Five Things You Didn't Know About Led Zeppelin's Houses of the Holy
In 1973 - after four successful albums and international acclaim - Led Zeppelin was ready to try something a little different. Departing from their notable blues-rock sound in favour of more expansive concepts, Houses of the Holy embraced an eclecticness that many today deem quintessential to Led Zeppelin. Here are five things you may not know about one of Rolling Stone's top 500 albums of all time.
Mick Jagger's country home, Stargroves, was where the album’s foundation was recorded
Rather than spending their working hours in a studio and leaving at the end of the day, Led Zeppelin wanted to immerse themselves in their fifth album. Mick Jagger's manor seemed like the perfect fit: it was used by the Rolling Stones for their own records and more recently by the Who for Who's Next.
““I wanted to see what would happen if all we did was have this one thing in sight – making music and just really living the experience of it.” ”
With an engineer stationed in a mobile recording truck outside and the band hopping from room to room to take advantage of the acoustics, the album couldn't help but reflect the freedom the band experienced in the recording process.
They recorded a title track…then bumped it to their next album
If you're familiar with Led Zeppelin's chronology, you'll know that the song “Houses of the Holy”, ironically, does not appear on the album which bears its name. Instead, feeling that the song resembled “Dancing Days: a little too closely, the band decided to bump it to their sixth studio album Physical Graffiti instead.
Their 1973 tour beat The Beatles
Shea Stadium in Tampa Bay was packed to the rafters on May 5th with over 56,000 fans, besting The Beatles’ record number of 55,000 set eight years prior.
Their private jet was called the Starship
And for good reason. Exhausted from hotel hopping and an unfortunate batch of turbulence on a Falcon 20, the band decided to make a change.
““Peter Grant tasked tour manager Richard Cole with finding a new plane, demanding he spare no expense for opulence and safety - in that order.””
Cole delivered. Previously a United Airlines Boeing 720B once used by Bobby Sherman, the aptly named Starship cost $30,000 for a three-week lease plus $2,500 an hour (in 1973). After decking it out with revolving armchairs, bars, and even an organ, the Starship quickly gained a reputation for mile-high debauchery.
"John Bonham once tried to open the plane's door over Kansas City because he had to pee," recounted Suzee, one of two flight attendants on board responsible for hospitable amenities and ensuring the band didn't attempt impromptu skydiving.
Houses of the Holy was met with mixed reviews
With innovation comes scrutiny, and the album's departure from the classic rock many associated with Led Zeppelin was heavily criticized.
“Houses of the Holy is one of the dullest and most confusing albums I’ve heard this year,” said Gordon Fletcher, a critic for Rolling Stone.
However, it was a commercial success, spending two weeks at number one on the Billboard 200 chart and ending in Billboard magazine's top 5 albums of the year. Eventually, Rolling Stone came back to the album in 2014 with a much-revised perspective.
““Decades of classic-rock radio saturation have made some of these songs canon. But when put in the context between Led Zeppelin’s fourth record and the double-LP deep dive that was Physical Graffiti, they reveal a band eager for change.””
We can't take you back to Shea Stadium, but Classic Albums Live brings the next best thing to the Jack Singer Concert Hall on October 20th. See Led Zeppelin: Houses of the Holy recreated live - note for note, cut for cut, by some of Canada’s best musicians. Get your tickets here!
