Editing Led Zeppelin III (section)

==Release and reception==
{{Music ratings
| title = Retrospective professional reviews
| rev1 = [[AllMusic]]
|rev1score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/led-zeppelin-iii-mw0000650405|title=''Led Zeppelin III'' – Led Zeppelin|first=Stephen Thomas|last=Erlewine|publisher=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=21 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210428002029/https://www.allmusic.com/album/led-zeppelin-iii-mw0000650405|archive-date=28 April 2021}}</ref>
| rev2 = ''[[Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies|Christgau's Record Guide]]''
| rev2Score = B+<ref>{{cite book|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|year=1981|title=[[Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies]]|publisher=[[Ticknor & Fields]]|isbn=0-89919-025-1|chapter=Led Zeppelin: Led Zeppelin III|chapter-url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_album.php?id=2012|access-date=6 September 2018|via=robertchristgau.com|archive-date=6 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180906195702/http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_album.php?id=2012|url-status=live}}</ref> 
| rev3 = ''[[Classic Rock (magazine)|Classic Rock]]''
| rev3Score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.loudersound.com/reviews/led-zeppelin-led-zeppelin-iii-album-of-the-week-club-review | title = Led Zeppelin: Led Zeppelin III – Album Of The Week Club review | access-date = 29 January 2020 | last = Rock | first = Classic | date = 25 November 2019 | publisher = [[Loudersound]] | archive-date = 29 January 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200129200308/https://www.loudersound.com/reviews/led-zeppelin-led-zeppelin-iii-album-of-the-week-club-review | url-status = live }}</ref>
| rev4 = ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]''
|rev4score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{cite web|last=McCormick|first=Neil|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/rockandpopmusic/10782738/Led-Zeppelins-albums-ranked-from-worst-to-best.html|title=Led Zeppelin's albums ranked from worst to best|website=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|date=23 April 2014|access-date=8 December 2014|archive-date=13 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141213142850/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/rockandpopmusic/10782738/Led-Zeppelins-albums-ranked-from-worst-to-best.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
| rev5 = ''[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]''
| rev5score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{cite book|last=Larkin|first=Colin|author-link=Colin Larkin|date=2011|title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music|title-link=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music|publisher=[[Omnibus Press]]|isbn=978-0-85712-595-8|edition=5th concise}}</ref>
| rev6 = ''[[The Great Rock Discography]]''
| rev6Score = 9/10<ref>{{cite book|last=Strong|first=Martin C.|author-link=Martin C. Strong|date=2004|title=The Great Rock Discography|url=https://archive.org/details/greatrockdiscogr0000stro_r9o1/page/870/mode/2up?view=theater|page=870|via=[[Internet Archive]]|url-access=registration|publisher=[[Canongate Books]]|isbn=1-84195-615-5|edition=7th}}</ref>
|rev7 = ''[[MusicHound|MusicHound Rock]]''
|rev7score = 3.5/5<ref>{{cite book|editor-last1=Graff|editor-first1=Gary|editor-link=Gary Graff|editor-last2=Durchholz|editor-first2=Daniel|title=MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide|publisher=Visible Ink Press|location=Farmington Hills, MI|year=1999|isbn=978-1-57859-061-2|page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781578590612/page/662 662]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781578590612/page/662}}</ref>
| rev8 = ''[[Q (magazine)|Q]]''
|rev8score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/1097454/a/Led+Zeppelin+III.htm |title=Q Review |publisher=Cduniverse.com |date=16 August 1994 |access-date=1 January 2012 |archive-date=18 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121018092853/http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/1097454/a/Led+Zeppelin+III.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>
| rev9 = ''[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide]]''
|rev9score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/led-zeppelin/albumguide |title=Led Zeppelin: Album Guide |magazine=[[Rolling Stone|rollingstone.com]] |access-date=8 December 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140301030118/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/led-zeppelin/albumguide |archive-date=1 March 2014 }}</ref>
| rev10 = ''[[Tom Hull – on the Web]]''
| rev10Score = A<ref>{{cite web|last=Hull|first=Tom|date=n.d.|url=http://tomhull.com/ocston/nm/get_gl.php?n=Led+Zeppelin|title=Grade List: Led Zeppelin|website=Tom Hull – on the Web|access-date=18 July 2020|archive-date=18 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200718153558/http://tomhull.com/ocston/nm/get_gl.php?n=Led+Zeppelin|url-status=live}}</ref>
}}
''Led Zeppelin III'' was one of the most anticipated albums of 1970, and advance orders in the US alone were close to the million mark. The volvelle-designed sleeve held up production and caused a two-month delay.{{sfn|Lewis|1990|p=49}} In the run-up to release, the group bought a full-page advertisement in ''[[Melody Maker]]'' magazine at the end of September, which simply said, "Thank you for making us the world's number one band."{{sfn|Lewis|1990|p=49}} The album was released in the US on 5 October, then in the UK on 23 October. It immediately topped the British charts.{{sfn|Lewis|2012|p=79}}

