It’s been about five years since music became a major focus in my life, and in that time I’ve figured out that the double album is rarely a good idea. Often, they serve as the ultimate point of excess, coming at a commercial peak: Exile On Main Street<\/i>, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road<\/i>, The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway<\/i>, etc.<\/p>\n
At this point in its career, Zeppelin had said all they needed to say. IV <\/i>and Houses of the Holy <\/i>were their grand statements, two of the finest rock albums ever recorded and works that pretty much set the standard for rock and roll from then on.\u00a0Physical Graffiti <\/i>is merely a holding pattern for those milestones, meaning this album is solid but does not reach the same highs as previous discs.<\/p>\n
The first half of Physical Graffiti<\/i> is where you find the big guns. Everyone knows the Middle Eastern-flavored, thundering “Kashmir,” one of the band’s pinnacle songs that nearly captures everything they ever tried to say in eight powerful minutes. “In My Time Of Dying” is a blistering 11-minute blues workout that builds and keeps its momentum, never stooping to the level of “Since I’ve Been Lovin’ You” from III <\/i>but forging a new path. “Trampled Underfoot” is the other standout, a stomping “love” song with a slight R&B flavor, a keyboard solo\u00a0 and the best groove the band ever wrote, while “The Rover” sports some effective guitar work from Jimmy Page that flows in a sort of grunge haze, a smoky bar at 2 am. “I’ve been to London \/ seen seven wonders \/ I know to trip is just to fall,” Plant sings, and you know he means it.<\/p>\n
But the second platter is where things get a little dicey. “Ten Years Gone” is a surprisingly touching number with some melancholy guitar work, and “In The Light” parlays a quiet menace into an engaging song, one that takes time to grow. That’s about it, as most of the other numbers are short excursions into different sounds. “Bron-Yr-Aur” is a sequel of sorts to its acoustic predecessors, a two-minute solo that leads into the country-rock of “Down By The Seaside” (think the Stones’ “Wild Horses,” but not as touching). Other passable numbers include “Sick Again,” “Boogie With Stu,” “Black Country Woman” — all solid, to be sure, but lacking the power and subtle majesty of the band’s other work. <\/p>\n