Review: Led Zeppelin Release ‘Live – EP’ To Celebrate 50 Years Of ‘Physical Graffiti’
“I am a traveler of both time and space, to be where I have been.” Led Zeppelin, “Kashmir”
Rock n roll legends Led Zeppelin are celebrating the 50th anniversary of their landmark 1975, double album Physical Graffiti by releasing the creatively titled Live EP. Of course we here at B&V have already posted in celebration of Physical Graffiti turning 50. The actual anniversary was back in February when we posted so we weren’t early, Led Zeppelin is just fashionably late. Physical Graffiti is simply put, one of the greatest double albums ever recorded and you know we love old school double albums around here. It deserves all the celebration we can give it.
Since we’re talking about an EP (extended play) here and not an LP (long player) we’re getting four songs – two per side but oh my… what songs they are. All four of these tracks are live versions of songs from, yes, Physical Graffiti. If some of these renditions sound familiar, they were previously released with the accompanying video on the 2003 Led Zeppelin DVD, pictured below:
I watched and rewatched that thing when I first got it. But I have to admit to you, while I love all the rock n roll DVDs I have, I never go back and watch those things. Maybe someday when I’m retired and the Rock Chick is out volunteering somewhere, I’ll have the inclination to sit down and watch my rock n roll videos. Live EP is the first time these live tracks have been released on CD, vinyl or streaming for that matter. While I own the DVD, it’s nice to have this, just the music to take up to the B&V labs, put on the stereo and crank loudly. And believe me when I say, I’ll take any live Led Zeppelin I can get my hands on.
Side one of the Live EP is from legendary Earl’s Court show in 1975. Why they didn’t release that whole show as a double album to celebrate this auspicious anniversary, I don’t know, but they ought to think about it? The Earl Court’s show was, as mentioned, from 1975 which means all of these Physical Graffiti songs were all brand spanking new. It’s wonderful to hear them take them out and see what they can do. The first track is the epic blues song, “In My Time Of Dying,” clocking in at over 11 minutes. Oh yes! It’s probably not their most famous straight blues rock song, that’s probably “Since I’ve Been Loving You,” but it should get more attention. Page just kills on the slide guitar. Plant sounds like he’s howling from the depths of the Mississippi Delta. Bonham and Jones anchor it all. This is Zeppelin truly at peak form. From there they go straight to the James Brown, funky workout of “Trampled Under Foot,” a track on our Playlist: Songs About Cars. They stretch “Trampled Under Foot” out to 9 minutes and it features another blistering, extended solo from Page. John Paul Jones keyboards drive the song along with John Bonham pounding the drums as if his life depends on it. There’s a moment in the studio version, after the guitar and keyboards solo/jam, when Plant belts, “Ooooo yeah” and it’s practically orgasmic here in the live version.
Side 2 of the EP are taken from a show at Knebworth in 1979 which sadly turned out to be their last couple of gigs. A lot had happened to the band since their 1975 heyday. Plant had broken his ankle in a car wreck which prevented broader touring for Physical Graffiti. They went back in the studio and recorded Presence, but while on that tour Robert Plant’s son Karac had passed away. The mighty Zeppelin went away for quite awhile until 1979’s In Through The Out Door, an album perhaps only I like. It came out when I first started listening to music, so it stuck with me. Three years without an album was a lifetime back in those days. Punk had come and gone… and one of the main targets of the punk’s ire was Zeppelin. Many had counted them out. Page was thin and frail as a result of heroin addiction. Bonham was heavy and sluggish due to alcoholism. But I tell you, these Knebworth renditions really hold up. “Sick Again” is one of the deeper tracks on Physical Graffiti but they just rock it.
And finally, to end the EP, they close out with “Kashmir.” John Paul Jones plays keyboards to fill out the sound. Bonham’s drums are still a potent force. Plant of course sounds spectacular. Page is still just razor sharp. Anybody counting Zeppelin out in 1979 was doing so at their own peril. “To be where I have been,” indeed.
This original lineup of this band was so powerful. It’s a shame there isn’t more live stuff on vinyl/CD for us all to huddle around the stereo and blow our minds. This Live EP is but a small taste of the power and the glory that was Led Zeppelin. You listen to this EP and you can’t help but understand why people have been clamoring for a reunion tour for the last 40 years. If I could only time travel… you’d probably find me hanging around Earl’s Court in 1975…
Turn this one up tremendously loud. Cheers!
