The first four
Led Zeppelin albums seem like a family, a story arc, or some sort of musical rock
epic, mostly due to their numbering. Houses of the Holy, released in 1973, is their first album that stands alone, not simply because of its (non-numeric) title, but also because it is a departure from their earlier, blues-influenced, pure
rock and roll exuberance. The album runs from the straight, frenetic sprint of
The Song Remains the Same, through the staggered tidal
time signature of
The Ocean. It stops along the way to dip into
Viking mythology,
James Brown-inspired funk, and a little
reggae just for kicks. Almost an afterthought to their first four albums--a footnote to say, "we're more than you think"--it ignores their
roots and reinforces all the stylistic surprises of the earlier work: a soft, moody number like
Going to California is echoed in beginning of
The Rain Song. The mystical edge from
Ramble On,
Stairway to Heaven, and
Immigrant Song comes back to haunt you in
No Quarter. An amazing album from beginning to end, but certainly an
acquired taste,
Houses of the Holy shows the spectrum of what
Led Zeppelin were capable of.
Tracks:
- The Song Remains the Same
- The Rain Song
- Over the Hills and Far Away
- The Crunge
- Dancing Days
- D'yer Mak'er
- No Quarter
- The Ocean
The song "Houses of the Holy" comes from their massive album Physical Graffiti, and features a guitar vamp in a time signature I've tentatively tagged as 9/8 time. The vamp usually follows the lyric "You know," and serves as a great counterpoint to the other theme of the song. Most of the song is in a straight driving 4/4 time, in simple couplets that show off Robert Plant's voice more than anything else. The rest of the band (or possibly some howler monkeys) lend their voices to the hooting over the last minute or two of the song.
Lyrics:
Let me take you to the movies. Can I take you to the show?
Let me be yours ever truly. Can I make your garden grow?
From the houses of the holy, we can watch the white
doves go;
From the door comes
Satan's daughter, and it only goes to show...
You know.
There's an angel on my shoulder, In my hand a
sword of gold.
Let me wander in your garden, and the
seeds of love I'll sow...
You know.
So the world is spinning faster--are you dizzy when you're stoned?
--Let the music be your master. Will you heed the master's call?
Oh...
Satan and man.
Said, there ain't no use in crying, 'cause it will only, only drive you mad!
Does it hurt to hear them lying? Was this the only world you had?
Oh, oh!
So let me take you, take you to the movie. Can I take you, baby, to the show?
Why don't you let me be yours ever truly? Can I make your garden grow?
You know.
Incidentally, also the name of an irrigation ditch - turned - stoner hangout in the Delaware woods near St. Andrew's. The closest thing to "the old Indian cave" from Dead Poets Society that existed.