... Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, I offer to you, Led Zeppelin's "Physical Graffiti".
In the days before CDs were invented, you had yer actual double album, guvnor. A favourite format for 1970's rock bands, allowing them to stretch out their ideas over 80+ minutes of vinyl. This ... Read review
Graffiti is the last great Led Zeppelin title, recorded before the influences of the day (synthesizers, disco) ended Zeppelin's reign as the kings of loud and sexy ...
Graffitiis the last great Led Zeppelin title, recorded before the influences of the day (synthesizers, disco) ended Zeppelin's reign as the kings of loud and sexy bl...
music contained on this most revered of albums. With the aid of rare and classic performances, scarce interviews, seldom seen photographs and contributions from th...
Graffitiis the last great Led Zeppelin title, recorded before the influences of the day (synthesizers, disco) ended Zeppelin's reign as the kings of loud and sexy bl...
A review by pinkmatchstick on Physical Graffiti [Remastered] - Led Zeppelin January 23rd, 2005
Author's product rating:
Originality
Definitely a cut above the rest
Lyrics
Standard
Quality and consistency of tracks
Mixed
How does it compare to the artist's other releases
Outstanding
Value for Money
Advantages:
all of sides one and two
Disadvantages:
some of sides three and four
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
My 50th review. Cue applause, marching bands, street parties etc. For the half century I've saved up this milestone for my op on one of the biggest, longest, loudest and most influential rock albums ever made. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, I offer to you, Led Zeppelin's "Physical Graffiti".
In the days before CDs were invented, you had yer actual double album, guvnor. A favourite format for 1970's rock bands, allowing them to stretch out their ideas over 80+ minutes of vinyl. This is probably the definitive rock double album.
Strangely enough it didn't come in the standard double-album gatefold sleeve, having instead a single album format, but with two vinyl covers, which when placed into the top of the album insert cleverly shows different scenes going on in a New York tenement block, such as pictures of the band, Lee Harvey Oswald, Elizabeth Taylor, a Zeppelin and a giant cat amongst others. Aaah, the old vinyl album covers. Some of them were better than the music contained therein.
Stephen Davis in his very readable book "Hammer Of The Gods" describes this as the "hardest hard rock album ever made", and whilst that certainly applies to all of sides one and two, there are parts of sides three and four that don't quite live up to that billing. The running order doesn't help in that respect, although you must bear in mind this is not an "Album" in the normal manner; it is a series of remastered outtakes and previously unreleased material, much of it from the 1971 Headley Grange and 1972 Stargroves sessions that produced "LZ IV" and "Houses of the holy" respectively, even to going back as far as 1970's acoustic "III" album.
Physical Graffiti came out in spring 1975 and was a massive seller, staying at no 1 on the US charts for much of that year. It is a colossal record and most Zepp fans will have either this or the "Runes" album as their favourite. Mine is actually "Houses", but hey, you pay your money and take your choice.
CUSTARD PIE Zeppelin raid Bukka White's "Shake Em On Down" for the rythym track, although with a clever bit of keyboard work spicing things up. A very simple but effective rocker. The "Custard Pie" that Robert Plant is singing about appears to relate to a certain part of the female anatomy. I'll leave you to work it out for yourselves.
THE ROVER Taut, driving, menacing tight but loose. The rythym section hold the song down whilst Jimmy Page spreads a glorious guitar over it. Robert sings of joining hands and dark sides of the globe. It's a plea for unity. Bloody brilliant it is too. Legend has it that the guitar bit was lost in the original sessions but was saved "With the grace of Harwood" - Keith Harwood the engineer.
IN MY TIME OF DYING An old standard recorded by Bob Dylan amongst others. Zepp's version is a blistering 11 minute rollercoaster, beginning with slide guitar, building up slowly with electric blues guitar before hitting the bridge, after which Jimmy delivers an awesome riff as the tune hurtles along. John Bonham's drumming on this track is by itself worth the price of admission. The band slow it down a little towards the end, with a touch of black humour "it feels pretty good up here", sings Robert. A real blockbuster that for me defines heavy metal.
