LP Lookback: Led Zeppelin’s Epic Double Album, ‘Physical Graffiti’ Turns 50 This Month

“I know to trip is just to fall…” – Led Zeppelin, “The Rover”

When I was doing my research for my Playlist: Songs From 1975 I not only discovered Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here turned 50 this year, but so did Led Zeppelin’s epic double-album Physical Graffiti. My my, what a year 1975 was! I don’t know any other way to describe Physical Graffiti than epic. Oh sure, through a different lens it might be considered slightly self indulgent but to me this is the greatest expression of who Led Zeppelin were and represents the band at an absolute high point – if not their highest point. Zeppelin’s fourth album, call it IV or Runes or whatever you want, is probably more well known but give me Physical Graffiti for the sheer audacity of the thing. They mix hard rock, blues/blues rock, folky elements, even a little boogie woogie… there was nothing they couldn’t do on this album.

They started recording the album in late ’73 and by early ’74 they had roughly eight songs that stretched across an album and a half (or, almost three vinyl sides if you will). It was at that point they decided to pull together some of the unused material they’d amassed from Led Zeppelin III, Led Zeppelin IV, and Houses Of The Holy to round it out for a double album. And yes, Physical Graffiti is on our list of essential old school double albums. With it’s differing styles and sounds, it is almost reminiscent of the wild creativity of the Beatles’ White Album. It’s hard rocking but almost playful in it’s experimentation. Zeppelin was always best when they mixed the dark and the light, the electric and acoustic, the hard rock with some mellow elements, like on say, “Stairway To Heaven.’ While this album will shake the windows in some cases, it also has it’s lighter moments.

Drummer John Bonham was a real driving creative force on this album, helping with many of the arrangements. He was given several writing co-credits for his work but I’ve always wondered why he wasn’t given a producer credit. Guitarist Jimmy Page took the sole producer credit as he had on all their previous albums. Lead singer Robert Plant was likely, at his own admission, asleep on the couch when all that was being figured out. At one point in late ’74 bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones considered quitting the band. The rumor back then was that he was ill. Their gargantuan manager Peter Grant told him to take the rest of the year off, get some R and R and come back, which worked. But that delayed the release of the album into 1975. It wasn’t the only thing that delayed the album. Zeppelin chose Peter Corriston (instead of Hipgnosis) to do the album cover and the guy came up with the idea of doing a “die-cut” album cover vs the usual gatefold. The cover photo of a building in New York (96 & 98 St Mark’s Place) – which coincidentally was featured in the Stones’ video for “Waiting On A Friend” – had cut out windows with different pictures on the inner album sleeves that would appear in the windows – different ones depending on the position of the two albums within. Pretty cool stuff for a stoned high school kid.

I got into Zeppelin almost immediately when I got into music. Oddly, my first choice of an album to buy was Led Zeppelin, their debut album (but then I’ve always been fond of debut albums). I loved (and still love) “Dazed And Confused.” Of course my next buy was Led Zeppelin IV, because of “Stairway To Heaven,” essential listening in 1979. And, because it was then current, when it came out I picked up In Thorugh The Out Door, a Zeppelin album maybe only I like? It took me until I was well into college before I had the money and the will to pick up Physical Graffiti. At the time the only tracks I knew were “Trampled Under Foot” and “Kashmir,” the latter of which Plant says is their signature song. I might have previously heard “Ten Years Gone.” But a double album was a big investment back then. I had to mow quite a few lawns to afford a double vinyl album. But man, am I glad I did.

Side one opens with one of my all time favorite riffs on “Custard Pie.” I had never heard it before and when the needle hit the groove that song grabbed me by the lower brain stem. They follow that up with another blast of hard rock on “The Rover,” a lovely travelogue. “The Rover” started off life as an acoustic thing for Led Zeppelin III but I’m glad they turned it up to 11 here. The last track on side one is the most epic blues track I’ve ever heard, “In My Time Of Dying.” I think it’s the same traditional blues tune that Dylan covered on his debut album, but this version couldn’t be more different than Bob’s. You could slice bread with the slide guitar on this song and it’s over 11 minutes long. Oh yes…

Side two opens with “Houses Of The Holy,” which clearly was meant to be the title track of their previous album. It’s a nice crunchy little rocker. It’s amazing to me how many different riffs and sounds Page was coaxing out of his guitar. And don’t even get me started on Bonham’s drumming. Plant’s vocals are sublime. This is the last album before his voice started to change into a deeper register. John Paul Jones is holding it all down on bass and then occasionally flashes his brilliance on keyboards. Speaking of which, I think the idea for “Trampled Under Foot” came from John Paul Jones. That track features on our Playlist: Songs About Cars as it’s a take on the old Robert Johnson “Terraplane Blues.” The final tune on side two is the epic “Kashmir” that came out of an idea Bonham had. Page and Plant had been to Morocco and hence the desert theme. As mentioned, Plant thinks it’s the ultimate Zeppelin song vs “Stairway.” Who am I to judge? I like them both.

Side three is where we start to get some of the cool experimentation. It opens with “In The Light” which I’ve heard described as “prog rock,” but it always seemed trippy to me. But then I’ve been listening to a lot of psychedelic rock of late. “Bron-Yr-Aur” is an acoustic instrumental that came from the sessions for the third album, which is no surprise. “Down By The Seaside” had a heavy input from Page and Bonham and I love how it starts slow, goes fast, and then slides back into a slow groove. I might need to put together a sea/ocean/river/water playlist… but I digress. They wind up side 3 with one of my all time favorite songs “Ten Years Gone.” Plant’s lyrics about an old love affair are just gorgeous, “And though the course may change sometimes, the rivers always reach the sea.”

The last side brings it home. “Night Flight” is an underrated gem of a song. I heard Plant/Krauss do it live once and it was sensational. It’s another song about a journey, I think there’s even a train in there somewhere, but it’s awesome. “I received a message from my brother across the water, He sat laughin’ as he wrote the end’s in sight.” Words that are relevant today… Next up was “The Wanton Song” which also has one of my all time favorite riffs. Bonham’s drumming is exceptional. “Boogie With Stu” features the Stones’ longtime piano player Ian Stewart tickling the ivories (hence the name) and is one of my best friend Doug’s favorite songs. Plant’s exaggerated falsetto is off the charts. It’s almost boogie woogie sounding to me. “Black Country Woman” was recorded outside and you hear a plane fly overhead at the beginning. Page can be heard saying, “No, leave it.” It’s a great acoustic/folk-ish number. “Sick Again” is a rocking song about groupies…what’s not to love?

This is simply an epic, must-have album for every rock n roll fan. There may be bigger “hits” – although like the Faces they really weren’t that kind of a band – or should I say more well known songs on other albums but this is top to bottom pretty spectacular. Following this album, after a number of tragedies befell the band they went extremely hard with Presence, an album helmed by Bonham and Page and then perhaps went a little too mellow on In Through The Out Door, guided by Plant and Jones. They never again captured that beautiful balance of the heavy with the soft. This album represents the last of the truly classic Zeppelin albums. I like Presence and again am on record for digging In Through The Out Door, but those records while great, feel like a band that was little off balance. This is a great place to start or continue your Zeppelin journey.

Turn this one up as loud as it will go! Cheers!