a first listen of no quarter by led zeppelin yo what's going on guys just before we get into the
actual song reaction i have a announcement to make so this saturday the 21st of may will be my very
first live stream on twitch.tv by saeedby95 i have a lot of stuff planned for the stream i
will be live ranking all of the songs i've heard so far on this channel debating you guys in the
different positions hopefully having some of you join me on the call to give your two cents
about the different songs i would then be taking suggestions for live reactions to obscure music
the more obscure the band and the song the better is i don't want any of the popular [ __ ] um so
if that sounds interesting to you come join me on twitch.tv by nine five that will be seven pm gmt
which is three p.m eastern standard time if you go over there and hit the follow button on my account
it will help notify you about when i'm going live it will probably make things easier for you guys
to sort of know when i'm doing stuff on twitch um i'm sure we'll have a blast man i'll catch
you guys on saturday okay now into the actual song reaction this track is no quarter of the
album houses of the holy now this album has sold over 10 million records worldwide ridiculous sales
um is considered one of their true masterpiece albums it's often considered one of the greatest
albums of all time so i have high expectations for this track not just because of those reasons
the two songs i've heard so far from led zeppelin good times bad times and when the levee breaks
particularly the latter was absolutely brilliant the musicianship and chemistry of this band is
off this [ __ ] scales so high hopes in terms of my initial expectations for the for the song
with the title being no core and the single art from the album i'm expecting something a little
bit darker no quarter generally meaning uh asking for no mercy so perhaps this is one of their more
darker songs the two songs i've heard so far have generally been upbeat musically
they've been certainly one of the levee breaks was kind of melancholy and about lost lyrically
and vocal performance wise however they've been upbeat tracks so maybe this is a bit of a twist
however this is all just initial expectations so let's get into the music okay here we go
wow it's really peaceful
it's beautiful
oh here we go
whoa
turn this on
wow that was incredible incredible atmosphere set there
this the musicianship of this band is really really on a different level man um
if i was to sort of speak about the imagery that this thing conjured up in my mind
the beginning bit was like very very serene and i believe it's jean-paul jones on the on the keys
it sounded like every key that he pressed was like almost like a raindrop hitting hitting
like a river or something like that um and then jimmy page comes in with this guitar riff that
oh my look this man is a musi is a magician honestly i don't know how he's managed to express
pain through the guitar the guitar sounds like it's hurting it's so thick it's the
atmosphere is so thick and sort of sambar and mournful um wow what an introduction man
what a absolutely brilliant introduction let's uh let's back this up a little bit
oh
no they won't be home tonight
whoa what a great line
where no one
oh my god
oh my word what the hell am i hearing man um there's so much going on there is there's so much
going on in the background of this thing i mean if you don't pay attention enough you won't realize
that john paul jones is murdering these [ __ ] keys man i think he's on like a
organ or something like a church organ which like conjures up like very gothic imagery in my head
um maybe this is like a weird connection it almost sounds like this is like a trip to the
underworld if that makes any sense um there's a lot of norse uh imagery also used the winds
of thor are blowing cold and plants delivery kind of sounds like a man who's very regretfully
sort of looking back on his life close the door put out the light you know they won't be home
tonight and then he said they're wearing steel that's bright and true so in my head kind of the
story that is kind of created through the lyrics the atmosphere is like a warrior a warrior who's
perhaps died and like gone to the underworld to go meet hades like that's the imagery set
through the music what a br what a brilliant brilliant atmosphere to get that to come into
someone's head i mean you have to be a high level musician to pull all of that off but lyrically
this this song is is really beautiful it's really beautiful it's like a kind of juxtaposition of
serenity and melancholy together it's like sombra dark and then he has these moments of peace
again that come through with that brilliant chorus where his vocal is like distant he's
like almost shouting it at you from afar with this reverberation unreal unreal so far
whoa
chose
oh john paul jones
oh [ __ ]
oh
wow the atmosphere is soaked in dread soaked in dread in remorse in regret
all done through keys guitar effects i mean the engineering of this track is incredible and i
i believe it's page behind a lot of the engineering too um listen the sort of if i were
to keep going down this this idea of the imagery in my head this song sounds like it's a trip
through the river sticks you know with the dude with the with the canoe ball i believe his name
is is is charon i think from like greek mythology i love that this band uses such great mythos in
their in their lyrics and they kind of go help build that atmosphere up and that imagery up
with the music too um john paul jones man if if you if you don't again if you don't really pay
attention well enough like this dude is [ __ ] killing the keys man he's killing the keys um
and i spoke previously in one of the other reactions how i feel like a musician like
him can go under the radar but you know this is the perfect track for me for him to really
showcase his abilities as a multi-instrumental musician you know he plays bass guitar it sounds
like some church organs are being used brilliant performances by everyone so far and subtlety from
bonham john bonham saudi which i don't know if many people will sort of describe john bonham's uh
drumming as a subtle subtle style but he's pulling it off shows his range too let's back this up
listen to that it's like 30 years ahead of his time
oh my god
okay i'm gonna stop it right there maybe some people would think that's
criminal i just wanted to analyze that verse i think that's my favorite of the two verses
but if we're kind of going down this idea of we're taking a journey through the river styx to go
meet hades in the underworld the dogs of doom are howling more you know in greek mythology
you have like the cerberus the three-headed dog that guards the gates of hell man um
what a cool line the dogs of duel are howling more like the the the oh wow okay so
wow okay if we're going with this idea of this is a tale of a guy who's like a
warrior who's died with using the previous bit of they're wearing steel that's bright and true
you know as you go through the river sticks you see like dead people in the river right
so perhaps that's the imagery he's talking about they're wearing steel that's bright and true as in
he's looking into the river and seeing the people that he's killed along his days of being a warrior
through this river and his his regret the delivery of plant is very mournful very regretful perhaps
this is a guy who's looking back at his life in real regret of the things that he's done thus the
dogs of doom are howling more he knows that his fate his inevitable fate is a bad one when he goes
and meets his essential eventual judgment what a [ __ ] concept what a concept for a song now
i don't know if this is what they mean but this is this is what they've conjured up in my brain
and to do all of that through the musicianship and the lyricism oh my lord what a [ __ ] song
that is that what he means by when they say they hold no quarter they ask no quarter
because no quota means no mercy thus he's saying i know i've done wrong
i you know i deserve everything that comes for me whatever your judgment may be
wow wow
is
i'm
oh
wow wow
oh my god what a ending the way he fades himself out like his fate is inevitable in the end like
and his last delivery of the chorus is like a guy who's accepted his fate i i deserve no mercy hell
is cut is awaiting me the that he even says like giving me giving me no quarter i hear the dogs of
doom are howling more he's getting closer to his fate
what a [ __ ] song oh my god the imagery the the the dark the dark somber mood that was set
with the sort of almost it tricks you with the beginning you know the beginning is
like very serene peaceful beautiful from that from those keys from john paul jones
this is like everyone coming together perfectly to deliver this this masterpiece of a song man
the chemist listen i don't i don't know what else i can say that is a stone cold
[ __ ] 10. a 10 doesn't it doesn't do justice to what i just heard um wow what a [ __ ] track