4. Led ZeppelinHouses Of The Holy
You think that’s a weird choice? Yeah, maybe. You know, I could have chosen any of their albums. I had a friend when I was a little kid whose mom was really into rock music and she allowed us to play all her records. She had a bunch of Led Zeppelin records and I remember putting on Physical Graffiti because we thought the cover was so cool – like a toy, almost. The first song we actually played was the song ‘Houses Of The Holy’ [the leftover ‘title’ track that didn’t make the final cut of the Houses Of The Holy album but appeared on Physical Graffiti] and from that moment I was hooked. Years later, this album was the first CD I ever bought. I remember getting it home and playing it quite ceremoniously. My brother had left home at 17 and he didn’t like me listening to Led Zeppelin because he was this freak about you either liked The Who or Led Zeppelin – you couldn’t like both. But this album is perfect to me. It’s only eight songs. The later stuff: people don’t talk about Presence or In Through The Out Door but I love those just as much. I even like the goofy synth stuff like ‘Carouselambra’. I just think it’s all good.
