HOUSES OF THE HOLY

If anybody released an album cover like that in this day and age, they would be charged with child pornography. This is the album that would appeal most to prog fans who don't enjoy classic hard rock. I can understand some having a problem with the stylistic variety on this album. To me, however, that is one of the album's strengths. Houses Of The Holy has a lot in common with In Through The Outdoor in that both are not very hard rock-oriented, rather they explore different genres and sounds.

"No Quarter" is a pure prog song as far as I'm concerned, and it's a great one. John Paul Jones gets even more keyboard-centred on this album than previous ones. He does a great job with the Mellotron, synth and electric piano. "The Song Remains The Same" features Robert Plant's vocals slightly sped-up. This is another proggy song. One of the best parts of the album is the buildup in "The Rain Song" when Bonham comes in. Even the least proggy songs here("The Crunge", "Dancing Days", "D'Yer Mak'er", and "The Ocean") are among my favourite Zep songs. I've heard that James Brown's drummers at the time could not figure out how Bonham did that funky beat on "The Crunge". This is a funky song but is also complicated. "D'Yer Mak'er" was a reggae song at a time when most people outside the Caribbean had never heard reggae.

In many ways this was the last great Zep album. This album is proof that even big name rock bands wanted to experiment in the early 1970s. Maybe I forgot to mention that there is some dude here named Jimmy Page as well. He really starts overdubbing his guitar parts with this record. Later albums will almost be a sea of guitars. JPJ is the star of the show I think. This would be a very different album(and band) without him. A great classic rock album that would be of interest to many proggers. 4 stars.