“The Song Remains the Same” by Led Zeppelin

"The Song Remains the Same" throws open Houses of the Holy, Led Zeppelin's 1973 album, and it very nearly had no words at all. Jimmy Page built it as an instrumental overture, pieced together from snatches of ideas he kept on cassette, and meant it to lead straight into "The Rain Song". Then Robert Plant wrote lyrics, the working title went from "The Overture" to "The Campaign", and Plant's idea of dropping into half-time in the middle pulled the whole thing together in a day.

What came out is a breathless rush, Page stacking a Telecaster and a Fender 12-string into a ringing, cascading wall while John Paul Jones and John Bonham gallop underneath. Plant's vocal was sped up a touch for the record, which only makes it sound more airborne. Page produced it himself, with Eddie Kramer among the engineers and Keith Harwood on the mix.

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