On This Day 06 March

1975 06 March On This Day Physical Graffiti reaches Gold in the US

• 1971 Led Zeppelin -Dublin, Ireland at National Boxing Stadium
• 1973 Led Zeppelin -Stockholm, Sweden at Kungliga Tennishallen
• 1995 Page & Plant Unledded Tour - Miami, FL at Miami Arena
• 1998 Page & Plant - Istanbul, Turkey

1968 06 March On This Day The Yardbirds on BBC's Saturday Club

1971 Jimmy Page / Led Zeppelin, Dublin

1973 Jimmy Page / Led Zeppelin, Stockholm

♪

♪  Goodnight Sweet Josephine (The Yardbirds, BBC 1968) YouTube
♪  Think About It (The Yardbirds, BBC 1968) YouTube

♪  Stairway to Heaven (Led Zeppelin, Dublin 1971) YouTube

♪  Full set (Led Zeppelin, Stockholm 1973) YouTube
♪  Trampled Underfoot (Led Zeppelin 1975) YouTube

♪ Mage Music 1 playlist at YouTube
♪ Mage Music 2 playlist at YouTube
♪ Page & Plant playlist at YouTube

On This Day 24 February

Physical Graffi:  Possibly the most perfect album ever released

1975 24 February On This Day Physical Graffiti released
AUDIO Physical Graffiti source music (Soundcloud)

• 1967 The Yardbirds - Cardiff, Wales at Sophia Gardens
• 1969 Led Zeppelin - Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England at Lafayette Club
• 1975 Physical Graffiti released
• 1996 Page & Plant - Sydney, Australia at Sydney Entertainment Centre (day 1 of 2)

1969:
The event was John Bonham's wife Pat's 21st birthday party.  From Bonzo's brother Mick's description:

" John took to the stage along with Jimmy, Robert, John Paul and they began to stun the audience with some superb music. They really were amazing and everyone was enthralled with this exhibition of unbridled talent. Like me, most people present had not seen the band before and were all amazed as I was.”
~ Mick Bonham

1975:
Led Zeppelin released their sixth album Physical Graffiti in the UK. Recording sessions had been disrupted when bassist and keyboard player John Paul Jones had proposed quitting the band, supposedly to become choirmaster at Winchester Cathedral, England, although in reality he just needed time to rest after Zeppelin's demanding tour schedule.
More

♪

♪  Wanton Song (Led Zeppelin, Physical Graffiti 1975)  YouTube
♪  Ten Years Gone (Led Zeppelin, Physical Graffiti 1975)  YouTube
♪  Sick Again  (Led Zeppelin, Physical Graffiti 1975)  YouTube
♫  Physical Graffiti remaster Playback Event 2015 (Yahoo Music)
♫  Headley Grange tour (Jimmy Page, It Might Get Loud 2008) YouTube

♪ Mage Music 1 playlist at YouTube
♪ Mage Music 2 playlist at YouTube

1926 Silent Movie Based on Aleister Crowley

Reviewed at Dangerous Minds, the 1926 silent movie, The Magician, was adapted by Rex Ingram from the novel of that name written by W. Somerset Maugham. The main character, Haddo, was based on Aleister Crowley (1875-1947).

One sentence Mage Music review: The Magician is not the Star Wars of the silent movie era, but it has some historical value.

1926 silent movie based on Aleister Crowley

Crowley was not happy with the book. He filed an injunction against the French premier of the movie, holding out for publicity and power after being offered a settlement. Crowley lost.

Irish film director, producer, writer and actor Rex Ingram (1892-1950) made only one "talkie" but he was considered one of the top creative people of his day. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

German actor Paul Wegener as Oliver Haddo, portraying Aleister Crowley

Paul Wegener (1874-1948) was a German actor, writer and film director known for his pioneering role in German expressionist cinema. He started out as a law student, which may have prepared him for his acting career.

This was before Jimmy Page's time, of course.  Now back to your regular musical programming.

♪ Everybody Makes It Through (In The Light) (Led Zeppelin, Physical Graffiti 2014 remaster) YouTube
♪ Shining in the Light (Page & Plant)YouTube

Let The Master Be Your Music

Because why not.

