The album was named by the group to describe its struggles after the death of Robert Plant's son Karac in 1977,[6] and the taxation exile the band took from the UK.
The exile resulted in the band being unable to tour on British soil for more than two years, and trying to get back into the public mind was therefore like "trying to get in through the 'out' door.
[7] "Wearing and Tearing", "Ozone Baby" and "Darlene"—the last a boogie-woogie based song credited to all band members—were recorded during sessions for this album, but were dropped because of space constraints.
The album's "South Bound Saurez" and "All My Love" are the only two original Led Zeppelin songs that Page had no part in writing.
"[16] "In the Evening" was planned as the opening track for the album as "a full-blown epic", in order to show that Led Zeppelin could still make good music.
[17] In an interview, Page explained that he used a violin bow and a Gizmotron effect on his guitar to create the droning sound in the opening section of the song.
[14] "South Bound Saurez" starts with a "rollicking piano intro" played by Jones; author Dave Lewis calls it a "track that conjures up the New Orleans bar room feel of the sleeve.
"Fool in the Rain" was an attempt to combine a samba rhythm with a basic rock tune, resulting in a polyrhythm partway through the song.
[14] "Hot Dog" grew out of the band's pre-production rehearsals, where they warmed up by playing a series of old Elvis Presley and Ricky Nelson covers.
[24] Subsequently, Led Zeppelin's entire catalogue appeared in the Billboard 200 between the weeks of 23 October and 3 November 1979, an unprecedented feat, topping their own record in 1975, when all their albums up to Physical Graffiti were on the chart.
In Through the Out Door divided contemporary critics and Led Zeppelin fans; some found its synthesiser-influenced music inevitable but forward-thinking while others felt the band had forsaken their heavy, fast sound.
[34] According to Jimmy Page biographer Martin Power, "predictably, in the wake of punk, In Through the Out Door received a rough ride from some critics, with Zep's veteran status in the music business now used as a stick with which to beat them.
[36] Chris Bohn from Melody Maker said "the impressionable first play" of the record "had everyone in the office rolling around laughing", while accusing the band of being "totally out of touch" and "displaying the first intimations of mortality".
By contrast, NME journalist Nick Kent argued that the album was "no epitaph", believing its "potential points of departure" deserved further listening.
[35] Robert Christgau also wrote positively of the record in The Village Voice, observing the usual "lax in the lyrics department", but regarding the album as the group's best since Houses of the Holy (1973).
[30] Colin Larkin appraised it in his Encyclopedia of Popular Music (2006) as "lacking the definition" of the band's previous records, yet "a strong collection on which John Paul Jones emerged as the unifying factor".
"[27] Rock critic Chuck Eddy highlighted the band's open-minded absorption of new wave and disco and particularly praised side one "where they don't take themselves so seriously", with its barrelhouse, bluegrass and Dr. Buzzard-style conga line excursions.
[42] Q magazine said "it's aged remarkably well and 'All My Love' is breathtakingly beautiful",[46] while Tim Batcup from Classic Rock observed in the bonus material "a scruffier, rambunctious 'Hot Dog' and a sparser 'In the Evening', the drone intro truncated and Jones's synths high in the mix".
[43] PopMatters reviewer Andrew Doscas was more critical, especially of the bonus disc: "While In Through the Out Door does have some merit, it's cruel of Led Zeppelin to think that anyone, even a dedicated fan, could muster the strength to listen to the album twice in a row.