HOUSES OF THE HOLY Title track of the preceding album, that for some reason was left off of it. Perhaps the band thought it sounded a little too much like "Dancin' Days". It's still a thumping good in your face rocker, Pagey lays down another simple riff before letting loose 100 note fill-ins at regular intervals. "From the houses of the holy, we can watch the white doves go".
TRAMPLED UNDERFOOT A fast and furious hard rock track that throws in a surprise cameo keyboard at the bridge. It's a song describing a woman as if she was a car. "I'm so glad I took a peek inside your showroom doors", for instance. Hmmmmm. A little overlong perhaps, and not quite the all-time classic some may have said it is. Pretty good nonetheless.
KASHMIR The tune that has now attained almost mythical status. Those of you who've heard it won't need a description, but for those who haven't, it is 9 minutes and 41 seconds long, a fairly slow but stately Middle East-meets hard rock number with epic travelogue lyrics. The band would attempt to replicate this track on all of their next albums, but never matched the sheer towering sound of this one. That old rascal Jimmy Page reworked the rythym track for this on his collaboration with Puff Daddy, or P Diddy, or whatever he's called these days, for 1998's "Come With Me" from the Godzilla soundtrack.
Well that's sides one and two covered, as we over 30s say. If the album was left at that it would be the greatest rock record ever made. Sides three and four have their brilliant moments too, but a couple of tracks are a bit of a let down.
IN THE LIGHT Following on in the same vein as "Kashmir" but without the eastern influences, another epic piece of music (8 mins 46 secs) that starts slowly, reaches the point where the band are just about to let rip, then slows down again before multilayered guitars over a huge backdrop bring it to its conclusion. Wonderful.
BRON-Y-AUR An acoustic guitar piece from Jimmy Page. Short, sweet and to the point.
DOWN BY THE SEASIDE Good heavens, Zeppelin throw in an almost country and western song in the hat. This is a slower tempo number about going to the seaside (never!!!!) that has an unexpected faster middle section. Not my favourite track on here but certainly a change in direction.
TEN YEARS GONE "Did you ever really want somebody, really need them bad", sings Robert in this sad ballad of lost love in times gone by. Things get heavier towards the end with more overlaid guitars. At nearly seven minutes it's a little overlong, but quite a nice sounding tune.
NIGHT FLIGHT A slower record, all stop start rythym this one, restrained yet with an optimistic lyric. The only heavier track on here that lets Robert showcase his vocal talents. Jimmy lays down a workmanlike guitar and ol' Percy does the rest. There's a bit halfway into the song where he just goes "oooooaaaaahhhhh" in that time honoured rock singer way. Some fansites I've read have Robert as the weak link in Zeppelin. There was no weak link in Zeppelin.
THE WANTON SONG Things get a little bit lost in the production here, I've never been able to make out the words, but judging by the rest of this album it's either about (A) shagging or (B) travelling somewhere. Probably A. It's a hard as nails rock song with climbing scales on the bridge and keyboard colouring. The wheel rolls on.
BOOGIE WITH STU This is what happens when the record company get to the fag end of a double album and realise they've run out of songs. In its own way it’s a jolly little bop, with almost music hall piano provided by the "Stu" of the title (Ian Stewart, sometime pianist with the Stones), but there is no way it should end up on such a powerful album as this. The music stops and we are left with Bonzo flailing away, after which the band collapse about laughing. The joke seems to be on the listener, however.
BLACK COUNTRY WOMAN Recorded in the garden at Stargroves, this begins with the sound of an aeroplane overhead and the band joking about leaving the sound of it in the mix. That's the interesting bit. It's a pity that the song, an acoustic jam, is not so interesting itself. Cliched lyrics "whats the matter with you momma" etc. A disappointment.
