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Rating: I had asked if someone could review this album, but no one wanted to know. So I took the courage to do it myself, to shed light on this album that is definitely very interesting, with very memorable inputs from Sir Jimmy's legendary guitar, Jones' exotic keyboards, Plant's aggressive voice, and Bonzo's pyrotechnic acrobatics.
So far it might seem like a masterpiece, and in certain aspects, it really is. But some songs could have been avoided, not because they were bad, but because they gave the impression of "heard it before," namely the somewhat dull Down By The Seaside and the "heard it before" Black Country Woman. Both feel very much like fillers, but I won't let two silly songs tarnish two epic records.
Indeed, the album opens with an aggressive rock blues, Custard Pie, enhanced by Page's sparkling and biting guitar and Jones' clavinet. The next track, The Rover, is also a classic hard rock blues, but very exciting (especially in the chorus), with Plant's voice reaching very high expressive peaks. In My Time Of Dying will go down in history, at 11 minutes, as the longest song (on an album) by the Zeppelin. The track is primarily a Page guitar show with decidedly bluesy references. After the first five minutes, with the entrance of Bonzo's drums, the song transforms into a fiery hard rock burned by Bonzo's attacks and Page's obsessive guitar. A classic. With Houses Of The Holy and Trampled Under Foot, we return to the song form. The first is a solid rock that should have been the "title-track" of "Houses Of The Holy," the second is a heavy funk with a very engaging rhythm section (here too Jones uses the glorious and funny clavinet).
The first record closes with one of the great classics of the Zeppelin sound: Kashmir, where stunning hard sounds are intertwined with sounds with a decidedly Indian flavor, 8 minutes and 30 of great spectacle, but the difference is made by the strings inserted by Jones, which give more exoticism absent in previous albums. Fascinating, just like the following track that opens the second record, In The Light, introduced by the exotic and evocative sounds of Jones' keyboards, reminiscent of Kashmir's Indian themes, and followed by Page's flamboyant guitar and Plant's touching voice. Bron-Y-Aur is an instrumental based on Page's acoustic guitar, interesting but slightly isolated from the rest of the album.
As mentioned before, Down By The Seaside feels very much like a filler, but it's something to endure for only 5 minutes. In fact, what follows is one of the album's most significant pieces (I mean disc 1 and 2) and of Led Zeppelin's career, Ten Years Gone, moving and poignant with Page's very sweet guitar. Night Flight is an interesting soft rock piece characterized by Jones' seductive organ and Bonzo's carefree drums. The Wanton Song is one of the harder tracks from the record and the Zeppelin, completely different from the previous track, Boogie With Stu, a delightful boogie with (wow!) Plant on guitar and Ian Stewart (who had already played on Rock And Roll on "IV"). Black Country has already been spoken of, and the album closes with an abrasive force and aggression, Sick Again, centered on Page's harsh and possessive guitar.
Despite having some lazy and unremarkable moments, "Physical Graffiti" is a very enjoyable album, something that unfortunately cannot be said of the previous album, "Presence," which marks the (partial) decline of Led Zeppelin. It is worth remembering that this double vinyl was mostly made from leftovers from "Led Zeppelin III" and other decent albums like "IV" and "Houses Of The Holy".
Unmissable. To be considered more like a 4.5 rather than a 4.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Custard Pie (04:13)
Drop down, baby, let your daddy see.
Drop down, mama, just dream of me
Well, my mama allow me to fool around all night long
Well, I may look like I'm crazy, I should know right from wrong
See me comin', throw your man out the door
Ain't no stranger, been this way before
See me comin', mama, throw your man out the door
I ain't no stranger, I been this way before.
Put on your night shirt and your morning gown
You know by night I'm gonna shake 'em down
Put on your night shirt Mama, and your morning gown
Well, you know by night I'm gonna shake 'em down
Your custard pie, yeah, sweet and nice
When you cut it, mama, save me a slice
Your custard pie, I declare, it's sweet and nice
I Like your custard pie
When you cut it, mama... mama, please save me a slice.
Save me a slice of your custard pie.
Drop down
02 The Rover (05:37)
I've been to London, seen seven wonders. I know to trip is just to fall
I used to rock it, sometimes I'd roll it. I always knew what it was for.
There can be no denyin' that the wind 'll shake 'em down
And the flat world's flyin'. There's a new plague on the land
If we could just join hands
If we could just join hands
If we could just join hands
Traversed the planet when heaven sent me. I saw the kings who rule them all
Still by the firelight and purple moonlight. I hear the rested rivers call
And the wind is crying, from a love that won't grow cold
My lover, she is lying, on the dark side of the globe
If we could just join hands
If we could just join hands
If we could just join hands
You got me rockin' when I ought to be a-rollin'
Darlin', tell me, darlin', which way to go
You keep me rockin', baby, then you keep me stolen
Won't you tell me, darlin', which way to go... that's right
Oh how I wonder, oh how I worry and I would dearly like to know
I've all this wonder of earthly plunder will it leave us anything to show
And our time is flyin' see the candle burnin' low
Is the new world rising, from the shambles of the old
If we could just join hands.
