Jimmy Page has recently unveiled an early demo version of his song entitled “The Rain Song” to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the release of his album “Houses of the Holy”. The track, which he named “The Seasons”, was made available on his personal website’s “On This Day” section on March 28th.
Led Zeppelin’s classic album, “Houses of the Holy”, recently celebrated its 50th anniversary, marking half a century since its release. In this article, we’ll take a look at how the album was made, from the original ideas to the recording process, and the instruments used to create some of its most iconic tracks.
The Overture: “The Plumpton and Worcester Races”
Jimmy Page, the band’s guitarist, had a clear vision for the opening tracks of the album. He had planned for a short overture with layered electric guitars that would lead into “The Seasons”, later known as “The Rain Song”. The idea was to create a contrasting acoustic guitar instrumental movement with a melotron that could segue into the first vocal of the album and the first verse of the song.
“The Seasons” was a memo to himself, a reminder of the song’s sequence and various ideas he had for it in its early stages. Page worked on it over one evening at his home. During the routing of the overture, the half-time section was born, and the overture took shape as “The Song Remains The Same”. These rehearsals were conducted in Puddle Town on the River Piddle in Dorset, UK.
Recording at Olympic Studios and Stargroves
The first set of recordings for the album was done at Olympic Studios with George Chkiantz. The band later recorded at Stargroves, the country home of Sir Mick Jagger, with the Rolling Stones recording truck. “The Song Remains The Same” was played on a Fender 12-string, the same one used on Becks Bolero, with Page’s Les Paul number 1 on overdubs in a standard tuning.
“The Rain Song” featured an unorthodox tuning on both acoustic and electric guitars, which helped to create the unique sound of the track. During live shows, it became a workout feature for Page’s double neck guitar.
This is the first authorized release of Led Zeppelin music since 2018
Led Zeppelin fans can rejoice as a previously unreleased demo of “The Rain Song” has been made available by the band’s legendary guitarist, Jimmy Page. The demo, titled “The Seasons,” was released to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Led Zeppelin’s album, “Houses of the Holy”. The demo was released through Page’s website, making it the first authorized release of Led Zeppelin music since the band released a two-track Record Store Day vinyl single in 2018.
Page has revealed that he had a home demo of “The Rain Song” for many years, but unfortunately, the tapes had been lost. However, he recently discovered a tape that had been missing for a long while, and it contained the full orchestration of “Rain Song”. In a 2020 interview, he said that every part of the song was there, slightly different, and it included things that didn’t get used.
Jimmy Page had an original idea for the opening tracks of “Houses of the Holy”, which included a short overture that would lead to “The Seasons,” later titled “The Rain Song”. He worked on it over one evening at home and used it as a reminder of the sequence of the song and various ideas he had for it in its embryonic stage. During the routining of the overture, the half-time section was born, and it shaped into the song, “The Song Remains The Same”. The recordings were done at Olympic Studios with George Chkiantz and Stargroves, Sir Mick Jagger’s country home, with the Rolling Stones recording truck.
While “The Rain Song” was an unorthodox tuning on acoustic and electric guitars, it became a workout feature for the double neck in live shows. The release of “The Seasons” is a treat for Led Zeppelin fans, and it showcases Page’s creative genius and the band’s iconic sound.