SICK AGAIN Now this is more like it. Another hard as nails rock track, a simple up and down scale job. This is about the groupies that followed Zep around everywhere they went in LA. Halfway through Pagey's solo Robert calls out "Jimmy, oh, Jimmy" - great stuff and the perfect ending to this record.
Not quite worthy of five stars - four and a half, maybe three quarters at a pinch - because of the pace, and quality, flagging a little in sides three and four. Still, a monumental record in its own right and worth a place in rock musics all-time top 5. Zeppelin would never reach these creative heights again, and in all honesty I don't think any band, however good they were, could expect to. For any young rock fans who've heard of Zepp but never actually heard them, this is the perfect starting point.
More Reviews
An album of contrast Review ofPhysical Graffiti [Remastered] - Led Zeppelinby
Gavin6
Advantages: See opinion Disadvantages: See opinion
Led Zeppelin were already the worlds finest rock band when they released this album. An unusual album, they moved away from their self titled albums and also tackled a number of different styles.
The openening two tracks are Custard Pie and The Rover. Both songs are similar in style and reveal a slightly heavier style from Zep. The basslines are fairly average, Page delivers another quality solo and Plant is incredible again but the real star on ... ...your hifi to the right and having bass at maximum and the rest at minimum you can appreciate how much his drumming influences the style and the sound of Zep. This is particularly the case as Custard Pie tails off - each hit of the drum sounds like an explosion and overtake the other instruments for sheer noise value.
In My Time Of Dying is a huge song. It is 11 minutes long and is like several songs rolled into one. There are countless superb solos ...
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very helpful
14.02.2001
Physically dominant Review ofPhysical Graffiti [Remastered] - Led Zeppelinby
stephen_logan
Advantages: One of the finest albums created by the greatest commercial rock band ever Disadvantages: A couple of weaker songs but that is it.
...was a masterpiece, as is physical graffiti, just to a partially lower extent. If you want a led zeppelin album to kick-start your collection, start with the best.
This album is one of those rare albums that encapsulates everything a musician is attempting to convey. The album has every type of music that Zeppelin had the ability to play, from the softest blues melodies to the heaviest hard rocking riffs. Here is Led Zeppelin coming back from some ... ...of the highest standard. This album epitomises what Led Zeppelin were about through my personal perceptions, it also represented the pinnacle in their career, a position they would never really be able to sustain. The greatest album by the greatest commercial rock band ever this is physical graffiti. ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
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very helpful
28.01.2002
Let's get physical Review ofPhysical Graffiti [Remastered] - Led Zeppelinby
rsmith
Advantages: Some excellent songs Disadvantages: The band were becoming a bit of a dinosaur
I love the earliest Led Zeppelin albums, up to and including this one. I'm not sure whether it's because it's a double album, so it lasts longer, but I would even go so far as to say that "Physical Graffiti" is my favourite album of theirs. It has many styles, from out and out rocker, to boogie, to classical. First track Custard Pie is one of the rockers, with a wah wah guitar and even a Nutbush City Limits type organ sound in the background - what ... ...the track called "Houses of the Holy" very confusing, since the Zeppelin album called "Houses of the Holy" was released two years earlier, in 1973. When Plant sings "let me take you to the movie… can I make your garden grow" ("Houses of the Holy") we know he's not talking about helping out with a spot of rose pruning. Oh no, as he says in, he's "talkin' about LURVE" (to quote him again, from "Trampled underfoot"). Lines like this really should sound ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Advantages: Lots of good songs Disadvantages: They could have made one absolutely supurb CD instead of two good CD's
There’s some great songs on this album: The funky Custard Pie, The Rover, Houses of the Holy, Trampled Under Foot (The last two also being a touch funky) and the epic Kashmir. So, that’s the first (6 track) CD dealt with and 5 of the tracks are standouts! Not bad at all. However on the second CD things aren’t so great. The first track, In The Light is good with it’s Arabic tinted intro. But a lot of the songs just don’t match up to the quality of ...
