"The Ocean" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin, from their 1973 album Houses of the Holy. The ocean is a metaphor for the "sea of heads" faced by lead singer Robert Plant "in the auditoriums", according to the group's biographer Dave Lewis.

Overview

Eddie Kramer, who was present during the recording of Houses of the Holy, commented on extraneous noises in the recording: "It's entirely possible. [The song was] done in a house [but] I don't remember there being [a phone ringing]." Jimmy Page remarked:

"The Ocean" features an unusual time signature, being partially in septuple meter, with a repeated two-measure phrase consisting of one bar of and one bar of .

The introduction, "We've done four already, and now we're steady" is done by John Bonham. He is referring to the previous four recording takes, and the one on the record presumably is the fifth take of the session. During this performance, Plant sang the third verse, which starts with "Sitting round singing songs 'til the night turns into day" as the second verse and sang the second verse at the end of the song. The band first played the song live on their 1972 U.S. concert tour and it remained as part of their performances through their 1973 U.S. tour. It was deleted from the set list thereafter. Lenz continues, "Page and co. get back to their swaggering rock roots with one of the nastiest guitar riff/drum fill combos in rock history." and "The song and album end with a riotous crescendo as Plant screams out 'Ohhhh, so gooood!' And he is soooo right." Fletcher further wrote, "Jimmy Page's guitar spits jagged fireballs with John Paul Jones and John Bonham riffing along behind him, but the effect is destroyed by ridiculous backup cooings and an overbearing "killer" coda that's so blatant it can only be taken as a mock of straight rock & roll."

Personnel

According to Jean-Michel Guesdon and Philippe Margotin:

  • Robert Plant – vocals
  • Jimmy Page – guitars, backing vocals
  • John Paul Jones – bass, backing vocals
  • John Bonham – drums, backing vocals

See also

References

Bibliography

  • "The Ocean" (Live: NY 1973) at ledzeppelin.com