Review Summary: This is the most diverse album I've heard in my life. It mixes funk with folk with psychedelic with reggae. It is the best album ever in my opinion.
Diversity is something that we need every day. With out it we would all live boring and wasteful lives. Could you imagine the poor fellow who does the usual routine constantly? It is just something vital. Something that paints a picture of this need is
Houses of the Holy. This goes from funk to reggae and everything in between. It would be very difficult to top their last success,
Led Zeppelin IV, but I believe that they did this very well.
One thing that makes me praise this album is how well the songs are puzzled together. In starting track
The Song Remains the Same Jimmy Page shows his skill very well. At times he is quintuple tracking his guitar. They are very technical in that song speeding it up so Plant’s voice is up to two octaves high than usual. It can get annoying but it is very admirable how much effort is put into this song. The sound density in that song is just very amazing. Another song that is like that is the folk like
Over the Hills and far Away. The guitar intro is one of the best I’ve ever heard and the guitar doesn’t stop to impress. This song is a reason to like the album. It is one of the catchiest songs to come out of Led Zeppelin genius. Though the ending does drag with almost inaudible guitar that doesn’t take much away from this masterpiece.
From 1969 through 1971 they were basically a blues/hard rock band. As I said before, this is diverse. They do not leave that quality.
The Ocean, written by John Bonham, is a perfect example of how Led Zeppelin can get when they become bluesy. It features Page sliding down a bluesy fret board, JPJ following, Bonham doing powerhouse drumming and Plant singing Bonham’s happy go lucky lyrics. Once again Page is using multiple tracks. Another song like this is
Dancing’ Days. It sort of repetitive but it doesn’t disappoint. Plant is pretty much sticking to a couple notes. It is a little bit boring but the instrumentals make up for it.
This album also has two songs that you will never hear anything like it that was produced by Led Zeppelin. One of them,
The Crunge, is an ode to James Brown. It merely started as a jam session with Bonham doing a complex drum beat then John Paul Jones doing a very groovy bassline and Jimmy doing a funky guitar riff. That jam session turned into a fun and funky song. It ends abruptly as an awkward ‘Have you seen the bridge?’ Very weird but very cool. Another unique song is
D’yer Mak’er. Pronounced ‘Jamaica’ this song has very reggae influenced guitar. Bonham’s drum fills are a reason to love the song. Every thing is perfect in this song.
This album gets very psychedelic with one single song.
No Quarter has some very pearl drop like synthesizer and far out guitar riffs. The song is just very mystical and weird. This song features vocal effects, intricate drum beats, heavily distorted guitar and great piano. This was John Paul Jones’ slot in the album. I always loved it when he took over. He really shines in this song.
On every Led Zeppelin album there is one song that stands out. One song that exceeds the norm is
Rain Song. It is a lovely track with beautiful acoustic guitar, soft bush stick drumming, backing violin and gorgeous lyrics spewing out of Plant’s peaceful vocals. That crescendos into an uplifting orchestral sounding section then tamed to the relaxing part. The up beat outro is one of the best I’ve ever heard. This song is extremely creative because it has the most unique tuning I’ve seen. If you can find another song with Gsus4 tuning I will pay you. If you’re in a bad and angry mood this is the song to listen to. Your anger will be washed away with this emotionally happy, inspirational song.
This album absolutely cannot be contained into one genre. That is the main reason why I consider this the best album ever. It explores into new styles. Another great thing is the consistency. There is no filler. Some may consider
The Crunge a filler track but I don’t see why. Just because it is different doesn’t mean that it’s filler. It means that they have the guts to change things up.
Pros:
Rain Song
Diversity
Consistency
Cons:
Not enough blues
Some people may not like how different it gets
Individual tracks:
Song Remains the Same 4/5
Rain Song 5/5
Over the Hills and Far Away 4.75/5
The Crunge 4/5
Dancing Days 4/5
D’Yer Mak’er 5/5
No Quarter 4/5
The Ocean 4.5/5
5/5 no doubt.
