Led Zeppelin
In Through The Out Door

In 1977, Led Zeppelin resumed live activities after more than a year off due to Plant's accident, with their eleventh US tour. The concerts were enormously successful everywhere (in Michigan, there were even 76,000 spectators, the record for highest attendance at a concert by a single group), but things started to go wrong. Page, high on heroin, collapsed on stage; Grant and Bonham were arrested for assaulting a security guard, and on July 26, Plant's young son Karac died from a severe gastric infection. The tour was immediately interrupted, and in such a dark period, the Zep tried to shake themselves up by doing the only thing that could help them: a new album.

In 1978, they began recording Led Zeppelin's ninth album, "In Through The Out Door." The result, however, is truly disappointing and in some respects disheartening: it's regrettable that the Zep left us with such an awful album (definitely the worst in their discography), at times even embarrassing. The work highlights Jones, who, in addition to composing most of the songs and being the author of the arrangements, here assumes the role of 'leader' of the group. It's unfortunate, though, that he exploits this opportunity poorly, in fact, very poorly. And yet, from the opening track of the LP, "In The Evening," it doesn't seem like such a bad album, on the contrary, the start is promising. The track is sumptuous, epic, characterized by Page's obsessive and majestic riff, who then places one of his best solos. Jones's synthesizers give the piece mystery, tension, and drama, increasing its allure. Plant's performance is pure grit, as is that of the other three. After such an energetic track in pure Zeppelin style, the first surprise arrives: "South Bound Saurez" is a rock'n'roll track with a playful atmosphere but very banal, in which Jones's cheerful piano and Plant's passionate singing are not enough to redeem a proposal as bland as this.

After this track, which already begins to leave one puzzled, everything collapses first with "Fool In The Rain," a track with reggae influences where suddenly a samba section appears (though it's not as unpleasant a track as it might seem), and then with "Hot Dog," a truly irritating rockabilly-country piece, where Page delivers a solo that is laughable. Then comes the worst song in Led Zeppelin’s discography: "Carouselambra" is a 10-minute ordeal of synthesizers. The song is extremely confused, boring, and also embarrassing because it aims to be something epic like Zeppelin’s great marathons ("Kashmir," "Stairway," "In My Time Of Dying," "Achilles Last Stand," "No Quarter," "Dazed & Confused") but completely misses the target. In such a mess, even "All My Love," a melancholic pop track, appears as a masterpiece. Plant's vocal interpretation is excellent, and Jones's keyboard solo is very nice. However, it's just a good song and nothing more.

To conclude, it returns to the beloved blues in "I'm Gonna Crawl," a very relaxed piece. Here Page finds inspiration again, and Plant (definitely the best of the four throughout the album) sings at very good levels. Although it's not fantastic, the track appears at least decent and enjoyable. When the album was released on August 15, 1979, it literally took off: in less than a week, it was already at the top of the charts in various countries and sold 2 million copies in 10 days. It was said that the album even saved the American record industry, which was in a phase of stagnation at the time. Unfortunately, the sales do not reflect the real value of the album. With "In Through The Out Door," the Zep show themselves open to change and the trends of the period; however, to "be trendy," they lose a lot in terms of the quality of the tracks, characterized by the heavy presence of synthesizers. The Led realized this, and Page said:

"When I listen to 'All My Love' I think: it’s not us, it’s not us. Bonzo and I have already started discussing the new album, which will have a more definite rock direction. It will definitely be more interesting."