Houses of the Holy

2005 Japanese standard jewel case pressing of Led Zeppelin's 1973 album. Features the same tracks and mastering as the US edition but includes an OBI and Japanese/English insert. Warner. 2005.

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 humor than most people ever gave them credit for. --Billy Altman

Robert Plant once said that a chunk of the Zep catalog was "music for hippie bookstores." While much of Houses of the Holy thumps hard enough to knock the incense holders off the speakers, the generally upbeat vibe makes this a great choice for playing on the first (dancing) day of spring, windows flung wide open as Jimmy Page's lead lines soar out over the neighbors' rosebushes. Plant is at his most lovey-dovey here, whether updating Chuck Berry on "The Ocean," extolling the virtues of his Page 3 girl on "The Crunge," or writing greeting cards for that patchouli-scented side-street shop on "The Rain Song." In a word: grand. --Rickey Wright