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Recording: Page DGCGCD tuning not incidental!
 
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| genre =
| genre =
* [[Progressive rock]]<ref>{{cite web |url= http://ultimateclassicrock.com/led-zeppelin-rain-song/|title= No. 37: 'The Rain Song' – Top 50 Led Zeppelin Songs|last= Whitaker|first= Sterling|date= 25 August 2013}}</ref>
* [[Progressive rock]]<ref>{{cite web |url= http://ultimateclassicrock.com/led-zeppelin-rain-song/|title= No. 37: 'The Rain Song' – Top 50 Led Zeppelin Songs|last= Whitaker|first= Sterling|date= 25 August 2013}}</ref>
* [[art rock]]<ref name= "Eddy 1997">{{cite book|first=Chuck|last=Eddy|title=The Accidental Evolution of Rock 'n' Roll: A Misguided Tour Through Popular Music|chapter= The Power Ballad Revolution|url=https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Accidental_Evolution_Of_Rock_n_roll.html?id=N0488R7-hYUC|date=22 March 1997|publisher=[[Da Capo Press]]|isbn=0-306-80741-6|page=52}}</ref>
* [[art rock]]<ref name= "Eddy 1997">{{cite book|first=Chuck|last=Eddy|title=The Accidental Evolution of Rock 'n' Roll: A Misguided Tour Through Popular Music|chapter= The Power Ballad Revolution|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N0488R7-hYUC|date=22 March 1997|publisher=[[Da Capo Press]]|isbn=0-306-80741-6|page=52}}</ref>
| length = 7:32
| length = 7:32
| label = [[Atlantic Records|Atlantic]]
| label = [[Atlantic Records|Atlantic]]
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*[[Robert Plant]]
*[[Robert Plant]]
| producer = Jimmy Page
| producer = Jimmy Page
| misc = {{Audio sample
| misc =
| type = song
| file = Led_Zeppelin_-_The_Rain_Song.ogg
}}
}}
}}


"'''The Rain Song'''" is a song by the English [[Rock music|rock]] band [[Led Zeppelin]]. It uses an [[Guitar tunings|alternative guitar tuning]] - DGCGCD, a variation of DADGAD.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-03-29 |title=The 8 Best Alternate Guitar Tunings |url=https://www.schoolofrock.com/resources/guitar/the-8-best-alternate-guitar-tunings |access-date=2025-01-04 |website=School of Rock |language=en-US |quote=DGCGCD is a tuning largely popularized by Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page, and it has an unconventional open-string sound. The most famous use of this tuning is “The Rain Song”}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Aledort |first=Andy |date=2019-05-28 |title=How to Utilize Unusual Alternate Tunings Like Jimmy Page |url=https://www.guitarworld.com/lessons/deep-how-utilize-unusual-alternate-tunings-style-led-zeppelin-s-jimmy-page |access-date=2025-01-04 |website=guitarworld |language=en |quote=On the Zep classic “The Rain Song” (Houses of the Holy), Page offers a unique variation on DADGAD by additionally tuning the fifth string down a whole step, from A to G, the fourth string down a whole step, from D to C, and the second string up a half step, from B to C, resulting in (low to high) D G C G C D}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=8 Amazing Songs That Use Alternative Tunings |url=https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/articles/features/8_amazing_songs_that_use_alternative_tunings-106913 |access-date=2025-01-04 |website=www.ultimate-guitar.com |language=en |quote=Page tuned his guitar to a unique combination of DGCGCD. The unusual tuning allowed Page to come up with haunting and beautiful chords that would have been difficult to stumble upon otherwise. The tune can be played in D standard but it would be way harder.}}</ref> It was released in March 1973 as the second track on their fifth album, ''[[Houses of the Holy]]''.
"'''The Rain Song'''" is a song by the English [[Rock music|rock]] band [[Led Zeppelin]]. It was released in March 1973 as the second track on their fifth album, ''[[Houses of the Holy]]''.


