PHYSICAL GRAFFITI

Eternity is in love with the productions of time.

William Blake

In the Western Tradition, we especially revere the Golden Age of Athens, the fifth century, BC. Our cherished values of democracy emerged during this time under Pericles; our understanding of philosophy and the life of the mind originated in the lives and works of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle; the genre of tragedy was defined by Sophocles, Aeschylus, and Euripides.

Similarly, we recognize a Golden Age of progressive rock. Somewhere in the mid-sixties, cauldrons of creativity lead to Bob Dylan, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, the Byrds, Jimi Hendrix, Cream, the Yardbirds, Jefferson Airplane, and the Moody Blues.

By 1969, a milieu existed that fostered, most notably, King Crimson's "In the Court of the Crimson King." It also led to the now famous comments of Melody Maker's Tony Wilson on the cover of Yes' eponymous October of 1969 first release:

At the beginning of 1969, I was asked as were all Melody Maker writers to pick two groups who I thought would make in the following year.

One of my choices was Led Zeppelin. A bit obvious perhaps, but then we all like to back a winner occasionally.

The other was Yes.

Thus, "from the beginning," Led Zeppelin has been "Prog Related."

For me, there is a great irony to this relationship. During my high school years in the mid-seventies, there were two "camps" -- the Led Zeppelin camp and the devotees of Yes. Speaking for myself, I was overtly committed to the Emerson, Lake, and Palmer, Yes, Genesis, and King Crimson "party" to the exclusion of Led Zeppelin. Secretly, I enjoyed Led Zeppelin and even went on to perform "Rock and Roll" in a garage band named "Eclipse."

Fortunately, with the passage of time, I have become far more appreciative of the music of Led Zeppelin. I attempt to base my musical commitments on a "both/and" rather than an "either/or" principle. (To this end, I would like to nominate Joni Mitchell for inclusion on the Progarchives.com site . . . .)

In my current Weltanschauung, John Bonham is to the drums as Jimi Hendrix is to the guitar; John Paul Jones, compositionally and instrumentally, is to Led Zeppelin as Paul McCartney is to the Beatles. On a certain level, Physical Graffiti is to Led Zeppelin as Tales from Topographic Oceans is to Yes.

Why this final comparison? -- "Kashmir" and "In My Time of Dying" in particular.

These two pieces are products of the mind's eye of Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones, and John Bonham (and in the case of the latter, Blind Willie Johnson). Suitably, one might identify them as "twin peaks" with their imaginative homes in the Himalayas.

I believe a hypothetical reviewer could compose a review of Physical Graffiti based on "Kashmir" alone.

Musically, John Bonham's drums establish a rhythm that is evocative of the attentiveness to breathing behind meditation. Indeed, the drums are the rudder of the ship that journeys through a figurative Kashmir. Page and Jones provide the sails by which the vehicle is propelled. The main musical elements are expressed through orchestration provided by Jones, who, along with Page on the guitar, adopts a stealth approach to the mellotron.

In the wheelhouse are the vocals of Robert Plant. As with most quests for meaning, "Kashmir" begins with an auspicious exposition:

To sit with elders of the gentle/race, this world has seldom seen/They talk of days for which they/sit and wait and all will be revealed . . . .

But, as is commensurate with "standard" mystical experiences, attempts to relate them to others become ineffable:

But not a word I heard could I/relate, the story was quite clear/Oh, oh.

Plant's internal quest displays the rigors of an attempt to relate the landscape of the Imagination. The locale of Kashmir began in Sanskrit as kasmira, a territory bereft of water:

All I see turns to brown, as the/sun burns the ground/And my eyes fill with sand, as I scan this wasted land/Trying to find/where I've been.

"In My Time of Dying" presents a related quest. In my own unoriginal way, I have often remarked that Christianity (and most "axial" spiritualties and systems of belief) reflect an honesty regarding our consciousness of death. Taking the lead from Blind Willie Johnson and Bob Dylan, Jones, Page, Plant and Bonham present this awareness in this towering piece of what I would like to call "Progressive Blues."

There are further insights on "Physical Graffiti" ? Consider the wonderfully sublimated sexuality of "Custard Pie" and "Trampled under Foot" (replete with convincing keyboards by John Paul Jones and potent percussion of John Bonham); the global consciousness of "The Rover" (showcasing a somewhat transformational guitar solo by Jimmy Page); the meditational interiority of "In The Light" (which exemplifies Thelonious Monk's, "If it weren't always night, then we wouldn't need light . . .); and, finally, the closing benediction of "Down By The Seaside" ?

Sing loud for the sunshine, pray/hard for the rain/And show your love for Lady Nature. And she will come back/again/ The people turned away/The people turned away

Thus, in their own inimitable way, Page, Plant, Jones, and Bonham have provided us with their own narrative return to the Golden Age . . . .

Share this LED ZEPPELIN review

Social review comments () BETA

---

---

Review related links

• Send comments to ken_scrbrgh
• Report this review (#3032305)
• Buy LED ZEPPELIN music online with PA partners
• Show all LED ZEPPELIN MP3/Stream
• Go to LED ZEPPELIN page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to Physical Graffiti page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for LED ZEPPELIN related discussions