HOUSES OF THE HOLY

Here's where I think Led Zeppelin takes their boldest leap musically. The variety of music styles covered here is more notable here than any other Zeppelin album before this. While I admire their will to be a bit more experimental, many of the songs just don't work here.

Typical Zep affairs are found in ''The Ocean'' and ''Over the Hills...'', so not much discussion needs to take place here. ''No Quarter'' and ''The Song Remains the Same'' have weird prog rock vibes to them that elevate the songs, compositionally speaking. ''No Quarter'' is filled with electric keyboards sure to make the progster buzz with excitement even if I believe the guitars steal the show here. ''The Song Remains the Same'' carries this prog mystique to it in the same way that Black Sabbath songs around this time did; the only flaw is the vocal effect on Robert Plant, one of the worst studio tamperings I've ever heard.

Strangely, my choice cut here is ''The Crunge'', a lightweight, almost throwaway funky song with plenty of offish rhythms that make it interesting. The keyboard lines are hilariously splendid. Unfortunately, the fun ends with a half-lame ballad (''The Rain Song''), a laughable reggae attempt (''D'yer Maker'') and a horrible rock song (''Dancing Days'').

I never have been fond of Led Zeppelin, and this album did little to change that. Raise the rating a half-star for the experimental efforts here.