==Recording==
==Recording==
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Page wrote "The Rain Song" in response to [[George Harrison]] complaining to Led Zeppelin drummer [[John Bonham]] that the group were unable to write ballads.<ref name="Salewicz/JimmyPage">{{cite book|first=Chris|last=Salewicz|author-link=Chris Salewicz|title=Jimmy Page: The Definitive Biography|publisher=HarperCollins|location=London|year=2018|isbn=978-0-00-814931-4|page=268}}</ref> In ''Light and Shade: Conversations with Jimmy Page'', biographer [[Brad Tolinski]] quotes Page's recollection:
Page wrote "The Rain Song" in response to [[George Harrison]] complaining to Led Zeppelin drummer [[John Bonham]] that the group were unable to write ballads.<ref name="Salewicz/JimmyPage">{{cite book|first=Chris|last=Salewicz|author-link=Chris Salewicz|title=Jimmy Page: The Definitive Biography|publisher=HarperCollins|location=London|year=2018|isbn=978-0-00-814931-4|page=268}}</ref> In ''Light and Shade: Conversations with Jimmy Page'', biographer [[Brad Tolinski]] quotes Page's recollection:
{{bquote|George was talking to Bonzo one evening and said, "The problem with you guys is that you never do ballads." I said, "I'll give him a ballad," and I wrote "Rain Song," which appears on ''Houses of the Holy''. In fact, you'll notice I even quote "[[Something (Beatles song)|Something]]" in the song's first two chords.<ref name="lightshade">Brad Tolinski (2012), ''Light & Shade Conversations Jimmy Page'', Crown Publishing Group, {{ISBN|0307985717}}</ref>}}
{{bquote|George was talking to Bonzo one evening and said, "The problem with you guys is that you never do ballads." I said, "I'll give him a ballad," and I wrote "Rain Song," which appears on ''Houses of the Holy''. In fact, you'll notice I even quote "[[Something (Beatles song)|Something]]" in the song's first two chords.<ref name="lightshade">Brad Tolinski (2012), ''Light & Shade Conversations Jimmy Page'', Crown Publishing Group, {{ISBN|0307985717}}</ref>}}
However, there is some disagreement about exactly what was said by whom.<ref name="Complete"/><ref>{{Cite book|title=Jimmy Page: Magus, Musician, Man: an Unauthorized Biography|author=George Case|date=2007|page=126|isbn=9781423404071|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OsbuBD3mkkkC&q=%22rain+song%22}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Experiencing Led Zeppelin: A Listener's Companion|author=Gregg Akkerman|date=2014|page=66|isbn=9780810889163|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EaHYBAAAQBAJ&q=%22rain+song%22+%22harrison%22&pg=PA66}}</ref>{{Synthesis inline|date=September 2021}}
However, there is some disagreement about exactly what was said by whom.<ref name="Complete"/><ref>{{Cite book|title=Jimmy Page: Magus, Musician, Man: an Unauthorized Biography|author=George Case|date=2007|page=126|publisher=Hal Leonard Corporation |isbn=9781423404071|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OsbuBD3mkkkC&q=%22rain+song%22}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Experiencing Led Zeppelin: A Listener's Companion|author=Gregg Akkerman|date=2014|page=66|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=9780810889163|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EaHYBAAAQBAJ&q=%22rain+song%22+%22harrison%22&pg=PA66}}</ref>{{Synthesis inline|date=September 2021}}


==Live history==
==Live history==
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Record producer [[Rick Rubin]] has said of "The Rain Song": "I don't even know what kind of music this is. It defies classification. There's such tasteful, beautiful detail in the guitar, and a triumphant feel when the drums come in – it's sad and moody and strong, all at the same time. I could listen to this song all day. That would be a good day."<ref>[http://rollingstoneextras.com/playlists/view/rick-rubin The Playlist Special: Fifty Artists Pick Their Personal Top 10s] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101211051803/http://rollingstoneextras.com/playlists/view/rick-rubin |date=2010-12-11 }}. ''[[Rolling Stone]]''. Retrieved 2 January 2011.</ref>
Record producer [[Rick Rubin]] has said of "The Rain Song": "I don't even know what kind of music this is. It defies classification. There's such tasteful, beautiful detail in the guitar, and a triumphant feel when the drums come in – it's sad and moody and strong, all at the same time. I could listen to this song all day. That would be a good day."<ref>[http://rollingstoneextras.com/playlists/view/rick-rubin The Playlist Special: Fifty Artists Pick Their Personal Top 10s] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101211051803/http://rollingstoneextras.com/playlists/view/rick-rubin |date=2010-12-11 }}. ''[[Rolling Stone]]''. Retrieved 2 January 2011.</ref>


