Physical Graffiti 2015

This edition of PHYSICAL GRAFFITI ( the 3 disc Deluxe set) has such an amazing collection of sounds and feelings that the album has few if any weak spots.For the current price, it is a bargain for the three disc set. I wish I could buy the entire Super Deluxe sets but I did so only for Album 4. If you want some extras that are perfectly in sync with the album, go to Led Zeppelin com( this includes some superb pictures, a veritable gallery of delights for this and other albums); they have the Promo and a short mp3 from Robert about the song Kashmir( you cannot , however, download them).Also, the outer doors and windows on the album are replicated on each CD sleeve, only with different pictures on each CD sleeve. The booklet is an amazing bonus as well.The layered recording is perfectly in accord with the music because of two reasons, firstly ,the rhythm basis for each track is beyond good. Secondly, the arrangement, which I presume was done by Page, is ornate but hardly unjustified.Robert Plant claims to like KASHMIR, or that is his favorite ( at least at the time of recording of the audio which is not dated, someone may know). The intricacies of the songs are reflected in the web site promo for this album , pick a window and you can go to different elements, that sort of thing. Even the extras on disc 3 which are mostly early versions of some songs are sufficiently different to be marvelous. Of the albums re-released so far, this one has the most in common, to my mind, with How the West was Won , The Zeppelin DVD , and the superb Celebration Day. If you have heard the bootlegs that came out after the Celebration concert, you will know that the end result on disc is not far of the mark, whether in a non-descript mp3, or on a carefully mastered disc, Zeppelin still have the skill. Without Bonzo, though ( who was , I thought, wonderfully channeled by his son for celebration Day).The booklet has some great pics of Bonzo in a Derby or "Bowler" hat ( very much the Country Squire).The point of all this is that Led Zeppelin created material on a canvas all their own. It was not over-indulgence, it was simply the expression of the sum total of an irreplaceable collection of superb musicians.I hope the extras on the web site will be made available at some stage, since they perfectly complement the collection in this album at least. Page as the producer seems to have certainly put together the best packages on CD, and these collections are the best argument for CD or vinyl collections since the detail is the best this side of the collection called "The Crown Jewels" even though it is not mastered the same way ( to my ears at least).Whatever you like in music, or if you just like the tapestry that Robert Plant's voice weaves, this album is now audible in evocative detail, and I love it.

My first double CD version of Physical Graffiti was back in the late 80s and it wasn't great. So this is miles ahead in terms of clarity and brightness. But the essential balance of the mix stays the same.At a time when interest in Zep remains at a high, fans want more. With each successive re-release and remaster, they're still not quite getting the holy grail, if that's what they're after. Most buyers I imagine have already bought one or two or more of the previous editions - whether vinyl, CD release, cassette. That's pretty much the standard by which the new deluxe reissues are being seen from - are they really better? Do they offer a lot more? Is it worth one's money? Should anyone care? Led Zeppelin fans know the band's output inside and out - and that is the standard that Jimmy Page has to hold these releases to. So far despite the hype and the packaging, he appears to have exercised a great deal of restraint on the most important aspect: the music.What made Physical Graffiti a departure was the sheer amount of material the band had to tap from - from their earlier 1972 Stargroves sessions to 1974, when the band was rapidly evolving. This remains a great snapshot of the post-blues Zeppelin: the band that was creating their own sound further away from their blues covers and adaptations. The rehearsal bootlegs of this remain the most extensive collection of outtakes and early versions - and that is what hardcore fans like myself were banking on. The period in which the band was drawing these recordings from spanned over 2 years so logically, we expect more.The entire remastering exercise has become a Jimmy Page project and he has held his own view of what should be released - re-editing Whole Lotta Love from the Song Remains the Same. Dropping encore tracks from How the West Was Won, etc. The remixes honestly will not flip the way you've heard these. But what IS worth listening to are the early versions of In the Light; the early mix of Houses of the Holy, and the instrumental jam of Sick Again.....three tracks in all, and why aren't there more? Fans don't need a subtle remix of their favourite song - they want new or unheard versions of the tracks that offer something more warts and all.What I would like to hear is how Robert or JPJ might have remixed or approached their songs. Robert has for instance remarked that he wishes Carouselambra (from In Through the Out Door) was mixed so his vocals were more audible since the lyrics were meaningful. Through Jimmy's filter, we get some but not a hugely adventurous approach.My challenge to Jimmy is: the tracks are out there. The outtakes are out there. The fans will find them. Why not offer us a real look into the recording process or a more experiential feel of how Zep constructed its music. Looks like Jimmy will remain restrained on this, and that's a shame. There are so many other templates for this to follow - and that is what your fans deserve. Not another remaster, remix, etc.Jimmy attempted it with CODA - which showed how patchy the approach could be, but it's still worthwhile if curated properly.On its own merits, this is a 5 star album. On its extras, I give it 6 out of 10. Get Brutal Artistry or other such compilations for a more complete experience. Noel Gallagher put it best when he talked about Jimmy Page's current pursuit. Let's see what's next, but the well is running dry....PS My original generic review belowA DESTROYER OF AN ALBUMStill at the creative peak of their powers, Zeppelin unleashed Physical Graffiti - a double set that truly encompassed everything that the band had done to date stylistically. Continuing the trend of Houses of the Holy (and in fact, featuring tracks recorded from those sessions) - Physical Graffiti seemed to delve into almost every rock style available to the band's arsenal from blues to hard rock to rockabilly to folk to middle eastern to funk to just Zep.Highly original, highly inspiring and highly recommended.