Most fans of Led Zeppelin would mention that 1971’s Led Zeppelin IV is their work of art. Comprised of the sonic odyssey that is ‘Stairway to Heaven’, the wistful ‘Going to California’, and the magical folk of ‘The Battle of Evermore’, the aspects lined up when taping the album, and for the a lot of part, it still holds up today.
Whilst the abovementioned tracks are certainly masterworks, with ‘Stairway to Heaven’ maybe the peak regardless of it getting its fair share of contemporary criticisms, in regards to the pulsating acid rock of Led Zeppelin IV, no tune is much better than ‘Black Dog’. Built around a call-and-response vibrant in between frontman Robert Plant and the rest of the band, according to biographer Dave Lewis, its start and stop a cappella verses were influenced by an earlier piece of blues rock, Fleetwood Mac’s 1969 hit, ‘Oh Well’.
Bassist John Paul Jones is credited with composing the winding riff of ‘Black Dog’, influenced by those discovered on Chicago bluesman Muddy Waters’ controversial 1968 album, Electric Mud. A long-lasting music scholar, he included the riff and the complex rhythm modifications in a pattern that inverts itself as the track continues. Not done there, Jones complex matters by including moving time signatures.
In Led Zeppelin: All the Songs, Jones describes why he made the tune so elaborate. “I wanted to try an electric blues with a rolling bass part,” he said. “But it couldn’t be too simple”. Given that the tune is so intricate, the quartet at first experienced problem handling the turn-around when playing it. However, drummer John Bonham found out how to resolve the obstacle. He drummed 4/4 the entire method through.
Famously, Led Zeppelin IV was tape-recorded at the band’s favourite country retreat, the previous workhouse, Headley Grange. The inanimate 5th member of the group, it supplied both a sanctuary from the outdoors world and special acoustic homes that permitted Zeppelin to bring their progressively powerful noise to life. From enhancing John Bonham’s thunder to affecting guitar player Jimmy Page’s interest in the occult, the Hampshire property had a specifying effect on the quartet.
Headley Grange was so inspiring for Led Zeppelin that it even provided the title of ‘Black Dog’. As they revealed after the album was launched, the name is a referral to an unidentified black labrador retriever that roamed around the studios and premises that they would feed. As fans understand, the title does not appear in the lyrics and has absolutely nothing to do with the track itself. Led Zeppelin sought to the confidential pooch when they couldn’t think about a title, so they opted for ‘Black Dog’.
Listen to ‘Black Dog’ listed below.
