Released November 8th 1971, Rolling Stone place this at 58 in the 500 greatest albums of all time and its no surprise.
Unashamedly untitled, the band's ( or rather Page's ) noses were put out of joint by certain slightly dubious reviews of Led Zeppelin III in late 1970. Consequently, the only clues they gave as to the origin of the mysterious LP depicting a 19th century thatcher on its cover was in the form of four symbols, each representing a member of the group....
But the disguise didn't work of course and the rest is history. The Levee broke, the Stairway had been climbed, this release firmly established Zeppelin as the hard rock band of the decade and most - actually all of it - remains timeless.
Barney Pree