Physical Graffiti is a double album by British rock and roll band Led
Zeppelin. The album was released on February 24, 1975 (see 1975 in music) and
was the band's first release on their own Swan Song Records label.
Perhaps both Led Zeppelin's last great spasm of fresh ideas and creativity and a
harbinger of the archive-raiding yet to come, Physical Graffiti was a sprawling
collection of newly recorded songs mixed with old tracks dating back as far as
the 1969 sessions for Led Zeppelin II.
The album is highlighted by "Kashmir", which slowly builds to a crescendo and
includes symphonic backing (arranged and played by John Paul Jones in a
mellotron).
The original album jacket for the LP included die-cut windows on the building
shown on the cover; as the inner sleeves for the discs were inserted in
different orientations various objects and people would appear in the windows.
The album reached #1 on Billboard's Pop Albums chart. In 1998 Q magazine readers
voted Physical Graffiti the 28th greatest album of all time; in 2003 the TV
network VH1 placed it at number 71. In 2001 Q named it as one of the 50 Heaviest
Albums Of All Time.
The album also includes the song "Houses of the Holy", which was recorded in
1972 during the sessions for the album of the same name, but wasn't released
until 1975.