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30.07.2000
This is it! Review ofPhysical Graffiti [Remastered] - Led Zeppelinby
ProfPavilion
Advantages: It has the lot! Disadvantages: Not a single one
This album is a tour de force, the culmination of the 5 previous albums, the creative and artistic azimuth of Percy and Pagey.
This magnum opus reveals a pellucid quality in tracks such as Ten Years Gone, a haunting beautiful melody, encompassing longing and pure emotion. We are humbled by the magnitude of Kashmir, surely the most immense peaean ever invoked on a Gibson?
We are privvy to the full range of the mighty Zep's songbook, the fabulously ... ...the tender majesty of Bron y Aur and the loquacious reverence of In the Light.
Top this lot with the sheer animal grunt of In my time of dying - and you are left bereft of any sense of normality. I believe in the power of music and this album is more powerful than anything before or since. This album was Led Zeppelin's last defiant gesture at a vaguely uncaring world, and if you don't dig this - you are surely inextricably weighed down by your own ...
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Album Notes: Led Zeppelin: Robert Plant (vocals, harmonica); Jimmy Page (acoustic & electric guitars, mandolin, background vocals); John Paul Jones (bass, keyboards, background vocals); John Bonham (drums, background vocals). Additional personnel: Ian Stewart (piano). Engineers include: Eddie Kramer, George Chkiantz, Andrew Johns. Recorded at Headley Grave, Hampshire, England; Olympic Studios and Islan, London, England; Stargroves, England between 1972 & 1974. All tracks have been digitally remastered. Led Zeppelin launched its new Swan Song label with the double-LP PHYSICAL GRAFFITI. Recording, which began in December 1973 and concluded in July 1974, took place in numerous locations, including Olympic Studios in London, Ronnie Lane's Mobile Studio and The Rolling Stones' Mobile Studio. Recorded on the run as it were, PHYSICAL GRAFFITI codifies the stylisitc breakthroughs of Led Zeppelin's first five albums. The most well-known of its 15 tracks is "Kashmir," a typically mystical, Eastern-flavored rocker, fleshed out by Page's orchestral flourishes and Bonham's big-foot backbeat. John Paul Jones makes extensive use of electronic keyboards on "In The Light," and Robert Plant's turn on "Black Country Woman" is a sexy, playful nod to the Mississippi Delta. "The Wanton Song," "Trampled Under Foot" and "Houses Of The Holy" reflect Zeppelin's infatuation with funk, but with Zeppelin's distinctly hard-rock interpretation. "Bron-Yr-Aur" is a shimmering solo acoustic guitar excursion by Page, while "Boogie With Stu" is a charming showpiece for pianist Ian Stewart, a Rolling Stones sideman, with Page taking a very Chuck Berryish turn on mandolin. The album was released in the U.S. on February 24, 1975 and in the U.K. on the following day.
Album Reviews: Q (6/00, p.74) - Ranked #32 in Q's "100 Greatest British Albums" Q (7/01, p.87) - Included in Q's "50 Heaviest Albums of All Time". Q (11/94, p.143) - 4 Stars - Excellent - "...a double that warranted its four-side excess with arresting experimentation and spot-on refamiliarisation..." Classic Rock (04/06, p.69) - "...established Zeppelin as the benchmark for everyone who followed."
Titles on disc 1
1.: Houses Of The Holy
2.: Trampled Underfoot
3.: Kashmir
4.: Custard Pie
5.: Rover
6.: In My Time Of Dying
7.: In The Light
8.: Bron-y-Aur Stomp
9.: Down By The Seaside
10.: Ten Years Gone
11.: Night Flight
12.: Wanton Song
13.: Boogie With Stu
14.: Black Country Woman
15.: Sick Again
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