Octo_Russ

Led Zeppelin [Physical Graffiti] 

I forget how many decades i've had this double album, and how many times i've listened to it, but it still surprises me, there's still new things to notice if you listen carefully, it's my favourite Led Zep album, i played their Mothership [Best Of] album last year [18th November 2010], and it's a great introduction to the band, but on this 2 disc set, it's fairly sprawling, and some might feel there's a slight degree of filler toward the end of the second disc, but i feel that's where Led Zep play out their low key genius, and have a degree of fun too [the childishness in 'Down By The Seaside' and the fun in 'Boogie With Stu'], it just goes to show how varied they really are.

Led Zeppelin were an English Rock Band, formed in 1968, and disbanded in 1980 after the death of their drummer John Bonham, most of the tracks were recorded in 1974, but then other tracks, originally intended for previous albums, were drafted in to beef it up to a double album, there were 8 songs recorded in 1974 especially for the album, all these other tracks were recorded from 1971-1972, the album cover is a work of genius, showing a tenement block in New York, expertly made to fit the square of the album, i own the 'fatbox' double disc album, these recordings were the first to appear on disc, and were poorly transferred, i bought the remasters, issued in a double slimline case, much superior recordings, so not wanting to lose the original case or the best recordings, i swapped the two over, now i have the best of both worlds, it's a set that is a joy to own.

On this listen it was the lesser well known tracks that i found to be more stimulating than usual, however the 3 tracks that i enjoyed the most were 4, 6 & 10, with track 6 'Kashmir' the best, but i feel to focus in on track 10 'Ten Years Gone' [track 4 on disc 2], it's one of the mellower songs, featuring Jimmy Page strumming a lot on electric guitar, a nice Bluesy feel to it, it alternates between soft and loud, the lyrics are really meaningful, i like part of the first verse,

Blind skies of fortune

each have separate ray

on the wings of maybe

down in birds of prey 

in some quartets it's read as 'Blind stars of fortune', but listening to it, it sure sounds more like 'skies', i write a Journal each year, and i name them something meaningful, and two of them are named 'Upon The Wings Of Maybe' [1982], and 'Blind Skies Of Fortune' [1986], i'm really influenced by Led Zeppelin's lyrics, in the second half of the song, the music gets more intense and louder [4:06-4:47], i like these soft / loud waves, they really get to me in the end, the whole album should come with a recommendation, 'play loud'!.

Here's Led Zeppelin singing 'Ten Years Gone' on YouTube.