Although the band's expanding musical boundaries were greeted warmly by some, detractors attacked the heavier tracks as being mindless noise. In a review for ''[[Rolling Stone]]'', critic [[Lester Bangs]] praised "That's the Way" as "beautiful and genuinely moving", while characterising the band's heavier songs as crude and little differentiated from each other.<ref name="RS #71">{{cite magazine |last1=Bangs |first1=Lester |author-link=Lester Bangs|date=26 November 1970 |title=Records: Led Zeppelin III |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |issue=71 |page=34 }}</ref> Others criticised the acoustic material for imitating the music of [[Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young]], which Page disputed, as the group had featured a similar style on both of their previous albums.{{sfn|Lewis|2012|p=96}}<ref name=cameroncrowe>{{cite web|url=http://www.cameroncrowe.com/journalism/articles/crowe_eyesandears_journalism_led.html |title=Cameron Crowe interview Led Zeppelin |access-date=7 November 2007 |date=18 March 1975 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071024124033/http://www.cameroncrowe.com/journalism/articles/crowe_eyesandears_journalism_led.html |archive-date=24 October 2007 }}</ref> Page later said that the negative press given to the third album affected him so much that he did not give press interviews for 18 months after its release, adding that the criticism was one of the reasons why the band's untitled follow-up album contained no written information on it at all.<ref name = Schulps /> Page later came to believe that journalists had little time to listen to the material and were simply looking for "the new '[[Whole Lotta Love]]{{'"}} instead of appreciating the album on its own merits.<ref name=williamson2>{{cite magazine|first=Nigel|last=Williamson|title=Forget the Myths|magazine=[[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]]|date=May 2005|page=70}}.</ref>

A positive review came from [[Robert Christgau]], who originally assigned it an A-minus grade and wrote in his "Consumer Guide" review for ''[[The Village Voice]]'': "I have always approved theoretically of Led Zep's concept, and now the group has finally whipped it into shape. It's amazing to realize that Robert Plant's vocals can convey that same overbearing power when Page plays acoustic, as he does to great effect on several cuts here. No drum solos, either. Heavy."<ref>{{cite news|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|date=7 January 1971|url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/cg/cg15.php|title=Consumer Guide (15)|newspaper=[[The Village Voice]]|location=New York|access-date=6 February 2014|archive-date=25 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140325151427/http://robertchristgau.com/xg/cg/cg15.php|url-status=live}}</ref>

''Led Zeppelin III'' was a [[wikt:transatlantic|trans-Atlantic]] number one hit. In the UK, it reached No.&nbsp;1 on 7 November 1970 and remained on the chart for 40 weeks.<ref name="OCC">{{cite web|url=http://www.officialcharts.com/search/albums/led%20zeppelin%20iii/|title=Led Zeppelin III|website=Official Charts|access-date=27 August 2018|archive-date=27 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180827173935/http://www.officialcharts.com/search/albums/led%20zeppelin%20iii/|url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|Lewis|1990|p=94}} In the US, it entered the chart at No.&nbsp;3 on 24 October <ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_gSkEAAAAMBAJ|quote=led zeppelin III.|title=Top LPs|magazine=Billboard|page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_gSkEAAAAMBAJ/page/n73 74]|date=24 October 1970|access-date=27 August 2018}}</ref> and reached No.&nbsp;1 the following week.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uSkEAAAAMBAJ&q=%22led+zeppelin+III%22&pg=PA43|title=Top LPs|magazine=Billboard|page=50|date=31 October 1970|access-date=27 August 2018}}</ref> It remained on the chart for 19 weeks and was certified Gold on 8 October 1970.{{sfn|Lewis|1990|p=95}} However, following the lukewarm, if not confused and sometimes dismissive reception from critics, sales lagged after this initial peak.<ref name=RS2006 />

