Physical Graffiti

This edition of PHYSICAL GRAFFITI ( the 3 disc Deluxe set) has such an amazing collection of sounds and feelings that the album has few if any weak spots.For the current price, it is a bargain for the three disc set. I wish I could buy the entire Super Deluxe sets but I did so only for Album 4. If you want some extras that are perfectly in sync with the album, go to Led Zeppelin com( this includes some superb pictures, a veritable gallery of delights for this and other albums); they have the Promo and a short mp3 from Robert about the song Kashmir( you cannot , however, download them).Also, the outer doors and windows on the album are replicated on each CD sleeve, only with different pictures on each CD sleeve. The booklet is an amazing bonus as well. The layered recording is perfectly in accord with the music because of two reasons, firstly ,the rhythm basis for each track is beyond good. Secondly, the arrangement, which I presume was done by Page, is ornate but hardly unjustified.Robert Plant claims to like KASHMIR, or that is his favorite ( at least at the time of recording of the audio which is not dated, someone may know). The intricacies of the songs are reflected in the web site promo for this album , pick a window and you can go to different elements, that sort of thing. Even the extras on disc 3 which are mostly early versions of some songs are sufficiently different to be marvelous. Of the albums re-released so far, this one has the most in common, to my mind, with How the West was Won , The Zeppelin DVD , and the superb Celebration Day. If you have heard the bootlegs that came out after the Celebration concert, you will know that the end result on disc is not far of the mark, whether in a non-descript mp3, or on a carefully mastered disc, Zeppelin still have the skill. Without Bonzo, though ( who was , I thought, wonderfully channeled by his son for celebration Day).The booklet has some great pics of Bonzo in a Derby or "Bowler" hat ( very much the Country Squire). The point of all this is that Led Zeppelin created material on a canvas all their own. It was not over-indulgence, it was simply the expression of the sum total of an irreplaceable collection of superb musicians.I hope the extras on the web site will be made available at some stage, since they perfectly complement the collection in this album at least. Page as the producer seems to have certainly put together the best packages on CD, and these collections are the best argument for CD or vinyl collections since the detail is the best this side of the collection called "The Crown Jewels" even though it is not mastered the same way ( to my ears at least).Whatever you like in music, or if you just like the tapestry that Robert Plant's voice weaves, this album is now audible in evocative detail, and I love it.

My first double CD version of Physical Graffiti was back in the late 80s and it wasn't great. So this is miles ahead in terms of clarity and brightness. But the essential balance of the mix stays the same. At a time when interest in Zep remains at a high, fans want more. With each successive re-release and remaster, they're still not quite getting the holy grail, if that's what they're after. Most buyers I imagine have already bought one or two or more of the previous editions - whether vinyl, CD release, cassette. That's pretty much the standard by which the new deluxe reissues are being seen from - are they really better? Do they offer a lot more? Is it worth one's money? Should anyone care? Led Zeppelin fans know the band's output inside and out - and that is the standard that Jimmy Page has to hold these releases to. So far despite the hype and the packaging, he appears to have exercised a great deal of restraint on the most important aspect: the music. What made Physical Graffiti a departure was the sheer amount of material the band had to tap from - from their earlier 1972 Stargroves sessions to 1974, when the band was rapidly evolving. This remains a great snapshot of the post-blues Zeppelin: the band that was creating their own sound further away from their blues covers and adaptations. The rehearsal bootlegs of this remain the most extensive collection of outtakes and early versions - and that is what hardcore fans like myself were banking on. The period in which the band was drawing these recordings from spanned over 2 years so logically, we expect more. The entire remastering exercise has become a Jimmy Page project and he has held his own view of what should be released - re-editing Whole Lotta Love from the Song Remains the Same. Dropping encore tracks from How the West Was Won, etc. The remixes honestly will not flip the way you've heard these. But what IS worth listening to are the early versions of In the Light; the early mix of Houses of the Holy, and the instrumental jam of Sick Again.....three tracks in all, and why aren't there more? Fans don't need a subtle remix of their favourite song - they want new or unheard versions of the tracks that offer something more warts and all. What I would like to hear is how Robert or JPJ might have remixed or approached their songs. Robert has for instance remarked that he wishes Carouselambra (from In Through the Out Door) was mixed so his vocals were more audible since the lyrics were meaningful. Through Jimmy's filter, we get some but not a hugely adventurous approach. My challenge to Jimmy is: the tracks are out there. The outtakes are out there. The fans will find them. Why not offer us a real look into the recording process or a more experiential feel of how Zep constructed its music. Looks like Jimmy will remain restrained on this, and that's a shame. There are so many other templates for this to follow - and that is what your fans deserve. Not another remaster, remix, etc. Jimmy attempted it with CODA - which showed how patchy the approach could be, but it's still worthwhile if curated properly. On its own merits, this is a 5 star album. On its extras, I give it 6 out of 10. Get Brutal Artistry or other such compilations for a more complete experience. Noel Gallagher put it best when he talked about Jimmy Page's current pursuit. Let's see what's next, but the well is running dry.... PS My original generic review below A DESTROYER OF AN ALBUM Still at the creative peak of their powers, Zeppelin unleashed Physical Graffiti - a double set that truly encompassed everything that the band had done to date stylistically. Continuing the trend of Houses of the Holy (and in fact, featuring tracks recorded from those sessions) - Physical Graffiti seemed to delve into almost every rock style available to the band's arsenal from blues to hard rock to rockabilly to folk to middle eastern to funk to just Zep. Highly original, highly inspiring and highly recommended.

