Led Zeppelin - Houses Of The Holy


Led Zeppelin followed up the Fourth Album with Houses Of The Holy. Many consider it one of the bands' finest. It doesn't stray too far from the formula of the previous two albums, but it has a little more diversity in the songs. Rockers like "The Song Remains The Same," "Dancing Days," and "The Ocean" show the Zeppelin has continued to move away from the blues influence (though not entirely gone), yet Zeppelin lets it be known that they aren't just a heavy metal band. "The Rain Song" and "Over The Hills And Far Away" still show Led Zeppelin likes to bring it down a couple of notches. The diversity is shown most in "D'yer Maker", a reggae-rock fused song, and "The Crunge", an almost funk-like song that pays some homage to James Brown. "No Quarter" was probably Zeppelin's trippiest song up to that point (and a great one at that).

All in all, Houses Of The Holy shows that Zeppelin can still rock, but they also like to push their creative boundaries.

My rating:

8.5/10

One of the few Zep albums I don't have.

Another stylistic departure for Led Zeppelin, an album that mainted some of the heaviness but also explored new musicial territories for the band.

The reggea infused song 'D'yer Maker' displaying once again how important John Bonham was to the band. ' No Quarter' a musicial showcase for the underrated John Paul Jones. "The Rain Song' another departure for Zep.

A great solid Zep album and once again shows that band was not afaird of growth.

I own this album and it is one of their best. Bonham really grooves on this one.

Dancing Days is the greatest Zep song imo. Such a cool groove and Plant not banshee shrieking just sorta laconic and within himself. Cool cool song.

The Ocean is not far behind it as well........and ya gotta just love the James Brown work out of The Crunge.

I reach for Houses Of The Holy quite a bit, probably my 3rd favourite Zep record.

Houses Of The Holy is a complete masterpiece. Period.

The Rain Song is easily my favorite Zeppelin song of all-time, it creates a mood that I don't think any other "metal" bands from that era could come close to. Same thing goes for No Quarter which shows how much the depth of John Paul Jones' influence had increased over time. Songs like The Ocean, Dy'er Maker and The Crunge showed Zep's continued interest in African American musical forms (not just blues influence anymore).

Honestly, not a band song on the entire album, they are all classics in their own way.

Of the albums we've discussed so far, this would be my personal ranking:

Zep I
Houses Of The Holy
Zep III
Zep IV
Zep II

I don't really have a fave Zep lp, really ! Each has it's new flavor and an improvement on the recipe already presented.

When I'm wrenchin' on the bikes, "Houses" gets lots of turntable time. The lp flows well and it brings back wonderful
memories. "Over The Hills And Faraway" is my favorite tune on the lp.

Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffiti


In 1975, Led Zeppelin released Physical Graffiti, their White Album. Like The Beatles, the cracks started to show. The first LP is full of classics. It starts with "Custard Pie", a blues-infused keybroad-driven song with song with some "do-it-in-the-tub" lyrics. "The Rover" and "Houses Of The Holy" (wasn't included on the last LP because the band felt it didn't fit) are both some quality cuts, but the standout songs are "In My Time Of Dying" and "Kashmir." "In My Time Of Dying" was an extreme rework of a Blind Willie Johnson song "Jesus Make Up My Dying Bed" (Bob Dylan also did a version of the song on his self-titled debut). "Kashmir" is one of Zeppelin's most well-known, epic songs (and Robert Plant's favorite). Plant's mystical lyrics and Jones's epic mellotron performance drive the song along with Bonham thunderous drumming and Page's guitar rythym. It is one of the best LP released in the past 35 years.

The second LP was much weaker than the first, but it isn't a total wash. "In The Light" is another mystical, HEAVY song that starts the second LP with a bang. It then transitions to Page's beautiful guitar piece "Bron-Yr-Aur", one of the most calming songs I've ever heard. The rest of the album is mainly filler, except for "Sick Again" and "Ten Years Gone" (one of my favorite songs).

Overall, Physical Graffiti is the last big Zeppelin album to be released. Everything after could not measure up.

My rating:

9/10

This is my favorite Led Zeppelin album, it has everything from metal classics (Houses of the Holy) to epics (Kashimer) and everything else in between. I have to agree that it has few duds on it but overall it is my top Zeppelin album.

'In My Time of Dying' maybe my favorite Led Zeppelin track on the album, and of course the already mentioned 'Ten Years Gone' is another heavy classic.

A great album! I agree that disc 2 isn't as good, but it contains one of my favorite Led Zeppelin tunes: The Wanton Song.

