Houses Of The Holy

Houses of the Holy, Led Zeppelins 5th album and the soundtrack to my commute.
This album leaves behind the blues influences that make up the 4 previous albums, and it seems that Led Zeppelin are intent on ripping off The Beastie Boys. Shocking really as no writing credit is given to MCA, AD Rock or Mike D. I would get my lawyers on to Zep if I were them.
I am of course being facetious. This album is markedly different to all that came before it though for those reasons. Production has turned up a gear, songwriting alters a little and the entire package is being thought on, similar I guess to its predecessor Led Zeppelin IV but different enough.
The Ocean is the stand out track for me on this album, I was a little disappointed when it finished, this is a track that The Beastie Boys sampled on their debut, it’s a gorgeous tune, worth having a listen to even if the rest of the album isn’t really your thing.
This album sees some humour coming through aswell, notably in The Crunge, with the call “have you seen the bridge”, you might need to take that in the context of its cod James Brown funk, also D’yer Maker, one part of the joke, My wife went to the West Indies on her holidays…Jamaica? No she went of her own accord. Badda Tish.
Its not all laughs a plenty with Zeppelin though, Houses of The Holy can be quite dark in parts, not too dark though, after all the fantastic Dancing Days is on this album and that adds light to any release. The Rain Song to my ears is a dark song though, not bad dark, just not as light as the rest of the album, still fantastic and different and proof that Led Zeppelin didn’t stand still.
All in all it was a very enjoyable album, I listened intently as opposed to letting it wash over me, and that is a measure of a good album. Last of the week for this week. 8 out of 10.



The Ocean by Led Zeppelin