Led
Zeppelin Houses of the Holy
Houses of the Holy
is Led Zeppelin's fifth studio album and is incredibly good. This
album they continue to perfect their ability to blend acoustic
instruments into a rock setting, and write original simple melodic
rock songs that are, well, perfect.
Houses of the Holy
has three of my favorite Led Zeppelin songs. "Over the Hills
and Far Away" has a catchy acoustic English folk melody, which
has beautiful electric guitar solos complementing it. "The
Ocean" is based on a simple music phrase. The rhythmic
foundation finds Jones and Bonham establishing the foundation. That
is capped off with some unaccompanied singing by Robert Plant and a
nice Jimmy Page solo; a well-balanced classic indeed. A song often
overlooked is "The Rain Song." This is really a gorgeous
song, which is one of their most melodic pieces featuring great
dynamics and great keyboard work.
The flow of the songs and
the diversity of the writing make for a super follow-up to their
classic previous album, Led
Zeppelin IV.
by Barry Small ©
Grade A