04 Houses of the Holy (04:02)
Let me take you to the movies. Can I take you to the show
Let me be yours ever truly. Can I make your garden grow
From the houses of the holy, we can watch the white doves go
From the door comes Satan's daughter, and it only goes to show. You know.
There's an angel on my shoulder, In my hand a sword of gold
Let me wander in your garden. And the seeds of love I'll sow. You know.
So the world is spinning faster. Are you dizzy when you're stoned
Let the music be your master. Will you heed the master's call
Oh... Satan and man.
Said there ain't no use in crying. Cause it will only, only drive you mad
Does it hurt to hear them lying? Was this the only world you had? Oh-oh
So let me take you, take you to the movie. Can I take you, baby, to the show.
Why don't you let me be yours ever truly. Can I make your garden grow
You know.
05 Trampled Under Foot (05:36)
Greased and slicked down fine, groovy leather trim
I like the way you hold the road, mama, it ain't no sin
Talkin' 'bout love
Talkin' 'bout love
Talkin' 'bout love
Trouble-free transmission, puncture will explode
Mama, let me pump your gas, mama, let me do it all
Talkin' 'bout love
Talkin' 'bout love
Talkin' 'bout love
Dig that heavy metal underneath your hood
Baby, I could work all night, believe I've got the perfect tools
Talkin' 'bout love
Talkin' 'bout love
Talkin' 'bout love
A model built for comfort, really built with style
Specialist tradition, mama, let me feast my eyes
Talkin' 'bout love
Talkin' 'bout love
Talkin' 'bout love
Factory air-conditioned, heat begins to rise
Guaranteed to run for hours, mama it's a perfect size
Talkin' 'bout love
Talkin' 'bout love
Talkin' 'bout love
Groovin' on the freeway, gauge is on the red
Gun down on my gasoline, I believe I'm gonna crack a head.
Talkin' 'bout love
Talkin' 'bout love
Talkin' 'bout love
I can't stop talkin' about...
Come to me for service every hundred miles
Baby, let me check your points, fix your overdrive
Talkin' 'bout love
Talkin' 'bout love
Talkin' 'bout love
Fully automatic, comes in any size
Makes me wonder what I did, before we synchronized
Talkin' 'bout love
Talkin' 'bout love
Talkin' 'bout love
Feather-light suspension, coils just couldn't hold
I'm so glad I took a look inside your showroom doors
Talkin' 'bout love
Talkin' 'bout love
Talkin' 'bout love
Oh, I can't stop talkin' about love.
06 Kashmir (08:28)
Oh let the sun beat down upon my face, stars to fill my dream
I am a traveler of both time and space, to be where I have been
To sit with elders of the gentle race, this world has seldom seen
They talk of days for which they sit and wait and all will be revealed
Talk and song from tongues of lilting grace, whose sounds caress my ear
But not a word I heard could I relate, the story was quite clear
Oh, oh.
Oh, I been blind... mama, there ain't no denyin'
I've been blind, ain't no denyin', no denyin'
All I see turns to brown, as the sun burns the ground
And my eyes fill with sand, as I scan this wasted land
Trying to find, trying to find where I've been.
Oh, pilot of the storm who leaves no trace, like thoughts inside a dream
Heed the path that led me to that place, yellow desert stream
My Shangri-La beneath the summer moon, I will return again
Sure as the dust that floats high in June, when movin' through Kashmir.
Oh, father of the four winds, fill my sails, across the sea of years
With no provision but an open face, along the straits of fear
Ohh.
When I'm on, when I'm on my way, yeah
When I see, when I see the way, you stay-yeah
Ooh, yeah-yeah, ooh, yeah-yeah, when I'm down...
Ooh, yeah-yeah, ooh, yeah-yeah, well I'm down, so down
Ooh, my baby, oooh, my baby, let me take you there
Let me take you there. Let me take you there
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Other reviews
By Miki Page
"Physical Graffiti captures Led Zeppelin at the height of their career, in the prime of their strength."
"Kashmir is a mystical journey through oriental sounds, giving it a high level of expression and emotion."
By paloz
The first disc consists of 6 tracks, all with terrifyingly catchy rhythms that instantly get stuck in your head.
'In my time of dying' brims with energy, and is hard to forget... delivering one of Bonham's most significant performances.
By claudio carpentieri
"With the listening of ‘In My Time Of Dying’ one can say it’s witnessing one of the band’s absolute masterpieces!"
"A double release that once again confirms the graceful state of the four members of the dirigible, always capable of creating music worthy of the noblest meaning of this term."
By Rax
"Double albums are always bad records and Physical Graffiti is no exception."
"'Kashmir' is a real work of art with its memorable riff and oriental atmospheres."
