Today in rock history: on this date in 1979, celebrated rock and roll powerhouse band Led Zeppelin released what would wind up being its very last studio album of all new material, In Through The Out Door. Recorded mostly at Polar Studios in Stockholm, Sweden (a deluxe facility owned by members of the highly successful international pop band, ABBA), the record was met with mixed reviews amongst both critics and longtime Zep fans. Some felt that it didn’t truly feel like a Led Zeppelin album and others thought the usage of synthesizers and keyboards was too rampant throughout the record. The album’s only single was the Latin-tinged “Fool In The Rain,” which benefitted from plenty of radio airplay in the latter half of 1979 as did the standout ballad from the record, “All Of My Love.”
Despite the lukewarm reception, the record still managed to top both U.S. and U.K album charts. The band’s final release was preceded by the untimely death of drummer John Bonham in September of 1980 which ultimately led to the band’s dissolution. In a clever marketing gimmick, the record sleeve was printed in a variety of cover artwork pictures that captured a man sitting at a bar from different vantage points. The record also came packaged in a brown paper bag sleeve around it which made it impossible for record buyers to know which cover was enclosed within the outer bag. In similar gimmickry, the inner sleeve of the record was printed in a way so that, if it came in contact with any liquid, it would change color.
Today in rock history: on this date in 1972, The Band released its superb double-LP live album, Rock of Ages. Recorded over a series of shows held at New York City’s Academy of Music at the end of 1971, the performances catch the group that once served as Bob Dylan’s backing band at its peak. The group hired legendary New Orleans songwriter and musician Allen Toussaint to write arrangements for the horn section that accompanied the five-piece rock band for the performances which added a lot to the sound. Song selections represented all four of the albums The Band had released to that point and, in most cases, the live performances outshone their studio-recorded counterparts. Often referred to as one of the greatest live albums of all time, the record climbed as high as no. 6 on Billboard’s pop albums chart. A more thorough, comprehensive box set consisting of additional recordings from this now famous run of 1971 Band concerts was released in 2013.
Today in rock history: on this date in 1969, the three-day Woodstock Music & Art Fair commenced in upstate New York in the city of Bethel. The festival, more commonly referred to simply as Woodstock, attracted over 400,000 fans and featured the top rock and folks acts of the day. Featured artists included Ten Years After, Santana, The Who, Grateful Dead, The Band, Sly and the Family Stone, Janis Joplin and the Kozmic Blues Band among many others. The event was viewed as the pivotal moment that proved that hippies were peaceful, loving folks as proven by the “3 days of peace and music” that the festival promised. The festival also spawned a successful film that documented the event as well as a best-selling three-LP soundtrack album. The legendary festival was capped by an absolutely stunning early morning set delivered by the final act of the festival: Jimi Hendrix. Most fans had vacated the festival grounds upon Jimi’s incendiary performance but as most would agree, the marvelous guitarist indeed stole the show.
Today in rock history: on this date in 1966, San Francisco rock band Jefferson Airplane released its debut album, Jefferson Airplane Takes Off. The album is significant in that it captured the band in an earlier lineup that featured female lead vocalist Signe Toly Anderson, before longtime singer Grace Slick would enter the fold. Although the album sold poorly and made little impact, three singles were released from it: “It's No Secret," "Come Up the Years" and "Bringing Me Down." Most music publications ignored the Northern California band that had already attracted a large following in its hometown but, a writer with the influential rock mag Crawdaddy called the record “"the most important album of American rock of 1966.” A year later, the band would release its signature album, Surrealistic Pillow with Slick handling the lead vocal duties, and they’d make an indelible mark in the world of psychedelic rock.
This article appears in Aug 10-17, 2017.