That's the Way (Led Zeppelin song)

Jimmy Page and Robert Plant wrote the piece in 1970 on a retreat at Bron-Yr-Aur cottage, Wales.

[2] Page noted that the two developed it and recorded a rough demo after a long walk before they returned to the cottage.

[2] Instrumentation for the song is spare, consisting of a strummed twelve-string acoustic guitar, with overdubbed mandolin and steel guitar fills; percussion and bass are absent from much of the song until the instrumental outro.

"[6][7] According to Jean-Michel Guesdon and Philippe Margotin (except for pedal steel):[1] In a contemporary review of Led Zeppelin III, Lester Bangs of Rolling Stone describes "That's the Way" as the first Led Zeppelin song that has ever truly moved him.

[5] Bangs praises the understated, but effective acoustic guitar and vocal approach.