When Led Zeppelin's 5th album hit stores in early 1973, it quickly became apparent that the band had not used up all its magical powers when creating the untitled fourth album, and that they were still capable of retaining "rock god" status. This album was released during the time the band members where at their creative peaks, which would ramble on for a few more years. Like the previous release, basically all the songs presented here are Zeppelin classics.
The album kicks off with the brilliant "The Song Remains the Same," a multi-tracked guitar masterpiece that still stands as one of Jimmy Page's best compositions. Next comes the love ballad "The Rain Song" and the mighty "Over the Hills and Far Away," the latter containing a fantastic acoustic guitar-building crescendo that suddenly bursts forth with electric power. Probably the greatest (and creepiest) song on the album is "No Quarter," a haunting masterpiece with bassist John Paul Jones playing keyboards to perfection and Plant's dark, brooding vocal lurking over it all. This song, as well as the earlier-in-their-career "Immigrant Song," has sometimes been credited to have created the subgenre Viking metal.
Again, all the songs can be considered classics. The intense closer "The Ocean" was dedicated to the "ocean" of fans the band observed from the stage, "D'yer Mak'er" has a yearning, pop-like mystical pull, and "Dancing Days" is of the more free-spirited variety... but still bouncing and strong.

TRACK LIST:
1. The Song Remains The Same
2. The Rain Song
3. Over The Hills And Far Away
4. The Crunge
5. Dancing Days
6. D'yer Mak'er
7. No Quarter
8. The Ocean

Review by Carson Ray