Customer Reviews

In Through the Out Door

5 star:		(118)
4 star:		(82)
3 star:		(37)
2 star:		(31)
1 star:		(18)

 

 

Let's put Led Zeppelin in perspective: They had 8 full length studio albums before disintegrating. They ARE one of the best bands of all time, like the Beatles before them, Led Zeppelin will always spark interest in music fans. YES, Led Zeppelin 4, Houses of the Holy, Physical Graffitti and Presence probably caught Zeppelin in their prime. All eight albums have their pluses and minuses, and yet, In Through The Out Door is always criticized the most. Like U2, R.E.M. and Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin had to change. Robert Plant just lost a child, disco was bigger than rock, and punk's angry cries were more deafening than any Zeppelin record. The complaint of synthesizers is understandable since Zeppelin is mostly known for Page's guitar wizardry, but In Through The Out Door is Zeppelin's Achtung, Baby, or Out of Time or Permanent Vacation--it's a rebirth of sorts. I certainly think that non-fans should check this out if they don't like Led Zeppelin for it has the hits "Fool in the Rain" and "All My Love." If the Beatles only relied on John and Paul then we'd have no Here Comes The Sun or Yellow Submarine. John Paul Jones's influence gave Zeppelin more credit. It wasn't just Page, Plant and Bonham. I know I'll get heat for defending In Through The Out Door, but it is a great record, just not like Zeppelin's others.

One of the biggest reasons for my initially buying this particular Zeppelin album owed much to curiosity; as in curiosity as to why so many Zep fans--nevermind the critics--seemed to trash it so much. Having been previously inundated with Zeppelin I, II and the almighty fourth album, this was indeed "different". But the thing I came to appreciate about Zeppelin over time was how 'different' a lot of their latter days output was and how their musical style progressed over the course of eight studio albums.

"The Brown Bomber" (Zeppelin II) and "Zoso" are great records, but I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be as big a LZ fan as I am now if every single album sounded like them, or if Plant & company felt they needed to endlessly recycle the riff from "Whole Lotta Love" to keep their "true fans" happy and never try to expand beyond nicking old blues numbers.

For one thing, the much carped about use of synthesizers featured on "In Through the Out Door" never once bothered me; it wasn't like Zeppelin never used them on a song before ("No Quarter" anyone?); having Jones back on the keyboards/piano for this one makes for a refreshing variety amongst all the tracks, an ingredient that was sorely lacking from "Presence".

I'll just finish this by simply stating that ITTOD is by no means an album to be ashamed of. For me personally, it's at the very top of the list along with "Houses of the Holy" and "Zoso". Times change and so do many truly great musicians over the course of their careers; Led Zeppelin was no different.

I was 14 when this album came out and turned the grooves to dust within a few months by ceaselessly playing it on a cheap Soundesign turntable. Then I got in on 8-track. In 1983, I bought the casette (newly installed in my car), and in 1998, I finally broke down and got it on CD. When you buy an album *four* times, you know it's a keeper.

This is a fitting denouement for the Greatest Rock Band Ever, though I wish John Bonham drank a little less and lived a little longer. His touch is all over these songs. His genius was that he made the drum riffs sound easy. It's deceptive -- you try some of those bits while never dropping the on-tempo beat from the high-hat.

"In Through the Out Door" also showcases John Paul Jones' layering-on of the keyboard and synthesizer parts over his driving bass. My favourite is his upbeat boogie-woogie piano on "South Bound Suarez."

Robert Plant still had most of his voice when this was recorded, and it really comes out best on this remastered CD version. The album's opening tune, "In the Evening," sends the listener back not to 1979 (when this record was released), but to 1973. The sound and leitmotifs are right out of "Houses of the Holy" songs "The Ocean" and "Dancing Days." Jimmy Page's guitar solo is quintessential Pagey; There's no guitarist who can touch him. Hendrix, Clapton, Nugent, Van Halen, they come close, but you listen to Page, scratch your head and ask "how'd he do that?"

"Fool in the Rain" is the best song on this record. It's a song only Zeppelin could do: Part Reggae, part meringue, part Carnaval in Rio, laid over with Page's Steely Dan-like solo, it's still all Zeppelin. Plant's voice soars on this one.

