Wednesday, August 09, 2017

Led Zeppelin: Houses of the Holy (1973)

Untitled
"They used to think it was so cute when she said dyer maker.
All the boys knew it was a joke about Jamaica"

"Dancing days. Houses of the holy. Hot child in the city in the middle of the prairie."

- Joke About Jamaica, The Hold Steady

Sometimes, I am convinced that this is my favourite Led Zeppelin record. Is there any song that sounds better than The Song Remains the Same, especially when turned up very loudly? The answer is no. Back in the day, I would really crank up that song when no one was home.

Although the cover seems harmless to me, the album artwork caused some controversy:
Like Led Zeppelin's fourth album, neither the band's name nor the album title was printed on the sleeve. However, manager Peter Grant did allow Atlantic Records to add a wrap-around paper title band to US and UK copies of the sleeve that had to be broken or slid off to access the record. This hid the children's buttocks from general display, but still the album was either banned or unavailable in some parts of the Southern United States for several years. [source]
I think many would argue that the first four records are the band's best, but I would say that this one is at least equal. It's fabulous.




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