HOUSES OF THE HOLY

As reported, by the time the band was ready to write their material for the fifth album which later was known as "Houses of The Holy", Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones have their own studio, individually. It changed the way they work together in composing music. John was presenting to the other members "No Quarter" with his keyboard outburst while Page was presenting his complete arrangement of "The Rain Song". [Ref. "Led Zeppelin - The Complete Guide to Their Music", Dave Lewis]. The whole album itself was recorded at Stargroves, Mick Jagger's country estate in Berkshire. The album reached no 1 in UK and in US.

"The Song Remains The Same" (5:29) with Page soaring riffs and dynamic drumming of Bonham opens the album in an energetic fashion. This attractive song no wonder becomes the title track of Zeppelin's film. This song is about a morale story on if you give something it will come back to you again that's why the name is like that. "The Rain Song" has moved away from traditional Led Zeppelin's song with darker nuance and mellow style with mellotron-drenched rhythm section at background. The orchestral arrangement by John Paul Jones has made this song interesting. "Over The Hills And Far Away" (4:49) is another excellent track that has become legendary and many bands have covered this song including Nightwish -a power metal band from Finland.

"No Quarter" (7:00) is definitely one of the best compositions the band has ever created. One might wonder how this kind of music was created by Led Zeppelin with their heavy metal attribute. "No Quarter" has indeed some jazz components blended nicely with heavy metal music. The Bonham drum session is quite unique at this song with special tunings on snare and tom. Keep on rockin' ..!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW