#89 Physical Graffiti by Led Zeppelin

The 100 Greatest Albums of All Time

2025 Album Rank

89

2011 Album Rank

59

Total Points

745

Year Released

1975

Billboard 200 Chart Peak

1

Weeks at #1

6

RIAA Sales Certification

16,000,000 (Multi Platinum)

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Physical Graffiti Album Details

Released in February 1975, Physical Graffiti is a sprawling double album that captures the full breadth of Led Zeppelin's artistic range. Recorded largely at Headley Grange using the Rolling Stones' mobile studio, the album mixes hard rock epics, acoustic ballads, funk, blues, and Eastern-influenced psychedelia. With 15 tracks spanning over 80 minutes, the record is less a concept album than a comprehensive showcase of the band's versatility and ambition.

Physical Graffiti includes some of Zeppelin's most iconic songs, such as the blistering Kashmir, the riff-driven Trampled Under Foot, and the massive opener Custard Pie. The album also features resurrected outtakes from earlier sessions, including Houses of the Holy and Boogie with Stu, woven seamlessly into new material. Widely acclaimed upon release, it debuted at No. 1 in both the U.S. and the U.K., cementing Led Zeppelin's status as one of the most powerful and adventurous bands in rock history.

Other Led Zeppelin albums on the chart: Led Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin II and Led Zeppelin IV

Interesting Facts About Physical Graffiti

• The building featured on the album cover is located at 96 and 98 St. Mark's Place in New York City. The windows were modified to fit the band's custom die-cut packaging design.
• Kashmir was written during a drive through the Moroccan desert, though the title references a region in South Asia that none of the band members had visited at the time.
• In My Time of Dying is the longest studio track the band ever recorded, clocking in at over 11 minutes. It is based on a traditional gospel song previously recorded by Blind Willie Johnson and Bob Dylan.
• Boogie with Stu features Rolling Stones pianist Ian Stewart, who played with Zeppelin informally but never officially joined the band.
• The funk-laced Trampled Under Foot was inspired by Robert Johnson's Terraplane Blues and showcases John Paul Jones on a clavinet processed through a wah-wah pedal.
• Bron-Yr-Aur is a solo acoustic piece by Jimmy Page, named after a remote cottage in Wales where the band had previously retreated to write music. It had been recorded during the Led Zeppelin III sessions.
• Down by the Seaside was initially intended for Led Zeppelin IV but was held back and reworked with electric guitar overdubs and a dreamlike pace.
• The album's wide stylistic range was partly due to the decision to pair new material with unreleased songs from previous sessions, including tracks going back as far as 1970.
• The double album format was enabled by the sheer volume of quality material. The band felt the new songs alone were too strong to be trimmed down to a single LP.
• Physical Graffiti was the first release on the band's Swan Song Records label.

Physical Graffiti Tracklist

1. Custard Pie
2. The Rover
3. In My Time of Dying
4. Houses of the Holy
5. Trampled Under Foot - Reached #38 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart
6. Kashmir
7. In the Light
8. Bron-Yr-Aur
9. Down by the Seaside
10. Ten Years Gone
11. Night Flight
12. The Wanton Song
13. Boogie with Stu
14. Black Country Woman
15. Sick Again

• Next Album: #88. Hounds of Love by Kate Bush
• Previous Album: #90. Plastic Ono Band by John Lennon