Physical Graffiti is Led Zeppelin's bid for artistic respectability. This two-record set, the product of almost two years' labor, is the band's Tommy, Beggar's Banquet and Sgt. Pepper rolled into one.

In a virtual recapitulation of the group's career, Physical Graffiti touches all the bases. There's a blues ("In My Time of Dying") and a cosmic-cum-heavy ballad ("In the Light"); there's an acoustic interlude ("Bron-Y-Aur") and lots of bludgeoning hard rock, still the band's forte ("Houses of the Holy," "The Wanton Song"); there are also hints of Bo Diddley ("Custard Pie"), Burt Bacharach ("Down by the Seaside") and Kool and the Gang ("Trampled under Foot"). If nothing else, Physical Graffiti is a tour de force.

The album's -- and the band's -- mainspring in Jimmy Page, guitarist extraordinaire. His primary concern, both as producer and guitarist, is sound. His playing lacks the lyricism of Eric Clapton, the funk of Jimi Hendrix, the rhythmic flair of Peter Townshend; but of all the virtuoso guitarists of the Sixties, Page, along with Hendrix, has most expanded the instrument's sonic vocabulary.

He has always exhibited a studio musician's knack for functionalism. Unlike many of his peers, he rarely overplays, especially on record. A facile soloist, Page excels at fills, obbligatos and tags. Playing off stock riffs, he modulates sonorities, developing momentum by modifying instrumental colors. To this end, he uses a wide array of effects, including on Physical Graffiti some echoed slide ("Time of Dying"), a countryish vibrato ("Seaside"), even a swimming, clear tone reminiscent of Lonnie Mack (the solo on "The Rover"). But his signature remains distortion. Avoiding "clean" timbres, Page usually pits fuzzed out overtones against a hugely recorded bottom, weaving his guitar in and out of the total mix, sometimes echoing Robert Plant's contorted screams, sometimes tunneling behind a dryly thudding drum.

Physical Graffiti only confirms Led Zeppelin's preeminence among hard rockers. Although it contains no startling breakthroughs, it does affford an impressive overview of the band's skill. On "Houses of the Holy," Robert Plant's lyrics mesh perfectly with Page's stuttering licks. On "Ten Years Gone," a progression recalling the Beatles' "Dear Prudence" resolves in a beautifully waddling refrain, Page scooping broad and fuzzy chords behind Plant, who sounds a lot like Rod Stewart. Elsewhere, the band trundles out the Marrakech Symphony Orchestra (for "Kashmir"), Ian Stewart's piano and even a mandolin (both for "Boogie with Stu").

Despite some lapses into monotony along the way ("In My Time of Dying," "Kashmir") Physical Graffiti testifies to Page's taste and Led Zeppelin's versatility. Taken as a whole, it offers an astonishing variety of music, produced impeccably by Page. On Physical Graffiti, Led Zeppelin performs rock with creativity, wit and undeniable impact.

They have forged an original style, and they have grown within it; they have rooted their music in hard-core rock & roll, and yet have gone beyond it. They may not be the greatest rock band of the Seventies. But after seven years, five platinum albums and now Physical Graffiti, the world's most popular rock band must be counted among them.

- Jim Miller, Rolling Stone, 3-27-75.

Bonus Reviews!

Long awaited double package from the group many feel is the best rock band in the world is a tour de force through a number of musical styles, from straight rock to blues to folky acoustic to orchestral sounds. Certainly the most versatile thing the foursome has yet come up with, with Robert Plant's distinctive vocals and Jimmy Page's absolutely brilliant guitar work the highlights. Yet don't overlook bassman and keyboardist John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham, also two of rock's finest. Zeppelin, known as the epitome of hard rock, don't so much play a song as they attack it, be the song a rocker or a ballad. The difference between this and some of the earlier LPs is that the attack is always well planned. The set is certainly the most controlled they have yet come up with, the songs may offer the best indication of the scope of their talents, and the package is one of the few double sets of the past several years that actually merits being a double set. There is going to be the usual criticism, for Zeppelin have always been a band that people like to criticize. People will say there aren't enough rockers, there aren't enough ballads, there aren't enough old things, new things, etc. The band, when one comes down to it, is now one of the most universally appealing rock acts in history, has changed admirably with the times, and recovered beautifully from one somewhat below par LP several years back to become the premier rock band of today. Best cuts: "In My Time Of Dying," "Houses Of The Holy," "Trampled Underfoot," "Bron-Yr-Aur," "Down By The Seaside," "Ten Years Gone," "Black Country Woman," "Boogie With Stu," "Sick Again."

- Billboard, 1975.

I suppose a group whose specialty is excess should be proud to emerge from a double-LP in one piece. But except on side one -- comprising three-only-three Zep classics: "Houses of the Holy," "Trampled Under Foot," and the exotic "Kashmir" -- they do disperse quite a bit, not into filler and throwaway ("Boggie with Stu" and "Black Country Woman" on side four are fab prefabs) but into wide tracks, misconceived opi, and so forth. Jimmy Page cuts it throughout, but after a while Robert Plant begins to grate -- and I like him. B+

- Robert Christgau, Christgau's Record Guide, 1981.

"Harder than Exile on Main Street and three times as convincing."

- Cameron Crowe, Rolling Stone, 12-15-77.

A lengthy two-disc set whose bluesy workouts (plus such new explorations as the Middle Eastern "Kashmir") mark it as the most "Zeppelinish" of Led Zeppelin albums. * * * * *

- William Ruhlmann, The All-Music Guide to Rock, 1995.

Physical Graffiti is a sprawling, double-length effort that features the enduring epic "Kashmir." * * * * 1/2

- Gary Graff, Musichound Rock: The Essential Album Guide, 1996.

The mighty Led Zep covers more territory than most bands would imagine in a lifetime on this four-sided opus that recalls the summer of '75, when every Camaro had the epic "Kashmir" blaring from the speakers. From "Custard Pie," which sets the tone with a bounce and a smirk, and slide guitar rave-ups ("In My Time of Dying") to the shining rhythmic brilliance of "The Wanton Song," it's bash-and-strut R&R, but it just works. * * * * *

- Zagat Survey Music Guide - 1,000 Top Albums of All Time, 2003.

This last great Led Zeppelin album, is -- like most double LP's of the era -- a bloated beast. But its self-indulgent swagger is the very thing that makes it so much fun -- and one of the heaviest records of the 1970s. Powered by John Paul Jones' jittery clavinet, "Trampled Under Foot" is viking funk; "In My Time of Dying" is eleven minutes of slow-blues lava. The sprawl of Physical Graffiti also let Jimmy Page and Robert Plant bring Zeppelin's less obvious gifts -- English folk and hillbilly romp -- out from behind the wall of amps. Plant would later cite the mighty Arab-influenced march "Kashmir" as one of Zeppelin's greatest achievements.

Physical Graffiti was chosen as the 70th greatest album of all time by the editors of Rolling Stone magazine in Dec. 2003.

- Rolling Stone, 12/11/03.

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