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Houses of the Holy ~ Led Zeppelin


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v130/Mindcrime7/Music/housesoftheholy.jpg



Album Tracks
"The Song Remains the Same" (Page/Plant) – 5:30
"The Rain Song" (Page/Plant) – 7:39
"Over the Hills & Far Away" (Page/Plant) – 4:50
"The Crunge" (Bonham/Jones/Page/Plant) – 3:17
"Dancing Days" (Page/Plant) – 3:43
"D'yer Mak'er" (Page/Plant/Jones/Bonham) – 4:23
"No Quarter" (Page/Plant/Jones) – 7:00
"The Ocean" (Page/Plant/Jones/Bonham) – 4:31



Record Information:
Recording Artist: Led Zeppelin
Album Name: Houses of the Holy
Released: March 28, 1973
Genre: Hard Rock\Folk Rock
Length: 40:56
Label: Atlantic Records
Tracks: 8
Original Media: Vinyl Record & 8-Track Cassette

Credits: Lineup:
Robert Plant - Vocals, harmonica
Jimmy Page - Acoustic guitar, electric guitar, pedal steel guitar, backing vocals
John Bonham - Drums, backing vocals
John Paul Jones - Organ, Mellotron, bass guitar, backing vocals, piano, synths, harpsichord
Credits: Producer:
Peter Grant - Executive producer
Jimmy Page - Co-Producer
Eddie Kramer - Engineer, mixing
Andy Johns - Engineer, mixing ("No Quarter")
Keith Harwood - Mixing

Recording Studio Dates: January-August, 1972
Recorded at: Stargroves, England & Headley Grange, Hampshire, with The Rolling Stones Mobile Studio
Produced at: Island Studios, London.
Mixed at: Olympic Studios, London; & Electric Lady, New York


AlbumFactsCourtesy of Wikipedia

Album
The album title is a dedication by the band to their fans who appeared at venues they dubbed, "Houses of the Holy."

This album was a stylistic turning point in Led Zeppelin`s career. Guitar riffs became heavier, losing some of their blues influences, and the lyrics turn towards mysticism to a greater degree.

Album Cover
The album cover was inspired by the ending of Arthur C. Clarke's novel, Childhood's End. It is a collage of several photographs taken at the Giant's Causeway, Northern Ireland, by Aubrey Powell of Hipgnosis.

The photoshoot was a miserable affair over the course of every morning for a week. The desired sunrise never appeared due to constant rain and clouds and many of the models were never used.

The results of the shoot were less than satisifactory, but some accidental tinting effects in post-production created an unexpectedly magical album cover.

The vinyl album was initially released with a paper sleeve wrapped around the cover, printed with the band and album name, that had to be broken to access the record. This hid the childrens' bottoms from general display, but still the album was either banned or unavailable in Spain and some parts of the southern U.S.A.


Tracks
"Houses of the Holy" is also the name of a song which was recorded during the sessions for this album, but wasn't released until 1975. The song of the same title was overdue during the studio recording, due to a few glitches on the master copy, forcing the engineer & mixers to spend additional time on the track, which caused it to delay & wounded up appearing on the album Physical Graffiti as a result.

"The Song Remains the Same" features a furious, galloping rhythm and beautifully shimmering, multi-tracked guitar from Jimmy Page. Lead singer Robert Plant's vocals were raised an octave during mixing. Original working titles were "The Overture", "The Campaign" and even simply "Zep".

"The Rain Song" has appeared in two films: Almost Famous, directed by Cameron Crowe (who, as a teen reporter for Rolling Stone magazine, covered Led Zeppelin), and Zeppelin's own 1976 concert film, The Song Remains the Same, as part of lead singer Robert Plant's fantasy sequence.



"D'yer Mak'er" is a reggae-based tune, and is a play on words from the joke: "My wife's been to the West Indies." "Jamaica?" "No, she went of her own accord."

"The Crunge", a funk tribute to James Brown, is included at the end of Side 1.

"The Ocean", which is the album's closing song, is also dedicated to the "sea" of fans which came to Led Zeppelin concerts.




Miscellanous
In a 2003 magazine reader's poll,
H.o.t.H. ranked #149 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

"We recently visited Greece during 470 BC. A time when much of the world looked like the cover of the Led Zeppelin album 'Houses of the Holy'".
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I would like to throw Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers "Honky Tonk Union" into the mix this time.

This CD came out a few years ago, but has staying power akin to Bruce Springsteen's Born To Run compilation.

Roger's lyrics are all intelligently written with a solid smattering of humor throughout.

Track List sample:

Beautiful Disaster - Described by Clyne as "just a fun high energy rock and roll romp" with, indeed, an homage to "Born To Run" - see the SongFacts about this one...

Easy - Clyne loves to juxtapose his lyrics... and does it to perfection with this tribute to breaking down love barriers...

Honky Tonk Union - A good-time country-rock stomp with Roger's sense of humor shining bright.