"Hot Dog": Country Western, sure. Rockabilly, yeah. What I really hear is Plant's tribute to Elvis. When his voice wavers and quavers, the King comes through. Plant doesn't say "hunka hunka," but you can hear it between the lines.

Yes, I forgive them for "Carouselambra." Too much synth. However, excellent bass and guitar lines and it's all over the map in its musical construction.

"All My Love": At the time, a fave at high school dances, but it was really Plant's tribute to his son, who'd died tragically. How eerily it seems written for Bonzo as well.....

"I'm Gonna Crawl." This is Led Zep blues, right out of "In My Time of Dying" and "What Is and What Should Never Be." It's gut wrenching, slow, a dirge.

"Zoso" is still their best, but this is the one I get all sentimental about. I listen to it, and I'm 14 again.

Of course, the members of Led Zeppelin likely never knew that this seven-song album was to be their last. Had they known, they may have gone out with more of a definitive bang. Surprisingly, though, "In Through the Out Door" shows a tired band moving in a creative direction, leaving the world to wonder how the rockin' foursome may have sounded had it played on in the synth-crazy 1980s. John Paul Jones actually takes more creative control on this record, co-writing five of the seven songs. And it's his keyboard work that makes a great deal of this sometimes dull album a bit more interesting.

After the seven-minute dinosaur riff of "In the Evening" comes the unexpected "South Bend Saurez," a slinky barlike number with a hopping piano and a scorching solo by Jimmy Page midway through. There's even a feminine-sounding "Sha-la-la-la" vocal bit at the end, something different for Zeppelin. "South Bend Saurez" is just the first of several upbeat-sounding tunes on this record. The well-known "Fool in the Rain" overstays its welcome by a few minutes, but "Hot Dog" is a ride-'em-cowboy track with a looseness and country tinge that's unexpected. Robert Plant plays the down-to-earth country-rocker role to the hilt and seems to enjoy himself. That song is a great segway to one of Zeppelin's best and most underrated songs, "Carouselambra." Born of a musical zoo of varying forms, "Carouselambra" is packaged neatly in three parts, starting with a buzzing synthesizer and a frantic pace. The beginning is guitarless but bursting with electric energy, really unlike anything Zeppelin had tried before. All at once the song stops dead in its tracks and the hot-paced first stanza suddenly becomes a memory, replaced by a deep, moaning guitar and vocals. Things pick up again in the third stanza with an odd slice of synth that could practically introduce the 6 p.m. news. Overall, "Carouselambra" is an adventorous journey, epic on a new Led Zeppelin level.

A humble attitude and sound creeps into the final two tracks of the CD, perhaps a form of apology for the band's reckless behavior and unlucky past. "All of My Love" and "I'm Gonna' Crawl" are noted for their wonderful string sections and desperate-sounding love-is-all-you-need lyrics. "All of My Love" is dedicated to Plant's sadly deceased young daughter, while "I'm Gonna' Crawl" sounds like a hopeless romantic who got plowed the night before. By the record's end, the four great musicians are in complete synchronicity as they've been so many times before. It's a handsome and stately end to a career known for roughness around edges. Zeppelin got out of the game without embarassing itself, and created a solid ending to one of the world's most influential and dazed-and-confused rock bands.

Let me preface this review by saying that I go WAY back with Led Zeppelin, having purchased all of their albums from "Led Zeppelin IV" through "Coda" right off the rack. (Yeah....being a teenager in the 70s was as great as the youngsters of today imagine it was: Zeppelin, the Stones, KISS, Bowie, Alice Cooper, Funkadelic, etc, etc......aahhhhhh, what a time for music!) Anyway, I do feel it's necessary to point out that I'm writing this review relative to buying the album as a NEW product, doing my best to steer clear of the hindsight of history.

Into my 4th decade as a LedHed, I'll go out on a limb here and say that this is perhaps MY FAVORITE Led Zeppelin album, a neck-and-neck photo-finish with "Physical Graffiti". This recording has been often (and unfairly) criticized as "watered-down" Led Zeppelin, relying too heavily on the direction of John Paul Jones. Jonesy's contributions are indeed at the essence of the sound of the album, but I don't hear that as a bad thing or that it somehow makes this "something less" of a Led Zeppelin album. As other reviewers have noted, this was definitely a time of transition for the band, personally & musically. They had matured into men in their 30s and the music scene dominance had shifted to disco & pop, with New Wave (and, to a lesser degree in America, punk) smashing at the gates, desperate to enter into new territory. My opinion is that the music of this album was not a self-conscious change of direction for the band....it was simply a fresh change dictated by their personal environments, which included hearing new sounds on their radios and turntables. Maturity (not to mention 'tragedy', and in Led Zeppelin's case, particularly Plant's) has a way of ushering in change. The Beatles are the classic musicial example of growing up & moving on.

