Physical Graffiti

Physical Graffiti is my favourite Led Zeppelin album. I first heard Led Zeppelin in the late 1970s and early 1980s. I think I heard many of their other albums before I heard Physical Graffiti - but then, when I finally heard it, it was like I had been listening to it forever. Each song seemed incredibly familiar - this album fits like a glove! The consistency is amazing - especially since some of the tracks were recorded especially for the 1975 release, while others are outtakes from previous recording efforts. Superficially, there are highlights - like Kashmir - but, again, this is one of those albums that, within the context of the album, doesn't contain any weak songs.

Led Zeppelin were beyond compare. People throw them into the same bucket as many of the heavy metal bands that followed (and imitated) them. I don't think of them as a heavy metal band. I think of them as one of the greatest rocks bands ever. Although you might find other bands that you like listening to just as much, you can always come back to them. The sound of the band on most of their recordings, particularly this one, hasn't dated in the same way as the sounds of many other bands of the 1960s and 1970s.

Given that Physical Graffiti is Led Zeppelin at the top of their game - confident, progressive, experimental and sometimes quite heavy - this is quite an album.