== Other versions ==
==Other versions==
{{Unreferenced|section|date=November 2021}}
A different version of this song is featured on the second disc of the remastered 2CD deluxe edition of ''Houses of the Holy''. Titled "The Rain Song (Mix Minus Piano)", it was recorded on 18 May 1972 at the [[Rolling Stones Mobile Studio]] at Stargroves with engineer Eddie Kramer and mix engineer [[Keith Harwood]]. [[Page and Plant]] recorded a version of the song in 1994 but it was not originally released on their album ''[[No Quarter: Jimmy Page and Robert Plant Unledded]]''. It was, however, released on the special tenth anniversary reissue of that album in 2004.
A different version of this song is featured on the second disc of the remastered 2CD deluxe edition of ''Houses of the Holy''. Titled "The Rain Song (Mix Minus Piano)", it was recorded on 18 May 1972 at the [[Rolling Stones Mobile Studio]] at Stargroves with engineer Eddie Kramer and mix engineer [[Keith Harwood]]. [[Page and Plant]] recorded a version of the song in 1994 but it was not originally released on their album ''[[No Quarter: Jimmy Page and Robert Plant Unledded]]''. It was, however, released on the special tenth anniversary reissue of that album in 2004.


On March 28, 2023, Jimmy Page released a previously unheard early demo of The Rain Song on his personal website and Youtube channel, to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of [[Houses Of The Holy]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Page |first1=Jimmy |title=The Seasons - Youtube |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_n1Bxp-YfTs |website=Youtube |access-date=28 March 2023}}</ref> According to Page, the demo tape was missing while he was assembling the Deluxe versions of Led Zeppelin's catalog in 2014-2015.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Elliot |first1=Paul |title=Interview: Jimmy Page |url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/interview-jimmy-page |website=Louder Sound |access-date=28 March 2023 |language=en |date=1 October 2014}}</ref> In a 2020 interview with [[Rolling Stone]], he described the tape as having been recently discovered.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Grow |first1=Kory |title=Jimmy Page on His Vision for Led Zeppelin |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/jimmy-page-anthology-interview-bonham-led-zeppelin-1074825/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=28 March 2023 |date=29 October 2020}}</ref>
On March 28, 2023, Jimmy Page released a previously unheard early demo of The Rain Song on his personal website and Youtube channel, to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of [[Houses Of The Holy]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Page |first1=Jimmy |title=The Seasons Youtube |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_n1Bxp-YfTs |website=Youtube |access-date=28 March 2023}}</ref> According to Page, the demo tape was missing while he was assembling the Deluxe versions of Led Zeppelin's catalog in 2014 and 2015.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Elliot |first1=Paul |title=Interview: Jimmy Page |url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/interview-jimmy-page |website=Louder Sound |access-date=28 March 2023 |language=en |date=1 October 2014}}</ref> In a 2020 interview with ''Rolling Stone'', he described the tape as having been recently discovered.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Grow |first1=Kory |title=Jimmy Page on His Vision for Led Zeppelin |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/jimmy-page-anthology-interview-bonham-led-zeppelin-1074825/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=28 March 2023 |date=29 October 2020}}</ref>

==Personnel==
According to Jean-Michel Guesdon and Philippe Margotin:{{sfn|Guesdon|Margotin|2018|p=318}}

* [[Robert Plant]] – vocals
* [[Jimmy Page]] – acoustic and electric guitars
* [[John Paul Jones (musician)|John Paul Jones]] – bass, [[Mellotron]], piano
* [[John Bonham]] – drums