Physical Graffiti: Houses of the Holy (remaster alternate mix)

Ear-worms, Redux

I often wake up in the morning with music in my head. I don't always notice it right away.  I can go for hours with music on replay in my head before I realize what I'm doing.  Sometimes I also realize I can't identify what I've been hearing and let me tell you, that drives me nuts.

You would think that if it's a Led Zeppelin song - which it generally is - that I would immediately recognize it. But sometimes it's just a short musical phrase that's become an ear-worm through repetition. Sometimes there are no lyrics involved and I just cannot for the life of me pinpoint which song it's from. Not that lyrics would help.

I've said it before: I'm not into lyrics (I'm not into poetry either and I don't apologize for it). Not only do I not pay attention to the words of a song, I usually don't even understand them when I do pay attention. When it comes to music, words are simply musical sounds, like the notes of a guitar. This means that even if what I'm hearing in my head over and over and over has got a vocal line, I still don't always know what the words are.

I know, craziness. But truly, I hear the words as musical sounds, and I just can't put meaning to the words unless I really work to reconstruct them.

It would be so much easier if I could carry a tune. I've tried singing the melodic streams out loud. The dogs howl. The horses flee. Heck, I don't want to listen to that noise. 

I don't really care, anyway. There just doesn't seem to be a cross-over for me between music and words. Music communicates in a different way than words do. These ear-worms really bring home to me how the two come from different places in the brain - and the soul.

Meanwhile, when I stopped fretting over it the name of the song popped right into my head.

Ten Years Gone
Jimmy Page and The Black Crowes, Live at the Greek

Physical Graffiti remaster - disc 2

I shall play me the songs of my people.  Geez, those boys were fun, weren't they?

These are my random thoughts upon first listening to the second disc of the Physical Graffiti remaster. 

♪  There is nothing to be said about the songs themselves, really. They aren't new:  I've been hearing them since 1975. Other people love them or don’t, but for me they are still the songs that fed my soul as a young adult. Now they are here again, freshened, more immediate and intense than ever. As relevant as ever. And maybe tastier than ever before.

♪  The question is how did these incredible musicians create so many songs that are so completely unique – not just different from other bands’ music, but each one unique in the body of Led Zeppelin’s own work?

♪  It is a tribute to Jimmy Page that I am hearing nuances to the instruments I haven’t heard, or at least noticed, before. Clarity. Immediacy. Darts to the heart. The remasters are worth every penny just for this.

♪  JPJ comes in with a bass line that punches through my gut and shakes me to the core. It’s not a new thing, but it’s just devastating.

♪  I swear some of these songs sound like different versions than the original versions. They aren't. It just seems that so much more is revealed that they sound new to me. Some songs I have fallen out of listening to now spring back to the forefront of desirability.

♪  Wish there had been more Stu over Led Zeppelin’s career.

♪  Love the giggle and the segue to the plane, the whole whimsy of leaving it in. It's like sitting on a stool with them right there.

♪  No wonder I don’t like to listen to this music in public. I can’t control myself - gotta move, gotta wiggle, gotta shake and rock and roll. I'm a pod person taken over by Led Zeppelin!

♪  Geez, I’ve got this goofy grin stretched across my face and tears in my eyes. Madness, this music! Blissful madness.

♪  This disc #2 of Physical Graffiti is less air and more earth. Fairy dust is earth, right? Music as play. Music as a way to express the sheer joy and electric energy of fully-experienced life.

♪  Oh, oh, oh – that guitar slices right through, doesn’t it?

♫

Rats, dumped right back into the real world again.

Physical Graffiti remaster - disc 1

These are a few of my reactions upon listening to just disc 1 of the Physical Graffiti remaster.

The clarity of sound is the greatest gift of these remasters, from Jimmy Page to the world.

As a guitarist, Jimmy Page at this point is beautifully balanced between technical brilliance and creative inspiration.

Such vast musical concepts, reaching into realms beyond what mere physical ears can perceive.

This remaster gives more and more, if one wishes to hear it.

Mr. Jones holding unbending in the winds of Magick. Bonzo driving hard, relentlessly shoving us to the other side.

Can anyone ever fully grasp the excellence of this music? No, for it keeps revealing more and more over time.

This was back in the day when Robert could still lose himself in the music, unabashedly giving his all. Heeding the master’s call.

