Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Custard Pie
2. Rover
3. In My Time of Dying
4. Houses of the Holy
5. Trampled Under Foot
6. Kashmir

Disc 2:

1. In the Light
2. Bron-Yr-Aur
3. Down by the Seaside
4. Ten Years Gone
5. Night Flight
6. Wanton Song
7. Boogie with Stu
8. Black Country Woman
9. Sick Again

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6964 in Music
• Released on: 1994-12-22
• Number of discs: 2
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Dimensions: .24 pounds

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 coeur 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

Customer Reviews

4.5 stars - Not their finest work, but damn good nonetheless
Physical Graffiti (1975.) Led Zeppelin's sixth album.

By 1975, Led Zeppelin had already proven themselves to be gods of rock and roll. What the Beatles were to the sixties, Led Zeppelin was to the seventies. The band had already released five albums, each one of which being excellent. Already they had experimented with a number of sounds, sometimes with excellent results, sometimes with, well, less than stellar results. The band released its sixth album, entitled Physical Graffiti, in 1975. How do Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Bonham, and John Paul Jones measure up this time around? Read on for my review of the album.

This is Led Zeppelin's most lengthy album, and the only one of their studio albums that is long enough to merit a two compact disc release. Many people compare Led Zeppelin to the Beatles, and perhaps this album is one of the greatest parallels between the two bands - it is VERY similar to the Beatles' self-titled "White" album in a number of ways. The first disc features seven hard-rocking instant classics that have since become Led Zepplin fan favorites. Is it humanly possible NOT to enjoy the classic hard rock stylings of Custard Pie and the Rover? Perhaps one of the most interesting songs of all is In My Time Of Dying, a song that Bob Dylan originally recorded on his 1962 self-titled debut album. The band brings new life into an already excellent song - something they proved they could do beautifully on their own debut album. Houses Of The Holy gives us more of that blues-flavored hard rock that the band served up so heavily in the old days, and does a damn good job of it. Trampled Under Foot is one of the band's most memorable rockers of all, mostly due to its catchy beat and instrument stylings. But the most memorable track of all on the album, is by far, the legendary Kashmir. The band's combination of hard rock with a somewhat middle-eastern sound makes for a damn fine tune. The first disc was nothing but masterpieces, no questions asked. Sadly, the second disc isn't fortunate enough to be so lucky. The second disc has many excellent songs, but there are also many of them that fall below the band's usual standard. This is one of the interesting parallels with the Beatles' self-titled album - they are both dual-disc, "hit or miss" albums that would have been better off being a single-disc album of nothing but masterpieces than the dual-disc mixture of masterpieces and fillers. Still, even though many of those songs fall below Led Zeppelin's usual standard, they are still VERY good when compared with other bands of any era. This is NOT a bad album by any means - in fact, it's very good - just not Zeppelin's best.

Like the other Led Zeppelin albums (as of July 19, 2004), the version of the album that is readily available in stores is the most recent remastered version. Sadly though, due to Zeppelin's massive popularity, many stores will jack up the price of their albums. Fortunately, the band offers an alternative to wasting too much money - the Complete Studio Recordings box set. I urge you to buy this set and NOT to buy the albums separately - otherwise you're going to get ripped off - in particular on this album, because it is dual-disc.

Physical Graffiti isn't quite the masterpiece that some Zeppelin fans hold it out to be, but it is still a damn fine album (there is no such thing as a bad Led Zeppelin studio album.) If you're new to the band, DO NOT buy a hits compilation - none of them can do the band justice. Also, don't start with this album. While good, it's bound to give you the wrong impression about the band. As a final verdict, I would have to recommend this album only to die-hard fans of the band due to the dual-disc nature jacking the price up. New fans, I suggest either shelling out the cash and getting the Complete Studio Recordings box set, or starting with the band's untitled fourth album. To put it simply, Physical Graffiti IS a damn good album, it's just not the best starting place.

Physical Graffiti - The Best of Led Zeppelin
Physical Graffiti was my second Led Zeppelin album. I enjoyed it immediately, but I had no idea just how much it would later grow on me. Years since listening to it for the first time, it has advanced into probably somewhere around to my third or fifth favorite album.

Songs like "Kashmir" are extremely hyped, and while I wouldn't say it's overrated, there is some really great stuff on here besides it. At first, Disc 1 was largely my favorite. "Custard Pie," "Houses of the Holy," "Trampled Underfoot," and "Kashmir" are instantly likable songs. Disc 2 took its time, but now it is at least as good as disc 1. "In The Light" and "Bron-Yr-Aur" are two of the best songs ever written, and sound absolutely beautiful here performed by Led Zeppelin. The last few minutes of "In The Light" are music heaven.

Best Songs:
In The Light
In My Time of Dying
Bron-Yr-Aur
The Rover
Night Flight

Excellent Songs:
Kashmir
Custard Pie
Down By The Seaside
Ten Years Gone
Houses of the Holy
Wanton Song

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