February 24, 1975 - Physical Graffiti

Nine days after my last release, and almost two whole years since their last album "Houses Of The Holy", Led Zeppelin released their sixth album, "Physical Graffiti" on February 24, 1975. They recorded 8 new songs at Headley Grange, the same place they recorded "Led Zeppelin IV" and this worked out to be almost 3 sides worth of new material (including their first song over 10 minutes long). They decided to make it a double album, adding several songs that were leftover from previous recording sessions, some of which were slightly reworked. This album has a lot of different styles and influences and I am excited to hear a double album from these guys after a two year break. Let's dive in!

Side one begins with "Custard Pie" as a catchy guitar riff leads the way and John Paul Jones adds some groovy backing bass. Robert Plant's voice sounds great as usual as he sings over the cool verses and Jimmy Page delivers his first guitar solo of the record. It's not one of his flashiest, but it fits the mood really well and sounds pretty good. After another verse the last minute of the song features some more guitar and Plant rambling along as the song slowly fades to an end. Track 2 is called "The Rover" and was recorded during the "Houses Of The Holy" sessions. This song opens with a killer guitar riff by Page that sounds really great. Plant sings well along with the music as Jones plays some good bass as well. The chorus is alright but nothing special, and after a couple runs through we hear a slow, epic guitar solo by Page that sounds pretty good. They play another verse and chorus and once again they jam out the end of the song with more of Plant's vocal antics that I love. Page plays another cool guitar bit as well to close out this cool rock song. The side ends with "In My Time Of Dying", their first song in double digits at just over 11 minutes, this opens with some drone-y blues slide guitar by Page that sounds fantastic. He speeds it up a little and John Bonham joins briefly in a nice bit, but then stops. Plant sings along with the guitar in a cool bit as Page continues to play some great stuff. Bonham only plays in short bursts, but whenever he joins things certainly have some more oomph to them. Page's guitar shifts to a different riff as he and Bonham combine for a really awesome new part. Plant chimes in now and then and this new part is really rockin'! Page goes off for a full-blown solo and it's pretty sweet! It's back to this cool new riff, and then Page is off for another solo that is also awesome! They segue nicely back to the earlier blues riff, in a full rock version now. Bonham lets a few wicked drum rolls go and Plant gets a little vocal solo that sounds cool, "oh, Georgina"! The rest of the band joins back in as they continue to jam this hard rock-blues beat while Plant seems to improvise along. He does some of his trademark yells and they still sound great! Page turns it up a bit on guitar and you can tell they had fun doing this one, what a spectacular job! Plant sets it up to end on the perfect note, but Bonham coughs, and so Plant says "cough" as his final note. Page plays a funny guitar lick and Bonham shouts "That's gotta be the one, hasn't it?" It indeed was the best take, and I like that they left that bit on the end: some bands would be furious about that cough messing up the end, but these guys immediately made a joke out of it, a great end to a fantastic song.

Side two starts with "Houses Of The Holy", a song that was recorded during the sessions for that album but was ultimately left off because it sounded too similar to other tracks on the record. You can hear some of the similarities, but this song also seems pretty good, led by a catchy guitar riff by Page. Jones adds some nice bass as Plant sings lightly on top of this cool rock riff. Page sneaks in some nice quick licks as the song goes on and Plant sings in his more typical high yells. The song ends with a guitar solo that sounds pretty sweet, but the mix slowly fades out, mid-solo! Grrr. Let the man finish! Track 5 is "Trampled Under Foot" which is carried by a sweet bass line by Jones that's echoed by Page. This riff that carries the whole song sounds so freakin' good! You couldn't ask for a catchier, cooler beat. Page plays some really great guitar as Plant "can't stop talkin' about love". Just after 2 minutes, it changes to a new part led by some wicked keyboards by Jones. The great riff continues in the background as Jones plays a really cool organ solo! After he's done, it's back to the main riff, and despite being the same riff all song, it never gets old, it's just so good! Jones plays organ along with the main riff at the end as they continue to jam until the song comes to a close. The side ends with "Kashmir" as Bonham keeps a nice, but heavy beat and Jones plays some Mellotron that makes a very epic riff. Page's guitar plays the same riff and together it all sounds very cool. Plant's vocals are great as usual as he sings nicely over this epic riff. There is also a brass and a strings section that plays on this song and Jones wrote all their music. This mini-orchestra joins in the chorus and it sounds fantastic! It continues into the next verse and makes this great main riff even better! They segue nicely into a new part with some cool Mellotron and strings and Bonham's drums continue to sound perfect. Plant holds some long notes in this cool middle part, then it's back to the main riff that would become one of Zeppelin's best known. The brass and strings sound wonderful, especially towards the end of the song where Bonham steps it up and plays some great drum rolls as well as this first, pretty sweet disc comes to a close. 

