Was Houses of the Holy a step down in quality after 4?

I used to think HotH was a letdown, but I got over it.

Disclosure: the First Four were, are, will be considered sacred in this house.

Though I put Presence ahead of HotH, the latter is a much richer album than I originally gave it credit for. The songs speak for themselves, but my perception is what's in question. When I first heard it in the day, the then-publicized news that Plant was experiencing voice damage was evident on the record; overall, it wasn't as powerful an album as The First Four, and I wanted that power. But I came to understand that Zep did many things well.

However, HotH does regretfully contain the one LZ song that I still actively dislike:

D'yer Maker.

That's the REAL reason this is a crippled album.



PS: I like The Crunge.

 

The 2 would have made one hell of a double album

 

HotH is not a step down. It's progression.

 

Three ‘4’s’ next to each other resemble the icky ends of Satan’s prong. Four ‘sticks’, so there’s a hint in the title right there. 4x4=16, the cd has one (1) playable side and it’s song number 6. On vinyl, if you detract 2 off of the total amount of songs on the album up to that point (‘2’ = side ‘2’) you will end up with ‘4’ songs and the 4th song presumably carries a satanic message in backwards fashion!

4 minutes wasted.

 

This is interesting. I might need a degree in Math to go any further!

 

The number 8 someone said. Now, let’s see 4+4=...

 

III
I
Physical
Houses
IV
II
Coda
BBC
Plant Page Live
Presence
Door

Very difficult on the order. Houses and III are just so good! It can change.

 

It was my first LZ album. Loved it then, love it now. It’s right up there with I, II, III and IV.

 

Hard for me to rank Zep albums, putting them in tiers much easier.

Essential: I, II, III, IV
Ex: HotH, PG, BBC
Good: Presence, Door
You dont need everything: SRTS, Coda

 

I'll play.

IV
I
III
II
Presence
HotH
PG
ITtOD

Coda doesn't count, but I don't dislike it. There are no bad Zep albums.

PG is one side too long. Unload side 4, and I'd move it up a notch.

 

Step down? It doesn't have 'Stairway to Heaven' or something equally as cringeworthy, so no way!

 

I think Song Remains The Same is one of the greatest guitar songs of all time!

 

Casual fan here. I only know the first 5 albums and from a friend who used to play them a lot, way back when.
The one I liked the most was Houses Of The Holy, and it's still the only studio album of theirs I have or want. I think it's a brilliant record; don't get the negativity toward Crunge and D'yer Mak'er.

 

Not a step down. Especially the RL copy. A great album indeed.

 

It has never occurred to me to think of Zeppelin's discography in terms of being progressive, in the sense of each new album being a step in an evolutionary process. Perhaps it is because they, or anyone else for that matter, could not ever hope to top that eponymous debut LP. ~ match it, perhaps .. or, at least put up another in a series of efforts to try and at least present a respectable attempt to do so. In that they managed, but each effort is different. 'Houses' does succeed in giving us another in only a handful of true showcases, in 'No Quarter'. The showcase from IV is 'When The Levee Breaks', imo. Each album has one or two of them. Houses is at least as good as IV, but IV has more dynamite and Houses mellows a bit.

 

Same here. The 1st LZ album I bought on my own......spring/summer of 73. I still remember listening to it for the first time in an apartment where we lived (I was 11 at the time). I can still see the sun shining through my bedroom window whenever I hear The Song Remains the Same. This album holds a special place for me.

 

Not trying to be argumentative--I just think this is worth pointing out, because I think it's worth doing. I try as much as possible to listen to everything with zero expectations. And I even mean to an extent where if, say, the Rolling Stones were to put out an album next year, and I hit "play" and I hear them doing polka tunes in a traditional way, or they do a traditional polka tune, then a gamelan tune, etc.--whatever--I'd be fine with it conceptually, because I have zero expectations about what they will or should be doing.

 

I think it's more that they were four guys with a huge number of different musical loves between them, and they didn't want to just focus on one narrow thing all the time, without letting their various influences come through, without being able to explore all sorts of different things that excited them musically.

 

No one said we were going to have to do math.

 

Man, this thread is getting to the point of needing some serious pushback from IV proponents. Who's with me?

 

a stately appraisal indeed

 

I'd say so, but not by much, because it contains some excellent material. IV would be a very hard act to follow.

 

I've played HOTH a lot more over the years than IV. One of the reasons is "Stairway to Heaven" - if I never hear that song again it'll be too soon. Other reasons;

"The Ocean" is maybe my favorite song of theirs. "We've done four already but now we're steady and then they went: One, two, three, four BAM BAM BA BA BAM" is such an iconic, epic, simple, and yes stupid way to start a song but man does it FEEL GOOD! The fact that it's been used by hip-hop bands as well as influenced countless other bands, just shows how good this is. Then the change after the last verse, I get goose bumps when they kick in with that. Bonzo's banging and stomping, Jimmy's riffs and sweet tone, Plant sums it up perfectly - "OH SOOO GOOD!"

"No Quarter" is an underappreciated classic. The mood, the music, sublime.

"OTHaFAW" straight up one of the best in their catalog.

"TSRTS" and "The Rain Song" both are excellent.

I agree that "The Crunge" and "Dancing Days" are weak. Although I'm fond of "D'yer Mak'er" because it's too much fun not to like.

 

Yes, in fact its one of my least favorite Zep albums. I hate The Crunge. Hate it. As much as I love The Rain Song, I hate The Crunge, and it nullifies the whole thing. Phys Graffiti was a step back up. IMO.

 

My brother from another mother!