Houses Of The Holy : Led Zeppelin : Review : Rolling Stone

When George Harrison met John Bonham, the Beatle told the Led Zeppelin drummer, "The problem with your band is you don't do any ballads." Singer Robert Plant and guitarist Jimmy Page could have taken umbrage -- they had already written the gorgeous "Going to California" two years earlier, for God's sake. Instead, they rose to the challenge. "The Rain Song" is seven minutes of exquisite heartache, complete with Mellotron strings from John Paul Jones. And in tribute to Harrison, the opening two notes are recognizably borrowed from his ballad "Something."

Led Zeppelin took the title of Houses of the Holy from their term for the oversize arenas and stadia where they played live. After five years together, they were ambitious and confident enough to believe they could meet any musical challenge; this album even includes a swinging take on reggae, "D'yer Mak'er." "Over the Hills and Far Away" builds in intensity just as relentlessly as "Stairway to Heaven." And "The Ocean," the love song for Plant's baby daughter that closes the album, is a mighty stomp that could rattle the teeth of fans in the last row of Madison Square Garden. The epic scale suited Zeppelin: They had the largest crowds, the loudest rock songs, the most groupies, the fullest manes of hair. Eventually excess would turn into bombast, but on Houses, it still provided inspiration.

GAVIN EDWARDS

(Posted: Jul 30, 2003)

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Review 1 of 5

5of 5 Stars

Though this album may lack cohesion in that it goes from the reggae inspired D'Yer Mak'er (Jamaica), to the mystical No Quarter, the tracks taken one by one are pure brilliance. A more fiery opening than The Song Remains The Same would be difficult to imagine. While the dispersion of genres may be annoying to listen to straight through, each individual track is so strong on its own, Houses Of The Holy clearly warrants a five star rating. [Look for The Song Remains The Same as the opener of their Madison Square Garden shows of 1973, and The Ocean as well. These can be found on TSRTS, and the Led Zeppelin DVD, respectively.]

Nov 18, 2007 10:02:48

Review 2 of 5

4of 5 Stars

The band most certainly topped themselves with their previous effort and this one seems to somewhat pale in comparison. Opening with "The Song Remains The Same" the tone is set-blazing guitars, pounding rhythms, and Plant's signature wail the band flies through this one hellbent on destruction until softly trickling into the opening notes of "The Rain Song"a beautifully elegaic poem about impending loss of love-which in itself builds into a grandiose showcase of the bands orchestral prowess-john paul jones is definitely the prime mover on this album and his strengths outweigh his weaknesses-"no quarter" is possibly his finest moment-too bad "d'yer mak'er" and "the crunge" dock this from the fifth star, but funk and reggae were never the band's forte-"over the hills and far away" hold fast to their british isles roots with it's folk/rock hybrid and "dancing days" has as much macho swagger as any stones tune. And the whole thing closes with "the ocean" bonham's showcase and one of page's most memorable riffs-and it's all about bob's baby girl-this was their last album for atlantic and the band's excesses began to show-this was the end of an era-the group would never be the same again

Nov 11, 2007 16:37:20

Review 3 of 5

5of 5 Stars

When rating an artists album, one can't help but to use past and future work as a scale by which to measure it. So, a true score that is unweighted and can be compared to other musicians work may never be possible. Still, even when judging Houses of the Holy against the rest of Led Zeppelins work, it stands out. There is no more haunting sound than no quarter and so many other songs hold their own as well. This album is brilliant.

Jun 7, 2007 11:40:30

Review 4 of 5

5of 5 Stars

By and far one of the top albums this all-star band produced. My personal favorite on this great album is "The Ocean", with its catchy guitar riff and amazing climatic finale. Another staple in rock history, "The Song Remains The Same" is the albums opening track, with blazing guitars that further prove Jimmy Page is the closest thing that instrument will ever see to perfection. All of this is balanced by the dark classic "No Quarter", which boasts John Paul Jones on the keys melded with a grungy guitar riff by Page. The variety of style on this album proves that Led Zeppelin really could pull off anything as a group. In all, this album is an absolute must-have for any music enthusiast.

Jan 1, 2007 02:54:07

Review 5 of 5

5of 5 Stars

Another excellent album by Led Zeppelin. Over The Hills And Far Away gives me an image of The Shire from Lord Of The Rings in my head whenever I listen to it. D'yer Mak'er is reggae. The Ocean is my favorite song on the album. 5 stars!

Sep 24, 2006 09:47:57

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