I vividly recall purchasing this album when it first hit the record racks, as did virtually everyone I knew. Like all Zeppelin albums that preceeded it, it stayed on my turntable for weeks-on-end. The moment my sister told me that John Bonham had died is forever burned into my memory, as if by a white-hot branding iron. Bonzo's death was a tragedy in many ways to many people....not the least of which being that my sister & I were planning to get tickets to see the band at the Philadelphia Spectrum, the tour having been recently announced. It was to have been the band's first trek through America since 1977.

Bonzo's death no doubt lends a poignancy to the album, particularly at the time when it was new and the tragic event actually happened. I recall clearly that this poignancy was evident to me personally in the tracks "Carouselambra" and the album's closing number "I'm Gonna Crawl". With hindsight, I'm not sure why those particular tracks affected me that way, but they did....and still do, three decades later. To this day, "Carouselambra" rates EXTREMELY high on my list of favorite Led Zeppelin songs. I'll take it over "Stairway To Heaven" in a heartbeat. (I can already picture the torch-carrying lynch mob at my heels, howling for my blood!)

ANYWAY.....The Music: "In The Evening" is a suberb opener; the spooky, ominous Jones organ introduction alerting us that something big is coming our way. Zeppelin always did select GREAT opening tracks for their albums. Classic, heavy Zeppelin sound here, with an added, undeniable maturity. "South Bound Saurez" is a fabulous tune, one of the best on the album, light-hearted & bouncy, with great work all-around. What a band this is!! "Fool In The Rain" follows in this breezy vein, with a wonderful Latin-flavored bridge that always causes me to smile and to immediately begin drumming on the closest object I can find. I remember wondering at the time how they were going to play this song live. "Hot Dog" wraps up Side A and it's a KILLER track, with superb work from Pagey, in particular. Three light-hearted tracks in a row; is this REALLY a Led Zeppelin album?!?

Flip the record to Side B and we're into the MAJOR event of the album: "Carouselambra". It would be VERY difficult (if not downright impossible) to put into words what this track means to me, and perhaps this album review is not the place to get all misty-eyed over one of my favorite songs of all-time.....so I won't. I will say that this 10-minute, 3-part opus is unquestionably Led Zeppelin at their finest and most mature: moody & glorious, mysterious & inspiring, all at the same time. THIS is a textbook example of how to create and record a classic song. DEFINITELY the album's centerpiece. This gem is followed by another major event, "All My Love". As a single it works extremely well, as evidenced by the innumerable times it's been played on rock radio....but it's too bad that radio has to play this flawless piece of work out of the context of the album because it's placed perfectly there, coming on the heels of "Carouselambra". This song features some of Plant's most heartfelt lyrics and the orchestration courtesy of Jones' keyboards is simply stunning. To wind up this classic album, we return to the agonized, blues-based sound that perhaps epitomizes Led Zeppelin: "I'm Gonna Crawl". Aaahhhhhhhhh.....sheer bliss!! Featuring a nice introduction from Jonesy's keys and a lazy, lumbering tempo, Pagey lays down some blistering guitar work and Plant's banshee wail is at full, spine-tingling power. A terrific close to the album and the recording career of Led Zeppelin.

It should be noted that, in addition to the album being heavily influenced by the keyboard work of John Paul Jones, Bonzo's drums are crisper-than-usual on the high-end & feature boldly in the mix, although this is not often noted. If you're a fan of the endlessly-creative, stomping, brutal drumming of John Bonham, this album is right up your alley.

If you can possibly get your hands on a nice, clean copy of the vinyl, I recommend that you do so, as this is the preferrable way to hear this classic. Actually, it's the best way to hear ANY Led Zeppelin album, in my opinion. When I get a hankering to hear "In Through The Out Door", I usually always turn to the vinyl. Just last night, I sat on my back porch in the chilly, misty Pennsylvania Autumn air and listened to this and "Physical Graffiti" back-to-back on vinyl. It was a glorious way to spend a Friday night and was the inspiration to finally give this album it's due in the form of a review!