Does it still make sense for record companies to release singles and EPs in this digitized world of Spotify and all sorts of streaming services? Are such EPs also available on CD and vinyl as well? Don’t get me wrong, I still buy full CDs and I love special editions of a combination CD, DVD and vinyl, but I can’t imagine going to a record store to buy a single or an EP.
I love it when bands like Led Zeppelin and others make their archive material available, but if I’m going to buy a CD or vinyl I hope there’s some meat on it.
I’m still old-fashioned and I still buy my music because I believe artists should be paid for the music they make. Cheers Kenneth.
Totally agree with you Guy on the desire to always purchase the music so the artist is fairly compensated. I think I even posted about the dilemma of not buying MP3’s anymore and where to go with my collecting next. I bought this one on CD. I usually buy on vinyl but that is really expensive for new vinyl so it has to be a really great album for me to jump in on that. Typically a vinyl EP is cheaper than an LP but yeah I get where you’re coming from on cost of vinyl. I kind of go back and forth between vinyl and CD. I actually really like CDs too, I’m not a vinyl purist. As far as singles go, I doubt those get sold in any format other than MP3. I haven’t seen a “45” in years and years! I still own a handful of vinyl singles, but can’t play them on the current turntable… Cheers!
Pffft… Well I guess one doesn’t like to sit down cask strength & fondle physically? So 40 total minutes @20 a side isn’t tea for two but it’s all man watches digital stream or video screen with time keeping on ticking , the sound of broken glass, and viewing viewpoint views just cattle for slaughter, right?
“in response to guy and EPs”
I have no idea what you mean. Guy
Five days after my 13th birthday, I saw Led Zeppelin for the first time. It was February 13, 1975. This concert changed my life. 11 days later, Physical Graffiti was released. Since I had just heard several songs from the album performed live, I was counting the days until it was released. The anticipation was intense. On the day of the release, I remember riding my bicycle to our local department store (Korvettes in Yonkers/Scarsdale NY), being the very first customer to buy a copy of the album, just as they were opening the box. I was so excited to get the first one out of the box! They didn’t even put the pricing sticker on it yet. It was quite a thrill to take the album home and listen to it in all it’s rock & roll glory. It contains my favorite song of all time, Ten Years Gone, and it’s still my favorite album of all time. And it’s still ingrained in my brain. I got rid of most of my vinyl collection in the 90s, but I still have that LP and I plan to give it to my oldest grandson along with this story.
This first show of mine is a now famous bootleg recording because they had a special guest join the band for Communication Breakdown. Ronnie Wood of the Rolling Stones. Zeppelin wasn’t know for having many guests play with them, so this was a unique show for sure.
I would see Led Zeppelin one more time, in June 1977 at Madison Square Garden (when I was 15 years old). In the ensuing years, I’ve seen Jimmy and Robert many times solo and on the Page/Plant tours of the 90s. I’ve even seen Jimmy come out and join Robert’s band at a Plant show in New Jersey in 1985, just a few weeks before the Live Aid reunion – Jimmy even wore the same shirt he would wear at the Live Aid reunion!
This is a fabulous story. Thank you so much for sharing these experiences tied to this band and this fantastic album. “Ten Years Gone” is also a personal favorite of mine. I’ve never heard of Ronnie Wood joining them for a song, that must have been incredble. Was Wood even in the Stones yet? Was he still with the Faces? I need to go look for that bootleg! I never saw Zeppelin, I was too young and they rarely played KC after their first tour but like you I saw Page/Plant on both tours and have seen Plant multiple times. I think I reviewed my last Plant show in these pages. Again, great stories! I really appreciate it, it’s why I started B&V to hear stuff like this!! Cheers!
I completely understand you. I, too, was quite superficial musically until I heard the music of Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young at the age of 17. That album was Deja Vu, and it changed my perspective on music and life completely.
And such an experience only happens once in a lifetime. At a young age, you’re still receptive to influences that will shape the rest of your life. And music does that, and we should be grateful for that. And that music has stayed with me for the rest of my life. Fantastic, isn’t it? Music can change lives. Greetings.
Truer words were never said!