Product Description

1. The Song Remains The Same 2. The Rain Song 3. Over The Hills And Far Away 4. The Crunge 5. Dancing Days 6. D'yer Mak'er 7. No Quarter 8. The Ocean

Track Listing

1. Song Remains The Same
2. Rain Song
3. Over The Hills And Far Away
4. Crunge
5. Dancing Days
6. D'yer Mak'er
7. No Quarter
8. Ocean

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2261 in Music
• Released on: 1997-08-25
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Dimensions: .21 pounds

Amazon.co.uk Review
Buoyed by the runaway commercial success of Led Zeppelin IV, Jimmy Page used this 1973 follow-up to hone his already impressive production skills, and the result was a collection sporting an impressively expansive sound. Benefiting--especially on tracks such as "Dancing Days Are Here Again", "The Crunge" and "Over the Hills and Far Away"--was Zeppelin's always underrated rhythm section: thunder-fisted drummer John Bonham and rock-solid bassist John Paul Jones. Jones also emerged here as a secret weapon on keyboards with his subtle work on more pensive fare such as "No Quarter" and "The Ocean". And the goofy "D'yer Ma'ker" showed that Zeppelin had more of a sense of humour than most people ever gave them credit for. --Billy Altman

CD Description
By 1973, Led Zeppelin was getting used to being the biggestband on the planet (both financially and sonically). Letting their guard down and their spirits wander, they came up with the most widely varied album in their discography. Stylistically, HOUSES OF THE HOLY is all over the map, but it coheres in a grand manner befitting the '70s rock royalty Zeppelin had become. Stepping back a little from the epic scale ofZEPPELIN IV, the group slips into a funky James Brown homage ("The Crunge"), offers one of the first-ever attempts at reggae-rock ("D'yer Ma'ker"), and ventures into Pink Floyd-like prog rock ("No Quarter"). Jimmy Page's guitar work is at its most exquisitely beautiful on "The Rain Song", but the heavy-rock punch of yore is still present and accounted for on "Dancing Days" and "The Ocean". From here, it seemed like Led Zeppelin was capable of anything.

Customer Reviews

In a word - Uplifting
I love this Album! In fact this was the album that got me into Zeppelin, and D'yer Mak'er was the track that sparked my love for this band more than 20 years ago.

Houses of the Holy is a typical Led Zeppelin album, inasmuch as it is a collection of tracks of different styles and moods, delivered by superb musicianship, yet unified by that unique, indescribable Zeppelin sound. As usual, the band invite you on a musical journey that pushes the boundaries of what you thought Led Zep are all about.

Jimmy Page's guitar playing is immaculate through out, from the multi layered guitar rock anthem "The Song Remains the same", through probably their most beautiful ballad "The Rain Song". "Over the Hills and far away" is a folk rock track that would have graced Led Zep III and Dancing Days is an off beat rocker with some great slide guitar playing. The Ocean is probably one of the great guitar riff rock songs ever, in the very best tradition of Black Dog and Heartbreaker whilst No Quarter illustrates the growing creative influence of John Paul Jones.

The tracks that usually divide opinion are "The Crunge" and "D'yer Mak'er". If you take them on face value, The Crunge has a groove that is a brilliant advert for the rhythm section whilst D'yer Mak'er is simply a beautiful, naïve love song.

This album is great for listening to in the summertime; sitting around a beach fire with friends watching the sun set, and has a beautifully uplifting vibe. If you like head banging your way through an entire album then maybe this isn't for you. If you like something a bit more varied then this is a classic.

my current favourite Zep album...
This is an album on which all 8 tracks give me tingles, that fabulous feeling that you get when you love a song so much that you almost want to cry and dance and sing all at the same time.
It kicks off with a truly great rock song, 'The Song Remains the Same'. Having recently watched the video of 'TSRTS' for the first time, I'm even more in love with this song than ever. It then runs seamlessly into 'The Rain Song', which is really beautiful, classic acoustic 'gentle' Zep. I love 'Over the Hills and Far Away' for the heartfelt vocals of the chorus. 'The Crunge' I just love. It's bizarre but great (and also sounds like a James Brown song at the end...). My favourite track is probably 'Dancing Days' for its rhythm and riff. 'D'yer Mak'er' (or however you spell it) is a strange contrast of stereotypical romantic song lyrics and a reggae sort of rhythm which is weird but interesting and also gives it individualism. 'No Quarter' is an eerie, Lord of the Rings-ish track; hard to explain but if you listen to it you'll see what I mean! And then there is 'The Ocean', probably the one I neglect unfairly because it seems like a bit of an anticlimax after 'No Quarter', but it's a more typical Led Zeppelin rock track (not that that's a bad thing at all!)
Led Zeppelin are one of my all-time favourite bands. I know everyone loves them for different reasons, but for me their eclectic sound and brilliant musical talent is what makes them so excellent (and they also write damn good songs!). This album is definitely worth getting even if you're not a huge Zep fan because the songs are all so different but so great. So yeah. Buy it!

Underrated experimental genius
This album is sorely underrated. It demonstrates Zeppelin's lyrical brilliance with the Rain Song, and their humour and innovation with the catchy D'yer M'ker. I like to think it is the last album of the old zeppelin style before they undergo the change with Physical Graffiti, which is a much rockier album. Houses of the Holy is more acoustic, more dreamy and sometimes better for it. A definite must have for zeppelin fans, if purely for Rain song buy it anyway. Maybe it wont soothe the appetite of new fans who crave more Black Dog etc but the brilliance is that zeppelin didn't care so why should you. just go for it. buy one and see what you think.