Jack vs. Jose - Written from a personal experience Roger had in a Tennessee bar - see SF about this tune...

Green & Dumb - a gorgeous ballad that warrants play at full-throttle on the stereo, heartbreaking, and the type of song any girl would love to have written about her...

Never Thought - A personal favorite of mine... another good rollicking time with a message that depends on the listener...

Tow Chain - '50s-style, with humor thrown in for good measure, as so many of Roger's song are.

Here are a few clips from reviews of the Peacemakers CDs...

Asbury Park Press

"Clyne is equal parts storyteller, songwriter and singer talents that have earned him a reputation as the Bruce Springsteen of the Southwest."

Salt Lake Weekly

"With both The Refreshments and The Peacemakers, Clyne’s songs have been mostly straight-ahead, rootsy rock tunes with sly, smart lyrics, covering subjects like crimes gone bad, trailer-park denizens and the relative merits of whiskey vs. tequila."

Deseret News

" ...through constant touring, incredible live performances, strong songwriting and through word-of-mouth ­ mostly from the band's hardcore cult following ­ the Peacemakers are starting to create a buzz in the mainstream-music world."

Salt Lake Tribune

"It's time to get to know him with his latest band, The Peacemakers, who help Clyne continue a career creating solid rock 'n' roll that goes down smooth."

Norwich (CT) Bulletin

"No matter if the song is political or personal, the Peacemakers have a way of making music that grabs the listener and just won't let go. This is music that transcends genres, popular culture and time periods. It wouldn't sound out of place in any of the last four decades."

Sports Illustrated

"If you're sick of rage rock, tired of the melody-devoid primal screaming of bands such as Slipknot, Staind, Tool and Papa Roach (we can't all be Rage Against the Machine), let me suggest Roger Clyne & the Peacemakers. [Peacemakers music] should be played at earsplitting volume in pool halls, bowling alleys and backyard bashes and on college radio stations. It should blare from the CD players of fast cars roaring down empty highways under the stars and just before dawn. Indeed, it should be savored and celebrated by those swaggering street denizens known as the rock & roll faithful as proof that the good stuff never disappears.'

But don't listen to me. Or them. Listen to Roger. Go ahead, raise your goblet of rock."

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I would like to nominate one of my favorite Tom Petty albums, "Wildflowers"

Track listing:

1. Wildflowers

2. You Don't Know How It Feels *

3. Time To Move On

4. You Wreck Me *

5. It's Good To Be King *

6. Only A Broken Heart

7. Honey Bee **

8. Don't Fade On Me

9. Hard On Me

10. Cabin Down Below

11. TO Find A Friend

12. A Higher Place

13. House In The Woods

14. Crawling Back To You

15. Wake Up Time

* Released as singles

** My favorite track

Released in 1994 and produced by Rick Rubin, Tom Petty and Mike Campbell. The songs have a twangy, laid-back almost country feel to them. It's a good album to mellow out to. My favorite track, "Honey Bee" has a sexy vibe to it (as sexy as Tom Petty can get, I guess).

I'm normally a pretty casual Tom Petty fan, but this CD is worth checking out.

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moon20safaripd3.jpg

Moon Safari ~ Air

1. "La Femme d'Argent" – 7:08

2. "Sexy Boy" – 4:57

3. "All I Need" – 4:28

4. "Kelly Watch the Stars" – 3:44

5. "Talisman" – 4:16

6. "Remember" – 2:34

7. "You Make It Easy" – 4:00

8. "Ce Matin-La" – 3:38

9. "New Star in the Sky" – 5:38

10. "Le Voyage de Penelope" – 3:10

Not what you usualy find in MOC, but it's worth to have a listen to it. "Moon Safari" by the French Electronica duo Air is Easy Listening par exelence. The songs "All I need" and "You Make It Easy" feature vocals of Beth Hirsch, but the rest are mostly instrumentals. If you want good chill-out music, this is the album to get...

some reviews:

Based on simple 1960s rock melodies, as lightweight as early ambient classics by The Orb or [The] KLF, the songs feature soaring string sections, funky bass-lines, space-age synth sounds and vocals distorted to drift through the easy-listening, multi-era music mix

Air's lavish sound fits in with European confreres like the High Llamas and the Divine Comedy; orchestral pop that mixes the acoustic with the synthetic to make everything sound as gaudy as possible. When you're in the mood for fluff, after all, you want to hear expensive fluff, and Air have fun with their fantasy of the lush life. You can almost hear Anouk Aimee pouring them some Riunite on Ice in the background.

[...]

Loads of American bands try to emulate the fab tackiness of '60s French pop. But Moon Safari proves that the French really do it better themselves.

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I'll nominate

The Who by Numbers

The_who_by_numbers_cover.jpg

Track listing:

"Slip Kid" – 4:31

"However Much I Booze" – 5:02

"Squeeze Box" – 2:42

"Dreaming From the Waist" – 4:07

"Imagine a Man" – 4:04

"Success Story" (Entwistle) – 3:22

"They Are All in Love" – 3:02

"Blue, Red and Grey" – 2:49

"How Many Friends" – 4:06

"In a Hand or a Face" – 3:25

This was released in 1975 and went to Number 7 in the Uk and Number 8 in America.

