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

HotH is Page/LZ creating material that could be played nearly intact live.
The thick production of the First Four was hard to reproduce.

 

I will gladly take your Rain Song and freely give you your preferred Crunge, Dancing Days & D'yer M"ker so we will both be happy!

 

Not this version

The Song Remains the Same
Over the Hills and Far Away
Dancing Days
Rain song
Houses of the Holy
The Rover
No Quarter
The Ocean

 

Don't understand it either. It's one Bonham's finest studio drumming moments and is worth it for that alone.

 

I’ll take The Rain Song.

It’s arguably the greatest thing they ever wrote.

 

I got interested in Led Zeppelin in junior high, right before Presence was released. First album was IV, which I received as a gift. Then Houses of the Holy. Like many kids my age then, Led Zeppelin was very popular. I quickly began saving money and acquired I,II,II, Physical Graffiti, Song Remains the Same and Presence. That took about 2 years. I taped the Song Remains the Same off an early paid cable channel, and watched it many times. 25 years later, I began collecting Led Zep live recordings.

After all that, Houses of the Holy has been, and still is, my favorite Led Zeppelin album. IV is a close second. The songs on HOTH have a certain flow that really works for me. Also to be considered is the hundreds of times I played HOTH during my junior high and high school years.

 

No, it wasn't a step down. I dislike the colors of the album art.

I don't know where I'd rank it. Someone not lazier than a rug on valium should make a poll of all their abums.

 

Track for track I prefer Houses of the Holy.

On Zep IV I love Black Dog, Four Sticks and Levee. I think there is too much of their hippy dippy side on it for me with Stairway, Battle and California. Rock and Roll and Misty Mountain Hop have always been filler for me (but high quality filler).

On Houses I love TSRTS, Over the hills, Dancing Days, No Quarter and The Ocean, in fact these are basically my favourite Zep tunes full stop. I don't mind D'yer Mak'er or The Crunge, they are fun filler and for the time quite experimental for a heavy rock band to play reggae and funk. The Rain Song I used to find a bore but quite enjoy it now.

 

*I* wasn't calling Physical Graffiti a step down from Houses of the Holy. Far from it, I've always thought of PG as Zep's White Album with its diversity. And yes, I agree that the newer songs of PG as a single LP would have been incredible. Hmm... I think I feel a playlist coming...

 

i wasn't alive then so how would i know?

 

And the running time of "Four Sticks", from the fourth album runs 4:44

 

That clinches it. 4 had some sort of occult significance for Pagey.

 

Gee uzn007, there's absolutely nothing wrong with being good. Particularly when being compared to classics like Rain Song, No Quarter, The Song Remains The Same, etc.

 

Nothing wrong with being good, but for me "Dancing Days" and (especially) "The Ocean" are among the highlights of the Zeppelin catalog (or, at the very least, "great"). I guess I never imagined that there would be that much divergence of opinion on the subject! LOL, welcome to the internet, right?

 

Kinda funny. With the exception of ITTOD the odd numbered ones I return to the most.

 

Your Favourite Led Zeppelin Album - New Poll

This poll suggest PG won because it was a double, otherwise it would be 4. If 4 was 8, 8 would be leading.

 

The sequencing on side 2 kills.
Plant screaming in the fade-out to No Quarter, then Bonzo casually leading in The Ocean is absolutely awesome.

 

Yes but it’s still great

 

I love Zappa as well, but you go into that with those expectations. Hot Dog feels a little bit like filler for the sake of it to me. Imho they had better material available.

 

Quite the opposite. Houses of the Holy is my favorite LZ album, maybe tied with PG. IV is uneven (especially side 1), HotH is consistently excellent, PG side 3 might be the best album side by any band.

 

I remember posting one some years ago.

Right now I think this would make sense:

Side 1:
1. Custard Pie
2. Trampled Underfoot
3. Kashmir

Side 2:
1. In The Light
2. The Wanton Song
3. Ten Years Gone
4. Sick Again

Yes, I left off In My Time Of Dying.
If it wasn’t for In The Light I would have had it open side 2, but in all honesty I enjoy the other ‘new’ songs more. When it goes past the 7-minute mark things get a little bit tedious, although I like how they get into overdrive the last minute or so.
Furthermore, I think my tracklist makes for a good sequencing and a proper album length.

 

The numbers 4 and 8 are considered the numbers of "fate and destiny".....according to some numerologists! ...fwiw...

 

I have to disagree. The greatness of IV notwithstanding, I think The Song Remains The Same, Rain Song, Over The Hills and Far Away, Dancing Days, No Quarter and The Ocean find them at their songwriting/arranging (and use of the studio) creative peak.

 

Naa not at all. Actually about even, but has better moments. i.e. No Quarter and The Rain song.

 

Houses Of The Holy is clearly a step UP in quality.