To those who haven't yet heard this brilliant recording, it will be impossible to hear it in the same "I-was-there-when-it-happened" context in which this review was written.....but you're in for a stunning experience nonetheless. On a scale of 1 to 10 it rates a 12; it absolutely has my highest recommendation. If you don't have this ESSENTIAL recording, what are you waiting for?!? Get it NOW!!

During a time when record labels thought it would be prudent to cash in on the punk phenomenon of the late 1970s and almost went under in the process, this album brought kids into record stores and saved the industry. That said, the album is not viewed favorably amongst the buying public because it lacks a "How Many More Times"-esque head-banger.

Jimmy Page, reeling in the depths of addiction, is not as prominent on "In Through The Out Door". John Paul Jones, on the other hand, is all over the place, be it on piano or synthesizer, and has 6 writing credits on the album. "In the Evening" is a fine opener (although Robert Plant does sound like he guzzled a bottle of Liquid Plummer) and a song which benefits mightily from Jones' contributions. "Fool In The Rain" and "All My Love", the two most played songs off the album on FM radio, are excellent examples of the skills of all four members. Page and John Bonham, in particular, are outstanding on "Fool", creating a sophisticated, layered sound which does not rely on million-mile-an-hour guitar leads and over-the-top drum bombast.

The 10 minute "Carouselambra" continues the fine tradition of Zeppelin epics ("Kashmir", "Achilles' Last Stand") with some excellent keyboard and bass work from Jones and understated yet tasty double-neck guitar and guitar-synth work from Page. Plants lyrics are indecipherable, however, without a lyric sheet. But he is crystal clear on "I'm Gonna Crawl". Page belts out one of his pristine blues solos here, easily the best lead on the album, while Jones has a synth-orchestra opening the track.

That leaves two other songs: "South Bound Saurez" and "Hot Dog" are the true definition of filler. Page does not sound at all sober in his "Hot Dog" lead, stumbling through pentatonic scales and sounding as if his right hand is permanently attached to the B-string bender on his Telecaster because he uses it so much. "South Bound" is one of the songs which you can listen to on the radio if nothing else is on. It is not the quality of "Fool In the Rain".

Overall, this album is good but confusing. It does have sparkling musicianship but some filler material as well. The production is not up to Page standards, either; given his health cicra 1978-79, it is not all surprising. But what is strong is very strong indeed. "Carouselambra" alone is worth the price of the album. It is also an interesting experience to listen to Zeppelin as they musically evolved over the course of a decade. "In Through The Out Door" is an album a true Led Zeppelin fan cannot be without.

This is Led Zeppelin's most maligned album, most of said malign coming from ultra-orthodox rock fans who can't stand musical diversity. Because unlike their previous, guitar-riff based albums this one features John Paul Jones on keyboards in the lead role, with Jimmy Page playing along beside him instead of in front of him (for once).
Since Page was pretty whacked out on heroin during the making, his guitar playing skills do leave something lacking especially compared to his best work on songs like Achilles Last Stand or Black Dog.
However, the use of keyboards on the songs gives them a very different and unique feel.

In The Evening: A song with a standard rock sound and standard blues lyrics, the huge, slamming riff makes a great opener. Too bad you can't understand any of the lyrics except 'oh oh I need your love'.

South Bound Saurez (sic): An interesting little piece featuring Jones' piano, but not an especially classic piece. You can't understand any of the lyrics, though.

Fool in the Rain: A mellow, happy little riff about a slightly less happy subject; a guy waiting for his date and imagining he's been stood up, when actually he's waiting in the wrong place (whoops). Very enjoyable and spiced up by the fast little jam section in the middle.

Hot Dog: wierdness. A mock-country song that demonstrates their sense of humour if not much else.

Carouselambra: Whoa, they really opened the floodgates now. The first part contains keyboards, drums, bass and vocals but no guitar. The second bit has Page plucking out fuzzy little arpeggios while Robert Plant occasionally belts out something, and then it returns to a full synthesized speed-fest. You can't understand any of the lyrics (starting to notice a pattern?) which is a shame because they can almost compete with Bob Dylan in terms of inscrutable mysticism. Great, underrated song.

