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

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Morfmusic, Nov 8, 2018.

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  1. kaztor

    kaztor Music is the Best

    No, I don’t.
    Judging from reactions the two contenders aren’t together on the same album side.
     
  2. kaztor

    kaztor Music is the Best

    Imo they didn’t ‘return’ to anything on PG.
    The ‘new’ songs sound like a midway point between HOTH ‘s eclectism towards the back-to-basics monster grooves that would dominate Presence.
    The added leftovers serve to lighten up the mood and give the album it’s own schwung.
     
    If I Can Dream_23 likes this.
  3. Rose River Bear

    Rose River Bear Senior Member

    Nope. HOTH has Over The Hills and Far Away. They never reached that high again. The apotheosis.
     
    Llyrren, Safeway 1 and footlooseman like this.
  4. MicSmith

    MicSmith Forum Resident

    Both are excellent albums with IV nudging it for me - HOTH was though more experimental - a band looking for new horizons as they had done pretty much from the start. Some of those experiments worked really well and some marginally less so but Zeppelin on 3 cylinders was still a better engine then their rock contemporaries. A million bands would kill to have HOTH in their back catalogue.
     
    DPM likes this.
  5. DrJ

    DrJ Senior Member

    Location:
    Davis, CA, USA
    In my opinion, HOTH was something of a step down after IV. But still really, really great.
     
    Rufus rag likes this.
  6. tommy-thewho

    tommy-thewho Senior Member

    Location:
    detroit, mi
    Yes but it's still a great album.

    4 raised the bar too high.
     
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  7. All Down The Line

    All Down The Line The Under Asst East Coast White Label Promo Man

    Location:
    Australia
    I have a soft spot for Houses.
    (I really enjoy 5 of the songs but can't be bothered with the other 3.)
    Yes they have lightened their edge and undertaken new experiments so to me the album breathes more than IV and goes in more directions.
    For that it is less consistent and not as relentless as IV.
     
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  8. Somerset Scholar

    Somerset Scholar Ace of Spades

    Location:
    Bath
    HOTH has greatness and some mediocrity. It doesn't work that well as an album because of this. 4/5 album.
    Runes is just killer Zep all the way. 5/5
     
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  9. dee

    dee Senior Member

    Location:
    ft. lauderdale, fl
    No. It's just not as even or seems overall as focused as the previous one. I've always thought fwiw No Quarter goes better with the first side and Over The Hills with the 2nd. The Crunge is a B Side if they were a Singles band. Instead, imo, for LZ it's a throway and try to forgot about deep album track. Houses works better as an album imo without it. Have No Quarter close Side 1 and put Over The Hills on Side 2. It makes for a more consistemt listen, for me. YMWV :)
     
  10. HenryH

    HenryH Miserable Git

    HOTH deliberately takes more of an acoustic approach. Less heavy, more folk influenced. It’s a wonderful album. It’s another side of Zeppelin. It’s brilliant.
     
  11. Purple Jim

    Purple Jim Senior Member

    Location:
    Bretagne
    Silly me, I mean't the opening track The Song Remains The Same. Then there's the magnificent Over The Hills And Far Away.
     
  12. Crimson jon

    Crimson jon Forum Resident

    Location:
    Houston
    This is my favorite led zepplin album so I'd have to say no. I rank it


    Houses of the holy
    2
    4
    1
    Physical graffiti
    3
    In through the out door
    Presence
    Coda
     
  13. Safeway 1

    Safeway 1 "mad, bad, and dangerous to know"

    Location:
    Manzanillo, Mexico
    Listening to both as I read through this thread, my conclusion is since each album offers 8 cuts each I am calling
    a statistical tie.
     
    If I Can Dream_23 likes this.
  14. kaztor

    kaztor Music is the Best

    It’s funny and it’s obvious the band is enjoying themselves, but I always found it a bit too jarring, even on an album with Fool In The Rain on it, and following on the heels of that one and South Bound Suarez it feels like one style-shift too many.

    Ozone Baby shows the band’s versatility in a more palatable way with a straight-up pop-rocker that fits 1979 like a glove. Just my opinion, though.
     
    If I Can Dream_23 likes this.
  15. kaztor

    kaztor Music is the Best

    SQ-wise Presence tops ‘em all.
     
  16. HfxBob

    HfxBob Forum Resident

    The numbers 4 and 8 are very prominent in Zep, aren't they?

    8 tracks on each of these albums.

    8 albums in the catalogue.

    And on these albums you have the songs 'Four Sticks' and 'No Quarter'. :)
     
    setlistthief and ostrichfarm like this.
  17. seacliffe301

    seacliffe301 Forum Resident

    A step down in quality? Absolutely not. For me, "Houses..." was the plateau they reached after IV. I would then argue that this was continued into "Physical Graffiti", and then fell off after that.
     
  18. Terrapin Station

    Terrapin Station Master Guns

    Location:
    NYC Man/Joy-Z City
    That he was creating some nice, surreal imagery? :D
     
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  19. Terrapin Station

    Terrapin Station Master Guns

    Location:
    NYC Man/Joy-Z City
    I'm a huge Zappa fan so I dig that sort of thing.
     
    If I Can Dream_23 likes this.
  20. clayton

    clayton Senior Member

    Location:
    minneapolis mn
    Yes - some good stuff but I could do without the rain song.
     
  21. Dan Steele

    Dan Steele Senior Member

    Location:
    Chicago suburbs
    Different, but I find HOTH more enjoyable than untitled/IV. In particular if you replace the Crunge with the Rover, recorded in the same session, HOTH becomes the best album if all time.
     
    All Down The Line likes this.
  22. Raf

    Raf Senior Member

    Location:
    Toronto, Ontario
    I've always considered Houses of the Holy the best Led Zeppelin album, so no.
     
    Dan Steele likes this.
  23. In my world, Zep did not really take a step down until ITTOD.
     
    duneman likes this.
  24. sloaches

    sloaches Forum Resident

    The only knock I have on Houses is Plant's vocals on "The Song Remains The Same". For me, I prefer the concert soundtrack version much better. Otherwise it's a pretty solid album.
     
  25. kaztor

    kaztor Music is the Best

    The Ocean is an outstanding way to close an album.
    It sets the stage of what was to come like Levee did on IV.
     
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