Side 1A and 1B:
Custard Pie is the way you start a rock album. The second best guitar riff off of Page's fingers, followed by a beautiful run by Jones, then perfect entrances by Plant and Bonham. IMO, this is Zeppelin's best pure rock song. Lyrically, it's all over the place, but like The Lemon Song, the sexual innuendo is hard to miss. Sadly, this song was never performed in full at a Zeppelin concert.
The opening elements from the medley that most DTF fans will know,
The Rover was originally meant to be an acoustic piece, having been written at Bron-Yr-Aur during the Zeppelin II sessions, then recorded at Stargroves during the Houses of the Holy sessions in 1972. By the time mixing came, several overdubs and tweaks made it the rhythm heavy rock song that it is. This too was never performed live in it's entirety, only occasionally used as the opener to Sick Again.
Epic #1. And Epic it is. Closing side A of the first record,
In My Time of Dying is the longest song of any studio album in the catalog. Probably most recognizable for the slide effects that Page uses to dominate the feel of the song. Jones used a fretless bass, and when you listen specifically to him, you can hear him dancing all over the place, constantly shifting gears. Just before the 4 minute mark, the song takes an abrupt turn, and turns into a brilliant jam. Commenting years after its release, Page would say "... it just takes off and we're just doing what Led Zeppelin do. We're jamming. We're having a ball. We. Are. Playing." Bonham's performance is particularly brilliant. Because of its improvisational nature the band never had a rehearsed ending for the song.
Houses of the Holy was quite obviously recorded and intended as the title track to the previous release, but didn't make the final cut. Another riff heavy tune, it's understandable why the band felt it didn't fit on Houses, and was better suited here. Lyrically, the song is an ode to Led Zeppelin concerts, with the "Houses of the Holy" referring to the arenas and auditoriums in which the band performed. The "are you dizzy when you're stoned' lyric was a bit of a calling of my teenage years. Yet another PG track never performed live, though it does have the distinction of being the only Zeppelin song to use a cowbell.
I never really thought about it, but as Lowdz pointed out, there's a distinct Stevie Wonder/Superstitious feel going on with
Trampled Under Foot - though the lyrics were largely inspired by blues musician Robert Johnson's 1936 Terraplane Blues. The song evolved out of a jam session in 1972, and much effort went into perfecting the relentless semi-funk riff that dominates the feel. There were several pressings made as a single in 1975 in time for the band's Earl's Court concerts, but they were all shelved before being released, and are today highly sought-after collectors items.
Written over a period of three years with lyrics dating back to 1973,
Kashmir is in my opinion is Plant's lyrical crowning achievement. There isn't a single wasted stanza or word here. Everything flows absolutely perfectly - and all four members have agreed that it is one of their best musical achievements, showcasing all of the elements that make up the Led Zeppelin sound. Plant would say that it "possessed all the latent energy and power that wasn't heavy metal. It was the pride of Led Zeppelin."
Page's passion for diverse musical experiences influenced Plant to explore Africa, specifically Marrakesh in Morocco where he encountered Umm Kulthum. Plant would comment that “I was intrigued by the scales, initially, and obviously the vocal work. The way she sang, the way she could hold a note, you could feel the tension, you could tell that everybody, the whole orchestra, would hold a note until she wanted to change.” That musical inspiration eventually culminated in "Kashmir". Both he and Page revisited these influences during their reunion album No Quarter: Jimmy Page and Robert Plant Unledded in 1994.
The lyrics were written by Plant immediately after their 1973 US Tour, in an area he called "the waste lands" of Southern Morocco, while driving across the Sahara Desert. "Kashmir is my last resort ... it should be a haven, my Shangri-La" Plant would recount in interviews. There was a certain irony that the song was named after the plush, wet, mountainous region of the Himalayas. The irony was somewhat poetic in fact, as Plant felt that the song musically was not grandiose, but powerful... requiring "some kind of epithet, or abstract lyrical setting about the whole idea of life being an adventure and being a series of illuminated moments. But everything is not what you see."
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Topic: The Led Zeppelin Discography Discussion: v. Everything still turns to gold (Read 55941 times)