Led Zeppelin ‎♫ Houses of the Holy ♫ Rare 1973 Atlantic Bob Ludwig Master Vinyl

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Thanks for looking!Houses of the HolyStudio album by Led ZeppelinReleased28 March 1973RecordedDecember 1971 – August 1972StudioRolling Stones Mobile (Stargroves and Headley Grange)Island and Olympic (London)GenreHard rockLength40:57LabelAtlanticProducerJimmy PageLed Zeppelin chronologyUntitled (1971)Houses of the Holy (1973)Physical Graffiti (1975)Singles from Houses of the Holy"Over the Hills and Far Away" / "Dancing Days" Released: 24 May 1973"D'yer Mak'er" / "The Crunge" Released: 17 September 1973Houses of the Holy is the fifth studio album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, released on 28 March 1973 in the United States and on 30 March 1973 in the United Kingdom by Atlantic Records. The album benefited from two band members installing studios at home, which allowed them to develop more sophisticated songs and arrangements and expand their musical style. Several songs subsequently became fixtures in the group's live set, including "The Song Remains the Same", "The Rain Song" and "No Quarter". Other material recorded at the sessions, including the title track, was shelved and released on the later albums Physical Graffiti (1975) and Coda (1982). All instruments and vocals were provided by the band members Robert Plant (vocals), Jimmy Page (guitar), John Paul Jones (bass, keyboards), and John Bonham (drums). The album was produced by Page and mixed by Eddie Kramer. The cover was the first for the band to be designed by Hipgnosis and was based on a photograph taken at Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland.Although critical response was mixed, Houses of the Holy became a commercial success, later receiving a Diamond certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 1999 for at least 10 million copies sold in the US. In 2020, the album was ranked at number 278 on Rolling Stone's 2020 list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time".RecordingBy 1972, Led Zeppelin had achieved sustained commercial and critical success from both their studio albums and live shows. They were keen to record on location using the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio as it had been an enjoyable experience for their untitled fourth album, released the previous year. After touring Australia, in April 1972 the group decided to take the mobile studio to Mick Jagger's home, Stargroves, a manor house and country estate in Hampshire. Eddie Kramer returned as recording engineer.Some songs from the album had initially been tried out in earlier sessions, such as "No Quarter", which was first attempted during a session at Headley Grange Estate, in East Hampshire. Both guitarist and producer Jimmy Page and bassist / keyboardist John Paul Jones had installed home studios, which allowed them to arrive at Stargroves with complete compositions and arrangements.Page's home studio used some of the equipment from Pye Mobile Studios, which had been used to record the Who's 1970 live album Live at Leeds. Because of his home studio, he was able to present a complete arrangement of "The Rain Song", including non-standard guitar tunings and a variety of dynamics, and "Over the Hills and Far Away", featuring multiple guitar parts. Meanwhile, Jones had developed a new arrangement of "No Quarter". Once the group were settled in Stargroves, they composed the other songs through jam sessions together. Further recording took place at Olympic Studios in May, and during the band's 1972 North American tour additional recording sessions were conducted at Electric Lady Studios in New York. Some songs recorded during these various sessions did not make it onto Houses of the Holy, though several were released on later albums. A series of rock 'n' roll covers, including songs that appeared on Elvis Presley's Elvis' Golden Records, were recorded at Electric Lady Studios, which remain unreleased.PackagingThe cover photograph was shot at the Giant's Causeway, Northern IrelandHouses of the Holy was the first album by the group to have an explicit title that was not eponymous, but like the previous one, neither the band's name nor the album title was printed on the sleeve. However, manager Peter Grant did allow Atlantic Records to add a wrap-around paper title band to US copies of the sleeve that had to be broken or slid off to access the record.The cover art for Houses of the Holy was inspired by Arthur C. Clarke's novel Childhood's End. The cover is a collage of several photographs which were taken at the Giant's Causeway, Northern Ireland, by Aubrey Powell of Hipgnosis. This location was chosen ahead of an alternative one in Peru which had also been considered.The photo shoot featured two naked child models, Stefan and Samantha Gates. It was a frustrating affair over the course of 10 days. Shooting was done first thing in the morning and at sunset in order to capture the light at dawn and dusk, but the