Amazon :

This 1975 collection excels in large part due to its modest goal. It's the Who's singer-songwriter record. Without the ostensible shield his "rock operas" provided, Pete Townshend's personal demons strut about nakedly. Not a pretty sight, but an involving spectacle nevertheless. "They Are All in Love" and "How Many Friends" are forgotten Who songs, but they've aged beautifully. John Entwistle's "Success Story" sequences nicely with the rest of the album. And "However Much I Booze," "Dreaming from the Waist," and "In a Hand or a Face" are great decade-early exercises in mid-life self-pity.

This contains my all-time favourite song, How Many Friends.

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I nominate #1 Record by Big Star

bigstar.jpg

Hangin' out

Down the street

The same old thing

We did last week

Not a thing to do

But talk to you

'In The Street' by Big Star

'#1 Record' was released in 1972, the debut album of Big Star, the 'quintessential American power pop band'. When the album was released, it failed to make an impression. The album was a commercial flop and the band, after making a few more failed albums, disbanded in 1975.

Sounding like the kind of power pop that Badfinger and The Raspberries produced, Big Star draw on pop music traditions such as The Beatles, Todd Rundgren, The Zombies and Free to create truly joyful noise - jangly guitars, sweet harmonies and thoughtful lyrics, all performed with feeling and a sense of true belief.

Music from '#1 Record' has featured prominently in the hit television series, That 70's Show. The theme song, 'In The Street' features in its original incarnation on this album as it did in the first series of the show. The song was later covered by Cheap Trick (renamed as 'That 70's Song', they added the 'we're all alright' line as a tribute to their own song, 'Surrender'). Numerous other songs from this album have also been used in the series.

My favourite songs from the album are 'Thirteen', 'The Ballad Of El Goodo' and of course 'In The Street'.

Track Listing:

1. Feel

2. The Ballad Of El Goodo

3. In The Street

4. Thirteen

5. Don't Lie To Me

6. The India Song

7. When My Baby's Right Beside Me

8. My Life Is Right

9. Give Me Another Chance

10. Try Again

11. Watch The Sunrise

12. ST100/6

The problem with coming in late on an artwork lauded as "influential" is that you've probably encountered the work it influenced first, so its truly innovative qualities are lost. Thus, if you are hearing Big Star's debut album for the first time decades after its release (as, inevitably, most people must), you may be reminded of Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers or R.E.M., who came after — that is, if you don't think of the Byrds and the Beatles, circa 1965. Since then, dozens of bands have rediscovered those pleasures. But in a way, that's an advantage because, whatever freshness is lost across the years, Big Star's craft is only confirmed. These are sturdy songs, feelingly performed, and once you get beyond the style to the content, you'll still be impressed.

allmusic guide

Big Star is: Alex Chilton, Chris Bell, Jody Stephens, Andy Hummel.

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Metallica - S&M

smve4.jpg

What an incredible combination of 2 enormous power sources into one incredible and fascinating album!

You can never tell who is more into the music, Metallica or the San Francisco Symphonic Orchestra - but every member of both sides is giving it their blood, sweat and tears!

Feauturing Metallica classics and newer songs alike - The call of the Ktulu, Fuel, Nothing else matters, Master of puppets, No leaf clover, Until it sleeps, For whom the bell tolls, Enter sandman, One and Hero of the day really stand out as brilliant tracks.

Anyone who enjoys symphonic rock/metal and/or Metallica will agree this is one of the finest music collaborations ever.

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I nominate Sonic Youth's latest masterpiece, "Rather Ripped"

This is their newest album, it came out sometime earlier this summer, and I made sure to grab it the day it came out.

The Youth has had a string of excellent albums since the late 90s with stuff like Murray Street, NYC ghosts and flowers, sonic nurse, etc. and Rather Ripped definately keeps that trend alive.

Sonic Youth decided to change their style a bit for the latest release. SY has been known (WELL known) for their jam style, a kind of free wheeling use of spiraling feedback. But that feel is pretty much absent from the tight and concise "Rather Ripped"

"Rather Ripped" is easily SY's 'poppiest' album (as poppy as they could ever be) very few tracks extend over the four minute mark, and experimental feedback is at a minimum, making this disc one of the most accesible SY albums ever.

There are some frickin' great tracks on this disc, I think there's only one or two songs that I skip over when I listen to it, and the two stand out tracks are the hard pounding, yet incredibly melodic 'incinerate' and the absolutely GORGEOUS 'Do you believe in Rapture' I feel totally confident in saying that 'Do you Believe in Rapture' is one of the prettiest, most beautiful songs to be released in the last five years or so... it's amazing.

anyway, it's five in the morning, so if this is kinda hard to read, well... deal with it :) all you have to know is that this album rocks my socks off

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