Technical Informations
Hannl"limited" Record Cleaning Machine with Rotating Brush
Music Hall MMF 5.1 Turntable with ProJect Speedbox
Goldring 1042GX reference Cartridge
Belari VP-129 Tube Phono PreAmp with Sylvania 12AX7WA
Tascam US-144 external USB 2.0 Audiointerface
Interconnections by "Goldkabel"
Wavelab 5 recording software
Vacuum Cleaning > TT > Belari > Laptop > Wavelab 5.01 (24/96) > manual click removal
analyze (no clipping, no DC Bias offset) > split into individual Tracks > FLAC encoded (Vers. 1.21)
No silence been removed, please burn gapless to match original tracklayout.
Houses of the Holy follows the same basic pattern as Led Zeppelin IV, but the approach is looser and more relaxed. Jimmy Page's riffs rely on ringing, folky hooks as much as they do on thundering blues-rock, giving the album a lighter, more open atmosphere. While the pseudo-reggae of "D'Yer Mak'er" and the affectionate James Brown send-up "The Crunge" suggest that the band were searching for material, they actually contribute to the musical diversity of the album. "The Rain Song" is one of Zep's finest moments, featuring a soaring string arrangement and a gentle, aching melody. "The Ocean" is just as good, starting with a heavy, funky guitar groove before slamming into an a cappella section and ending with a swinging, doo-wop-flavored rave-up. With the exception of the rampaging opening number, "The Song Remains the Same," the rest of Houses of the Holy is fairly straightforward, ranging from the foreboding "No Quarter" and the strutting hard rock of "Dancing Days" to the epic folk/metal fusion "Over the Hills and Far Away." Throughout the record, the band's playing is excellent, making the eclecticism of Page and Plant's songwriting sound coherent and natural.
John Bonham – drums, backing vocals
John Paul Jones – organ, Mellotron, bass guitar, backing vocals, piano, synthesizers, harpsichord
Jimmy Page – acoustic, electric, and pedal steel guitar, backing vocals, production
Robert Plant – vocals, harmonica
Production
Keith Harwood – mixing
Hipgnosis – sleeve art direction
Andy Johns – engineering, mixing (on "No Quarter")
Eddie Kramer – engineering, mixing
Bob Ludwig – mastering engineering
Aubrey Powell – cover photography