Rod Stewart - Every Picture Tells A Story
Rod the Mod finds his solo footing, headed for stardom, with the Faces in his wake.
6:00 AM GMT 22/06/2011
Features Disc of the day
Led Zeppelin
Houses Of The Holy
(Atlantic, 1973)
Zep's difficult fifth album? We beg to differ...
Houses Of The Holy bridges the gap between the two distinct phases of Led Zeppelin's lifespan. Sandwiched between the anthemic mysticism of IV and the eclectic swagger of Physical Graffiti, it is an album made by musicians who have been given a license to expand and explore. All of Zeppelin's core influences - heavy blues, celtic folk, cool exoticism, explosive rock'n'roll - are here, but it's the band's desire to take another massive leap forward that makes HOTH a record that shouldn't be overlooked. The variety of approaches may in part spring from the start-stop nature of the sessions. Recorded in London and at Mick Jagger's palatial home in Berkshire before being mixed in New York, the best songs stem from demos created by Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones. The latter's new obsession with one of the '70s instruments du jour, the Mellotron, gives the likes of The Rain Song and No Quarter a wintry, brooding feel that chimes perfectly with Plant's eerie messages; how could we forget that the "the dogs of doom are howling more"?
Opener The Song Remains The Same remains one of Page's greatest guitar triumphs. A nuclear blast of energy and orchestration harnessed by a hurricane of John Bonham drumming, it barely pauses for breath during its five-and-a-half minute duration and stands as Led Zeppelin's prog rock masterpiece. If the cod-reggae/funk of D'Yer Mak'er and The Crunge veer too far from Zep's ground zero for your liking, you can always get stuck into the monster riffs of Over The Hills And Far Away, Dancing Days and The Ocean. And then there's Hipgnosis' suitably otherworldly cover (featuring our Senior Editor's brother-in-law, fact fans!). Led Zeppelin stay heavy, produce beautiful folk melodies and get psychedelic. What's not to like?
Ross Bennett
Posted by Ross_Bennett at 6:00 AM GMT 20/07/2010
Further Listening
Led Zeppelin – Physical Graffiti (Swan Song, 1975)
Roy Harper – Stormcock (Harvest, 1971)
The Flaming Lips – At War With The Mystics (Warner Bros, 2006)
Previous Disc of the day
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Earl Brutus - Larky
Last salvo of Ginsters Pasty-Warholism from Britpop ramraiders.
12:04 PM GMT 08/06/2011
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Loudon Wainwright - T-Shirt
An overlooked small wonder from an unpredictable career.
6:00 AM GMT 03/06/2011
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Landscape - From The Tea-rooms Of Mars… To The Hell-holes Of Uranus
Dry computer club Futurists, upon hitting implausible chart paydirt.
6:00 AM GMT 17/05/2011
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Causa Sui - Summer Sessions Vol 1-3
Epic Danish jams, for when the neighbours get you down.
6:00 AM GMT 12/05/2011
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