The best Led Zeppelin album, according to Robert Plant: “It sounded very tough”
With many bands, the debate over their best album is often a short one, as they objectively hit their stride on a specific record. However, Led Zeppelin doesn’t fall into this category.
Music lovers could spend all day debating their definitive body of work and still never reach a consensus, as each album offers something uniquely powerful and timeless.
In short, this is a true test of a band’s longevity and a hallmark of their greatness. Many groups release a strong debut only to fade away, unable to recapture that brilliance. More often than not, the bands that endure and shine the brightest take a few albums to hit their peak, starting as rough diamonds before fully refining their sound.
Although Led Zeppelin quickly became the biggest rock band on the planet – seemingly primed and ready for the big time – the group were merely getting started on their debut offering. Over their 12-year career, Led Zeppelin produced eight albums that have left a permanent marker on rock music. In that timeframe, their output was unparalleled in the space, and their infectious brand of heavy rock sound dominated the airwaves.
With John Bonham and John Paul Jones forming one of the most formidable rhythm sections in rock history, the group was completed by Jimmy Page’s masterful guitar work and Robert Plant’s powerful vocals, making Led Zeppelin a truly dynamic quartet. Naturally, as part of the creative process, Plant held opinions on their material that differed from those of many fans. Surprisingly, however, picking a favourite from their discography is straightforward for the Led Zeppelin frontman, as he views one album above the rest of their back catalogue.
Plant has spoken on multiple occasions about his favourite song by the band, ‘Kashmir’, a track which appeared on 1975’s Physical Graffiti and epitomises the brilliance of Led Zeppelin. Speaking to Rolling Stone once upon a time, Plant made the admission: “It’s one of my favourites… that, ‘All My Love’ and ‘In the Light’ and two or three others really were the finest moments,” he reflected.
Everything in ‘Kashmir ’embodies everything great about what Led Zeppelin represented, and he wouldn’t change a single note of the composition. Plant added: “‘Kashmir’ in particular. It was so positive, lyrically. It’s the quest, the travels and explorations that Page and I went on to far climes well off the beaten track… That, really to me is the Zeppelin feel.”
Considering his adoration for Kashmir, which he described as “the definitive Led Zeppelin song”, it’s no surprise that Physical Graffiti is his favourite record.
When Rolling Stone asked which Led Zeppelin album was his favourite in the same interview, Plant didn’t hesitate and revealed his personal preference: “Physical Graffiti, strong stuff. And it sounded good, too. It sounded very tough, but it was also restrained, exhibiting a certain amount of control as well.”
Physical Graffiti represented the dawning of a new chapter for the band as they had gained complete creative control of their sound. They had recently departed Atlantic Records, which meant they were free from answering to suites and could do precisely what they wanted.
In reality, this could have gone one or two ways for Led Zeppelin. Many bands have desired total creative freedom, but then immediately gone off the rails upon being handed the keys to the castle and made records that are self-indulgent, inaudible excuses for an album.
Thankfully, Led Zeppelin ran a tight ship and proved they were more than capable of taking full reins of their destiny. Rather than employing a superstar producer to assist them, Page took up production duties and shone in the role. Furthermore, removing the restraints that come with being on a major label offered Led Zeppelin an opportunity to rewrite the handbook of what a mainstream rock album should be.
The finest example of this is on ‘Kashmir‘, which is far too long to have ever been a radio hit, but it was the lynchpin on Physical Graffiti and the most pivotal track on the record.
February 24th, 1975, is now etched into the rock history books thanks to the release of Physical Graffiti. While Led Zeppelin extended themselves to a mammoth 15 tracks, which lasted close to 83 minutes, not a second was wasted by the group, and they managed to capture themselves at the peak of their artistry.
Following their exit from Atlantic, the band’s risk-taking venture could have gone either way, but it reaped huge rewards for the four-piece. It was a commercial and critical success upon its release and debuted at the top spot on album charts in the UK and number three in the US. If they had attempted to make an ambitious record like Physical Graffiti in 1969, they’d have failed, but by 1975, they had all the tools in their arsenal to succeed.
Where does Physical Graffiti stack up?
Physical Graffiti was the dawning of a new chapter for the band as they now had full creative control with no overlords following their exit from Atlantic Records and went independent with their new label Swan Song Records.
A record that deserves its place on the podium of the group’s best, Plant clearly understood the power the record held and how that transferred into the appreciation from fans. The LP is one of the defining albums of the century and ranks as a definitive moment for rock music.
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