Maps of Music

Led Zeppelin III (1970)

Where the lyrics of Led Zeppelin III take you, and where it was really made.

Much of this album was made in a country house in Hampshire, using the Rolling Stones' mobile studio, while the band had retreated to a cottage in Wales with no running water or electricity.

Key places

Where most of the album was made (1970)

Recording site Headley Grange — Much of the work was done at Headley Grange, a country house, using the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio. The band rehearsed and recorded in the rural setting in May and June 1970. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Where the first sessions began (1969)

Recording site Olympic Studios — The first recording sessions for the album took place here in November 1969. Sessions continued here in May and June 1970 as well. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Further recording in Notting Hill (1970)

Recording site Island Studios — The source places further recording at Island Studios in Notting Hill the month after the main sessions. The map point marks the studio's site at city-level detail. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Led Zeppelin III is the third studio album by Led Zeppelin
• Released 5 October 1970 in the US, and on 23 October in the UK
• Recorded in three locations: Headley Grange, Olympic Studios and Island Studios
• No guest musicians; Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and John Bonham played everything
• Jones played many instruments, including synthesizers, mandolin and double bass, besides bass guitar
• Page produced the album; mixing was done by Andy Johns and Terry Manning
• The album moved from straightforward rock toward folk and acoustic music
• Hard rock influences remain, as on "Immigrant Song"

Background

• By 1970 the band had commercial success in the UK and the US with their first two albums
• They wanted a proper break after recording much of Led Zeppelin II on tour
• Plant suggested retreating to the Bron-Yr-Aur cottage in Wales, where his family had spent holidays
• The cottage had no running water or electric power
• The remote setting pushed the band toward acoustic arrangements
• Page's playing was influenced by folk guitarists Davey Graham and Bert Jansch
• The band wanted to show it could play any style of music it chose
• Songwriting shifted from Page's domination of the first two albums toward all four members contributing

Recording

• First sessions took place at Olympic Studios in November 1969
• A non-album single was planned at first, but this was abandoned
• Page, Plant, Bonham and Jones rehearsed the songs at Headley Grange, a mansion in East Hampshire
• The rural atmosphere gave the sessions a relaxed feel
• Main recording took place between May and June 1970 at Headley Grange and at Olympic
• Further recording followed the next month at Island Studios in Notting Hill
• Mixing took place at Ardent Studios in Memphis in August 1970, during the band's sixth American tour
• Manning was hired after Page had met him when his band Lawson and Four More supported the Yardbirds in 1966

Cover

• The original vinyl came in a gatefold sleeve designed by Zacron
• A volvelle behind the cover shows images through holes in the front
• Many images relate to flight or aviation
• In France the album came with a different cover showing a photo of the four members
• The sleeve design held up production and caused a two-month delay

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

• Among the most anticipated albums of 1970, with advance US orders close to one million
• Some welcomed the band's expanding musical boundaries warmly
• Detractors attacked the heavier tracks as mindless noise
• Lester Bangs in Rolling Stone praised "That's the Way" as beautiful and genuinely moving
• Bangs described the band's heavier songs as crude and little differentiated from each other
• Some critics said the acoustic material imitated Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, which Page disputed
• Robert Christgau gave the album an A-minus in his Village Voice Consumer Guide review
• Page gave no press interviews for 18 months after release because of the negative press

Reappraisal

• Critics were initially confused by the change in style and gave a mixed response
• The album has since been acknowledged as an important milestone and a turning point in the band's music
• Its reputation grew over time despite lukewarm reviews and lower sales than the previous two albums
• The 2014 reissue received a Metacritic average of 98 from 10 reviews
• The 2014 reissue helped the album return to the Billboard Top 10

Records

• UK: No. 1 on 7 November 1970, 40 weeks on the chart
• US: entered the chart at No. 3 on 24 October, reached No. 1 the following week, 19 weeks on the chart
• US: certified Gold on 8 October 1970
• US (RIAA): 2x platinum in 1990, 6x platinum in 1999

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The volvelle-designed sleeve held up production and caused a two-month delay.
• "Immigrant Song" was included in the 2003 movie School of Rock, after Jack Black made a short video with fans asking for permission to use it.
• Page thought the negative press affected him so much that he did not give press interviews for 18 months, and the criticism was one reason the untitled follow-up had no written information on it.
• The band had supported Lawson and Four More's connection to the Yardbirds in 1966, when Manning's band opened for Page's old band.
• "Hats Off to (Roy) Harper" was named as a tribute to folk singer Roy Harper, and the original LP credited the arrangement to "Charles Obscure", a band in-joke.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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