‘Who’s Next’ and ‘Led Zeppelin IV’ at 50 – Our Podcast on Peak Classic Rock

Two of the key albums of the classic-rock era, The Who’s Who’s Next and Led Zeppelin’s Led Zeppelin IV, came out within months of each other back in 1971, and their legacy is the subject of the latest episode of our weekly podcast, Rolling Stone Music Now.

The episode grapples with the fact that this aesthetic peak for a certain brand of rock is now half a century ago, the gaps and flaws of the classic-rock canon, the enduring greatness of those albums, and much more. Steven Hyden, whose most recent book is This Isn’t Happening: Radiohead’s “Kid A” and the Beginning of the 21st Century, joins host Brian Hiatt for the wide-ranging discussion.

To hear the entire episode, press play above, or download and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Download and subscribe to our weekly podcast, Rolling Stone Music Now, hosted by Brian Hiatt, on Apple Podcasts or Spotify (or wherever you get your podcasts), and check out three years’ worth of episodes in the archive, including in-depth, career-spanning interviews with Bruce Springsteen, Halsey, Neil Young, Alicia Keys, Phoebe Bridgers, the National, Ice Cube, Dua Lipa, Questlove, Killer Mike, Julian Casablancas, Sheryl Crow, Johnny Marr, Scott Weiland, Liam Gallagher, Alice Cooper, Fleetwood Mac, Elvis Costello, John Legend, Donald Fagen, Phil Collins, Justin Townes Earle,  Stephen Malkmus, Sebastian Bach, Tom Petty, Eddie Van Halen, Kelly Clarkson, Pete Townshend, Bob Seger, the Zombies, Gary Clark Jr., and many more — plus dozens of episodes featuring genre-spanning discussions, debates, and explainers with Rolling Stone’s critics and reporters. Tune in every Friday at 1 p.m. ET to hear Rolling Stone Music Now broadcast on SiriusXM’s Volume, channel 106.