Date Published: 28 March 2013 – Classic Rock Radio (UK)
Uncle G’s FUN Classic Rock Anniversaries
Subject: Led Zeppelin – Houses Of The Holy (1973)
By Gary “Uncle G” Brown
American Correspondent for Classic Rock Radio (UK)
GaryBrown@garyunclegbrownarchives.com
It was forty years ago today, that Led Zeppelin had again, blown me away. For on this very day, the hard rock giants released their fifth studio album; Houses Of The Holy.
I think the album is perfect for what it is. Sure Robert Plant’s vocals at times sound like he was singing in an empty cement pond. Who am I to criticize? Over time I just got used to his singing. To this day, forty years later, I don’t have one bad thing to say about the music found on this album.
The album cover on the other hand upon first look, inspired the following first reaction from me; WTF? Naked people in a place where being naked, on rocks, is not a good place to be carrying on in the buff. And they look kind of alien; childlike. A snapshot from their evolution perhaps? Crawling out of the nearby vast body of water. Commonly referred to as an; OCEAN. Now climbing the mountain, all looking to gain entry in a bad Robert Plant clone contest being held by the locals. Think I’m onto something?
In ’92 I made my way via Greyhound Bus to Daytona Florida. The occasion was; Bike Week ’92. Was going through a divorce. In my early 30’s then. While poking around I came across in the back of a biker shop, a cardboard box of…dare I say it…bootleg recordings. All for the incredibly low price of three dollars apiece. Mixed in was a Led Zeppelin concert from the Houses Of The Holy Tour. The set list included the band performing these two songs together…the same two songs that start off the album; The Song Remains The Same/The Rain Song. The quality for the not official live Led Zeppelin was pretty good, meaning I could turn up the volume some. On this night, the mellotron Jonesy was playing, took a big shit. Right at the end of, The Rain Song. Going by Mr. Plant’s comment afterward, he wasn’t surprised. The mellotron consisted of tapes. They would heat up, and then like watching Batman on TV back in the sixties; POW !!! Happened more than once. Still, was much cheaper than touring with an orchestra. Ask Carl Palmer (of ELP) what that costs. John Paul Jones still made it happen. The best he could anyway.
This album also gave us a song called; No Quarter. It became in concert, the showcase/solo moment for Jones. Robert Plant would fuck with him when announcing the segment, referring to Jones as; Liberace. Dead for a while now. He was a flamboyant piano player. Classically trained I imagine. Regardless, hearing him play, you forget all about the character he was. The dude was THAT good. A left-handed compliment?
Overall, Led Zeppelin’s Houses Of The Holy is very much, a solid album. The songs contained to this very day are still being played every day on the radio, included here, on Classic Rock Radio (UK). Not that we OVER play them. That’s important. After all, we need time to play the rest of the mighty Led Zeppelin catalog as well. Long Live Led Zeppelin. One of the greatest hard rock bands the world has ever seen.
Bonus Story – Uncle G’s FUN Concert Memories: Led Zeppelin 1977 – https://garyunclegbrownarchives.com/2022/03/05/uncle-gs-fun-concert-memories-led-zeppelin-1977/
End of Story
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