#49: Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffiti (1975)

Zack: As Dave Grohl, one of my personal music idols, once said, “heavy metal would not exist without Led Zeppelin, and if it did, it would suck.” Truer words have never been spoken. Some bands and musicians are so important to the course of music that they literally just change the music scene completely through what they do. The Beatles and Nirvana are two examples of game-changing bands, and Led Zeppelin is a third who is just as important. They did for the seventies what The Beatles had done for the sixties. Because of them, rock music became harder and edgier. From their roots, metal was born. Physical Graffiti, their sixth album, was just as important to that end as all their others. My dad owns this album, but I wasn’t sure if I’d ever listened to it before. From the second it started playing, I realized that my dad must have been slowly brainwashing me to like Zeppelin since the time I was young because I knew every song. Boy, does it rock. This album is dark and mysterious. Listening to it almost makes you feel like you’re a little kid doing something naughty that your parents told you not to do. It really just possesses that sort of mystical and scary feel to it. But that aura never detracts from the fact that it is incredibly good music. Instead, it infuses the songs with something that makes it uniquely Zeppelin. One thing is for sure, you can never mistake Zeppelin for anything else. If it’s them, you’ll know right away.

Favorite Tracks: Kashmir; Black Country Woman; Houses of the Holy

Emily: To be honest, I’m not really a Led Zeppelin fan. I certainly respect their immense contribution and influence on hard rock music, but I just don’t really like their sound. What I do like about Zeppelin, however, is their mastery of the riff. No one can do it quite like them. The opening guitar thump of Kashmir is absolutely iconic, and the driving guitar of In My Time of Dying transforms a traditional gospel song into a hard rocker. I never would’ve guessed that song’s origins if I hadn’t looked it up – the guitar sound and Robert Plant’s howling voice make it quintessentially Zeppelin.

Favorite Tracks: In My Time of Dying; Ten Years Gone; Kashmir