Led Zeppelin: In Through the Out Door

I know this was supposed to be ten albums but I decided to make a bonus, especially because it doesn’t fit neatly in with the others on the list.

I’ve liked the music of Led Zeppelin music pretty much as far as I can remember. But I’ve not really gone looking for it because for most of my memory, it was always there. When I was a teenager expanding my musical tastes more into the realm of rock music, this band was played all the time on the rock and album station I used to listen to. They even played full albums of their music at times since they were an album station. I never actually bought any of the albums until more recently. To be honest, I thought the Scientist had several of them in his collection. But on cd that’s not the case. And the vinyl we have is in a box at the back of our closet, not to mention there’s the lack of a turntable.

When I moved to Australia there was the distinct lack of a rock station in Perth. I’m not sure what the situation was in other areas but here the closest we got were a couple of stations that seemed to want to please everyone by covering a wider variety of music. That all changed for us several months ago when we got digital radio in our car. I discovered there was a classic rock station and access to music got much better. I was finally hearing music that I’d missed for the better part of 25 years. Of course they do play a lot of Led Zeppelin so it reignited my interest in the band.

Around the same time, I started streaming music on my phone while cycling. My phone provider gives free data for the music provider and I took advantage. I went out riding one day and chose a compilation of Led Zeppelin music and it was a brilliant experience. These songs were more of the well-known rocking songs that made me want to pedal just a bit harder. I had no idea it would work so well.

After listening to that collection, I was no longer satisfied and started listening to the full albums. This helped me file songs into the right compartments as I went along. I found a lot of music I didn’t know. But surprisingly, I found a whole lot that I did know. I’d been hearing them all my life but couldn’t tell you the titles of songs or which album they came from. With a few exceptions, of course. I actually knew the entire album of the Untitled IV, which probably shouldn’t be too surprising since that had got a lot of attention over the years.

Anyway, I’m not sure where my favoritism lies in the catalogue except to say that “Kashmir” from Physical Graffiti has been my favorite song for quite a few years after seeing a video of them playing it live. But as for albums, it’s too hard to choose right now.

So how did I settle on this record? Well it’s the only one of theirs that I became acquainted with in real time. When I revisited the album it all came rushing back to me that I knew this as a teenager. And aside from a couple of songs, I knew them all. I imagine that I must have heard this played on radio a few times during that time. It was quite a huge thing when the album was released. It was much like hearing The Wall by Pink Floyd or Some Girls by the Rolling Stones or Queen’s The Game because it was part of the memory of growing up.

In Through the Out Door isn’t exactly a fan favorite but I argue it does have some merit and for me it is associated with that time of my life when I was still in junior high and nearly ready to start high school.

Compared to other tracks on the record, “In the Evening” is a bit more like a standard Led Zeppelin track. It has an exotic sounding opening leading into a rocking track that goes on for a while.

“Fool in the Rain” is an enjoyable song that incorporates a bit of a Latin sound into the rock context. I remember this being played a lot back when it was released and it still stands up for me these days.

“All of My Love” is a ballad written in memory of Robert Plant’s son Karac who died a couple years earlier at age five from a stomach virus. I was aware of this back when it came out but I’d forgotten over the years. It’s a beautiful song but listening again, I can feel the love and pain for a lost child when I hear it.

“I’m Gonna Crawl” closes out the album and it harkens back to the bluesy sound of their earlier work. It’s not a song I remember well but I do recall hearing sometimes when the album was released.

I think part of the reason I remember this album is because it was the last studio album by the band before drummer John Bonham died in 1980. I do remember hearing about his death but it didn’t really affect me so much, particularly as it seemed mixed in with various other deaths in rockdom due to drugs and alcohol. I was far more affected a bit later when John Lennon was gunned down in New York.

The other part of this album that brings back memories is the packaging which was meant to appear like a bootleg, wrapped in brown paper to hide its identity. It was kind of cool looking in its way but I hadn’t thought of that package for a long time until I saw the deluxe release of it in the shops a while back.

While this will likely never be my favorite album by the band, I think it will always have some nostalgia for me and its part of the development of my musical tastes in real time is quite relevant to my interest today.