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"Physical Graffiti" more than the successor of "Houses Of The Holy" is the direct result of the five preceding chapters. The work on this album began in November 1973 in intermittent phases, definitively resuming between January and February of the following year, also going through internal crises (...including the one where Jones took a break to reflect on his departure from the group!), which resolved positively.
Noteworthy is the handling of the hostile attitude held by the press, to which the band can only respond with facts. When the Melody Maker proclaims the Led Zeppelin as the best group after eight years during which this recognition was given to the Beatles, who in turn will be surpassed by the Zeps breaking the record for the number of paying attendees at a concert (the 55,000 souls in delirium at Shea Stadium in New York in 1965), with a fiery show at Tampa Stadium (Florida) where the paying attendees reached 56,800. This work (this time a double album) is enthusiastically received, grossing almost 15 million dollars in pre-sales alone, and also includes a supporting tour, with a team of 44 roadies necessary to keep everything running smoothly.
The arduous task of introducing us to the first record is left to "Custard Pie", whose impetuous start warms up the atmosphere well to develop an energetic musical ensemble, where Jones's clavinet and Plant’s accordion find a perfect placement. "The Rover" opens with Bonham's drum beats that engage in continuous crescendo dialogue with Page's "brawny" guitar, eventually generating a riff in pure ZZTop-style, with a fervent vocal interpretation where Plant passionately sets one of his most philosophical lyrics ("And our time is flyin', See the candle burnin' low. Is the new world risin' From the shambles of the old? If we could just join hands, If we could just join hands: E il nostro tempo stà volando, Guarda la candela che brucia lentamente, che un nuovo mondo stia sorgendo, Dalle rovine del vecchio? Se stingessimo le mani, se stingessimo le mani"). With the listening of "In My Time Of Dying" one can say it's witnessing one of the band's absolute masterpieces! It’s a track composed in eight hands by the four members, where the vocal charge well binds with the strident yet harmonic bottleneck, just as the anxious bass becomes one with the imposing drumming, delivering eleven minutes of pure auditory orgasm to the listener.
If "Houses Of The Holy" (as "The Rover" comes from the "Houses Of The Holy" sessions) is a flirtatious track that reflects carefreeness and bliss, "Trampled Under Foot" (with openly Wonderian inspiration) moves on enjoyably funky rhythms, where the guitar/keyboard pair are the guiding instruments for one of the tracks with the boldest lyrics ("Check that heavy hetal underneath the hood Baby, I can roll all night Believe, I got the proper tools, talkin' about love Talkin' about love, talkin' about...= Controlla questa belva sotto il cofano Bella, posso rullare tutta la notte Credimi, ho gli attrezzi giusti, parliamo d'amore Parliamo d'amore, parliamo"). The intricate "Kashmir" is the meeting point between two strongly different musical cultures, such as the western and eastern ones, where the typical elements of the band's music are condensed, from the leading guitar to the full rhythmic parts, this time further enhanced by a string section capable of delivering exemplary majesty.
The second record is ideally connected to the closure of the first one, with a composition like "In The Light", where the surreal and metaphysical climate is mixed with a more subdued vigor, also due to the more solemn role played by Plant. Following this, the calmness of the acoustic instrumental "Bron-Yr-Aur" and the composed "Down By The Seaside" (both resurrected from the Led Zeppelin III recording sessions) further temper the moderately lively atmosphere appreciated so far. Undoubtedly one of the best episodes goes by the name of "Ten Years Gone", not so much for the pleasant melodic interplay crafted or the distinguishable overdubs, but for that professionalism publicly displayed in alternately transitioning between acoustic and electric contexts. "Night Flight" is pure and transparent rock that goes straight to the heart, while "The Wanton Song" is a clear example of adrenaline in its raw state, reproducing some of the album's most solid minutes, robustly hard at least as much as the accompanying text ("With blazin' eyes I see my tremblin' hands, When we know the time has come. Lose many senses, lose command. Feel your healin' rivers run = Con occhi scintillanti guardo la mia mano tremante, Quando sappiamo che il momento stà arrivando. Perdo molti sensi, perdo il controllo. Sento scorrere i tuoi fiumi benevoli").
The cheerful atmosphere of "Boogie With Stu", reveals that even those who have created tracks that increased the artistic value of rock music need moments like these, to vent that capacity for even disorderly improvisation in which the company of the straightforward Ian Stewart (piano/keyboarder man, the sixth member of the Stones, so to speak!) can only help to manifest itself in its best form. Another quick foray into the acoustic field is provided by "Black Country Woman", which more scantily re-proposes the origins of blues, further highlighted by Plant's accordion. The definitive conclusion to this additional album effort is entrusted to "Sick Again" (blatantly dedicated to the L.A. Queens who followed them almost everywhere in the U.S.), a virile and dynamic track, which can only represent the perfect conclusion, almost like a signature at the bottom of an irrevocable pact.
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, almost as if by enchantment, they had been consciously delegated by a Higher Entity to carry out a mission that few would have completed:....... Perhaps that of making everything they would render sonically audible shine......
Tracklist Lyrics Samples 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 Antonino91
"Despite having some lazy and unremarkable moments, 'Physical Graffiti' is a very enjoyable album."
"Kashmir, where stunning hard sounds are intertwined with sounds with a decidedly Indian flavor, 8 minutes and 30 of great spectacle."
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 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."
