Maps of Music

Houses of the Holy (1973)

Where the lyrics of Houses of the Holy take you, and where it was really made.

The cover was the band's first designed by Hipgnosis, and the first design was rejected because the band thought it implied their music was a 'racket'.

Key places

Mobile studio at Stargroves (1973)

Recording site Stargroves — In April 1972 the band took the mobile studio to Mick Jagger's Hampshire home and recorded much of the album there. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

First attempt at No Quarter (1973)

Recording site Headley Grange — An earlier session at Headley Grange was where the band first tried the song No Quarter, before the album was made. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Overdubs at Olympic Studios (1973)

Recording site Olympic Studios — The band recorded further material at Olympic Studios in London in May 1972, as the album sessions continued. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Sessions during the 1972 North American tour (1973)

Recording site Electric Lady Studios — During the 1972 North American tour the band conducted additional recording sessions at Electric Lady Studios in New York. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Cover photo at the Giant's Causeway (1973)

Album cover Giant's Causeway — The album cover is based on a photograph taken at the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland by Hipgnosis. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Gatefold photo at Dunluce Castle (1973)

Album cover Dunluce Castle — The inner gatefold photograph of the album was taken at Dunluce Castle, located near the Giant's Causeway. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Fifth studio album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin
• Released 28 March 1973 in the United States and 30 March 1973 in the United Kingdom by Atlantic Records
• All instruments and vocals by Robert Plant (vocals), Jimmy Page (guitar), John Paul Jones (bass, keyboards), and John Bonham (drums)
• Produced by Page and mixed by Eddie Kramer
• Stylistic turning point for the band; its composition and production laid foundations for later releases
• Several songs became live fixtures: "The Song Remains the Same", "The Rain Song", "No Quarter"
• Title track and other sessions were shelved and later released on Physical Graffiti (1975) and Coda (1982)

Background

• By 1972 the band had sustained commercial and critical success from studio albums and live shows
• The band wanted to record on location again, since the mobile studio used for the previous untitled album had been an enjoyable experience
• Page and Jones had installed home studios, so they arrived at the sessions with complete compositions and arrangements
• Page's home studio used some equipment from Pye Mobile Studios, which had been used on the Who's Live at Leeds

Recording

• In April 1972, after touring Australia, the group took the mobile studio to Mick Jagger's home, Stargroves, in Hampshire
• "No Quarter" was first attempted during a session at Headley Grange Estate in East Hampshire
• Further recording took place at Olympic Studios in May
• Additional sessions were held at Electric Lady Studios in New York during the 1972 North American tour
• Some rock 'n' roll covers recorded at Electric Lady Studios remain unreleased
• Eddie Kramer returned as recording engineer

Cover

• The first cover the band had designed by Hipgnosis
• Based on a photograph taken at Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland by Aubrey Powell of Hipgnosis
• The inner gatefold photograph was taken at Dunluce Castle nearby the Causeway

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Formed in London in 1968 from the remnants of the Yardbirds, originally as the New Yardbirds.
• Jimmy Page recruited Robert Plant, John Bonham and John Paul Jones; the first full performance was in Denmark in September 1968.
• The name was changed to Led Zeppelin after a cease and desist letter from Chris Dreja, with the 'a' dropped from 'lead' at Peter Grant's suggestion.
• Atlantic Records signed them with a large advance and gave the band artistic and publishing autonomy.

Members

• Robert Plant on vocals and harmonica; Jimmy Page on guitar; John Paul Jones on bass and keyboards; John Bonham on drums.
• Page wrote most of the music and Plant most of the lyrics; Jones often originated keyboard-based songs.

Career

• Released eight studio albums in ten years, achieving eight consecutive UK number-one albums and six US Billboard 200 number ones.
• Led Zeppelin IV, with 37 million copies sold, is among the best-selling albums in history.
• Set attendance records on tours in the 1970s, including 56,800 fans at Tampa Stadium in 1973.
• Disbanded in December 1980 after John Bonham's death; surviving members reunited only sporadically, including the 2007 Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert.
• Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995; estimated to have sold 200 to 300 million records.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Gordon Fletcher of Rolling Stone called the album one of the dullest and most confusing of the year and said the band had turned toward a watered-down heavy metal act
• Much music press criticism targeted the off-beat nature of tracks such as "The Crunge" and "D'yer Mak'er"
• Robert Christgau rated it favourably in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981), finding side one solid
• Christgau mocked the solemnity of "No Quarter" and found some tracks derivative of earlier albums

Reappraisal

• AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote that the band's playing made the eclecticism of the songwriting sound coherent and natural
• Rolling Stone ranked the album 149th on its 2003 500 Greatest Albums list, 148th in a 2012 revision, and 278th in 2020
• Chuck Eddy ranked it 45th in his book of the 500 best heavy metal albums in 1991, praising "The Rain Song" and the funk and reggae tracks
• At Metacritic, the 2014 reissue received an average score of 98 from nine reviews, indicating universal acclaim
• Pitchfork's Mark Richardson called it perhaps the most impressive Zeppelin album on a purely sonic level, though he was disappointed by the alternate-mix bonus disc

Records

• Topped the UK charts
• Spent 39 weeks on the Billboard 200, including two weeks at number one
• Ranked number four on Billboard's 1973 year-end top albums chart
• RIAA Diamond certification in 1999 for at least 10 million copies sold in the US
• Nominated for a 1974 Grammy Award in the Best Album Package category
• Cover rated number 6 on VH1's 50 Greatest Album Covers in 2003

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Page said the album cover was Hipgnosis's second submission; the first, by Storm Thorgerson, showed an electric green tennis court with a racket, and the band fired him over the implied pun
• The group once considered putting dance steps to "The Crunge" on the cover, as a tongue-in-cheek touch
• Samantha Gates, one of the two children on the cover, also appeared on the back cover of the band's 1976 album Presence
• It was the only Led Zeppelin album to contain complete printed lyrics for each song
• It was the band's final studio release on Atlantic Records before the group formed Swan Song Records in 1974

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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