Led Zeppelin III - Respect Comes Late

Led Zeppelin III had a very hard act to follow, given the critical and financial success of Zeppelin’s first two albums. Although advanced album sales approached one million, the numbers began to lag with the corresponding lack of acclaim.

Today, Zeppelin’s third offering is seen as a testament to the band’s versatility and willingness to experiment.

But when Atlantic Records released it in North America on October 21, 1970, its reception wasn’t exactly what the label or the group expected.

The press and record-buying public felt Zeppelin had sold out and gone soft with acoustic music instead of the edgy, blues rock that had dominated their first LPs.

To understand Led Zeppelin’s change in musical direction, it’s important to put things in historical context.

Finding Their Muse In Wales

In many ways, Led Zeppelin III was an early turning point for the group. They had just finished a gruelling schedule of tours throughout North America and Europe, performing high-energy concerts night after night to promote their first two albums.

Physically and mentally exhausted, Page and Plant sought respite in the Welsh countryside. In early 1970, they rented an 18th century cottage called Bron-Yr-Aur, that had no electricity or running water. Here it was natural to explore acoustic music.

Inspired by folk artists like Davey Graham, Bert Jansch and John Fahey, the pair penned the songs for their third album. Wanting to retain that relaxed, pastoral feeling on vinyl, they decided against returning to the rigours of the studio.

John Bonham and John Paul Jones joined them at Headley Grange, a derelict mansion in East Hampshire. It would serve as their studio, where Jimmy Page could experiment anew with acoustics and miking in vast halls and stairwells of soaring height.

photo credits

Old Ties Make For New Music

Between May and July, most of Led Zeppelin III was recorded at Headley Grange but some work was done back at Olympic Studios, Barnes and at Island Records, Notting Hill. This “out-of-studio” experience was a second turning point for Zeppelin.

According to a veteran broadcaster I interviewed for Sonic Boom, Volume 1, The Yardbirds were bigger in Memphis than The Beatles! Sound engineer, Terry Manning, had worked with Jimmy Page back in those days.

When it came time to mix Led Zeppelin’s third LP, Page remembered Manning at Ardent Studios in Memphis. Engineer Andy Johns at Olympic Studios is also credited for adding his skill at the console.

Despite being panned for its acoustic material, Led Zeppelin’s third album had several hard-rocking songs that have endured. And remember their first two albums also featured acoustic material. Let’s take a closer look now at the tracks.

Hard Soft, Heavy Light

Leading off Led Zeppelin III, the Viking-inspired Immigrant Song is anything but acoustic! Bonzo absolutely bludgeons his skins with a raw primitive beat. Plant wails like a banshee while Page and John Paul Jones deliver meaty riffs with piston-like precision.

Track Two provides the stark contrast the band’s name embodies in the acoustic piece Friends. In 1972, Zeppelin would explore these eastern tunings in India with the Bombay Symphony Orchestra. Track Three rocks us hard yet again, with Celebration Day.

Zeppelin revisits the blues with Since I’ve Been Loving You. It’s mainly electric and loud, but the intro and outro are gentle, subdued. Then Out on the Tiles comes back with a bite. And people thought this LP was “too soft”?!!

Of the album’s ten tracks, eight are original Led Zeppelin compositions. The remaining two are based on traditional tunes and both appear on Side Two: Gallows Pole arranged by Page/Plant and Hats Off to (Roy) Harper, arranged by Charles Obscure.

Back To British Folk Traditions

On Led Zeppelin III’s flip side, it’s increasingly obvious the band was experimenting and striving to expand its musical parameters well beyond hard rock. The group didn’t want to be pigeon-holed into a single genre. There’s an undeniable West Coast influence.

All the numbers on Side Two – Gallows Pole, Tangerine, That’s the Way, Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp and Hats Off to (Roy) Harper – are steeped in the British folk tradition. These pieces likely prompted the public perception of the mighty blimp going limp!

Similar songs, such as Poor Tom and Hey Hey What Can I Do, never made the final cut for that third album, although the latter was on the B side of Immigrant Song’s single and has since become popular on FM radio.

Jimmy Page, especially, was annoyed that the press panned this album. Led Zeppelin’s media relations were never the same again. In 1970, Robert Plant remarked that audiences weren’t happy when the band sat down to play acoustic sets.

Remember this disenchantment when we talk about the next album!