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Houses of the Holy: Led Zeppelin - Extended Play Lounge (Episode 13) (Patreon)

Published:
2022-02-01 16:01:03
Edited:
2024-06-04 21:03:13
Imported:
2026-06
Tags:

Videos

Content

Private Vimeo Link: https://vimeo.com/672823649/36901f792fThis was my first time listening to a Led Zeppelin album! Thanks to all who voted and making this video possible. Led Zeppelin is a band that elicits mixed feelings from me. Tune into the video to hear more.

By the way, the album cover is this color because I'm using the remixed/remastered version that has this coloration in the re-released album art.

I hope you enjoy! Remember to keep this link private. Cheers!

Files

Houses of the Holy (Led Zeppelin) - Extended Play Lounge - Episode 13

Comments

Margaret Barnes

Dr. Doug, I think it’s possible that your education and rigorous training in music and in choral singing in particular have colored your perception of RP’s vocals. In your disciplines, specific notes must be hit in a certain way at a certain point, but I don’t think he took those classes. =D He just liked to sing, so he did! No one trained him on correct breathing techniques or anything, he just slid around from note to note and made a living at it. Some very good points have also been made here about their frequent touring, lots of partying, his health challenges, and how his vocals suffered. Have you heard any of his recent work with Allison Kraus? ❤️ Robert Plant, Jon Anderson, Geddy Lee - all screechy singers to some extent. Great music/package deal. I love them all, and if I’m honest, sometimes it gets to me, too. Don’t let this keep you from enjoying a truly exuberant record again. Sometimes it takes another listen or two. 😎

Adie

When I was a teen everyone was talking about LZ and I had only heard Whole Lotta Love from a couple of years before. So I went out and bought their latest album - this one. I hated it! I told my friend who said "why did you buy THAT one?!" So I took his advice and bought LZ IV. Ah!, then I got it. However, I always avoided HOTH in the future, even the tracks that I later heard on the iive album that came from HOTH, which I would play from the live LP, and not from HOTH. HOTH put me off Robert Plant's voice and vocal mannerisms, which took me a long time to come to terms with, and which I still find irritating from time to time. However, once I heard Since I've Been Loving You, I had to acknowledge what a great vocalist he was. Going on this journey through HOTH helps me with this album, as I can now listen to it from the vantage point of having loved the band for many years. It still has some uncomfortable moments for me, but there is a lot more worth listening to than I remember. One of the great things about the Daily Doug is that I can be persuaded to listen to music I would not have given attention to, and to reconsider music I rejected in the past. It's an enriching experience.

Deepwater

I have always liked Robert Plant’s voice. He sings with emotion. Shows what I know :)

Mark Marriott

"Now I'm singing all my songs to the girl who won my heart; she is only three years old and it's a real fine way to start". That line makes me smile every time I hear it and, now my daughters are in their 30's, a little melancholic as I remember being the dad of two beautiful little girls who had me wrapped around their fingers and I am unashamed to admit it. As for RP's voice, I get your point and agree somewhat, but it never turned me off the band and, to give him his due, he has certainly sustained one helluva career for decades so there must be something intangible that finds a massive audience of quite devoted fans.

André Simonsen

Strange that this album won the poll. This is the worst Zeppelin album. Zepp II and III are iconic. They were really trucking back then. When it comes to this album and to some extent the 4th, they seem to have lost what made them massive. Like the energy has just been drawn out. Mostly, I think, because of the way Plant sang on the earlier albums. He paid the toll with his voice. And listening to Zepp II and III it is understandable that a voice like that can't last. The band is doing nothing wrong. But Plant is just a shadow of his self here and seems like he won't (or can't) go all-in. And the entire band/sound suffer because of it.

Owen Edmonds

Great video. Not my favourite Led Zep album but an enjoyable watch.