Trampling right over us on the way to primal connection, leviathans calling to each other in the deep. If there is anything NOT being talked about here, it’s love, the thing of romance. We’re talking about sex magick.

The camels patiently plod through the hot sand as the music weaves time and space to set us on the road to god. Having done all possible to get us there, it is up to us to take the next step.

♫

One disc, that's all I can handle at a time.  This is not merely music, you know.  It’s Magick distilled through sound.

Physical Graffiti 2015 pre-order

Physical Graffiti Deluxe Box Sets now available for pre-order.  The Amazon listings are confusing (for instance, the Format is listed as Audio CD but the package does include the vinyl), so read each page very carefully.

[PS - The Amazon US page is now live although getting links for it is still a problem.  If you picked up the old link I posted here, it apparently still works.  Otherwise use the link below for Amazon US and cross your fingers.]

__ UK ____________________

Physical Graffiti Collector's Edition, Box set

Led Zeppelin (Artist)  Format: Audio CD

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Price:	£131.99 & FREE Delivery in the UK. Details
	Pre-order Price Guarantee. Learn more.

This title will be released on February 23, 2015. 

Product Description

Led Zeppelin's sixth album, Physical Graffiti is here newly remastered, with an additional CD and LP featuring previously un-released studio outtakes. This super deluxe box set includes:

• CD 1 & 2: Original album newly remastered in vinyl replica sleeves
• CD 3: Companion disc with previously un-released studio outtakes in a new sleeve
• Vinyl 1 & 2: Original album newly remastered in single sleeves replicating the original album on 180 gram vinyl
• Vinyl 3: Companion audio on one LP ( 180 gram vinyl ) in a new sleeve featuring negative artwork based on the original album artwork, and featuring previously un-released studio outtakes
• HD Download card with the original album and companion audio @ 96/24
• LP-sized, individually numbered, high quality print of the original album cover
• Album-sized hardback book (96 pages)

Track Listings

Disc: 1
1. Custard Pie
2. The Rover
3. In My Time Of Dying
4. Houses Of The Holy
5. Trampled Under Foot
6. Kashmir
Disc: 2
1. In The Light
2. Bron - Yr
3. Down By The Seaside
4. Ten Years Gone
5. Night Flight
6. The Wanton Song
7. Boogie With Stu
8. Black Country Woman
9. Sick Again
Disc: 3
1. Brandy & Coke (Trampled Under Foot - Initial Rough Mix)
2. Sick Again (Early Version)
3. In My Time Of Dying (Initial Rough Mix)
4. Houses Of The Holy (Rough Mix With Overdubs)
5. Everybody Makes It Through (In The Light Early Version/In Transit)
6. Boogie With Stu (Sunset Sound Mix)
7. Driving Through Kashmir (Kashmir Rough Orchestra Mix)

__ US ____________________
Physical Graffiti (Super Deluxe Edition Box CD & LP)

Scroll down for more links

Don't forget - Mage Music is now available 

as a book (paperback and Kindle) with posts from 

May 7, 2012 through November 22, 2014!  

Order yours today from Amazon!

CD

Deluxe CD

Vinyl

Deluxe Vinyl

Super Deluxe Box

MP3

Remember, prices will likely drop for pre-orders as the release date approaches! (cool!)

Mage Music Lite: The Master's Call

"Let the music be your master. Will you heed the master's call..."
~ "Houses of the Holy" by Led Zeppelin, "Physical Graffiti" (1975)

Mage Music 68

This graphics stuff has been fun but I'll probably go back to my usual writing next time.  Just letting you know.

♫

MAGE MUSIC 19: Magickal Mystery Tour

“An embarrassment of riches...”
~  Dave Lewis From a Whisper to a Scream: Complete Guide to the Music of Led Zeppelin, p. 68

Mage Music 19

This post is I guess a placeholder to give me a bit of time off from doing any serious thinking (or writing) about Mage Music.  The reason for the songs I chose for this week's playlist?  Each of them shares these things in common:  1) The Magick in these songs gives me a shiver in me timbers when I hear them; 2) because they're all different, you know that the vocalists and other musicians aren't where the Magick is coming from; 3) they show how, even over the span of 40 years, Jimmy Page's gift never wavered; and 4) the tone quality that Jimmy Page puts in each and every song is beyond outrageous!

