Led Zeppelin
Houses of the holy

THE REVIEW

On March 28, 1973, five years after the release of the dazzling debut of the dirigible (Led Zeppelin I, March 28, 1969), Led Zeppelin released their fifth album, Houses Of The Holy, heavily criticized but certainly able to compete with the legendary previous four albums. A perfect example is the opening track, "The Song Remains The Same", featuring Page's textbook opening riff, using the legendary 12-string doubleneck guitar in this track. The song is perfect and destined to go down in history, evident by the fact that three years later it would be the name of the group's film. After the explosion of this magnificent initial track, we encounter a change of style with "The Rain Song", a beautiful song with dreamy tones characterized by Jones's delicate mellotron and a very refined atmosphere. This track is also an example of how Led Zeppelin was never just a simple hard rock band; in fact, after the first four minutes, the song tears open and becomes an exhilarating rock piece characterized by Sir Bonzo's massive drums. Undoubtedly one of the strong pieces of the album.

The next track, "Over The Hills And Far Away", is monumental: after Page's acoustic guitar, Bonzo's drums come in and transform the song with a more decidedly rock flavor. Five stars. The following track, "The Crunge", while not up to the previous three tracks, offers amusing funk moves and is extremely entertaining, with Plant's memorable voice and the instrumental compactness of Page, Jones, and Bonham. "Dancing Days" features Page's "unrestrained" guitar and Bonzo's drums, undoubtedly a very interesting episode for its "rocking" cut. The sixth song, "D'yer' Maker", is a true divertissement: the song is nothing but a sort of reggae parody, perhaps negligible but hilarious (!), certainly not able to compete with the splendid following song, "No Quarter," undoubtedly a milestone. Gloomy and fascinating as only it can be. The track is characterized by the dark and mysterious tones of Jones's splendid keyboards and Page's absolutely epic and powerful riff. This piece can be considered "Jones's," so much so that in the following years, Jones would have a special connection with this song. Power and refined creativity characterize both "No Quarter" and "The Ocean", the splendid concluding track with Plant offering his splendid and unattainable voice and Page delivering amazing ups and downs with his formidable guitar. An absolutely dignified and inimitable way to conclude a fascinating album.

I have read negative reviews here and there, "that Houses Of The Holy shows a sharp decline in inspiration and intensity", "that it's bad", and so on. But Houses Of The Holy is none of that. It is more, much more, more. This album was underrated, and perhaps someone wanted it to be judged better. Wish granted. Without a doubt, a masterpiece.