Led Zeppelin
In Through The Out Door

First of all, to truly appreciate 'In Through The Out Door', one must forget or at least avoid comparisons with previous albums (masterpieces) like 'III', 'IV', 'Houses', and any others you wish; as it would be embarrassing and also quite useless. We are talking about an LP released in 1979, a year marked by numerous changes and discoveries in the artistic-musical field.
The album opens with "In the Evening", a well-crafted piece; the beginning already evokes typical Zeppelin atmospheres, bordering on the mysterious. When the actual song starts, it's clear there's something different: the sound of a synth almost never used before by the band, which will accompany the entire album with unfortunately predominant roles. However, the song is brilliant, with a nice chorus that reminds us of the 80s style and suddenly, a guitar solo, a sort of bubble that seems to stop time. Then it picks up again. In my opinion, a great idea showing that Led still haven't stopped experimenting, even with good results.
The second piece is "South Bound Saurez", a kind of boogie-rock introduced by Jonesy's pounding piano (also rarely used before). The piece is certainly interesting, fun, and has good ideas. In any case, nothing special. The third is "Fool in the Rain", and hats off to Mr. John Bonham for the brilliant invention (Jeff Porcaro of Toto admitted to being inspired for the riff of Rossana by Bonzo). The "Caribbean" setting with an interlude like a Rio carnival may understandably be unappealing. Undoubtedly, the virtuous rhythmic section throughout the track is brilliant (let's say Bonzo is the one who saves the entire album, always showcasing great sound and great technique matured over time). Another great track.

Here are the sour notes: "Hot Dog"; a silly country parody, complete with Honky Tonk played by J. Paul Jones, entirely useless and trivial; perfect for entertaining drunk cowboys. Plant, in my opinion, perfectly fits the role but Page is a caricature of himself. Here the Led Zeppelin seem to be mocking their most devoted fans. "Carouselambra"; what to say?! Jonesy's sounds are terrible, although the means were those (the synths back then weren't today's Korgs). However, the variations, the tempo changes within the piece are "rays of sunshine", often brilliant. The main theme with which the piece starts and ends may, however, today, but even then, seem a little significant race against time precisely because of the keyboards, used to exhaustion. A 10-minute marathon that can appear just a pathetic attempt to stay trendy, but which still doesn't hide once again beautiful and interesting new touches, thanks to Page's guitar, the best element of the piece. Here comes the much-hated "All my Love". A pop-melodic classic. However, I consider it a very nice piece. Page's very bright electric guitar accompanies it very well, and even here interesting aspects are not lacking. Bonzo perfect as always, but John Paul Jones limits himself to few ideas, only to ruin everything with a sort of synthesizer solo (our genius, in this album, shows an inexperience towards instruments different from the old mellotrons). Robert Plant is very inspired, in fact, the piece is dedicated to his son Karac who died shortly before.

The last track, a rather depressing way to close the official Zeppelin repertoire, as well as their last album (but they couldn't have known it was the last, right?). "I'm gonna Crawl" which starts with a passionate intro of synthesized strings, evoking the atmosphere of an old romantic film of the time. Then it begins with Bonzo's riff. Plant stated that it was an attempt to recreate certain soul atmospheres present in the 60s recordings of Otis Redding. It is undoubtedly a sad piece (the Zeppelian swan song: a term that hurts, but unfortunately, it fits quite well) but enjoyable, like the entire album: enjoyable, nothing more.

Thus ends the journey of the Zeppelin, started in the distant '68 and finished on September 25, 1980. A journey together with a group that made us explore new sounds, new atmospheres, which told us ancient Celtic legends but also mysterious, romantic, scandalous, and moving stories, that accompanied us, from the lands of ice inhabited by ruthless Vikings (Immigrant Song), to the hot Middle Eastern deserts (Kashmir). 'In Through The Out Door' is the last stage of the journey; an experimental work that leaves us a bit puzzled but certainly signals an artistic and concert rebirth of the Led Zeppelin; which could have materialized in subsequent other great albums, why not? For this, I do not hesitate to state that, after the painful dark period, they were reborn.