All My Love: Another synth-heavy one. It's the most sincere song on the album, dedicated to Robert Plant's son (not daughter as a lot of people think for some reason) who died in '77. Nice melody and cool solo.

I'm Gonna Crawl: A cool bluesy ending to the album, it might seem a bit repetetive at first until they start to mix things up.

All in all...well, if you're a really over-the-top fan like me you'd buy it even if it was crap. It isn't. It's as good as any of their other albums, just very different, and musical diversity is what made the band so great. So head out to your closest locally-owned, non-chain music store and get this album!

This album was to be their final effort as a band. It certainly was a step in a new direction, and one that not everyone was ready for. But the elements that make Led Zeppelin a legend are still here.

"In the Evening" is a stunning cruncher of a song, "Fool in the Rain" is a fun jaunt, "Caroselambra" was a step in a whole new direction for the band, "All My Love" is the most tender song Zep ever did and one of Plant's most heartfelt vocals, and "I'm Gonna crawl" is a sprawling bluesy number with great guitar & shredding vocals.

Above all, this album is known as the one that John Paul Jones really flexed his musical muscle & held everything together. His influence is huge, which is probably why it's the least "classic" Zep sounding album. Not that this is nessicarily a bad thing. Page's influence is felt, but he definately took a back seat. Jonesy was driving this time. Page still manages some great licks & atmospherics, Bonzo still kicks out bone-crushing beats, and Plant's maturity as a vocalist shines (he couldn't have done "All My Love" in the early 70's).

Okay...."In Through the Out Door" is certainly not the stongest album in Led Zeppelin's discography. Quite possibly their worst (between this & "Presence").

But then again, many bands would KILL to have an album of this quality to be claimed their "worst" recording. Certainly not the first album by Zep to purchase, but still a must have.

Yes, this album was very un- Zeppelin as compared to most of what came before it. There are two simple reasons for this. First off, the rest of the band was so doped up on heroin and everything that John Paul Jones was the only one coherent enough to keep it together. No wonder it took three years after Presence to release another. The second is that this was an album that reflected the punk and synthesizer-based musical influences that were effecting all music and leading us into the eighties and the end of the classic rock sound. Even Jimmy Page says in the Boxed Set that "It wasn't the most comfortable album. I think it was very transitional... a springboard for what could have been." Most of the songs are polished, yes, but it's inevitable. It happened to the Who and countless other bands as an inevitable result of greater abilities to process the music and larger amounts of money to spend. It's a good album, but it isn't classic Zep. It's still LED ZEPPELIN though, for God's sake! :)

A tough crowd, from all corners, has dogged "In Through the Out Door" for years and years, and I guess an album -- a document -- is ripe for the pickings through the eternities. The funny thing about all this "swan song" stuff is that Robert Plant, to just draw one of them out of a hat, was all of 31 when this record dropped. Led Zeppelin played just about the best dinosaur rock ever made and then were made dinosaurs by the young, loud and snotty. Those folks too have come and gone -- Shane McGowan of the Pogues, is what? 49? last I read. Anyone who has seen the Holy Grail that is the Led Zeppelin DVD set released in 2003, knows it's futile to beef with hell's gods; they simply lord over the land no matter what the puny humans are up to in any given year. Compared to that stuff, which could easily be wrapped in gold and prayed over by the heathen rock worshippers that still lurk about in this fractured, screwed-up end-of-days world we live in, In Through the Out Door is thin gruel, indeed. But judged on its own terms, some very nice things are delivered. "All of My Love" was probably the only real pop hit this band ever had ("Stairway to Heaven" being a manufacture of fan favorite turning into tightening FM radio playlist staple; and "Whole Lotta Love" being more orgasm than song). That it doesn't sacrifice any dignity for the band is a pretty good point scored. "I'm Gonna Crawl," too, seems unjustly underrated in the canon -- an enormous, deep metal blues ballad tour de force by Plant that showed the band's ability to strip bombast (it's only not bombast compared to the rest of their work) while delivering a convincing emotional wallop. "In the Evening" is a conventional megaton blast that would have done well on "Presence" and there's also "Fool in the Rain," and the rest, well, doesn't do much of anything. So, that's two keepers, two pretty good ones and three that come along for the ride. Hence, three stars.