[.ca] Physical Graffiti

From Amazon.co.uk:
This 1975 release came smack in the middle of a long and nearly mythic career. 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. Playfully experimenting with new sounds, the band blended Middle Eastern rhythms, folk-stylings, heavy blues, and deeply impassioned rock riffs into a two-disc set that sounded as if they were still enjoying their place in the rock pantheon. As sprawling and adventurous as this collection is, there are some tracks so tightly focused--so ultra-Zeppelinesque--that it's tempting to name this as a number one or number two must-have. "Trampled Underfoot" and "Custard Pie" alone are almost worth the double-disc price tag. --Lorry Fleming

Amazon.com essential recording:
This 1975 release came smack in the middle of a long and nearly mythic career. 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. Playfully experimenting with new sounds, the band blended Middle Eastern rhythms, folk-stylings, heavy blues, and deeply impassioned rock riffs into a two-disc set that sounded as if they were still enjoying their place in the rock pantheon. As sprawling and adventurous as this collection is, there are some tracks so tightly focused--so ultra-Zeppelinesque--that it's tempting to name this as a number one or number two must-have. "Trampled Underfoot" and "Custard Pie" alone are almost worth the double-disc price tag. --Lorry Fleming

Un Essentiel amazon.fr:
Physical Graffiti est un nouveau coup de maître de Led Zeppelin. Le quartette anglais renoue ici avec le hard rock qui l'a propulsé au sommet à la fin des sixties, comme sur "Custard Pie", "The Rover" et "In My Time Of Dying". Les ballades ne sont toutefois pas oubliées ("Down By Seaside"), ni les atmosphères acoustiques ("Bron-Y-Aur", "Ten Years Gone") ou post-psychédéliques. Ainsi, le morceau le plus intéressant " entendons le plus original et ambitieux " est de toute évidence "Kashmir" où, sur fond de violons et de synthétiseurs, Led Zeppelin, avec à sa tête un Jimmy Page au sommet de son art, semble conduire l'auditeur au cœur des fastes de l'Empire britannique du début du XXe siècle, comme s'il s'agissait de rendre un hommage explicite à Kipling. --Philippe Margotin

The Perfect Album:
Physical Graffiti is perfect for anyone, even if you're not a hardcore Zeppelin fan. Led Zeppelin experimented, took a chance, and ended up creating a masterpiece. The songs range from heavy metal with a middle eastern feel, like the epic "Kashmir," to island rock--"Down by the Seaside," to the blues metal that Zep practically invented. A bluesy shuffle--"Boogie With Stu"--is also thrown in. " In My Time of Dying" is the best on the album if you have some big speakers and room for some headbanging. From the distorted "wah" of Jimmy Page's guitar to the the single word ending (cough) this track is a classic. If you are looking for just plain good listening, "Ten Years Gone" is great as well. Jimmy Page's dynamic guitar playing, Plant's shrieking but sometimes soft vocals, Jones' blended bass playing, and Bonham's impressive drumming brings all these musical themes into a flowing, almost perfect album. Even after you have listened to the album many times, you still find new amazing musical accomplishments hidden deep within the initial and obvious rhythmic melodies.

