In the Evening

"In the Evening" is the first song on English rock band Led Zeppelin's 8th studio album, In Through the Out Door, released in 1979. The track has a synthesizer-driven sound backed by a gargantuan guitar repetition.

Overview
The track features an extended distorted introductory section led by Jimmy Page on guitar. Page may have used a violin bow to create the droning effect at the beginning of the song, as well as a Gizmotron to increase distortion and create the 'slamming door' effect heard at the onset of the guitar solo (Page would play a very similar section to the intro of "In the Evening" during "Dazed and Confused" using a violin bow, as can be heard on bootleg recordings of Led Zeppelin's concert at Tampa Stadium in 1973).

The creation of this song can be traced largely to Led Zeppelin bassist and keyboardist, John Paul Jones. When the band was recording this album, Page and drummer John Bonham would usually show up at the studio very late and work through the night. In their absence, "In the Evening" started out with just drums and keyboards created by Jones, who had a new drum machine to work with.

Live performances
The song was performed live at Led Zeppelin concerts during 1979 and 1980. During the 1979 performances, this song would be played directly after Page's guitar distortion solo. One such live version, from Led Zeppelin's performance at Knebworth in 1979, can be seen on the Led Zeppelin DVD. Performances on the 1980 tour could last more than eight minutes.

During live performances 1979-1980, Page's violin bow incorporated a laser strobe, which added to the visual effects. "In the Evening" was also one of the few songs that the guitarist performed on his 1964 Fender Stratocaster. The Stratocaster's whammy bar was used giving that riff a distinctive diving sound during the solo. Plant revived the song on his Now and Zen solo tour in 1988.