Sources
Help build the largest human-edited directory on the web.
Submit a site - Become an editor
Wikipedia. Licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Are you an expert in this subject? Join the discussion and share your knowledge at Wikipedia.org.
Physical Graffiti
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Physical Graffiti | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
|||||
| Studio album by Led Zeppelin | |||||
| Released | February 24, 1975 | ||||
| Recorded | July 1970; December 1970-March 1971; 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 | ||||
| Producer | Jimmy Page | ||||
| Professional reviews | |||||
|
|||||
| Led Zeppelin chronology | |||||
|
|||||
Physical Graffiti is the sixth album, a double album by the English hard rock band Led Zeppelin. It was released on February 24, 1975 (see 1975 in music) and was the band's first release on its own Swan Song Records label.
Contents |
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 group's fifth 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.
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] [2] These are the same buildings Keith Richards and Mick Jagger are in front of in the Rolling Stones music video "Waiting on a Friend".
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.[3] The album was a massive commercial and critical success, reaching #1 on Billboard's Pop Albums chart, and has proven to be one of the most popular releases by the group, selling 8 million copies in the United States alone. Physical Graffiti was the first album to go gold on advance orders alone.[4] Shortly after the release of Physical Graffiti, all previous Led Zeppelin albums simultaneously re-entered the top-200 album chart.[5] 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.
- "Custard Pie" (Jimmy Page, Robert Plant) – 4:13
- "The Rover" (Page, Plant) – 5:37
- "In My Time of Dying" (Page, Plant, John Paul Jones, John Bonham) – 11:05
- "Houses of the Holy" (Page, Plant) – 4:02
- "Trampled Under Foot" (Page, Plant, Jones) – 5:36
- "Kashmir" (Page, Plant, Bonham) – 8:29
- "In the Light" (Page, Plant, Jones) – 8:46
- "Bron-Yr-Aur"* (Page) – 2:06
- "Down by the Seaside" (Page, Plant) – 5:13
- "Ten Years Gone" (Page, Plant) – 6:32
- "Night Flight" (Jones, Page, Plant) – 3:36
- "The Wanton Song" (Page, Plant) – 4:07
- "Boogie with Stu" (Bonham, Jones, Page, Plant, Ian Stewart, Ritchie Valens**) – 3:53
- "Black Country Woman" (Page, Plant) – 4:24
- "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".[6]
* "In My Time of Dying" contains significant similarities to a track of the same name on Bob Dylan's first album. Dylan credits this tune's composition to "Traditional" while taking credit for its arrangement.
 |
Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones. |
- Physical Graffiti contains both the longest and shortest studio recordings by Led Zeppelin. "In My Time of Dying" clocks in at 11 minutes 5 seconds and "Bron-Yr-Aur" is 2 minutes 6 seconds.
- Philadelphia comedy-punk band the Dead Milkmen spoofed the album cover and title on their 1990 album Metaphysical Graffiti
- Jimmy Page – acoustic and electric guitar, mandolin, producer
- Robert Plant – harmonica, vocals, acoustic guitar on "Boogie with Stu"
- John Paul Jones – bass, keyboards, mellotron, guitar, mandolin, VCS3
- John Bonham – drums, percussion
- Ian Stewart – piano on "Boogie with Stu"
- George Chkiantz – engineer
- Peter Grant – producer, executive producer
- Keith Harwood – engineer, mixing
- Andy Johns – engineer
- Eddie Kramer – engineer, mixing
- Barry Diamont - original CD mastering - Atlantic Studios (mid-1980s)
- George Marino – remastered CD (1990)
- Ron Nevison – engineer
- Mike Doud – artwork, design, cover design
- Peter Corriston – artwork, design, cover design
- Elliot Erwitt – photography
- Dave Heffernan – illustrations
- B.P. Fallon – photography
- Roy Harper – photography
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Billboard Pop Albums (Billboard 200) | 1 |
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | "Trampled Underfoot" | Billboard Pop Singles (Billboard Hot 100) | 38 |
| Certifier | Certification | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| RIAA (U.S.) | 16x Platinum | 16,000,000 |
- ^ http://www.gothamist.com/archives/2006/04/16/physical_graffi_1.php
- ^ From LudLow St. New York NY to: Rivington St
- ^ Rolling Stone Review, Mar, 27 1975
- ^ http://www.amazon.com/Physical-Graffiti-Led-Zeppelin/dp/B00005J8JL
- ^ Stephen Davis (1995). Hammer of the Gods : the Led Zeppelin saga (LPC), 225, 277 ISBN 0-330-43859-X.
- ^ http://www.turnmeondeadman.net/Zep/BoogieWithStu.html
|
|
|---|
| Custard Pie · The Rover · In My Time of Dying · Houses of the Holy · Trampled Under Foot · Kashmir · In the Light · Bron-Yr-Aur · Down by the Seaside · Ten Years Gone · Night Flight · The Wanton Song · Boogie with Stu · Black Country Woman · Sick Again |