♪

Future posts:

• What is Magick and what is it doing in my music? 
• The YOU in Mage Music 
• Guest posts coming up, too!

♫

YouTube Playlist - The Rover and more

Individual songs

1970 Jimmy Page & John Williams, Baby Who's Driving Your Car (studio) Page's home tape recorder Sept. 02 1970 - (from jimmypage.com)

1975 Led Zeppelin,  The Rover (studio) Album: Physical Graffiti

1988 Jimmy Page & Chris Farlow,  Prison Blues (studio) Album: Outrider

1988 Jimmy Page,  Liquid Mercury (studio) Album: Outrider [Recommended listening but not on YouTube- buy Liquid Mercury MP3 at Amazon.com] 

1993 Page & Coverdale, Absolution Blues (studio) Album: Coverdale/Page

2008 Page, Jones & Foo Fighters, Ramble On (live) Wembley Stadium, June 2008

Mage Music: Magickal Interlude

Take a deep breath of enlightenment...


Mage Music 10: A Magickal Interlude

I turned on the radio while driving home from Colorado last weekend, after getting within range of a decently strong station.  I had forgotten to bring my iPod so was otherwise without music for most of the 12 hour drive as I can’t stand commercial radio, but after this many hours on the road I was getting tired and needed something to keep me going.  As usual I was listening for hints of Mage Music – it’s something I always do, though of course I rarely come across it.  Doesn't mean that the music I hear carries no hint of Magick – it could be there, it’s just that I'm not open to hearing it from those sources.  We all have favorite bands, after all!

Anyway, I'm listening hour after hour to stuff that sounds pretty much the same: That fuzzy, high-gain guitar distortion effect, the vocalists belting out lyrics that are a full stop musically, not meant for more.  Song after song, the music was so much the same that it all ended up being white noise after a while.  Truly - I was hearing the same music no matter what the song and what the band, all of it sounding like it could be one group with one big playlist, some songs marginally better than others at best.

The annoyance factor alone was keeping me awake.

Then, a couple hours into this drek, I heard the first chords of Kashmir.  It was like an electric shock. It was like the whole world stopped and took a cleansing breath.  It was clarity, precision, meaning, all there in one soaring, wide-open, no-fooling around Magickal package.  I felt like the sun had come out when I hadn't realized it was cloudy.  I felt like I could breathe again freely when I hadn't known I had been holding my breath.    I felt emotions loosen that had been wound up tightly, and a crazy grin plastered itself across my face.

I felt like I had been sucker punched in the psyche.  It felt good.

I've always loved Kashmir; even though there's no extensive Jimmy Page solos in it.  Still, the melody is based on Mr. Page’s unique and immediately identifiable chord progression, a riff so gripping that it entrances and practically pries open the soul of the willing listener to the Magick.  A riff so powerful, too, that it has been adopted by other guitarists who play it in their own songs, never realizing that that the Magick isn’t in the notes but in the soul of the Mage who conjures the music.

Physical Graffiti
album cover

I've always felt Kashmir is Led Zeppelin's best work ever, and an example of a Mage Musician's work beyond the guitar - precise and incredibly powerful orchestration and production that supports the higher-level content above the notes to produce music that is On Purpose.  Led Zeppelin expert Dave Lewis describes Kashmir as “the finest example of the sheer majesty of Zeppelin's special chemistry”.  [Complete Guide to the Music of Led Zeppelin (1994)]

"Let me take you there. Let me take you there..." Robert Plant sings.  I heard the lyrics totally differently as I drove down the road.  I realized it wasn't an offer to take me to some mythological Shangri-La at all, but rather to a much higher plane. I all but stopped my truck and let myself go.

And then it was over, the silly grin still pasted on my face as the next awful muddle of metal pedal buzz came on.  The ray of light shining through the spiritual cloud of music had been obscured again.  But I had heard.  I had been taken through both time and space for a few moments while driving down the freeway.

YouTube Playlist for this post 

Direct links to Kashmir

Physical Graffiti (studio) 1975 

Live LA Forum 1975 

Live Knebworth 1979 

No Quarter: Jimmy Page and Robert Plant Unledded with the London Metropolitan Orchestra & Hossam Ramzy Ensemble 1994