Physical Graffiti 2015

Led Zeppelin ... what else needs to be said. This album is a pure masterpiece. The quality of the and packaging of the album ensured that it arrived safe and sound and the vinyl was in perfect condition.

The only reason I decided to give this 5 stars is because the album was in perfect condition. Everything looks new but it wasn't sealed in plastic like every album i bought in the past. I'm one of those people who leave the plastic on as protection to the album cover except if it's a double album that opens like a book, in that case you really can't. I will go elsewhere for future purchases if this happens again. If I pay full price, I expect to be the one to open it, thank you very muich.

The media could not be loaded. Everyone should know by now, this CD (album) gets 5 Stars. Classic album, still relevant. My only issue with this purchase is it was sold at 31% off but listed as new. If you watch my attached video and look at the pictures I uploaded, you can see clearly this CD was used and sold as new. The 40th Anniversary sticker was inside the shrink wrap stuck on the actual CD cover and there are two holes in the shrink wrap as if it was overheated during resealing it. I describe what I see in my video. I decided to keep the CD however I will return it if there are any surface marks or defects in the CD itself. For this, I give Amazon 2 Stars for reselling me a used CD as new.

Wonderful

I'm giving this CD five stars, although I haven't heard it yet. Nevertheless, I am anticipating it will be totally awesome.I ordered it two days ago, and requested the Prime free two day delivery, which is also totally awesome if you think about it. Unfortunately, the promised delivery of Thursday Feb. 26th was not to be. It was shipped via USPS, which is also totally awesome, because who else will come to your house and pick up a letter and deliver it directly to the home of someone thousands of miles away for only 49 cents? But I digress.I'm guessing the bad weather caused some kind of delay, because the tracking info said that it took my CD 24 hours to make its way from a depot that is about a three hour drive from the local USPS facility. Perhaps the roads were icy and the driver had to seek respite at a truck stop along the way, where he or she enjoyed a fine country fried steak and canned green beans along with hours of pinball or video games or whatever it is they have at those places to pass the time.Parenthetically, I have a vinyl copy of the album from back when it was released decades ago. I can only vaguely remember hearing it, because those memories are somewhat, uh, fuzzy as I approach my twilight years. I would put it on and play it as I await my errant remastered CD, but alas my vintage Technics SL-B3 turntable has been packed away in the garage for 30 years after an unfortunate incident. It seems my wife, who I love dearly, was dusting around our stereo equipment and apparently tripped the automatic play feature of the Technics SL-B3 turntable. Sadly, there was no album on the platter, and no one noticed until a couple of days later that it had been sitting there playing the rubber platter surface, round and round and round and round. Needless to say, this was not an optimal situation for the stylus installed on the turntable's totally awesome Audio Technica cartridge. But I digress.So anyway, I went down to the mailbox today, eagerly anticipating the arrival of my new Physical Graffiti CD, remastered with loving care by Jimmy Page himself, in breathless anticipation of ripping it to my music server and listening to it via my HTPC on our fairly decent by today's standards (these kids today and their earbuds, meh) home hi-fi setup. But alas, it was not to be. My mailbox contained only a sad assortment of "dear recipient" coupons, that did not appear to be worth much. And to top it off, in my exuberance I slipped on the ice, which had previously most likely contributed to the delay of delivering my new Physical Graffiti remastered CD that was promised for today, and wrenched my back. All for naught. Now I will be bedridden for a few days, and even if my new Physical Graffiti remastered CD arrives tomorrow I doubt I'll be able to sit up long enough to listen to it.I would ask my lovely wife to rip it and play it for me to sooth my suffering, but alas she does not know how to operate our fairly decent by today's standards home hi-fi setup beyond pressing "Watch TV" on the Harmony remote and queuing up one of her many Law and Order or King of Queens episodes recorded on our Tivo (which is also pretty awesome if you think about it), much less how the home media server setup works. Plus, she will likely be busy tending to me and my infirmaries, because that's how she rolls. Did I mention I love her dearly? But I digress.So sometime over the next few days I anticipate settling in to listen to my new Physical Graffiti remastered by Jimmy Page CD that was not delivered today as promised yet led to an untimely and unexpected setback in my daily routine, for which I totally do not blame Amazon at all because they can't control the weather, truck drivers just looking to get home to their family safe and sound, Jimmy Page, or the ice on my driveway. I am supremely confident it will be worthy of the five star review I have bestowed in advance. If not, I will let you know.UPDATE: Got my Physical Graffiti CD today. My five star review stands, in terms of the music and the sound quality. So there you go.

