OK, so the official title of the album isn't Led Zeppelin IV, or Zoso, or anything else for that matter. Zep's fourth release was always meant to be untitled by the band, so you can call it what you want, the above two titles, or even by the four symbols that adorned the album, but the original intention was to have this be a totally anonymous release that was to be judged by the music alone. Well, according to author Robert Godwin, one of the foremost authorities on all things Led Zeppelin, though the band wanted the focus to be solely on the music, much attention has been paid over the years to the mysterious artwork and symbols on the album. Sure, songs like "Black Dog", "Rock n Roll", "Going to California", "Misty Mountain Hop", "Four Sticks", "The Battle of Evermore", "When the Levee Breaks", and of course "Stairway to Heaven" are classics of the hard rock genre, and reason enough to warrant this album being considered one of the greatest of all time, but there still persists confusion and mystery when it comes to the non-musical aspect of this release. Godwin goes into great detail in this pocket guide's 112 pages on the choosing of the symbols (save for Jimmy Page's choice, which still remains shrouded in secrecy), the old man on the cover, the writing and recording sessions at Headley Grange, the songs themselves (including production techniques and breakdown of the instrumental sections), and the subsequent live concerts.
This book was originally written and released a decade ago, but has been recently updated to include information on the band's recent reunion show, where they played a few songs from this album among many other Led Zeppelin classics. Though it can be debated as to whether a book needed to be written on just one album, this is an interesting and insightful read that hopefully will lead to the author one day putting together a volume on the entire discography of this legendary band.
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