HOUSES OF THE HOLY

I can see that I am out voted on this one. Again IMHO Houses Of The Holy is worthy of a five star rating. This is more consistent than IV in the overall finished product. Musically it was more complex and probably more progressive than IV.' The Song Remains The Same' isa great opener to the album followed by the wonderful ' Rain Song'. Not the best addition to the album but nearly. Tolkien themes surfacing here as well as on the epic ' No Quarter' on side two. Both slow burners and almost classical sounding at times.' Over The Hills and far Away' is another great song but even better is ' Dancin Days'. It has a repetitive thread which leads with a great hook and indicative of what was to follow on the double album Physical Graffiti. ' Dyer Make'r' another ' Bron-Y-aur-stomp' type pastiche' No Quarter' warrants another mention, this quite possibly one of the top three Led Zeppelin slower compositions. Seven minutes of 'classica'l guitar playing, sad and great climatic vocals, hard hitting drumwork and last but not least great instrumental contributions by JPJ. ' The Ocean' is a fitting finish to yet another masterpiece from Led Zeppelin.