No Quarter (song)

"No Quarter" is a song by Led Zeppelin that appears on their 1973 album Houses of the Holy. It was written by John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page, and Robert Plant. The song became a centerpiece at all Led Zeppelin concerts thereafter, until their final tour. It appears in both the film versions and both live album versions of The Song Remains the Same, released in 1976 and expanded in 2007. It appeared once more in 1994 on Page and Plant's reunion album as the title track. It also appears on Led Zeppelin's 2012 live album Celebration Day, which documented their 2007 reunion performance at the O2 Arena in London. It was re-released on the deluxe edition of Houses of the Holy.

"No Quarter"
Song by Led Zeppelin
from the album Houses of the Holy
Released28 March 1973 (1973-03-28)
Recorded1971–1972
StudioIsland, London
Genre
Length7:03
LabelAtlantic
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Jimmy Page
Audio sample
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Overview

Although an early version was recorded at the Led Zeppelin IV album sessions,[4] "No Quarter" was recorded in 1972 at Island Studios, London.[5] Andy Johns engineered the track and mixed it at Olympic Studios, London. The version that made it onto the album evolved out of a faster version Led Zeppelin had recorded earlier at Headley Grange, an old mansion in east Hampshire, England.[6] Jimmy Page applied vari-speed to drop the whole song a semi-tone, to give it a thicker and more intense mood.[7] In addition to the pitch change, the album version featured a very highly compressed guitar track, giving it a tone unique to Led Zeppelin. The guitar solo effect was achieved by direct injection and compression.[6]

The title is derived from the military practice of showing no mercy to a vanquished opponent and from the brave act of not asking for mercy when vanquished. This theme is captured in several of the song's lyrics. Like "Immigrant Song" two albums prior, it evokes imagery from the Vikings and Norse mythology, with lyrics such as “the winds of Thor are blowing cold.”

Record producer Rick Rubin remarked on the song's structure, "It takes such confidence to be able to get really quiet and loose for such a long time. [Led] Zeppelin completely changed how we look at what popular music can be."[8]

Performances and covers

From 1973, "No Quarter" became a centerpiece at Led Zeppelin concerts, being played at virtually every show the band performed until 1980 (it was eventually discarded on their final tour "Over Europe" in that year).[6]

During live performances, John Paul Jones frequently improvised on keyboards and performed parts of classical music. On the band's ninth North American tour in 1973, performances of the song lasted twice the length of the studio version. On Led Zeppelin's concert tours from 1975 onward, Jones would also play a short piano solo (on a Steinway B-211 grand piano) frequently turning the seven-minute song into a performance exceeding twenty and sometimes even thirty to thirty-five minutes, in a handful of cases.[9] Page and John Bonham would always join him later in the song. He was particularly fond of playing Rachmaninoff pieces, but sometimes included Joaquín Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez and "Amazing Grace" as part of an extended medley.[10]

The American rock band Tool recorded a cover of No Quarter for the soundtrack to Howard Stern's Private Parts (based on the 1993 book of the same name.) The use of the song in the soundtrack fell through due to Tool's decision to not allow use of the song in the film, leading to criticism by Stern. The cover eventually went on to be included in Tool's 2000 box set, Salival.[11]

Since 2011, No Quarter has been a live staple of the band Phish.[12]

Reception

In a contemporary review for Houses of the Holy, Gordon Fletcher of Rolling Stone gave "No Quarter" a negative review, describing the track, along with "The Rain Song", as "nothing more than drawn-out vehicles for the further display of Jones' unknowledgeable use of mellotron and synthesizer."[13]

See also

References

Citations

  1. Shadwick, Keith (2005). Led Zeppelin: The Story of a Band and Their Music 1968–1980 (1st ed.). San Francisco: Backbeat Books. p. 191. ISBN 0-87930-871-0.
  2. Christman, Ed (9 January 2019). "Led Zeppelin At 50: Every Zep Song, Ranked By Revenue Generated". Billboard. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
  3. Zaleski, Annie (20 September 2013). "No. 10: 'No Quarter' – Top 50 Led Zeppelin Songs".
  4. Lewis 1990, p. 52.
  5. Bream, Jon (9 November 2015). Whole Lotta Led Zeppelin, 2nd Edition: The Illustrated History of the Heaviest Band of All Time. Voyageur Press. ISBN 9781627888028 – via Google Books.
  6. Dave Lewis (1994), The Complete Guide to the Music of Led Zeppelin, Omnibus Press, ISBN 0-7119-3528-9.
  7. Brad Tolinski and Greg Di Bendetto (January 1998). Light and Shade. Guitar World. ISBN 9780307985736.
  8. Colothan, Scott (11 January 2019). "The 20 greatest Led Zeppelin songs of all time". Planet Rock. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
  9. Lewis, Dave; Pallett, Simon (15 May 1997). Led Zeppelin: The Concert File. Omnibus Press. ISBN 9780857125743 – via Google Books.
  10. Bream, Jon (2008). Whole Lotta Led Zeppelin: The Illustrated History of the Heaviest Band of All Time. Voyageur Press. p. 4. ISBN 978-1-61673-149-6.
  11. Sokal, Roman (1 January 2006). "Tool: Stepping Out From the Shadows". Exclaim!.
  12. "No Quarter Every Time Played - Phish.net". phish.net. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
  13. Fletcher, Gordon (7 June 1973). "Houses of the Holy". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 14 August 2017.

Bibliography

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