desired effect was never achieved due to constant rain and clouds. The photos of the two children were taken in black and white and were multi-printed to create the effect of 11 individuals that can be seen on the album cover. The results were unsatisfactory, but some accidental tinting effects in post-production created a suitable cover. The inner gatefold photograph was taken at Dunluce Castle nearby the Causeway. In February 2010, Stefan Gates was featured on a BBC Radio 4 documentary about the cover. He said there was something sinister about the image, though his sister disagreed. He also admitted never having heard the album. The programme ended with Gates returning to Giant's Causeway and listening to the album on a portable player, after which he said that a great weight had been lifted from him. Samantha also appeared on the back cover of the band's 1976 album Presence.Page has stated that the album cover was the second version submitted by Hipgnosis. The first, by artist Storm Thorgerson, featured an electric green tennis court with a tennis racket on it. Furious that Thorgerson was implying, by means of a visual pun, that their music sounded like a "racket", the band fired him and hired Powell in his place.In 1974, the album was nominated for a Grammy Award in the category of Best Album Package. The cover was rated number 6 on VH1's 50 Greatest Album Covers in 2003.Release and receptionRetrospective professional reviewsReview scoresSourceRatingAllMusicChristgau's Record GuideA−Encyclopedia of Popular MusicEntertainment WeeklyAThe Great Rock Discography8/10MusicHound Rock4/5Rolling StoneThe Rolling Stone Album GuideTom Hull – on the WebA−This was Led Zeppelin's final studio release on Atlantic Records before forming their own label, Swan Song Records, in 1974, which would be distributed by Atlantic. It was also the only Led Zeppelin album that contained complete printed lyrics for each song."The epic scale suited Zeppelin: They had the largest crowds, the loudest rock songs, the most groupies, the fullest manes of hair. Eventually excess would turn into bombast, but on Houses, it still provided inspiration."—Gavin Edwards, Rolling Stone (2003)Although intended for release in January 1973, delays in producing the album cover meant that it was not released until March, when the band was on its 1973 European tour. The album was promoted heavily before the commencement of Led Zeppelin's subsequent North American Tour, ensuring that it had ascended the top of the American chart by the beginning of the tour. Because much of the album had been recorded almost a year previously, many of the songs which are featured on the album had already been played live by Led Zeppelin on their concert tours of North America, Japan, Europe and the UK in 1972–73.Houses of the Holy originally received mixed reviews, with much criticism from the music press being directed at the off-beat nature of tracks such as "The Crunge" and "D'yer Mak'er". Gordon Fletcher from Rolling Stone called the album "one of the dullest and most confusing albums I've heard this year", believing the band had digressed from "the epitome of everything good about rock" to a watered down heavy metal act. However, the album was a commercial success and topped the UK charts and spent 39 weeks on the Billboard 200 albums chart including two weeks at number one (their longest stint since Led Zeppelin III). The album was number four on Billboard magazine's top albums of 1973 year end chart.In Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981), Robert Christgau appraised Houses of the Holy favourably. While mocking the solemnity of "No Quarter" and finding some tracks derivative of previous albums, he found side one "solid led" with "sprung rhythm" and a "James Brown tribute/parody/ripoff" in "The Crunge" that complements the second side's "two amazing, well, dance tracks" in "Dancing Days"'s "transmogrified shuffle" and the reggae of "D'yer Mak'er". "Throughout the record, the band's playing is excellent," wrote AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine, "making the eclecticism of Page and Robert Plant's songwriting sound coherent and natural."In 2003, Rolling Stone ranked it at number 149 on the magazine's list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time." It was re-ranked at number 148 in a 2012 revised list, and re-ranked at number 278 in 2020.Track listingAll tracks composed by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, except where noted.Original releaseSide oneNo.TitleWriter(s)Length1."The Song Remains the Same" 5:322."The Rain Song" 7:393."Over the Hills and Far Away" 4:504."The Crunge"PagePlantJohn Paul JonesJohn Bonham3:17Side twoNo.TitleWriter(s)Length1."Dancing Days" 3:432."D'yer Mak'er"PagePlantJonesBonham4:233."No Quarter"JonesPagePlant7:004."The Ocean"PagePlantJonesBonham4:31Total length:40:57

Price: 49.99 USD

Location: Kirkland, Washington

End Time: 2024-12-05T02:31:39.000Z

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