David Crossen

I agree with Doug. Plant's vocals were always a bit of a turn off for me. As a result they remain a so-so band for me. I much prefer the Led Zeppelin III album, which is slightly folkier than their other albums and also Led Zeppelin IV of course. I haven't listen to this album for around 40 years. Think I might leave it for another 40 years before listening again. I found it quite dull, despite their efforts to make the rhythms interesting.

Paul Neuman

Interesting to watch the reaction. Except for a few exciting rhythmic moments, like the first track, I find this whole album quite blah. My favorite LZ is still their first, followed by the second one. I think it was all downhill after that, never mind their commercial success.

doughelvering

I updated the video link, fixing the mismatching song labels for the first two tunes.

Mark Saxon

I'm kind of surprised how many people dislike this album. "Rain Song", "No Quarter" and "The Ocean" aren't good enough?? Lol. To me they're all good from the first to Physical Graffiti. They did start losing me after that but even then, there are some classic songs on those later albums. Oh well, different strokes for different folks.

Nick Pordham

I was also surprised that this won the poll as I am with those who found the earlier albums stronger and more suited to Plant bluesy style of vocals (partic The Lemon Song and Killing Floor). nonetheless Rain Song is an absolute diamond and worthy of this session on its own. I would also add to the positive comments about John Paul Jones, ridiculously underrated and multi-talented. Finally to add to the 'No Quarter' discussion, my take is that it refers to giving no ground at all and pushing through whatever the barrier.

Greg Goddu

After watching your video and "re-listening" to this record vicariously through you, I feel like I have a better understanding of it. I have listened to it 1000 times and never got the concept. I think this actually might be a loose concept album. Thinking about what Plant said of the Song Remains the Same, I realized that this album is a collection of love songs (romantic, platonic, familial) that are all influenced by different types of music from around the world (Welsh, Celtic, Middle Eastern, Reggae, Funk/Soul). And yet despite these differing influences, ultimately the songs remain the same at heart.

Itsfun2listen

For me this album is weak like number II, 2 fantastic songs and 6 eight mediocre ones does not a complete album make in my view. You also happened to have listened to the weakest vocal performance album, not a patch on the power of number I. Unfortunate, can’t tick the like box for this, could be a US audience who are used to power pop bands like Boston etc. This album also lacks any blues feel.

Martin Broten

Bonham is generally thought of as the best rock drummer ever. There’s a lot of subtlety in his playing. I remember hearing JP Jones say that when people label Bonham as merely a basher, they’ve gotten it all wrong. His favorite music was the funky R&B stuff, with a great love of James Brown. As far as Plant goes, he’s a definite archetype. The voice that launched a thousand imitators…

Paul Mouradjian

Led Zeppelin is essentially a Blues band at least their roots. . Doug are you familiar with Muddy Waters specifically or other Chicago or Delta blues singers? Blues is the art of singing behind the beat. ....at times pushing the beat......but very rarely on the beat. They accentuated the private het travel & could have been considered the poster child for Sex,Drugs & Rockn Roll Could this be possible reasons for your considering Plant a Lazy Singer? Led Zeppelin pretty much ruled Rock n Roll till 1975-76.

Paul Mouradjian

For those who criticize the album, y'all do realize 3 songs became must plays in their live concerts. 'The Sing Remains the Same', D'yer Mak'er, & 'The Crunge.'Notnto forget the quintessential LZ riff in The Ocean. Imaging that......three songs had to be played because they became staples of their musical portfolio. That doesn't sound like an album that sucks. Maybe some didn't like the direction they went and that is fair. Certainly, I didn't care for 'In through the Out Door' and please what in the name of classic albums did 'Presence' ever provide that was memorable other that the fact that it was the lowest selling studio album while the band was still active. This album was probably more famous for figuring out what the black oblelisk shaped object, known as 'The Object' was as it resided on the front cover and was more famous than any music inside of it. I am not surprised at all the 'Houses of the Holy' was chosen. It would seem more people get it than those few who have voiced their surprise and criticism. Now if y'all will excuse me...."Take me to the Bridge.....owwwww......"

