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In keeping with the song’s flavour, the song’s slightly cheesy title came from a play on the word “Jamaica” when spoken in an English accent, but D’yer Mak’er’s broad appeal rewarded the band with a surprise US Top 20 hit. “Houses of the Holy” has had a profound influence on countless musicians across genres. Its unique blend of poetic lyrics, intricate instrumentation, and innovative soundscapes has served as a source of inspiration for many artists, encouraging them to push boundaries and explore new creative avenues.
Led Zeppelin’s ‘Houses of the Holy’: 10 Things You Didn’t Know
Several songs subsequently became fixtures in the group's live set, including "The Song Remains the Same", "The Rain Song" and "No Quarter". Other material recorded at the sessions, including the title track, was shelved and released on the later albums Physical Graffiti (1975) and Coda (1982). All instruments and vocals were provided by the band members Robert Plant (vocals), Jimmy Page (guitar), John Paul Jones (bass, keyboards), and John Bonham (drums). The cover was the first for the band to be designed by Hipgnosis and was based on a photograph taken at Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland. They were so happy with it that engineer Kramer spoke about watching the ebullient four members dancing in line on the lawn at Stargroves as the track played from the Rolling Stones Mobile recording unit. Among the joys is hearing Page lace slide guitar over the main riff, which created a degree of challenge in recreating the song live.
The Rain Song
The song “Houses of the Holy” by Led Zeppelin holds a significance that extends beyond its catchy melodies and iconic riffs. Released in 1973 as the title track of their fifth studio album, the song delves into themes of spirituality, exploration, and the human condition. Led Zeppelin, known for their poetic and enigmatic lyrics, crafted a masterpiece that invites listeners on a metaphorical journey through the realms of existence, both physical and spiritual. "The Crunge"One of the most polarizing tracks on Houses of the Holy, this group-written track that closed Side One began with a Bonham beat that inspired Page to play a funky riff. There were even thoughts about including a diagram of dance steps in the album's packaging, but the idea was later abandoned.
What is the significance of the title “Houses of the Holy”?
We take the microscope to each of the polarizing album's eight tracks below and have a bit of celebration day for a release that, over time, has achieved a deservedly iconic status in the rock pantheon. Led Zeppelin’s 1973 North American tour smashed attendance records, even besting the Beatles’ legendary Shea Stadium gig after 56,800 fans crammed into Tampa Stadium on May 5th to watch Page, Plant, Jones and Bonham perform selections of their latest work. Now the undisputed conquering heroes of rock, the band needed a ride to match. To avoid the hassle of changing hotels daily, they decided to base themselves in a handful of major cities and charter a plane to ferry them to and from their nightly gigs. Journalist Chris Charlesworth, a member of the touring entourage, recalls watching roadies meet the band with “big red bathrobes ready to wear as they came offstage.
How does “Houses of the Holy” fit into Led Zeppelin’s discography?
How Led Zeppelin’s album ‘Houses of the Holy’ ripped up the rulebook - Far Out Magazine
How Led Zeppelin’s album ‘Houses of the Holy’ ripped up the rulebook.
Posted: Sun, 28 Mar 2021 07:00:00 GMT [source]
Page’s jangling 12-string guitar created an exotic noise and sounded like a mini-orchestra. Not that Led Zeppelin’s ardent fanbase ever doubted the record’s worth – and they came out in force, ensuring Houses Of The Holy topped both the UK and US charts, spending two weeks at No.1 on the Billboard 200 during an impressive 39-week run. The fact it eventually moved over ten million copies in the US vindicated Led Zeppelin’s inherent belief that they could experiment and still take their fans with them – an approach which again bore fruit on their next record, the landmark double-album Physical Graffiti.
The Electric Prunes ‘Release of an Oath’
Zeppelin’s fifth album always gets passed over for their fourth, with its ubiquitous Stairway To Heaven, or ’75’s magisterial Physical Graffiti. But Houses Of The Holy is the sound of a band entering their most imperial phase, just before fatigue, cynicism and hard drugs impinged on their well-being. In truth, Houses Of The Holy is a more subtle record than that schlock-horror ad campaign suggests. Yes, it’s a bit messy and almost perversely eclectic, but it also contains at least four classic songs (five if you’re in the mood for a good pub argument).