Excellent album. One of Led Zeppelin's best.

I'm giving this CD five stars, although I haven't heard it yet. Nevertheless, I am anticipating it will be totally awesome. I ordered it two days ago, and requested the Prime free two day delivery, which is also totally awesome if you think about it. Unfortunately, the promised delivery of Thursday Feb. 26th was not to be. It was shipped via USPS, which is also totally awesome, because who else will come to your house and pick up a letter and deliver it directly to the home of someone thousands of miles away for only 49 cents? But I digress. I'm guessing the bad weather caused some kind of delay, because the tracking info said that it took my CD 24 hours to make its way from a depot that is about a three hour drive from the local USPS facility. Perhaps the roads were icy and the driver had to seek respite at a truck stop along the way, where he or she enjoyed a fine country fried steak and canned green beans along with hours of pinball or video games or whatever it is they have at those places to pass the time. Parenthetically, I have a vinyl copy of the album from back when it was released decades ago. I can only vaguely remember hearing it, because those memories are somewhat, uh, fuzzy as I approach my twilight years. I would put it on and play it as I await my errant remastered CD, but alas my vintage Technics SL-B3 turntable has been packed away in the garage for 30 years after an unfortunate incident. It seems my wife, who I love dearly, was dusting around our stereo equipment and apparently tripped the automatic play feature of the Technics SL-B3 turntable. Sadly, there was no album on the platter, and no one noticed until a couple of days later that it had been sitting there playing the rubber platter surface, round and round and round and round. Needless to say, this was not an optimal situation for the stylus installed on the turntable's totally awesome Audio Technica cartridge. But I digress. So anyway, I went down to the mailbox today, eagerly anticipating the arrival of my new Physical Graffiti CD, remastered with loving care by Jimmy Page himself, in breathless anticipation of ripping it to my music server and listening to it via my HTPC on our fairly decent by today's standards (these kids today and their earbuds, meh) home hi-fi setup. But alas, it was not to be. My mailbox contained only a sad assortment of "dear recipient" coupons, that did not appear to be worth much. And to top it off, in my exuberance I slipped on the ice, which had previously most likely contributed to the delay of delivering my new Physical Graffiti remastered CD that was promised for today, and wrenched my back. All for naught. Now I will be bedridden for a few days, and even if my new Physical Graffiti remastered CD arrives tomorrow I doubt I'll be able to sit up long enough to listen to it. I would ask my lovely wife to rip it and play it for me to sooth my suffering, but alas she does not know how to operate our fairly decent by today's standards home hi-fi setup beyond pressing "Watch TV" on the Harmony remote and queuing up one of her many Law and Order or King of Queens episodes recorded on our Tivo (which is also pretty awesome if you think about it), much less how the home media server setup works. Plus, she will likely be busy tending to me and my infirmaries, because that's how she rolls. Did I mention I love her dearly? But I digress. So sometime over the next few days I anticipate settling in to listen to my new Physical Graffiti remastered by Jimmy Page CD that was not delivered today as promised yet led to an untimely and unexpected setback in my daily routine, for which I totally do not blame Amazon at all because they can't control the weather, truck drivers just looking to get home to their family safe and sound, Jimmy Page, or the ice on my driveway. I am supremely confident it will be worthy of the five star review I have bestowed in advance. If not, I will let you know. UPDATE: Got my Physical Graffiti CD today. My five star review stands, in terms of the music and the sound quality. So there you go.

Fast Delivery. Pristine Product, No Fuss !

Sounds 👍

I'm not sure why some reviewers say that over half of this collection is filler. This is one of zep's best albums and one of the best-selling double albums ever. But I don't want to get into that as if you're buying this you are already know what it's all about. As for the sound quality, it certainly isn't the best with some of it sounding a little muddy but if you want to buy new, choices are very limited. Overall I'm very glad I bought it and listened to all four sides the first day.

