LED ZEPPELIN/IN THROUGH THE OUT DOOR SS 16002 (-79) US

An at the time very intriguing set-up - Led Zeppelin visiting ABBA-land. The best selling hard rock band recording at the advanced studio that helped ABBA become the best selling pop outfit. Apart from that the circumstances weren't that good. Robert Plant still recovering from a car accident and in pain over his son's recent death, John Bonham struggling with alcoholism and Jimmy Page down on heroin. As the story goes Page and Bonham had trouble showing up in time, if at all, and take a responsible part. So most of the ground work and arrangements were done by Jones and Plant, with Page and Bonham mostly visiting late night just doing their parts. Bought a copy at first release, expecting the same turn-on I got from "Physical Graffitti" and "Presence", but was only semi-impressed. "In The Evening", "Carouselambra", "South Bound Suarez" and "I'm Gonna Crawl" got to me even if I couldn't understand synths as part of a Zeppelin outcome. I did play it a lot at first, but after a while it was put back on the shelf, shadowed by their other albums. Now after finding an update copy and knowing its aftermath, with Bonham passing away a year after the recordings, making this the band's swan song, I'm listening with enlightened ears. Still don't think the synths make good, but it is very much the Led Zeppelin I love and that's by virtue of John Bonham. Hard hitting with an impeccable feeling for moods and back beat he binds the separate parts together and thus cruisal for the album. E.g. he's the one that put consistency into "Fool In The Rain" and "Carouselambra" would be a total mess without him. To me it's rather self-evident the band couldn't go on post Bonham. He was the Led that held the more fragile Zeppelin parts together. Issued and reissued on every possible format all over the world through the years. Premiere UK (SSK 59410). First pressing came in brown paper bags, each containing one of six alternate sleeve designs (counted as A-F), and a black & white inner that, if washed with water, turned into colored. As usual I'm having a hard time placing a US copy on an exact timeline, but as this has "strawberry" etched on matrixes - showing on a UK mastering - and "PR" for a "Presswell" pressing, I guess it's quite early. Sleeve has an "A" (for 1st sleeve variation) on spine and inner still "unwashed" black and white. (YZÄ*) (LÖZ*)