A small mire

Physical Graffiti. Three and a half stars.

Odd that there are so many double albums out there, given that they always end up sounding overlong (The Who's Quadrophenia being an exception). Certainly it's the case with this one, the last of the Zeppelin "classic" records. Overall quality is lower, as this brew of songs just doesn't rise to former heights. Especially in the lyric department...

Despite all that, the first CD opens with Custard Pie, a stately rocker that shows Led Zeppelin at the top of their game. It holds together well, has a nicely heavy sound and doesn't meander too much.

The Rover is also excellent. Cool riff, great vocal, decent lyric, good guitar solo. There's just nothing wrong with this piece.

In My Time of Dying is an eleven minute blues extravaganza. If it were a bit shorter, I'd have less to complain of. As it is, yeah, cool slide guitar and all that, but Robert Plant comes across as a bit overwrought. And though it is interesting in an instrumental sense, it seems a tad grandiose. Epic songs just don't have to be this long. On the other hand, I can't really say it's bad. Zep always could handle a blues jam.

Things tighten back up with the song Houses of the Holy. And on a record rather caught up in sleaze and excess, this is made all the nicer. Idyllic. It could have fit in well on the album of the same name, methinks.

Trampled Under Foot is the exact opposite. The car metaphor is hit-you-over-the-head obvious, but the riff is killer, and Plant plays it up well.

And last is Kashmir. In the right mood, this one'll send a shiver up your spine. Epic drama, surreal and fitting lyric and of course, those unforgettable strings. Very different from all their other songs, but undeniably Zeppelin.

Disc two doesn't rock so much, and it has some pacing problems. It seems to be mostly filler and throwaways. Not nearly of the previous quality.

In the Light starts atmospherically, but soon bogs down. What momentum the song contains is lost as it is unreasonably stretched to eight and a half minutes. There's not enough there to sustain interest.

Bron-Yr-Aur is a lovely, acoustic throwaway. One of their rare instrumentals and pastoral as all get out. I found it charming.

Down by the Seaside is a leisurely tune. Unexpectedly staid for this band. Yet quite nice in its own right. Though the disc's pacing problems are now apparant. Case in point:

Ten Years Gone takes ages to get going. After all the previous languid tracks, the last thing you want is a dignified, laid-back rock ballad that goes on for six minutes. On its own, though hardly memorable, Ten Years Gone isn't bad. It's the layout that's bad.

Night Flight has a great little chorus. And it's short. So I like it, for what that's worth.

The Wanton Song finally kicks off right away. It's a punchy number, and typical of the band.

Boogie With Stu, on the other hand, is not at all what one expects out of them. It dips into old times rock and roll, and it sure as hell boogies. It's got a honky-tonk piano and is the most fun on Physical Graffiti.

Black Country Woman is a sad, plaintive "love-gone-sour" epistle. Good vocal from Plant, even if the lyric does repeat itself.

And last of all is Sick Again. Sleazy, macho rock tune with a rich teenage girl. It's a strong endnote.

All in all, I really must protest the length of this album. But consider this: with some trimming, it would lose a certain amount of personality. It's the eternal quandary... All the extras ruin the highly polished flow of listening, yet it is those same extras that can reveal so many of a band's creative eccentricities.

Oh well. Suffice to say, Physical Graffiti is overlong, poorly plotted and studded with some very good material nonetheless.