Led Zeppelin made four fantastic albums. This is one of them and the favorite Zeppelin album of at least one band member. It’s all here. Sonic massiveness. Uptempo hard rock. Slower hard rock. Great variety. Tremendous musicianship. Some say there’s filler on this double album. Maybe. I love all of it. Standout tracks are “The Rover,” “Trampled Under Foot,” “Kashmir,” “Houses of the Holy,” “In My Time Of Dying,” “Custard Pie,” “The Wanton Song,” and “Sick Again.” The longer songs feature much of Page’s amazing guitar and Bonham’s thunderous drums. Vocalist Plant is at his best. Bassist and keyboardist Jones is tremendous as always. This version has a bonus disc with raw cuts of some of the songs of this album. They’re all highly listenable. This was the last excellent or better Zeppelin album. The next album, “Presence,” was recorded way too fast and is considered their worst by far. Their final album, “In Through The Out Door,” doesn’t have nearly enough guitar and is uneven. Zeppelin was an amazing band. Sadly this album gives us a glimpse of what they could have done if they’d gotten out of their rut and Bonham had lived. Tragically Page was never close to this good again. Besides Hendrix, he was the most important rock guitarist from 65-75. Plant is considered one of the three greatest rock singers and Bonham one of the greatest drummers. Jones was merely the consummate professional and, before joining Zeppelin, was a renowned studio musician. Zeppelin only influenced just about every rock band that came later that you can think of. Queen was hugely influenced by them as were the White Stripes who massively copied Zeppelin. A must for any fan of rock music. I got it for less than $15 before tax. At that price and up to $20 it’s a bargain.

Obra maestra. Edición magnífica.

Novembre 73. Libérés d’une tournée qui commençait à prendre des allures de pensum, surtout pour un John Paul Jones sur le seuil de rupture, Led Zeppelin entre pour la sixième fois en studio, plus particulièrement dans leur manoir Headley Grange, pour y enregistrer un nouvel album et organiser le lancement de leur propre label, Swan Song. Pour bien gérer ces deux affaires, le groupe va ainsi prendre son temps et, pratiquement sept mois, pour sortir aux forceps, un objet rare, à la fois controversé, adulé, singulier tant par sa forme que son contenu : Physical Graffiti. Composé pour moitié de nouveautés, dont une certaine Kashmir qui deviendra avec le temps l'incantation majeure du dirigeable, tandis que se retrouvent certains morceaux écartés lors de sessions précédentes, pour l’autre, ce disque est d’une emphase confinant à la majesté. Sur ce double album donc, deux époques, deux formules magiques aux prétentions diverses, mais qui laissent derrière elles une telle impression, que l’on en arrive à pardonner le dispensable. Témoins d’une période riche en influences, si le premier volume se veut le retour en grâce d’un heavy blues n’hésitant pas quelques nappes orientales, le second disque laisse le goût mitigé d’une performance non aboutie. Non pas que ce dernier soit mauvais, mais surtout parce que la recette appliquée manque de cette touche de spontanéité si caractéristique du groupe. Néanmoins, comme souvent dans sa discographie et à l’appui de quelques titres phares, Led Zeppelin nous livre un ensemble de grande facture. On l’aura deviné, malgré quelques errances, à un moment ou à un autre, Physical Graffiti est le genre d’album qui vous prend au corps et ne vous lâche plus. En dominant son sujet sur Custard Pie, puis évitant la démonstration de slide sur l’intense In My Time Of Dying, le dirigeable fascine par cette faculté naturelle de nuancer la violence d’un souffle de sensualité. Car si le jeu musical est intense, c’est au travers de contrées plus aériennes, plus folk que Page et consorts s’avèrent les plus fertiles. Alors que certains verront dans ce double enregistrement, une contestable opposition des genres, une indigente volonté de remplissage, il en est d’autres qui, en abandonnant toute résistance, se laisseront parcourir par cette sensation si étrange, que l’on nomme parfois, l'évidence. En négligeant le quelconque et hormis le pouvoir incomparable de l’hypnotique Kashmir, absout de tout solo, la plupart des morceaux ne s’aventurent que très rarement dans l’ordinaire. Sans les nommer tous, on soulignera le mélodique, The Rover, Trampled Under Foot pour son groove communicatif, puis, dans un registre un peu plus soft, Ten Years Gone ou Down By The Seaside, dont on aurait tort de se priver. Exercice délicat, si peu de doubles albums ont su passer les frontières du temps, cet objet violent nimbé d’inspiration reste un évènement lors de chaque écoute. Peut-être un peu trop long, peut-être un peu trop, tout simplement, Physical Graffiti résume cependant, à lui seul, ce que furent les seventies : un laboratoire au service d’une certaine idée de la musique. A la fois, discipline physique d’un John Bonham souverain, fin de cycle pour un Robert Plant victime d’une usure prématurée de ses cordes vocales et révélateur d’un John Paul Jones lumineux d’opportunisme, cette maison du sacré voué à l’héroïsme de Page ressemble par bien des égards à sa pochette à tiroirs : plurielle, tout en étant unique.

Nie będę pisał o muzyce , wszyscy znają i wiedzą , że jest wspaniała. Jakość płyty b. dobra, jest prosta nie ma wad, dźwięk jest b. dobry.

Brilliant thank you. I was even more delighted when I realised that I had ordered the vinyl edition by a happy mistake. Lovely art work. Well worth the money.Brilliant addition to my collection of now three vinyls -Queens Greatest Hits,Darkside of the moon and now this. I am delighted to now own this superlative album. I remember my trawel through record shops as a teenager in the 80’s when I used to look in awe at this album and it’s intriguing artwork Thank you it’s an unexpected addition to my vinyl collection.

Lovely artwork on the vinyl cover the mix sounds muddy but it does so on cd also buy the vinyl guys