Daniel E. Whitaker

I've always thought Robert Plant was trying to sound like Steve Marriotte of Small Faces, but could never quite get there. I've been drawn to Led Zeppelin for the sounds they brought and the willingness to experiment. Still love this album. Just not exactly for the vocals, so no, you're not being too harsh.

Daniel E. Whitaker

Sweet. I can still hit all the lowest notes with my voice. :)

gary fisher

One of Led-Zep's weakest albums, but I find all of their albums patchy. Having said that, each album does have at least a couple classic tracks. To experience the real or best version of Led-Zep, you need to listen to the live stuff. the live version of No Quarter on The Song Remains The Same is sublime.

Marcelo Rosalen Cucatti

Loved the reaction. Specially the part “I hate D’yer Mak’er”. I hate that song too. Worst Led Zep song ever. If you want Ze experience, Led I, II or IV are the way to go. Led has never been a progressive rock band. It is a Classic Rock Monster. This is its strength. Leave it as it is. Don’t push Phisical Graffiti, it will be another disappointment. Go for what Led is know for: heavy blues rock at its best. Go for Since I’ve Been Loving You, Babe I’m Gonna Leave You, When The Leave Breaks, How Many More Times, What is and What Should Never Be, and maybe Tagerine. It is what it is.

Steve Ben-Shalom

I would be interested in a comparison of this vocal performance with the first album, my personal favorite, which was a more bluesy album

Jim Reeves

Funny how this album was panned by fans when it was released. For me it was Plant's voicing that was disappointing. He allowed his voice to become a squeal rather than the full-throated roar of the first 2 albums. I wondered at the time if he'd blown out his vocal chords. I recall reading an earlier review that several screens were needed between his voice and the microphone. Interesting sounds though. Nice to hear this again.

Michael Brown

Having grown up with Led Zeppelin and others, we the fans/listener do not view the music as Doug does when he reacts to the music in front of him. Doug's outlook for his reactions is from a professional, educational stance and he hears the music as he 'sees' it which is as it should be and give his honest opinion. Robert Plant will always be the voice of Led Zeppelin.

Murdock Moriarty

Not Zep's strongest release. This was when their albums became a bit uneven for me. Some of these tracks have to rank among their classics, while others are jokes gone wrong.

JT Siren

Lazy vocals or not, Plant is a Bard to be recognized. I can hear what you mean, though.

Allen

There's some more great acoustic work on Led Zeppellin III and Physical Graffiti. Plant said in an interview the stereotype of them as a "hard rock" band was inflated (he said "half our work is acoustic.").

Allen

Also, there's a great acoustic cover of "Dancing Days" by Stone Temple Pilots.

Stop Propaganda

I love "No Quarter", its a musical dream. Plant's vocals are hurt by his registry forcing him to sing from his throat instead of his diaphragm ... a no no to the trained, makes him unique.

Bryan

47:35 Tool covered "No Quarter" and released it on Salival in 2000. It's a great listen. No lazy vocal technique and a punctuated ending.

Douglas Graham

On the end of the song —- “and Far Away”; I wonder if the way that it ends is an attempt to catch the feeling of being far away?

Douglas Graham

Without Plant’s unique approach to focalization would make Led Zeppelin something that it isn’t. One thing I love about the music of the 70’s is that it searches for something other than the conventional norms of quality music to express something not expressed in the same way before. I’m not attracted to Plant’s vocals, but I have learned to appreciate them for their consistent uniqueness. What do you think of Rush’s vocals?

Cristián Gálvez

Is incredible! I've always felt the same way about Robert Plat. I share your opinions! Many people think that he is the best Rock singer in history, for me he is far from being among the best of a single decade (70's). Hugs from Chile 🤘🏼😉

Anderson Davies

I totally agree. As a teen the high pitched singing drove me off. Imagine they would have had Ronny James Dio or Peter Hammill as a singer. Both leave their heart on the stage when singing. Strangely enough, "Dy'er Maker"s fantastic drumming and rhythm attacks finally got ME over to their music :) --- and now it's time for something completely different: Van Der Graaf Generator's "Still Live" or "Godbluff" or "World Record" as an Extended Play (whole album, yeah!)

