When people think “psychedelic rock”, the first groups to come to mind are typically 60's artists such as Pink Floyd, the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, even the Beatles. But in 1973, Led Zeppelin released a track that proved the genre was alive and well.
“No Quarter” off of their 5th album, Houses Of The Holy, is a tour de force driven by the music writing of bass/keyboard player John Paul Jones. At 7 minutes and 3 seconds long, the band was yet again testing their listeners’ abilities to pay close attention. Record producer, Rick Rubin, once commented on the structure of the song saying, “It takes such confidence to be able to get really quiet and loose for such a long time. Zeppelin completely changed how we look at what popular music can be.”
After a long intro led by John Paul Jones’ gloomy mellotron, Robert Plant warns of brutal Viking conquests (a common theme amongst their discography) on the horizon of a small village:
“Close the door, put out the light.
Know they won’t be home tonight”
Picture an Icelandic village with women and children rushing to hide in their homes, while their men march out to battle throughout the night:
“Snow falls hard and don’t you know? The winds of Thor are blowing cold”
The literal reference to the struggle of marching to battle through snow, ice, and wind, believing in your heart that the fierce god, Thor, was punishing you with his frigid lungs.
The phrase “No Quarter” is the military term used to describe the practice of not showing mercy to a prisoner, such as the Vikings did, who as legend has it raped and murdered men, women, and children in every village they conquered. Between Robert Plant & Jimmy Page’s obsessions with Vikings, the Lord of the Rings, and the occult, it is no wonder that fans often gazed at the band like mysterious, spiritual deities rather than fellow members of the human race.
“No Quarter” was part of the band’s live set from 1973 until their final show in 1980 and they certainly played up the concept of being larger than life during their on stage performance. With fog lining the bottom of the stage, blue and purple light dimly lit along John Paul Jones and Jimmy Page while the “Golden God”, Robert Plant, howls through the halls of the building. This song would oftentimes be extended in concert to over 30 minutes, with JPJ performing a keyboard solo, showcasing his talent to the world.
PS - fans of the movie “Almost Famous” will remember the phrase “Golden God” as the famous line spoken moments before Russell Hammond jumps off the roof of a house into a pool. That scene was a play off of an actual moment in the 70's where Robert Plant walked to the balcony of his hotel, looked down at a sea of screaming fans and proclaimed “I Am A Golden God!” “Almost Famous” writer/director, Cameron Crowe, started his career as a young writer for Rolling Stone magazine and, not coincidentally, followed Led Zeppelin on tour to write the magazine’s first cover story on the band.
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