Why This Led Zeppelin Song Was Regrettable For The Band

There’s no contest for Led Zeppelin being one of the most iconic progressive rock legends of all time. But as they say, not all that glitters is gold, and the band seemed to forget this, even if it was a mere two years since “Stairway To Heaven” launched. Their signature heavy rocking sound was still intact in 1973’s Houses Of The Holy, Led Zeppelin tried to do a little experiment with “Dye’r Maker“, which started out as a little joke when the band was listening to reggae, and a challenge to Bonham who was teased of being unable to play in reggae time.

The result was a weak imitation of the genre, with Plant’s lazy vocals strewn across the track like laundry waiting to dry in the autumn air. A generic chord progression from way back in the doo-wop of the 50’s were catchy enough, but only enough to grab momentary attention. Even John Paul Jones didn’t like the idea of the song carelessly taking form, much more of its release.

Led Zeppelin clearly didn’t bode well with this track, with lessons learned outweighing the consequences. In a note of redemption though, the American crowd seemed to receive the song well enough. Led Zeppelin sticking to their own sound after this minor “disaster” is evident in the following albums, although it’s not so bad to have something bizarre under their extensive catalog.