The Best Album of One of the Best Rock Bands Ever:
It's true. You can easily tell the folks who claim to be Zep fans but only know them through the classic rock FM stations that play the standards over and over, from the true faithful. Ask them to name 4 songs from this record. If you're lucky they'll be able to identify one besides "Kashmir". Most often they'll give you a blank look. To me, this was Zep's high water mark. Here you'll find the band at its absolute peak. The final two studio records (I don't count "Coda") didn't see much of a dropoff, to be sure, but PG is the big boy. To me, this is the sound Jimmy Page had in mind when he founded Zep in 1968. I'd put this in the top 4 records released in the 70's, period. Disc one is flawless. "Custard Pie" is a classic romp, with a staccato riff by Jimmy and Bonzo stop-starting for all he's worth. Jones adds some funky bass lines and Plant growls about his desire to pleasure his lady in an oral way. "The Rover", which follows, is so good you could just listen to the guitar riffs as if it were an instrumental and never mind the vocals, which are stellar in their own right. "In My Time of Dying" is an epic. Bonzo does some of his best drum work, Page adds slinky, weird slide guitar riffs, and Plant narrates the experience of a man transitioning from Earth to Heaven (and seemingly a bit dubious over his qualifications for entrance to same). "Houses of the Holy" follows with its unforgettable riff. The band never sounded tighter than on this cut (which was originally slated to be included on the previous album of the same name). "Trampled Under Foot" compares a woman to the parts of a classic car as well as any song that did that ever did (or something like that). "Kashmir", everyone knows. "Arabic" scales and spacy lyrics - what more do you need? Disc 2 starts out with "In The Light", which to me sounds like Zep does Pink Floyd-doing-Zep. Go figure. "Bron-Yr-Aur" is a cool little oasis of Jimmy's acoustic picking that glides from major to minor chords like silken mercury. "Down By the Seaside", I have to admit, took some getting used to. It's a song that was originally composed several years earlier (as are many on the record, to be accurate). It grows on you nonetheless. "Ten Years Gone" is in my top 5 Zep songs ever. One of the best riffs in rock guitar history if you ask me. "Night Flight" is like "Seaside" in that on first listening you might go 'huh?', but it improves much on repeated listenings. "The Wanton Song" is a cross between James Brown and heavy metal, and it rocks. "Boogie with Stu" is the band doing acoustic boogie-blues (duh). It's catchy as hell. "Black Country Woman" is another acoustic track. Plant laments his lover's mistreatment of him and warns her that he knows her sister, too. Enjoy the banter over the sound of a propeller plane passing overhead as the track is about to be begin, and then wonder how many cigarettes a day Mr. Plant smoked back then. "Sick Again", which ends the two-disc epic, is to me one of the most underrated Zep tracks ever. Page's guitar roars like a dinosaur caught in a tarpit as Plant screams his love/contempt for the 70's LA groupies. Practically every hard rock album in post-1976 took a huge bit of influence from this record. It's not only a \ogreat\c 90-minute listen, it's living rock history.

One Of The Best Albums By Zepp:
When I turned 13, my father gave me Physical Graffiti. Upon listening to it for the first time, I was thinking that it was the dumbest album I had ever heard. I didn't want to dissapoint my dad. So, as the months went by, I bought Led Zeppelin III, IV and Presence. I was impressed, so I decided to give Physical Graffiti another try. Boy, am I glad I did. Every song in the album is perfect. On this CD, you get more of a bluesy feel, especially on the second CD. DISC 1: 1. Custerd Pie: Great start to the CD. Some great riffs by Page. 2. The Rover: Wow... REALLY great song. If you walked into my house, you could see me tearing my hair out trying to play it. 3. In My Time Of Dying: This is my favorite song by Zep (besides Stairway To Heaven). The guitar solos and riffs by Page are simply amazing. Bonham shows some of his greatest drumming in this song. And the lyrics are very neat. 4. Houses of the Holy: Really catchy song with REALLY catchy riffs. 5. Trampled Under Foot: One of my favorites on the album. The keyboards in this song are awesome. When i played the piano, I tried to learn this. 6. Kashmir: If i asked my friends if they liked this song, I'd get a whole lot of "THAT SONG SUCKS!!" Well, i disagree. This is a wonderful melodic song. DISC 2 1. In The Light: Slow at first, but once you get into it(which is about two minutes in) it gets really catchy. 2. Bron-Yr-Aur: Short song, but wonderful acoustic on Page's part. 3. Down By The Seaside: This was actually one of my favorite songs on the album. It is very catchy and has great solo in the middle of song. 4. Ten Years Gone: Wonderful song... good guitar... like most of the songs on the second cd, this song gets catchy further into the song 5. Night Flight: I really liked this song. It has a touch of the blues, and still sounds like Zeppelin. 6. The Wanton Song: VERY good song. Really catchy right from the start. Makes me wanna get up and dance around. Plant's voice sounds strange (at least to me) 7. Boogie With Stu: blues song all the way. Theres even some great piano. I love this song just because of the soul in it. It makes me wanna listen to blues over and over again. 8. Black Country Woman: good song, but not the best on the cd by far. 9. Sick Again: Great end to a wonderful cd. Has some good guitar playing. Sounds like classic Zep

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