Despite mostly indifferent reviews and lower sales than Led Zeppelin's previous two albums, ''Led Zeppelin III'''s reputation has increased over time. The [[RIAA]] certified the album 2 times platinum in 1990, and 6 times platinum in 1999.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&ar=Led+Zeppelin&ti=Led+Zeppelin+III#search_section|title=LED ZEPPELIN III search results|publisher=RIAA official website|at=If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH|access-date=29 August 2018|archive-date=19 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201019002741/https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&ar=Led+Zeppelin&ti=Led+Zeppelin+III#search_section|url-status=live}}</ref> The 2014 reissue of the album helped itself get back into the ''Billboard'' Top 10.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/6656593/led-zeppelin-top-10-return-billboard-200 |title=Led Zeppelin Heading Back to the Top 10, Again |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |last=Caulfield |first=Keith |date=6 August 2015 |access-date=31 August 2018 |archive-date=1 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180901133618/https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/6656593/led-zeppelin-top-10-return-billboard-200 |url-status=live }}</ref>

{|class="wikitable sortable"
|+Accolades for ''Led Zeppelin III''
|-
! Publication
! Country
! Accolade
! Year
! style="text-align:center;"|Rank
|-
| ''The Book of Rock Lists''
| US
| "The Top 40 Albums (1970)"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/dmarshal.html#70 |title=The Top 40 Albums 1970 |access-date=10 February 2009 |publisher=rocklistmusic.co.uk |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090106064504/http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/dmarshal.html |archive-date=6 January 2009 }}</ref>
| 1981
| 39
|-
| ''[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]]''
| UK
| "The 100 Greatest Albums Ever Made"<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/mojo_p3.htm#albums |title=The 100 Greatest Albums Ever Made&nbsp;– January 1996 |access-date=10 February 2009 |website=Mojo |archive-date=16 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130516020830/http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/mojo_p3.htm#albums |url-status=usurped }}</ref>
| 1996
| 99
|-
| [[Colin Larkin (writer)|Colin Larkin]]
| UK
| ''[[All Time Top 1000 Albums]]''<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/virgin_1000_v3.htm |title=Virgin All-Time Album Top 1000 List&nbsp;– 1998 |access-date=10 February 2009 |website=Virgin |archive-date=13 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120513223452/http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/virgin_1000_v3.htm |url-status=usurped }}</ref>
| 1998
| 361
|-
| [[Q (magazine)|Q]]
| UK
| "50 Best British Albums Ever"<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/qlistspage3.htm#50%20Best%20British%20Albums%20Ever! |title=50 Best British Albums Ever&nbsp;– July 2004 |access-date=10 February 2009 |website=Q |archive-date=5 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160605073408/http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/qlistspage3.htm#50%20Best%20British%20Albums%20Ever! |url-status=usurped }}</ref>
| 2004
| 9
|-
| Robert Dimery
| US
| ''[[1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die]]''<ref>Dimery, Robert&nbsp;– ''1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die''; page 156</ref>
| 2005
| *
|-
| ''[[Classic Rock (magazine)|Classic Rock]]''
| UK
| "100 Greatest British Rock Album Ever"<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/steveparker/classicrock2.htm |title=Classic Rock&nbsp;– 100 Greatest British Rock Album Ever&nbsp;– April 2006 |access-date=10 February 2009 |website=Classic Rock |archive-date=15 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130515072650/http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/steveparker/classicrock2.htm |url-status=usurped }}</ref>
| 2006
| 31
|-
| colspan="5" style="text-align:center; font-size:10pt;"| (*) designates unordered lists.
|}