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Rating: I feel like crying when I comment on this album. And you don't know how much! But I don't cry because this album "reminds me of the past," not because of how bad it is, but because it was made by Led Zeppelin! If someone knows Led Zeppelin meaning "Stairway To Heaven", surely when they listen to this mess, they won't say it sounds like Led Zeppelin. Led Zeppelin surely knew how to do better, and the best is certainly not "In Through The Out Door".
How I would love to talk about the cover... it's definitely well done and has nothing to do with the content of this album. However, I don't think it's the case to offend any further, also because this album does have a few redeeming qualities. Take for example the opening track, "In The Evening". It doesn’t give the idea of what's to come. If they had put this piece on one of the previous albums, I might have judged it better, but I judge it for what it is, and not for what it "could be." This song highlights John Paul Jones' keyboards, which will be the basic element of most of the songs on this album. Even though certainly "In The Evening" is not like "Stairway To Heaven", it's interesting and should not be underestimated; on the contrary: in many parts, Page's guitar seems to shine as it had never done before, delivering an authentic and noisy solo. The beginning is comforting, but right from the next track, "South Bound Saurez" you feel a light pop air: although fun, the piece already partly disappoints the expectations of those who hoped this might be a memorable or at least good album. Then, starting from "Fool In The Rain", patience hits its limit: if you wanted to compare the Rio carnival, you could compare it with this absolutely forgettable piece: the track with a pop melody at a certain point becomes a carnival of whistles, percussion, and piano. Disappointing. The next track, "Hot Dog" is also negligible, a piece for piano, drums, and guitar, which feels much like filler. Side b opens with "Carouselambra", 10 minutes filled with Jones' indefinite keyboards. This song has some interesting cues, but it is too long and ambitious and fails to stand out. With "All My Love" we continue the usual routine, a piece absolutely devoid of consistency that goes too far into pop. The concluding track, "I'm Gonna Crawl", represents one of the very few interesting episodes, a heartfelt blues for guitar and strings, sung by Plant with grit and participation. An interesting piece, but one that cannot sustain an uninteresting album, certainly a misstep in Led Zeppelin's discography.
After this album, on September 25, 1980, a sad event occurred: Bonzo was found dead in his home. The Led decide that continuing would make no sense, and they disband. Some tracks recorded during the period of "In Through The Out Door" (but also of "Led Zeppelin II" and "Houses Of The Holy") will end up on the posthumous album "Coda" (1982), undoubtedly more interesting than "In Through The Out Door".
I hope you'll agree with me on this review.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 In the Evening (06:50)
In the evening, When the day is done
I'm looking for a woman, but the girl don't come
So don't let her, Play you for a fool
She don't show no pity baby, she don't make no rules
*Chorus: Oh, oh, I need your love, I need your love
Oh, I need your love, I just got to have
So don't you let her, Oh, get under your skin
It's only bad luck and trouble, From the day that you begin
I hear you crying in the darkness, Don't ask nobody's help
Ain't no pockets full of mercy baby, Cause you can only blame yourself
Chorus
Oh it's simple, All the pain that you go through
You can turn away from fortune, fortune, Cause that's all that's left to you
It's lonely at the bottom, Man, it's dizzy at the top
But if you're standing in the middle, Ain't no way you're gonna stop
Chorus
Oh whatever that your days may bring
No use hiding in a corner, Cause that won't change a thing
If you're dancing in the doldrums, One day soon, it's got to stop, it's got to stop
When you're the master of the off-chance, When you don't expect a lot
Chorus
02 South Bound Saurez (04:14)
Baby, when you walk that sweet walk
Oh, you walk it good, yes you walk it good
Baby, when you talk that sweet talk
Oh, it sounds so good, oh so good
With a little bit of concentration
And a little bit of helpin' hands, yeah
And a little bit of raving madness
You know it makes me feel, baby
Both my feet are back on the ground
And when the rhythm takes me
It feels so good, oh so good
Baby if it keeps a-shaking
It will do you good, oh so much good
With a little bit of stop-a-shakin' shakin'
And a little bit of ?fly right down?
And a little bit of sweet con-carne
It makes me feel, makes me feel
I got my feet on the ground
Ooh now baby, when you move it makes me
Really feel so good, oh so good
And I'm so glad, so glad, so glad, so glad
And I'm good, oh, so good
With a little bit of concentration
And a little bit of helping hand
And a little bit of ?saving madness?
You know it makes me feel, baby
I'm back on the ground oh yes, sure does
It makes me feel back on the ground.
I'm feelin' good child!
Down on the ground.
Sha la la la...
05 Carouselambra (10:34)
Sisters of the way-side bide their time in quiet peace,
Await their place within the ring of calm;
Still stand to turn in seconds of release,
Await the call they know may never come.
In times of lightness, no intruder dared upon
To jeopardize the course, upset the run;
And all was joy and hands were raised toward the sun
As love in the halls of plenty overrun.
Still in their bliss unchallenged mighty feast,
Unending dances shadowed on the day.
Within their walls, their daunting formless keep,
Preserved their joy and kept their doubts at bay.
Faceless legions stood in readiness to weep,
Just turn a coin, bring order to the fray;
And everything is soon no sooner thought than deed,
But no one seemed to question in anyway.
How keen the storied hunter's eye prevails upon the land
To seek the unsuspecting and the weak;
And powerless the fabled sat, too smug to lift a hand
Toward the foe that threatened from the deep.
Who cares to dry the cheeks of those who saddened stand
Adrift upon a sea of futile speech?
And to fall to fate and make the 'status plan'
Where was your word, where did you go?
Where was your helping, where was your bow? Bow.
Dull is the armour, cold is the day.
Hard was the journey, dark was the way. Way.
I heard the word; I couldn't stay. Oh.
I couldn't stand it another day, another day,
Another day, another day.
Touched by the timely coming,
Roused from the keeper's sleep,
Release the grip, throw down the key.
Held now within the knowing,
Rest now within the peace.
Take of the fruit, but guard the seed.
They had to stay!
Held now within the knowing,
Rest now within the beat.
Take of the fruit, but guard the seed...
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Other reviews
By Miki Page
It’s regrettable that the Zep left us with such an awful album (definitely the worst in their discography), at times even embarrassing.
When I listen to ‘All My Love’ I think: it’s not us, it’s not us.
By abe90
To truly appreciate 'In Through The Out Door', one must forget or at least avoid comparisons with previous albums.
'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 Led Zeppelin.
By claudio carpentieri
The smoky introductory keyboards and Plant’s warm vocal lament are enough to launch 'In The Evening', a solid blend of sounds that makes everything majestic and imposing.
A record, therefore, that certainly does not disgrace itself if placed alongside the numerous masterpieces that preceded it.
By Randall
Jimmy Page delivers one of his most incisive riffs and an excellent solo; Robert Plant’s outstanding vocal performance imparts an almost epic tone.
'All My Love' is probably the emotional peak of the album, a poignant tribute to Plant’s late son, with impactful music by John Paul Jones.