==See also==
==See also==
Line 55: Line 59:
==References==
==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Bibliography==
*{{cite book|first1=Jean-Michel|last1=Guesdon|first2=Philippe|last2=Margotin|year=2018|title=Led Zeppelin All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track|publisher=[[Running Press]]|isbn=978-0-316-448-67-3}}


{{Led Zeppelin songs}}
{{Led Zeppelin songs}}

Latest revision as of 06:02, 4 January 2025

"The Rain Song"
Song by Led Zeppelin
from the album Houses of the Holy
Released28 March 1973 (1973-03-28)
Recorded1972
StudioStargroves, East Woodhay, England
Genre
Length7:32
LabelAtlantic
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Jimmy Page

"The Rain Song" is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin. It uses an alternative guitar tuning - DGCGCD, a variation of DADGAD.[3][4][5] It was released in March 1973 as the second track on their fifth album, Houses of the Holy.

Recording

[edit]

"The Rain Song" is a ballad of over seven minutes in length. Guitarist Jimmy Page originally constructed the melody of this song at his home in Plumpton, England, where he had recently installed a studio mixing console. A new Vista model, it was partly made up from the Pye Mobile Studio which had been used to record the group's 1970 Royal Albert Hall performance and the Who's Live at Leeds album.[6]

With a working title of "Slush", a reference to its easy listening simulated orchestral arrangement,[6] Page was able to bring in a completed arrangement of the melody, for which singer Robert Plant wrote the words. Plant ranks his vocal performance on the track as one of his best.[7] The song also features a Mellotron played by John Paul Jones to add to the orchestral effect, while Page plays a Danelectro guitar.[6]

Page wrote "The Rain Song" in response to George Harrison complaining to Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham that the group were unable to write ballads.[8] In Light and Shade: Conversations with Jimmy Page, biographer Brad Tolinski quotes Page's recollection:

George was talking to Bonzo one evening and said, "The problem with you guys is that you never do ballads." I said, "I'll give him a ballad," and I wrote "Rain Song," which appears on Houses of the Holy. In fact, you'll notice I even quote "Something" in the song's first two chords.[9]

However, there is some disagreement about exactly what was said by whom.[6][10][11][improper synthesis?]

Live history

[edit]

During Led Zeppelin concerts from late 1972 until 1975, the band played "The Rain Song" immediately following "The Song Remains the Same", presenting the songs in the same order as they appeared on the album. They organised their set list in this manner because Page used a Gibson EDS-1275 double-necked guitar for both songs: the top, 12-string neck for "The Song Remains the Same" and then switching to the bottom, 6-string neck for "The Rain Song". The song was dropped from the 1977 US tour, but returned for Led Zeppelin's 1979 concerts in Copenhagen, Denmark and at the Knebworth Music Festival, as well as their European tour in 1980.[6]

Reception

[edit]

In a contemporary review for Houses of the Holy, Gordon Fletcher of Rolling Stone gave "The Rain Song" a negative review, pairing it with "No Quarter" as "nothing more than drawn-out vehicles for the further display of Jones' unknowledgeable use of mellotron and synthesizer".[12] Writing for the same publication in 2003, Gavin Edwards said that Page and Plant "rose to the challenge" presented by Harrison's comment, and the band created "seven minutes of exquisite heartache".[13]

In his review of the 2014 Houses of the Holy (Deluxe Edition), Kristofer Lenz of Consequence of Sound described "The Rain Song" as "one of the most sentimental tracks in Led Zeppelin's catalog" and called it "patient and beautifully arranged".[14] Lenz also wrote that Plant's lyrics and vocals "infuse a sense of humanity, loss, and transcendence – a touch of emotional maturity".[14]

Record producer Rick Rubin has said of "The Rain Song": "I don't even know what kind of music this is. It defies classification. There's such tasteful, beautiful detail in the guitar, and a triumphant feel when the drums come in – it's sad and moody and strong, all at the same time. I could listen to this song all day. That would be a good day."[15]

Other versions

[edit]

A different version of this song is featured on the second disc of the remastered 2CD deluxe edition of Houses of the Holy. Titled "The Rain Song (Mix Minus Piano)", it was recorded on 18 May 1972 at the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio at Stargroves with engineer Eddie Kramer and mix engineer Keith Harwood. Page and Plant recorded a version of the song in 1994 but it was not originally released on their album No Quarter: Jimmy Page and Robert Plant Unledded. It was, however, released on the special tenth anniversary reissue of that album in 2004.