Just Some Guy

Having grown up in the 70s, I can say that your understanding was 100% correct. Zeppelin was *the* band. There were others, but they were the one the cool stoners listened to. They had the dangerous sexiness of the Stones and the mystique like nobody since the Who, but with less on-stage destruction and even more legendary partying and hotel destruction.

Just Some Guy

You really need to hear them playing live to see Plant working out on the vocals. I think I get it about his singing; I think (I'm not good at that sort of thing). I always thought the vocals were just mixed too far in the background. If you watch them live, you'll understand how he got the reputation for being sexy. He could make a straight guy question himself.

Just Some Guy

According to an interview I read, the band said that The Crunge was supposed to be their take on a James Brown thing, but it didn't work at all. Yeah, Page stole a lot of licks, but everybody playing funk in the 1970s stole from James Brown. He gets a pass on this one. If you think about it, this was way ahead of its time for white people in America in 1973. Yet again, the Brits take our music and give us back something different. This time it didn't work too well, but I'd be surprised if this hasn't been sampled someplace.

Just Some Guy

D'yer Maker: This is what happens when white guys try to play reggae. The title is supposed to mean "did'ja make her?", meaning "did you get lucky?". I just realized I'm spamming the board on my first day here. I apologize for that, but you had all these questions and these guys were my jam and I was a wanna-be cool stoner and knew all this stuff. I would've voted for this album had I known. I think it's their most interesting album from a composer's POV (other than Presence, and that was kind of inaccessible to outsiders). I'd suggest Presence next, although most of your fans may feel differently. Lots of "densely layered guitar textures" and buried vocals. Physical Grafitti is 2/3 brilliant and 1/3 filler, but I disagree with most people on which is which.

Mike Hill

Just got round to seeing this now. I've been a long time fan of Zeppelin and personally love Percy Plant overall. However, I think I do get and almost agree with your assessment of him. The bits I love of his singing the most are those elements when he isn't "squeezing his lemon" ( really straining the higher registers ). When he gives his voice a little restraint - The Rain song and No Quarter are excellent examples - there is an additional warmth to his voice and it loses the shrill rough edges. Interestingly, his voice and delivery have very much improved with age. Some of the stuff he's delivered in the last 10 years or so is the best he's ever sung. All of this not withstanding, your view that JPJ is the unsung hero is spot on. He is a musical genius as an arranger and probably one of the top 10 bass players ever, In addition, Bonham - well, no more needs be said. Just the best 👌 Oh and Jimmy isn't bad either 😏 EDIT - one final thing, no idea why this album first either, would be four sticks or PG every day of the week for me, though Presence also stands up, just on the basis of Achilles last stand

Robert Anderson

Enjoyed the video! No Quarter really stuck out to me, I hadn't heard it before either and I've found it highly intriguing. On a technical note, when you turned up the volume on The Ocean I found it a little difficult to hear your commentary behind it. Minor complaint, I still greatly appreciate all of the time and effort you put into making content for us!

Rick Morse

From my perspective, Plant's voice (along with Geddy Lee and Jon Anderson) got better with age. They may have lost a few of the highest notes in their register, but their voices gained more depth and growl ... easier on the ears.

Bryan Sheehan

Back when I was in high school, there was a few different groups of people. Some thought Zeppelin was the best, some thought Sabbath was the best. Personally, i was into both. My best friend and I used to listen to a LOT of LZ, especially this album. Sadly, he passed away in 2007 at the young age of 37, so this album will always be very special to me. Thanks, Doug.

Andrew Mellor

HOTH was the first LZ album I heard when I was about 14, I really couldn't get on with RP's voice. I tried again with LZ II and followed that with PG. Eventually I got into LZ and I suppose got used to RP's vocal delivery. HOTH was the last album I bought by them whilst waiting for their last studio album ITTOD. The Rain Song and No Quarter are absolute classics though. Thanks Doug for your analysis. Much appreciated.

