The Rain Song
A ballad written after George Harrison said the band never wrote one.
Led Zeppelin, from Houses of the Holy (1973)
- Written by
- Jimmy Page, Robert Plant
- Released
- 1973
- Length
- 7:39
- Album
- Houses of the Holy
Page composed the whole arrangement and vocal melody at his home studio, after George Harrison complained that Led Zeppelin never did any ballads. The opening chords are the same as those of Harrison's Something from Abbey Road. The backing track was recorded at Olympic under the working title Slush. Plant added lyrics to match the music, Jones added a string section on the Mellotron, and Page played acoustic and Danelectro electric guitars in several tunings.
The band played it regularly, with Page using a Gibson EDS-1275, and Page and Plant revived it for their 1994 and 1995 tour. Pitchfork's Mark Richardson called it a masterful study in the power of guitar tone and described Jones's Mellotron passage as one of the definitive uses of the instrument.
More songs by Led Zeppelin
Stairway to Heaven, Whole Lotta Love, Kashmir, Dazed and Confused, When the Levee Breaks, Black Dog, Immigrant Song, Communication Breakdown, Heartbreaker, Trampled Under Foot, Achilles Last Stand
Sources
- Houses of the Holy, Wikipedia
- Houses of the Holy, master release, Discogs
- Led Zeppelin IV, Houses of the Holy, Physical Graffiti (reissue review), Pitchfork (2015-02-24)