππππ", while accusing the band of being "πππππππ’ πππ ππ πππππ" and "πππππππ’πππ πππ πππππ πππππππππππ ππ πππππππππ’".
(πΉπππ πΏπππ πΉππππ, ππππππ πΏππππ πππ πΉπππ π±πππππ, πΌπππππ’ πΌππππ π°π ππππ, π½πππππππ πΈπΎππ, π·πΏπ½πΏΒ (πΏππππ ππ’ πΊππ’πππππ/πΆππππ’ πΈπππππ)
By contrast, NME journalist Nick Kent argued that the album was "ππ πππππππ", believing its "πππππππππ ππππππ ππ πππππππππ" deserved further listening.
Robert Christgau also wrote positively of the record in The Village Voice, observing the usual "πππ‘ ππ πππ ππ’ππππ ππππππππππ", but regarding the album as the group's best since Houses of the Holy (1973). He said "πππ πππππππ ππ’πππππππ£ππ ππππ ππ ππππ ππ π ππππππππ ππ’ ππππ-ππππ ππππππ ππππ ππππ ππ π ππππ ππππ π°ππ-ππππ ππππ", while "πππ πππππππππππ£π πππππ ππ πππ πππππ ππππ ππππππππ πππ π ππππ's ππππ-ππππ ππππππ ππππ ππππ ππ π ππππ ππππ π·πππ ππππ ππππ".
At the end of the year, In Through the Out Door was nominated for the 1980 American Music Awards, in the category of Favorite Pop/Rock Album.
Following the album's release, Plant, Page and Bonham all expressed reservations about the record. Plant later said that he enjoyed the variation in styles from previous albums, though he appreciated the album was "π πππ πππππππππ".
Page said in 2004, "π π π πππππ, πππππ πΈπ πππππππ πππ πΎππ π³πππ, ππ ππππ πππππππππ ππππ-πππππππ πππ ππππ-πππππ πππππ. πΎπ ππππππ, π π πππππ πππ ππ ππππ ππππ πππππ." He is also quoted as saying, "πΈπ π πππβπ πππ ππππ πππππππππππ πππππ. πΈ πππππ ππ π ππ ππππ’ ππππππππππππ... π πππππππππππ πππ π πππ πππππ ππππ ππππ."
In Through the Out Door was Led Zeppelin's final album to be released while all the original members were still living. Drummer John Bonham died the next year on September 25, 1980.
In The Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004), Gaylord Fields said the album was "ππππππππ ππππ πππ πππππππ π πππππππ ππππ πππππππππ" but "πππ ππππππ ππ ππ πππ-ππππ ππππππ’ π πππ ππππ ππππππππ ππππππππ".
Colin Larkin appraised it in his Encyclopedia of Popular Music (2006) as "πππππππ πππ ππππππππππ" of the band's previous records, yet "π ππππππ ππππππππππ ππ π ππππ πΉπππ πΏπππ πΉππππ πππππππ ππ πππ πππππ’πππ ππππππ".
Neil McCormick, however, reinforced past complaints about the album, ranking it as the band's worst album in a 2014 retrospective on the band in The Daily Telegraph;
"πΌππππ’ ππππππππππ, πππππ’ ππ’ππππ, ππππππ’ πππ πππ’ππππ πππ ππ ππππππππππ ππππππ ππππ πππππ πππππ ππππππ’ ππππππππππππ ππ πππ ππππππππ ππππ ππ πππππππ’."
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