Led Zeppelin IV (Rock of Ages) (Hardcover)

by Barney Hoskyns (Author)
Key Phrases: levee breaks, fourth album, four sticks, Led Zeppelin, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist
Hoskyns' breezy, sometimes overexcited precis of Led Zeppelin further indicates, after Jan Reid's raggedy, larf-a-minute Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs by Derek and the Dominos (2006), that Rodale's Rock of Ages series of classic-rock-album histories may prove worth staying abreast of. The acme of the Zep's career and the book is the group's fourth album ("The one with 'Black Dog' and 'Stairway to Heaven,' man!"), entitled with four runelike symbols rather than words. Hoskyns cleaves to how the Zep did what it did, especially on the focal album, relegating remarks on its members' notorious drugging, drinking, and carousing to the end of the book, and contending that the debauchery postdated its finest achievements. The many casual admirers of the band's big numbers may be surprised to learn how scrupulously guitarist Jimmy Page, in particular, crafted each recording, and by the variety of musical styles and treatments the group essayed on each album. Often credited with launching the oafish heavy-metal style, Led Zeppelin was, Hoskyns argues, a serious, conscientious musical group. Ray Olson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Description

Led Zeppelin IV, often called heavy metal’s greatest album, kicks off an exciting new series that takes a fresh, in-depth look at some of the greatest works from the most influential artists of the rock era. Fans may know the songs, but wait until they hear the stories behind them!

The music contained in Led Zeppelin IV is part of the soundtrack to a generation. Released in 1971, it rocks, stomps, glides, and shimmers as it covers all the bases the band had mastered: heavy blues, barroom rock and roll, mandolin-driven folk, epic Tolkien-infused mysticism, acoustic Americana, and more. Certified gold one week after its release, the album went to #2 on the U.S. charts and #1 in the U.K. It remained on U.S. charts for 259 weeks.

There probably isn’t an aspiring rock guitarist anywhere who hasn’t plucked out the notes and chords to "Stairway to Heaven" or "Black Dog," and yet many music lovers are unaware of the intriguing backstory to this genre-defining work.

To this day there is confusion about what is the actual title of the album. And what about those mysterious symbols? Barney Hoskyns pierces those veils and more as he tells the fascinating story of the evocative set that cemented Led Zeppelin’s standing as the biggest, baddest, loudest band in the world—and that remains today the apex of their art.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Rodale Books (November 28, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1594863709
• ISBN-13: 978-1594863707
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 4.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #471,454 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable Trip Back to The Grange, July 6, 2007

By	Misty Mountain - See all my reviews

If you're like me, and your basement swallowed up your miriad of rock magazines dated from 1970-1980, then you will appreciate the time and effort Barney Hoskyns puts into compliling choice Led Zeppelin interviews for this book from various first-hand sources. The book is a great read- fast, compelling, funny, and smart. The sections on Page and Plant's time at Headley Grange easily transplant you to the English countryside as you, too, experience the damp surroundings of their session stays, made possible with interviews from Jimmy Page, Andy Johns, Richard Cole, and John Paul Jones. I gave this book a 4 instead of a 5 star because it could use some photos, an index, polishing on the time line, and removal of the Jack White interviews altogether. Who needs the opinion of a self-proclaimed Jimmy Page rip-off? Besides that, any hard-core Zeppelin fan will not be unhappy with this book; it will not turn you off like Hammer. Led Zeppelin IV will definitely turn you on in an intimate, up close and (gulp) nostalgic level. Buy it for your Zeppelin library, if only for it's trip back to The Grange.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Thoughtful and Comprehensive, February 10, 2007

By	Bart King (Portland, Oregon) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Interested though I am in the subject, I came to this book with low expectations. As anyone who has suffered through HAMMER OF THE GODS (the seminal work on Led Zeppelin) can attest, the group hasn't attracted the best writing over the years.

Thus, author Barney Hoskyns is a pleasant surprise. He has done an excellent job of placing the band in the context of its time and in doing so, is able to show how much they have mattered ever since. And despite the modesty of this volume's size, Hoskyns scrupulously portrays all four band members, not just Page and Plant. This even-handed approach to the material carries over to the book as a whole. So what I'm saying is, this is NOT a tossed-off pamplet about one of the great albums of all time.

But it is a well-done biography of the band's history, from inception to interment. While particular attention is paid to the legendary "Zoso" album, one feels that this is done so without slighting most of Led Zeppelin's other accomplishments. Nice job, Hoskyns!

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Really Good Book, January 6, 2007

By	R. Williams "code slubber" (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

There are a lot of interesting things in this book; it's definitely worthwhile. Frankly, this thing is close to a 5, but it falls a tad short of its epic target. There is a good amount of information about the recording: the process, various permutations that occurred in realizing the individual tracks, the various roles the different members played.

Of course the typical subjects come up: Page's devil worship, Plant's accident, Bonzo's drinking. Believe it or not, these topics are swiftly, and judiciously dealt with. Big credit on that front.

On the whole, very balanced account, full of lots of interesting details, and a good sense of the genius of these characters, and how it melded and held together so long.