Led Zeppelin: Physical Graffiti

Led Zeppelin are pioneers of hard rock. So much of their music has been the blueprint for what would eventually become grunge, alternative and nu-metal. The song “Kashmir” from their sixth album “Physical Graffiti” best demonstrates this It still sounds revolutionary today the same way it did in 1975. Even though the album is a perfect showcase for the band’s prowess, it’s the artwork that truly sets the record apart.

A stark departure from the risqué “Houses of the Holy”, the cover for Physical Graffiti looks quite tepid in comparison. The symmetrical lines that form on the building don’t really scream rock n roll. It is only after you peel off the layers (or inner sleeves in this case) that you see the genius of Peter Corriston.

Physical Graffiti's album cover features two actual locations specifically, two apartment buildings that were constructed next to one another at 96 and 98 St. Mark’s Place in New York City. The Grammy-winning graphic designer used the buildings’ windows as layouts to create an album cover that fans can customise.

Pictures of the John F. Kennedy assassin Lee Harvey Oswald, astronaut Neil Armstrong, King Kong, Judy Garland and the Wizard of Oz cast, Laurel & Hardy, and even Led Zeppelin in drag can be found on the album’s inner sleeves, which, when arranged with the front cover, fit perfectly inside the building’s windows. The track listing and album’s letters were located on another inner sleeve created by collaborator Mike Doud and perfectly lined up with the windows.

Furthermore, the front of the album jacket features a daytime scene, while the back features a nighttime scene.

Because the building on the cover technically exists in the viewer’s imagination, who can choose who is looking out the window, the artwork is a surrealistic masterpiece that is reminiscent of René Magritte’s “This Is Not a Pipe.” There have been many amusing album covers that came and went over the years, but only a few have been as successful at spurring the listener's imaginations like Physical Graffiti.

Buy the Physical Graffiti Album 

Browse through our Rock Collection - The Revolver Club

Also read: The 'Hot mix' of the Led Zeppelin II (1969) by Robert Ludwig.