Physical Graffiti

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Physical Graffiti
Physical Graffiti cover
Double album by Led Zeppelin
Released February 24, 1975
Recorded July 1970; May 1972; January - February 1974; October 1974 at Headley Grange, Hampshire, with Ronnie Lane's Mobile Studio;
Stargroves, England, with Rolling Stones Mobile Studio;
Olympic Studios, London;
Island Studios, London.
Mixed at Olympic Studios, London;
Electric Lady Studios, New York
Genre Hard Rock
Blues Rock
Folk Rock
Heavy metal
Length 82:15
Label Swan Song Records
Producer(s) Jimmy Page
Professional reviews
Led Zeppelin chronology
Houses of the Holy
(1973)
Physical Graffiti
(1975)
Presence
(1976)


Physical Graffiti is a double album by the English hard rock band Led Zeppelin. It was released on February 24, 1975 and was the band's first release on its own Swan Song Records label.

Contents

[hide]

[edit] Recording history

The recording sessions for Physical Graffiti took place in January and February 1974 at Headley Grange in East Hampshire, England. Several of the songs on the album, however, were recorded during the sessions for previous Led Zeppelin albums. The instrumental "Bron-Yr-Aur" was recorded in July 1970 at Island Studios, London, for Led Zeppelin III. "Night Flight" and "Boogie with Stu" were recorded at Headley Grange and "Down by the Seaside" at Island Studios, all for Led Zeppelin IV. "The Rover" and "Black Country Woman" were recorded at the same sessions as "D'yer Mak'er" at Stargroves using the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio in May 1972. "Houses of the Holy" was also recorded in May 1972, but at Olympic Studios. The album Houses of the Holy took its title from this song, despite the decision not to include the song on that album.

The remaining eight songs were all recorded during the sessions for Physical Graffiti in early 1974. Additional overdubs were added and the final mixing was performed in October 1974 by Keith Harwood.

[edit] Album cover

The original album jacket for the LP included die-cut windows on the building shown on the cover; as the inner sleeves for the discs were inserted in different orientations, various objects and people would appear in the windows, including photos of the band members in drag. The two buildings photographed for the album cover are located at 96 and 98 St. Mark's Place in New York City.[1] These are the same buildings Mick Jagger is in front of in the Rolling Stones music video "Waiting on a Friend".

[edit] Sales and influence

A review in Rolling Stone magazine referred to Physical Graffiti as Led Zeppelin's "bid for artistic respectability", adding that the only competition the band had for the title of 'World's Best Rock Band' were The Rolling Stones and The Who.[2] The album was a massive fiscal and critical success, reaching #1 on Billboard's Pop Albums chart, and has proven to be one of the most popular released by the group, selling 16 million copies in the United States alone. Physical Graffiti was the first album to go gold on advanced orders alone[3] Shortly after the release of Physical Graffiti, all previous Led Zeppelin albums simultaneously re-entered the top-200 album chart.[4]In 1998 Q magazine readers voted Physical Graffiti the 28th greatest album of all time; in 2000 Q placed it at number 32 in its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever; and in 2001 the same magazine named it as one of the 50 Heaviest Albums Of All Time. In 2003 the TV network VH1 named it the 71st greatest album ever. Rolling Stone ranked it #70 on their list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

[edit] Track listing

[edit] Side one

  1. "Custard Pie" (Page/Plant) – 4:13
  2. "The Rover" (Page/Plant) – 5:37
  3. "In My Time of Dying" (Page/Plant/Jones/Bonham) – 11:05

[edit] Side two

  1. "Houses of the Holy" (Page/Plant) – 4:02
  2. "Trampled Under Foot" (Page/Plant/Jones) – 5:36
  3. "Kashmir" (Page/Plant/Bonham) – 8:29

[edit] Side three

  1. "In the Light" (Page/Plant/Jones) – 8:46
  2. "Bron-Yr-Aur"* (Page) – 2:06
  3. "Down by the Seaside" (Page/Plant) – 5:13
  4. "Ten Years Gone" (Page/Plant) – 6:32

[edit] Side four

  1. "Night Flight" (Jones/Page/Plant) – 3:36
  2. "The Wanton Song" (Page/Plant) – 4:07
  3. "Boogie with Stu" (Bonham/Jones/Page/Plant/Stewart/Valens-**) – 3:53
  4. "Black Country Woman" (Page/Plant) – 4:24
  5. "Sick Again" (Page/Plant) – 4:42

-* Some cassette versions of the album place "Bron-Yr-Aur" immediately after "Kashmir," presumably to make each side of the cassette last approximately the same amount of time.

-** Credited to "Mrs. Valens, mother of Ritchie Valens". According to Jimmy Page, since the jam leaned heavily on "Ooh My Head" by the late Ritchie Valens, it was decided to give credit to his mother "because we heard she never received any royalties from any of her son's hits, and Robert did lean on that lyric a bit. So what happens? They tried to sue us for all of the song! We had to say bugger off".[5]

[edit] Miscellaneous

  • Physical Graffiti contains the shortest and the longest studio recordings by Led Zeppelin: "Bron-Yr-Aur" and "In My Time of Dying", respectively.

[edit] Credits

[edit] Charts

Album - Billboard (North America)

Year Chart Position
1975 Pop Albums (Billboard 200) 1

Singles - Billboard (North America)

Year Single Chart Position
1975 "Kashmir" Pop Singles (Billboard Hot 100) 16
1975 "Trampled Underfoot" Pop Singles (Billboard Hot 100) 38
1975 "Black Country Woman" Pop Singles (Billboard Hot 100) 38

[edit] References