Let's be blunt about this - arguably "Physical Graffiti" had the most gorgeous LP packaging ever devised for a rock LP and the visceral impact of that for those of us who bought it in 1975 cannot be understated. The CD Repro packaging was always going to be a problem on this reissue and in my opinion they've gotten it only half right (at least it's an improvement on those awful Euro repros we had back in the Nineties with their piddly slips of paper on the inside). Driving Through Kashmir (Kashmir) (Rough Orchestra Mix) Everybody Makes It Through (In The Light) (Early Version/In Transit)ħ. Houses Of The Holy (Rough Mix With Overdubs)ĥ. In My Time Of Dying (Initial Rough Mix)Ĥ. Brandy & Coke (Trampled Under Foot) (Initial Rough Mix)ģ. It went to Number 1 in both countries and shipped over 8 million copies in the USA alone.ġ. "Physical Graffiti" was released 24 February 1975 in the UK on Swan Song SSK 89400 and Swan Song SS 2-200 in the USA. Worldwide released 23 February 2015 - "Physical Graffiti: 40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition" by LED ZEPPELIN on Atlantic/Swan Song 8122795794 (Barcode 081227957940) is a 3CD reissue set in Card Repro Art Packaging and breaks down as follows:ĭisc 1 (Sides 1 and 2 of the original 2LP set) - 39:25 minutes:ĭisc 2 (Sides 3 and 4 of the original 2LP set) - 43:34 minutes: This "40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition" is not without its problems though in my opinion (packaging and questionable extras) - but it is still a thing of double-album beauty - it really is. Zeppelin fans have been licking their lips for this one - and almost 40 years to the day (the original double-album was released 24 February 1975) - here it is on Monday 23 February 2015 - clambering up the ascending ledges of my stereo with the big balls of a well-hung King Kong primate sporting a naughty look in his brownstone-sized die-cut eyes (and that's just Side 1). Chris Jonesįind more music at the BBC This link will take you off Amazon in a new window But Physical Graffiti remains a towering monument to the glory of Zeppelin in their high-flying heyday. Six years of touring and recording had honed them into an unstoppable force, but tragedy lay in wait around the corner in the form of death, drug abuse and changing tastes. Nick Kent's review in the NME casually mentioned that by this point Zep could seemingly turn this stuff out in their sleep. And it all came wrapped in one of those fabulously intricate die-cut sleeves that make all people of a certain age long for a return to the glory days of vinyl. "Custard Pie" and "The Rover" are monster axe workouts, and of course "Kashmir" is still a juggernaut of incredible power: a blend of east and west inspired by Page and Plant's mystical wanderings and underpinned by Bonham's legendary rumble, famously captured in all its ambient glory in the huge hallway of Headley Grange Manor. "Trampled Underfoot", driven by Jones' stomping Fender Rhodes pulls off the remarkable trick of being both heavy AND funky as hell. In fact Graffiti serves pretty much as a primer of the band's entire oeuvre.Īnd amongst these flights of dexterity we get some of the band's best-loved numbers of all-time. Far more than just a crowd-pummelling hard rock act with the world's beefiest rhythm section, these boys were able to do everything from folk (''Bron Y Aur'') and blues ("In My Time Of Dying") to country rock ("Down By The Seaside") and barrelhouse rock 'n' roll ("Boogie With Stu"). But what really shines out is the sheer genre-defying eclecticism of it all. What did Robert, Jimmy, John Paul and Bonzo do? Produced a double album that some still hold to be their best of all time.Īdmittedly, a fair amount of Physical Graffiti was composed of offcuts and work-in-progress from their previous two albums (cf 'Houses Of The Holy') though these were offcuts startling quality. At this point most modern bands would take 5 years off and forget each others' names. The world, and its attendant pleasures, was theirs for the taking. Even the slightly below average (ie: one or two sub-par tracks) Houses Of The Holy (1973) hadn't dented their reputation one jot. America was punch drunk after the quadruple whammy of their first four albums, each supported by tours that went from scene-stealing support slots to stadium-filling three-hour marathons, almost overnight. Reviewīy 1975 no one was bigger or heavier than Zeppelin.
The two-disc album playfully experiments with new sounds including folk, rock riffs, folk and Middle Eastern rhythms. Physical 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 blues-metal.
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