“Houses of the Holy” stands as a pivotal track in Led Zeppelin’s discography. It showcases the band’s continued evolution and exploration of new musical territories. With its intricate melodies and thought-provoking lyrics, the song represents a defining moment in Led Zeppelin’s artistic journey. Even though Led Zeppelin traveled around the world in a swanky, custom-painted jumbo jet, the trek (and no doubt, the cumulative effect of their previous several years) left the band exhausted. It would be 18 months before they toured again, and nearly two years before they released their next record, 1975's double-album masterpiece Physical Graffiti.
The band had worked hard to cultivate an aloof image, believing that it helped sales. But it was the Rolling Stones, not Led Zeppelin, who were bagging magazine front covers and having society author and social butterfly Truman Capote trailing them around America on tour. One of these, No Quarter, the album’s only downbeat track, had been attempted during sessions for the fourth LP. Between them, Jones’s grand piano, bass and synthesiser, Page’s eerie-sounding guitar, Plant’s treated vocals and a restrained John Bonham, conjured up a mysterious song about an unspecified snowbound rendezvous. Few songs in the Led Zeppelin canon are as divisive – even within the band itself – as this reggae-esque romp.
“Houses of the Holy” is distinguished by its humour and willingness to play with other forms of music such as the James Brown tribute “The Crunge” and the reggae and 50’s pop influenced “D’yer Mak’er”. They were unabashed in showing their admiration for other music forms, Robert Plant telling the NME that he wished he could write something as superb as Mendelssohn’s “Fingal’s Cave”. And as one of the 60’s most eminent session players, Jimmy Page was well-versed in many forms of music including folk, Indian, flamenco, classical and more.
Bonham and Page played as if they were reading each other’s minds, and Plant ad-libbed the vocal to which he added a James Brown pastiche (‘Has anybody seen the bridge?’). After further sessions at London’s Island and Olympic studios, with engineers Keith Harwood, Andy Johns and George Chkiantz, Zeppelin went back on the road in America in June. In between dates, they checked into New York’s Electric Lady studios with Kramer to mix the Strargroves tracks. Plant’s lyrics referenced Zeppelin’s globetrotting adventures, with ‘sweet Calcutta rain’ a nod to a trip to India the singer and Page had made before starting the album.
After all, it was hard for the press to ignore them when all 24 dates on their November 72 UK tour sold out in four hours. Unfortunately, the lilting lovers rock of D’Yer Mak’er, forever damned as ‘Led Zeppelin’s reggae song’, hasn’t weathered as well. The problem is that it wasn’t reggae enough, which was partly due to the rhythm section’s lack of conviction. You never knew exactly what was going on, but whatever it was sounded dramatic and life-changing.
Led Zeppelin encourages listeners to open their minds to the exploration of these metaphysical realms, urging them to embark on a quest for enlightenment and knowledge beyond the confines of their physical existence. Classic Album Sundays tells the stories behind the albums that have shaped our culture and in some cases, our lives. On May 5, Zeppelin broke US box office records playing to 56,800 at Florida’s Tampa Stadium. They toured with a private jet, groupies at their beck and call, and enough booze and drugs to make them think their heads had exploded – or, at least, been jammed between the buffers of two railway carriages. Which just leaves the two tracks that have been polarising opinion for 40 years. Side One of Houses Of The Holy ended with a circular funk rock jam called The Crunge.
Never one for self-aggrandisement, it’s difficult to overstate his role on the whole album. He’s there throughout, sometimes in the foreground but more often than not multi-tasking at the back. But Led Zeppelin and its follow-up Led Zeppelin II both cracked the Top 10 in Britain and America. Those who dismissed the group as stone-age grunters were further disarmed by 1970’s Led Zeppelin III, which included a clutch of almost tender folk songs.
The most successful of these was the 2007 Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert in London, with Bonham's son Jason Bonham on drums. After Led Zeppelin toured Australia and New Zealand early in 1972, Plant and Page had intended to visit Singapore, yet the country notoriously refused them entry on the grounds of the length of their hair. India, however, was happy to welcome travelling rock royalty, and the Zeppelin stars touched down in Mumbai (then Bombay) in March 1972. The city’s culture fascinated both men, and an Indian influence is easy to detect in Dancing Days, a supple yet sturdy rocker driven by Page’s snaky, raga-like guitar riffs.
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