On March 28, 2023, Jimmy Page released a previously unheard early demo of The Rain Song on his personal website and Youtube channel, to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of Houses Of The Holy.[16] According to Page, the demo tape was missing while he was assembling the Deluxe versions of Led Zeppelin's catalog in 2014 and 2015.[17] In a 2020 interview with Rolling Stone, he described the tape as having been recently discovered.[18]

Personnel

[edit]

According to Jean-Michel Guesdon and Philippe Margotin:[19]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Whitaker, Sterling (25 August 2013). "No. 37: 'The Rain Song' – Top 50 Led Zeppelin Songs".
  2. ^ Eddy, Chuck (22 March 1997). "The Power Ballad Revolution". The Accidental Evolution of Rock 'n' Roll: A Misguided Tour Through Popular Music. Da Capo Press. p. 52. ISBN 0-306-80741-6.
  3. ^ "The 8 Best Alternate Guitar Tunings". School of Rock. 2023-03-29. Retrieved 2025-01-04. DGCGCD is a tuning largely popularized by Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page, and it has an unconventional open-string sound. The most famous use of this tuning is "The Rain Song"
  4. ^ Aledort, Andy (2019-05-28). "How to Utilize Unusual Alternate Tunings Like Jimmy Page". guitarworld. Retrieved 2025-01-04. On the Zep classic "The Rain Song" (Houses of the Holy), Page offers a unique variation on DADGAD by additionally tuning the fifth string down a whole step, from A to G, the fourth string down a whole step, from D to C, and the second string up a half step, from B to C, resulting in (low to high) D G C G C D
  5. ^ "8 Amazing Songs That Use Alternative Tunings". www.ultimate-guitar.com. Retrieved 2025-01-04. Page tuned his guitar to a unique combination of DGCGCD. The unusual tuning allowed Page to come up with haunting and beautiful chords that would have been difficult to stumble upon otherwise. The tune can be played in D standard but it would be way harder.
  6. ^ a b c d e Dave Lewis (1994), The Complete Guide to the Music of Led Zeppelin, Omnibus Press, ISBN 0-7119-3528-9.
  7. ^ Austin Scaggs, Q&A: Robert Plant, Rolling Stone, May 5, 2005.
  8. ^ Salewicz, Chris (2018). Jimmy Page: The Definitive Biography. London: HarperCollins. p. 268. ISBN 978-0-00-814931-4.
  9. ^ Brad Tolinski (2012), Light & Shade Conversations Jimmy Page, Crown Publishing Group, ISBN 0307985717
  10. ^ George Case (2007). Jimmy Page: Magus, Musician, Man: an Unauthorized Biography. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 126. ISBN 9781423404071.
  11. ^ Gregg Akkerman (2014). Experiencing Led Zeppelin: A Listener's Companion. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 66. ISBN 9780810889163.
  12. ^ Fletcher, Gordon (7 June 1973). "Houses of the Holy". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 14 August 2017.
  13. ^ Edwards, Gavin (30 July 2003). "Led Zeppelin Houses of the Holy". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 10 March 2014. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  14. ^ a b Lenz, Kristofer (3 November 2014). "Led Zeppelin – Houses of the Holy [Reissue]". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 14 August 2017.
  15. ^ The Playlist Special: Fifty Artists Pick Their Personal Top 10s Archived 2010-12-11 at the Wayback Machine. Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
  16. ^ Page, Jimmy. "The Seasons – Youtube". Youtube. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  17. ^ Elliot, Paul (1 October 2014). "Interview: Jimmy Page". Louder Sound. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  18. ^ Grow, Kory (29 October 2020). "Jimmy Page on His Vision for Led Zeppelin". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  19. ^ Guesdon & Margotin 2018, p. 318.

Bibliography

[edit]