Betsey

Really foreign to get these sorts of reactions to Robert, he's considered to be in the top 3 Rock vocalists of all time (#1 to many) and beats Freddy out (I hate Freddy). I'm a fan but I have seen them live and there isn't anything more captivating and raw then seeing Robert and the rest on stage! It's what we wanted after the softer sounds of the Beatles, LZ was the band that pushed them out of the top spot on the charts. BTW, the Beatles have been my favorite band since age 10 when they first appeared on Ed Sullivan, but these guys were more than right to hit the scene when they did!

Johnny Coolin

Just in case this hasn't been made apparent yet, the old joke is: - My wife's gone to the Caribbean. - Jamaica? (d'yer make 'er?) - No, she went of her own accord. Which is why the lyric is saying "you don't have to go" etc.

Adam Miles

Led Zeppelin is unquestionably my favorite band of all time, and has been since I was 13 (and I'm about the same age as Doug, if not a bit older). That said, I totally get that Robert Plant's vocal approach is an acquired taste. I think the characterization of his vocal approach as "lazy" is interesting, and there might be something to it, at least in this era. At the beginning of Zeppelin's career, Robert Plant possessed one of the most preternaturally powerful voices in the history of recorded music. Lots of male rock vocalists have been able to hit high notes, but Plant was able to hit those notes effortlessly and with incredible force. He knew he had that talent, but it was raw and untrained. Combine the arrogance of youth with the hedonistic lifestyle of the times and there was no way that voice was going to last forever. By the time Houses of the Holy was recorded, Zeppelin had been touring the globe pretty much nonstop for four years, and the strain of Plant's unrelenting vocals had begun to show. He began relying perhaps a bit too much on the slippery "wooh"s and "aww"s that you hear a lot on this record. By Physical Graffiti, the power of the voice had pretty much gone (though it was masked by the brilliance of Page's production and the fact that a number of songs on that album were leftovers from earlier album sessions). Concert recordings from '73 and '75 bear this out; live, he was relying on the power of the instrumentation behind him and his own stage presence. Probably the best thing that could happen to him as a performer was the hiatus he had to take in 1976 due to a car wreck that left him pretty much immobilized. It gave his vocal instrument time to repair (though it would never be the same as it was in his youth) and required him to revisit his approach to singing. His vocals on Presence (1976) and the subsequent tour in 1977 are among my favorites, though 1977 turned out to be a very dark year indeed for him, as his five-year-old son died suddenly. In the subsequent years, and especially after Zeppelin ended after the passing of John Bonham (Plant's best friend), Robert Plant turned away from the vocal histrionics altogether and has become, in my estimation, one of the most interesting singers and musical artists we have.

Paul Halicki

Robert Plant does so much sing as he tells a story and emotes with musical accompaniment. Maybe that's why he doesn't jive with your picture of what a singer is supposed to be.

Paul Halicki

I always took Robert Plant with Led Zeppelin; they just came together. And I really like the band. But seeing your aversion to Plant makes me think of my aversion to Mick Jagger. Really Mick is a terrible singer. But I realized he's a troubadour and probably the best front man in Rock and Roll. I take him as part of the whole package of the Rolling Stones.... by the way, have you done anything by the Stones?

Gerard Dion

Hello Doug. I enjoyed your review once again. As far as Robert Plant is concerned, he really made his reputation as a vocalist on the first three or four Led Zeppelin albums with some truly unearthly vocals. After that, I believe he had some throat/vocal chord issues that required him to have surgery which subsequently forced him to alter his vocal style. Also, I personally consider that Led Zeppelin is trying to show a more progressive side to their music on this album. I consider this a great album from a great band. Jimmy Page IMO is the greatest guitarist in rock! His writing skills and playing are like no other! Cheers!