Personnel: Robert Plant (vocals, harmonica); Jimmy Page (guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar); John Paul Jones (keyboards); John Bonham (drums); Viram Jasani (tabla).

Additional personnel: Viram Jasani.

Audio Mixers: Eddie Kramer; Andy Johns.

Audio Remasterers: Jimmy Page; George Marino.

Liner Note Author: Kaz Akaiwa.

Recording information: Ardent Studios, Memphis, TN (1970); Headley Grange, Hampshire, England (1970); Island Studios, London, England (1970); London, England (1970); Olympic Studios, London, England (1970).

Arrangers: Robert Plant; Jimmy Page; Charles Obscure.

On their first two albums, Led Zeppelin unleashed a relentless barrage of heavy blues and rockabilly riffs, but Led Zeppelin III provided the band with the necessary room to grow musically. While there are still a handful of metallic rockers, III is built on a folky, acoustic foundation that gives the music extra depth. And even the rockers aren't as straightforward as before: the galloping "Immigrant Song" is powered by Robert Plant's banshee wail, "Celebration Day" turns blues-rock inside out with a warped slide guitar riff, and "Out on the Tiles" lumbers along with a tricky, multi-part riff. Nevertheless, the heart of the album lies on the second side, when the band delve deeply into English folk. "Gallows Pole" updates a traditional tune with a menacing flair, and "Bron-Y-Aur Stomp" is an infectious acoustic romp, while "That's the Way" and "Tangerine" are shimmering songs with graceful country flourishes. The band hasn't left the blues behind, but the twisted bottleneck blues of "Hats off to (Roy) Harper" actually outstrips the epic "Since I've Been Loving You," which is the only time Zeppelin sound a bit set in their ways. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

LED ZEPPELIN III is the sound of rock's brash enfants terrible beginning to mature. While the take-no-prisoners blues-rock of the first two albums is still prominent in the band's tool box, other implements are beginning to appear. The delicate acoustic whispers that would run through much of ZEPPELIN IV have their folk/blues antecedents here (the lambent "That's the Way," the earthy "Bron-Y-Aur Stomp"), the results of the band's creative encampment in a woodland dwelling. At the same time, the heavier tracks are unprecedented in their ferocious swagger. Robert Plant's bone-chilling battle cry and the band's savage riffing on "The Immigrant Song" do full justice to the song's Viking imagery, and it's easy to believe that the "hammer of the gods" Plant sings about is being swung straight in your direction.