Led Zeppelin have made a lot of songs. What makes them great is that their output doesn’t have many weak spots. There are definite high points, the real classics, but a lot of the ordinary songs on their albums are very good too.
“In The Evening” is one of their great songs, in my opinion. It showcases the vision of the band, and contains one of their most catchy guitar riffs.
The vocals are about love, specifically how Robert Plant wasn’t getting any love. A couple of reviewers have said, not entirely unfairly, that they can’t understand a word he’s saying. Personally, I don’t think it’s as bad as that, but nevertheless, I did have to go on genius lyrics to decipher the message of the song…
The intro of the song is an atmospheric doozy, and is apparently from a soundtrack from a film about Satanism that Jimmy Page was helping with.
The guitar is a familiar Zeppelin buzz, and is shadowed by violins without sounding overly grandiose. In the slower break, the track delivers a crooning solo, sweet and restrained compared to the previous, faster solo.
John Bonham’s drums are as engaging as ever, splashing and crashing a melody of their own.
The song was released on the album In Through The Out Door, which came out in 1979 and was the band’s final studio album before Bonham’s death.