"We've done four already but now we're steady and then we went: one, two, three, four..."
Houses of the Holy is the fifth studio album by Led Zeppelin, released in 1973 through Atlantic Records. It is Zeppelin's first album with no covers, with the band (mostly Page) writing all the songs; as well as their first not to be self-titled note . It is also a turning point for the band musically, as they become more experimental and their production techniques advance.
Tracklist:
Side One- "The Song Remains the Same" (5:32)
- "The Rain Song" (7:39)
- "Over The Hills And Far Away" (4:50)
- "The Crunge" (3:17)
Side Two
- "Dancing Days" (3:43)
- "D'yer Mak'er" (4:23)
- "No Quarter" (7:00)
- "The Ocean" (4:31)
Bonus Disc (Deluxe Edition):
- "The Song Remains the Same (Alternate Mix)" (5:29)
- "The Rain Song (Alternate Mix)" (7:45)
- "Over the Hills and Far Away (Backing Track)" (4:22)
- "The Crunge (Rough Mix)" (3:16)
- "Dancing Days (Rough Mix)" (3:46)
- "No Quarter (Rough Mix)" (7:03)
- "The Ocean (Working Mix)" (4:26)
Principal Members:
- John Bonham - drums, vocals
- John Paul Jones - bass, vocals, keyboard, mellotron, piano, harpsichord, synthesizer, organ, synthesizer bass
- Jimmy Page - guitar, theremin
- Robert Plant - lead vocals
Troping Days:
- Affectionate Parody: "The Crunge" of James Brown and "D'yer Mak'er" of reggae.
- Alliterative Title: "Houses of the Holy", "Dancing Days".
- Break Up Song: "D'yer Maker"When I read the letter you wrote, it made me mad, mad, madWhen I read the words that it told me, it made me sad, sad, sadBut I still love you so, I can't let you go
- Design Student's Orgasm: The cover was designed by Hipgnosis.
- Doowop Progression: "D'yer Mak'er" follows this pattern.
- Epic Rocking: "The Rain Song" and "No Quarter" are both over 7 minutes.
- In Harmony with Nature: "The Ocean"Singing to an ocean, I can hear the ocean's roar(...) I used to sing on the mountains; has the ocean lost its way?
- In the Style of: "D'yer Mak'er" is an Affectionate Parody of Reggae, and "The Crunge" is a funk song in the style of James Brown.
- Funetik Aksent: There are apostrophes in "D'yer Mak'er" for a reason—it's not "dire maker", it's "Jamaica". Page says the title comes from a bad joke:Guy: My wife's going on holiday in the Caribbean.
Friend: Jamaica?noteGuy: No, she did it of her own accord. - New Sound Album: Certainly a departure from their previous albums. Particularly the reggae "D'yer Mak'er".
- Non-Appearing Title: "Over the Hills and Far Away", "The Crunge", and "D'yer Mak'er".
- Premature Encapsulation: This album's title track was held until their next one, Physical Graffiti.
- The Power of Love: "The Rain Song", "Over the Hills and Far Away", "The Crunge", and "Dancing Days"You are my flower, you are my powerYou are my woman who knows
- Scatting: "D'yer Mak'er" and "The Ocean" both feature it.
- Shout-Out:
- The cover of this album is a depiction of the end of Arthur C. Clarke's Childhood's End.
- At the end of "The Crunge", Plant goes on a long question about a bridge;note going by the song being a funk song In the Style of James Brown, this was a reference to how Brown would actually call for a song's bridge by audibly saying (i.e. shouting) "Bridge!"
- Snow Means Death: "No Quarter".The snow drives back the foot that's slow
The dogs of doom are howling more - The Something Song: "The Rain Song".
- Studio Chatter: "The Ocean" opens with Bonham counting off the song as follows: "We've done four already but now we're steady and then they went: One, two, three, four." (However, the song opens in 15/8, or 4/4 + 7/8.) The band had recorded four takes before the one they used on the album, hence Bonham's count-off.
- Uncommon Time:
- "The Crunge" started off in 9/8 (4/8 + 5/8) and mixed it up from there.
- "The Ocean"; its main riff is in (4/4 + 7/8), or 15/8.
