#144 Led Zeppelin, 'Physical Graffiti' (1975)
Previously #73
Often considered by critics as their artistic peak, ‘Physical Graffiti,’ is the sixth album by Led Zeppelin in as many years. It’s just astounding to think that the band was still managing to output such a volume of music in such a short space of time. Originally intended as a single album the band had recorded 8 songs which spilled over into 3 sides of an LP. Instead of cutting the tracks, many of which ran over 6 minutes, the band decided to add an extra side, making it a double album, by using outtake from previous sessions and albums. At the time, John Paul Jones had grown disillusioned with the band, threatening to quit. Manager, Peter Grant, convinced him to take a break for a few months before the band retreated to Headley Grange to record those 8 songs.
The album opens with the hard rocking ‘Custard Pie,’ a no frills, straight up hard rock song going into ‘The Rover,’ an outtake from the ‘Houses Of The Holy’ sessions. Crazy to think a song as good as this had previously landed up on the cutting room floor. Robert Plant’s voice is in fine form. The song began life as an acoustic song during the ‘Led Zeppelin III’ sessions before being reworked as an electric number. ‘In My Time Of Dying’ is based on the traditional Gospel song, ‘Jesus Make Up My Dying Bed,’ originally recorded by Blind Willie Johnson in 1927. The song was later recorded by Bob Dylan on his debut record. Zeppelin, of course, made the song their own. At 11:05, it’s their longest studio recorded song. It always confused me that ‘Houses Of The Holy,’ the name of their previous album, was included on this record. It’s a good song, but easy to see why it would have been left off of the previous record. ‘Trampled Under Foot’ is quite different to previous Zeppelin tracks; a funky song driven by Jones’s keyboards, inspired by Robert Johnson and Stevie Wonder. The album’s, and possibly even the band’s pinnacle comes with next song, ‘Kashmir.’ Bonham forms the simple backbone of the song, not overplaying, except when he needs to (that super fast kick pedal foot is on full display here during the breakdown). Page’s production, assisted by Jones’s arrangement is just superb on this record. Driven by strings and horns, and inspired by Eastern music the song is massive, and proves that the beyond was beyond just a Blues/Hard Rock band. The following track is one of my favourite Zeppelin songs, thanks to its unique sound. ‘In The Light’ has such a unique structure starting with Jones meandering on a synthesizer while Page plays acoustic guitar with a bow. The song only starts in earnest at almost 3 minutes, continuing for another 5 minutes. ‘Ten Years Gone’ is another favourite of mine. This album showcases the various guises of Zeppelin, the sum of their many parts, really opening up a new dimension to the band. Each member is so unique and important, that each would be impossible to replace, hence the reason it’s admirable that they decided to cease their existence following Bonham’s death. Also, my favourite squeaky drum pedal makes its return on this album.
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