Side three begins with "In The Light" which starts with a slow, very epic-sounding keyboard solo by Jones. Plant adds some slow, droning singing and this leads into a more typical Led Zeppelin riff with a cool, catchy guitar riff by Page and some nice drumming by Bonham. After a couple verses it switches to a new part with Jones on bass and another cool riff by Page. This part doesn't last long though, before it's back to the epic beginning riff to do the whole cycle all again! Page adds some more good guitar at the end of this slow, but pretty cool song. Up next is a short song called "Bron-Yr-Aur", a solo acoustic piece from the "Led Zeppelin III" sessions named after the cottage they stayed at. Page plays a true solo for this whole 2-minute song and it sounds really nice. He's not just playing quickly the whole time, but making it all flow together beautifully. Track 9 is called "Down By The Seaside" and was originally meant to be acoustic, but an electric version was recorded during the "Led Zeppelin IV" sessions. Bonham plays a slow drum beat while Page's guitar does have a very beach-y feel to it. Jones plays some nice piano in this slow rock verse, but it's Page's breezy guitar playing that leads the way. Plant's singing is very laid back as well, but after the second chorus it moves to a different, quicker part led by guitar. This new part is nothing special, and I think it actually takes away from the nice vibe the rest of the song sets. This seaside getaway music is certainly not what you'd expect from Led Zeppelin, but they do a great job and Jones plays lots of good piano throughout this chill tune. The side closes with "Ten Years Gone" which has a cool acoustic guitar and bass opening. Page adds electric guitar to the mix as well to add more oomph to it, then it's soft acoustic again as Plant joins in on vocals. They go back and forth between the soft and harder parts, and while the harder parts I like better, the soft parts sound really nice after a hard rock section; a good contrast. Page plays a pretty sweet little electric guitar solo before briefly starting a new rock riff. Page continues to play cool guitar as the band continue to alternate soft/hard rock parts. Both kinds are solid, but neither really jump out and grab you either, in this track that is definitely a good, even great, song by most standards, just not by Zeppelin's lofty standards.

The final side begins with "Night Flight" which was recorded during the "Led Zeppelin IV" sessions. Plant sings some nice high vocals in this one as Page plays a cool guitar riff. Bonham's drums sound great as usual and Jones adds some Hammond organ to the background that sounds pretty good. Plant's singing takes center stage in this one though and I love his quick singing and his high yells. Up next is "The Wanton Song" and is led by a quick, great-sounding guitar riff by Page as Bonham adds some excellent drums. Plant sings overtop of this stop-and-start riff and it moves into a cool "chorus" riff with more great guitar by Jimmy. After another verse and chorus Page plays a slow guitar solo that sounds cool, but isn't that flashy. Then it's back to the cool stop-and-start riff, it's very catchy! A solid rock song indeed! Track 13 is called "Boogie With Stu" and was recorded during the same session as "Rock And Roll" and just like that song it also features the Rolling Stones keyboardist Ian Stewart. This jam session was left off "Led Zeppelin IV", but we get to hear it now as it starts with Page on acoustic guitar and Stewart (or Stu) playing some cool piano. Plant's singing fits the mood well as everyone settles into this jam. Page plays a cool acoustic solo, then Stu adds a nice piano solo. This is a cool slow song, and it ends with Bonham's drums, followed by a laugh by Plant, showing more of their humorous side. The next song "Black Country Woman" was recorded outside in a field during the "Houses Of The Holy" sessions. An airplane flies overhead, but they decided to leave it in the mix as Page plays a southern-style acoustic guitar riff that carries this song. Jones plays mandolin as well and Plant's vocals sound really good with the acoustics. When Bonham finally joins in they turn this country-style opening into a rock riff that sounds pretty good. Some harmonica adds to the country vibe and it sounds pretty good in this song that is another new style for Zeppelin that they (not surprisngly) do well. The last song on the record is "Sick Again" which opens with some cool electric guitar as Jones and Bonham add some great bass and drums to this heavy riff. Plant's singing is great as usual as the other three members keep a nice rockin' riff. Page's guitar solo has some of the flash we've come to know and sounds pretty sweet. It's back to the heavy riff as the lyrics are about the hordes of groupies that Led Zeppelin would attract on tour. The song closes out with some classic Plant ramblings as Page gives us one final guitar solo to finish off this very, very solid double album.

That wraps up "Physical Graffiti" and I thought it was another wonderful album by Led Zeppelin. This double album has plenty of great songs, my favourite being "In My Time Of Dying", and this album didn't feel like it had several songs that were left off other albums. Led Zeppelin makes such good music, that even their B-sides are a lot better than most people's best stuff! But how does it compare to their other albums? I think this new album was better than "III", but it's important to remember that "III" was by no means a bad record; all of their albums are in a league of their own really. I think I also liked "Physical Graffiti" more than "IV", but I don't think it was quite as good as their last album "Houses Of The Holy". While 4th place seems like a knock on this album, it most certainly is not as Zeppelin just have too much amazing music! I can't wait to see what they come out with next!