Maps of Music

In Through the Out Door (1979)

Where the lyrics of In Through the Out Door take you, and where it was really made.

The outer sleeve was a plain brown paper bag, so buyers could not tell which of the six cover variants they had bought until they opened it.

Key places

Recorded at Polar Studios, Stockholm (1979)

Recording site Polar Studios — The album was recorded over three weeks in November and December 1978 at ABBA's Polar Studios in Stockholm, Sweden. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Cover photo session in a London studio (1979)

Album cover London studio — The cover photo session was taken in a London studio, meant to re-create the Old Absinthe House in New Orleans. The exact studio is not named in the source. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Mixed at Page's home studio in Plumpton (1979)

Recording site Page's home studio, Plumpton — After the Polar sessions, the album was mixed at Page's personal studio at his home in Plumpton. The location is given only at town level. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• In Through the Out Door: eighth studio album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin
• Recorded in three weeks, November and December 1978, at ABBA's Polar Studios in Stockholm, Sweden
• Released 22 August 1979 in the US and 24 August 1979 in the UK by Swan Song Records
• Predominantly composed by John Paul Jones and Robert Plant
• Reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in its second week, and No. 1 in the UK, Canada and New Zealand

Background

• Name describes the band's struggles after Robert Plant's son Karac died in 1977 and after the tax exile from the UK
• During the exile the band could not tour Britain for more than two years
• Rehearsals began in September 1978; after six weeks the band travelled to Polar Studios
• Jimmy Page and John Bonham often failed to attend rehearsals because of heroin and alcohol abuse
• Jones was inspired by the Yamaha GX-1 synthesiser he had recently purchased
• Last release before Bonham's death in September 1980; the remaining members disbanded three months later

Recording

• After the Polar sessions, the album was mixed at Page's personal studio at his home in Plumpton
• 'Wearing and Tearing', 'Ozone Baby' and 'Darlene' were recorded for this album but omitted because of time constraints, and later appeared on Coda

Cover

• The outer sleeve was made to look like a plain brown paper bag
• Six cover variants (A to F) each had a different pair of photos, so buyers could not tell which one they had until opening the sleeve
• The photo session was taken in a London studio and was meant to re-create the Old Absinthe House in New Orleans
• Artwork designed by Hipgnosis' Storm Thorgerson

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Formed in London in 1968 from the remnants of the Yardbirds, originally as the New Yardbirds.
• Jimmy Page recruited Robert Plant, John Bonham and John Paul Jones; the first full performance was in Denmark in September 1968.
• The name was changed to Led Zeppelin after a cease and desist letter from Chris Dreja, with the 'a' dropped from 'lead' at Peter Grant's suggestion.
• Atlantic Records signed them with a large advance and gave the band artistic and publishing autonomy.

Members

• Robert Plant on vocals and harmonica; Jimmy Page on guitar; John Paul Jones on bass and keyboards; John Bonham on drums.
• Page wrote most of the music and Plant most of the lyrics; Jones often originated keyboard-based songs.

Career

• Released eight studio albums in ten years, achieving eight consecutive UK number-one albums and six US Billboard 200 number ones.
• Led Zeppelin IV, with 37 million copies sold, is among the best-selling albums in history.
• Set attendance records on tours in the 1970s, including 56,800 fans at Tampa Stadium in 1973.
• Disbanded in December 1980 after John Bonham's death; surviving members reunited only sporadically, including the 2007 Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert.
• Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995; estimated to have sold 200 to 300 million records.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Divided contemporary critics and fans: some found the synthesiser-influenced music forward-thinking, others felt the band had forsaken its heavy, fast sound
• Rolling Stone: Charles M. Young said Page's declining creativity left little good material for Plant, whose lyrics he found inane, and Bonham's drumming was heavy-handed
• Rolling Stone: Young said Jones's keyboards work best behind Page rather than in front of him
• Melody Maker: Chris Bohn accused the band of being totally out of touch
• NME: Nick Kent argued the album was no epitaph and that its potential points of departure deserved further listening
• The Village Voice: Robert Christgau regarded it as the group's best album since Houses of the Holy (1973)
• Nominated for Favorite Pop/Rock Album at the 1980 American Music Awards
• Plant later said the album was a bit sanitised; Page called it very transitional

Reappraisal

• The Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004): Gaylord Fields described it as now standing as an art-rock oddity with some alluring tangents
• Encyclopedia of Popular Music (2006): Colin Larkin found it lacking the definition of the band's previous records, yet a strong collection in which Jones emerged as the unifying factor
• The Daily Telegraph (2014): Neil McCormick ranked it the band's worst album in a retrospective
• Chuck Eddy praised side one for its open-minded absorption of new wave and disco and deemed side two more troublesome
• The 2015 reissue scored 73 on Metacritic from eight reviews; Q said it had aged remarkably well

Records

• Reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in its second week, reportedly selling 1.7 million copies within weeks of release
• The entire Led Zeppelin catalogue charted on the Billboard 200 between 23 October and 3 November 1979
• Spent seven weeks at the top of the US chart and sold three million copies by the end of September 1979
• 'Fool in the Rain' was released as a single in January 1980 and narrowly missed the top 20
• Holds the record for the most weeks at No. 1 of any Led Zeppelin album, tied with Led Zeppelin II
• Six million copies sold in the US to date
• UK: Platinum (300,000)

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The opening section of 'In the Evening' uses a violin bow and a Gizmotron on Page's guitar to create the droning sound.
• 'All My Love' was written in honour of Plant's son Karac, who died while Led Zeppelin were on their 1977 North American Tour.
• Page played his Gibson EDS-1275 double neck guitar on 'Carouselambra', which was normally used only for live performances.
• The album was meant to come out before the band's twin Knebworth concerts in 1979, but production delays pushed its release to just after them.
• In 1980, Hipgnosis was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Album Package for this album.
• Released while all the original members were still alive; Bonham died in September 1980.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Maps of Ages ↗ (mapsofages.com)

Privacy · Contact