Led Zeppelin “Houses of the Holy”
Led Zeppelin “Houses of the Holy” released 50 years ago today, March 28th, 1973. I never need much of an excuse to listen to Zeppelin’s fifth studio album – it’s one of my favorites and gives me all the good feels/memories. I was a late bloomer Zeppelin fan, not getting into them until ’89 at college where this record was on heavy repeat. It went to #1 in the US and the UK and is on a multitude of best-of lists. They released a few singles in various international markets: “Over the Hills and Far Away” which went to #51 in the US and is definitely one of my top tracks with its gorgeous acoustic riff that explodes into heavy rock fury. They also released “D’yer Mak’er” (#20 US), a reggae-flavored rocker and “Dancing Days,” which “was inspired by an Indian tune that Jimmy Page and Robert Plant heard while traveling in Bombay” (wiki). (I love Zeppelin but they certainly were kings of ripping off other cultures music). One of my all-time Zeppelin tracks from any album, “The Ocean” (released only in Germany as a single where it went to #8) is also on Houses of the Holy – I thought the last line was kind of creepy until a friend in college gently explained to me that the three year old girl Robert Plant sings about was his daughter.
Daily (maybe) pulls from the vault: 33-1/3, 45, 78, old, older, classic, new, good, bad. Subjective. Autobiographical. Occasionally putting a record up for sale.