Now I realize I have no idea what my favorite Zeppelin album is. 3 way tie: II, IV and PG

Houses of the holy was good but, its not the zep album I go for when I'm in a zep mood. Physical graffiti was about the same, a good album but just not quite there with the first four albums. Actually found that I enjoyed the second disc much better then I did the first on physical. Masturful albums nonthless.

Physical Graffiti was the product of a band that hadn't taken a real break in years, constantly recording & touring. So there is the combination of a band that was incredibly tight, but also one that was in dire need of some rest. That dynamic probably led to the somewhat haphazard nature of the material on the second disc. But overall PG is another amazing achievment from a band that could almost do no wrong.

The album and tour were so successful that all their older catalog re-entered the Billboard charts over the course of the year.

Some of my all-time favorite Zeppelin tracks are on this album: Kashmir (which could be their signature masterpiece), In My Time Of Dying (an epic heavy metal blues that only Zep could pull off this magnificently), Trampled Underfoot, In The Light, The Wanton Song, Ten Years Gone, etc. The only tracks that don't really work are "Down By The Seaside" and "Boogie With Stu", aside from those songs I love the rest of the album.

Their most underrated album was up next....

Man i love "The Graf", the Zep were impossibly creating on a whole 'nother plane above their usual greatness on this one. Not only are the songs so great but the sound/production is their best.

I must say i'm a sucker for double LP's whether it be Exile On Main Street, Black Moses, Young Man's Blues, The Black Swan, Robespierre's Velvet Basement etc etc etc. I find even the lesser/filler tracks vital for the whole messy sprawl of the trip. Although i'd have a hard time naming any songs from the Graf that i'd call filler, everything is brilliant.

Those muscular groovers like The Rover, Sick Again, Custard Pie and the Wanton Song are killer and are at least on par if not greater than the similar r&b thuggery Aerosmith were pulling off at the time. Down By The Seaside and the elegaic Ten Years Gone are just perfect together and i must say i get a big kick out of the barroom clatter of Boogie With Stu, but that would come as no surprise to those who know who my favourite band is.

Good point about this lp being the product of a band streched thin in all directions. I have no bad opinion of anything on this lp. I "almost" got to see them on this tour. The older sister who was supposed to take me, left me at my cousins Guess I shouldn't of glued her boyfriends lips together with model glue when he fell asleep on the couch the night before.

"Ten Years Gone" is probably Zeppelin's most moving somg, in my opinion.

Far and away my favorite from Zeppelin!

BTW, I don't consider any of the material on here weak, filler or duds. Just because it is not a smash hit or an epic classic doesn't mean it wasn't a well written song or good art.

Led Zeppelin - The Song Remains The Same


In 1976, Led Zeppelin released The Song Remains The Same, a concert film and brief documentary of some of the life on the road. Filmed in '73, the film documents the Madison Square Garden concert dates in July of that year. the performances are stellar, and the fantasy sequences add a bit of flavor to the footage.

The sequences show a different side of each group member. Whether it's Page's encounter with The Hermit, Jones's wild ride through the countryside, Plant's medieval sword fight, Bonham's fascination with fast cars, or Peter Grant's (band's manager) life as a hitman, each add a little spice to the concert.

Zeppelin also released a soundtrack to the film. It was re-released in 2007 with previously unreleased songs.

My rating:

8/10

I have the soundtrack, which is pretty good. The Zeps sound like they were a great live band.

I think it is fairly decent live document of the band but not the best representation of them as a live band, I personally prefer 'How the West was Won' or even the 'BBC Sessions' than 'The Song Remains the Same' .

IMO some of the performances where not as good as I have heard on various bootlegs over the years. A good performance but not a great even particularly inspired performance. For a band that made its reputation of as a live band this album was particularly disappointing.

The highlight on the album to me is 'Since I've Been Loving You' which beats the studio version by miles.

There were the midnite movies when I was a teen and you either were a stoner/rocker dude seeing "Song Remains The Same" or the confused kid seeing "Rocky Horror Picture Show"

Have the vinyl and it doesn't get much play. Back when it came out, alot of bootleg vinyl was around with better song selections and a few had better sound quality.

The Song Remains The Same has always seemed very hit or miss to me, some tracks sound inspired, but quite a bit of the performance is a little tired. I haven't seen the film or listened to this one in years so it's not exactly fresh in my mind.

However, I remember my favorite track was always Whole Lotta Love for the long middle section which just ROCKED.

I completely agree with Manny that "How The West Was One" is by far superior to this release.