My first double CD version of Physical Graffiti was back in the late 80s and it wasn't great. So this is miles ahead in terms of clarity and brightness. But the essential balance of the mix stays the same.At a time when interest in Zep remains at a high, fans want more. With each successive re-release and remaster, they're still not quite getting the holy grail, if that's what they're after. Most buyers I imagine have already bought one or two or more of the previous editions - whether vinyl, CD release, cassette. That's pretty much the standard by which the new deluxe reissues are being seen from - are they really better? Do they offer a lot more? Is it worth one's money? Should anyone care? Led Zeppelin fans know the band's output inside and out - and that is the standard that Jimmy Page has to hold these releases to. So far despite the hype and the packaging, he appears to have exercised a great deal of restraint on the most important aspect: the music.What made Physical Graffiti a departure was the sheer amount of material the band had to tap from - from their earlier 1972 Stargroves sessions to 1974, when the band was rapidly evolving. This remains a great snapshot of the post-blues Zeppelin: the band that was creating their own sound further away from their blues covers and adaptations. The rehearsal bootlegs of this remain the most extensive collection of outtakes and early versions - and that is what hardcore fans like myself were banking on. The period in which the band was drawing these recordings from spanned over 2 years so logically, we expect more.The entire remastering exercise has become a Jimmy Page project and he has held his own view of what should be released - re-editing Whole Lotta Love from the Song Remains the Same. Dropping encore tracks from How the West Was Won, etc. The remixes honestly will not flip the way you've heard these. But what IS worth listening to are the early versions of In the Light; the early mix of Houses of the Holy, and the instrumental jam of Sick Again.....three tracks in all, and why aren't there more? Fans don't need a subtle remix of their favourite song - they want new or unheard versions of the tracks that offer something more warts and all.What I would like to hear is how Robert or JPJ might have remixed or approached their songs. Robert has for instance remarked that he wishes Carouselambra (from In Through the Out Door) was mixed so his vocals were more audible since the lyrics were meaningful. Through Jimmy's filter, we get some but not a hugely adventurous approach.My challenge to Jimmy is: the tracks are out there. The outtakes are out there. The fans will find them. Why not offer us a real look into the recording process or a more experiential feel of how Zep constructed its music. Looks like Jimmy will remain restrained on this, and that's a shame. There are so many other templates for this to follow - and that is what your fans deserve. Not another remaster, remix, etc.Jimmy attempted it with CODA - which showed how patchy the approach could be, but it's still worthwhile if curated properly.On its own merits, this is a 5 star album. On its extras, I give it 6 out of 10. Get Brutal Artistry or other such compilations for a more complete experience. Noel Gallagher put it best when he talked about Jimmy Page's current pursuit. Let's see what's next, but the well is running dry....PS My original generic review belowA DESTROYER OF AN ALBUMStill at the creative peak of their powers, Zeppelin unleashed Physical Graffiti - a double set that truly encompassed everything that the band had done to date stylistically. Continuing the trend of Houses of the Holy (and in fact, featuring tracks recorded from those sessions) - Physical Graffiti seemed to delve into almost every rock style available to the band's arsenal from blues to hard rock to rockabilly to folk to middle eastern to funk to just Zep.Highly original, highly inspiring and highly recommended.