In this episode of Old School Vinyl, we drop the needle on Sides Three and Four of Led Zeppelin’s Physical Graffiti — the epic conclusion to our deep dive into one of rock’s most ambitious double albums. From the hypnotic desert rhythms of Kashmir to the rootsy swagger of Boogie with Stu, we explore how Zeppelin blended power, mysticism, and raw blues energy into a sound that still defies imitation.
Along the way, we unpack the stories behind the sessions, the mood of the mid-’70s, and the band’s creative chemistry at its peak. Whether you’re a lifelong Zep devotee or discovering this masterpiece for the first time, you’ll feel the needle hum and the thunder roll.
Listen in as Old School Vinyl covers Led Zeppelin;s 1975 Epic Double Album, Physical Graffiti!
Physical Graffiti isn’t just another clasic rock album — it’s a mountain of hard rock! Released in 1975, Led Zeppelin’s double album captures the band at their creative peak, unshackled by limits. By this point, Zeppelin had already conquered the world with blues-driven thunder, but Graffiti showed the full scope of their power — sprawling, daring, and unstoppable.
Across 15 tracks, we get everything: the slashing riffs of “Custard Pie,” the Middle Eastern mysticism of “Kashmir,” the playful funk of “Trampled Under Foot,” and the haunting beauty of “Ten Years Gone.” It’s Zeppelin pushing into every corner of their imagination, weaving blues & folk, with a thundering rhythm section that produced something bigger than the sum of its parts.... a new genre called HARD ROCK!
In this episode of Old School Vinyl, we journey through the making of Physical Graffiti, the band’s state of mind in the mid-70s, and the impressions these songs left on us as fans and listeners. It’s a celebration of Zeppelin’s raw power, their audacity to stretch the boundaries of rock, and the timeless echoes that still rumble through music today.
So put the headphones on and crank up the volume, as some music need to be played very loud to be really heard!
WARNING: LISTENING TO LOUD HARD ROCK MUSIC MAY MAKE YOU FEEL LIKE YOUR 12 YEARS OLD!
Wish You Were Here — Pink Floyd’s Elegy and Outcry
In 1975, Pink Floyd followed up the cosmic triumph of Dark Side of the Moon with something altogether different — Wish You Were Here. At first listen, it’s a dreamlike journey, but beneath the soaring guitar lines and spacious synth textures lies a heavy heart. The band were mourning the absence of their friend and founder, Syd Barrett — not dead, but lost to the fog of mental illness and schizophrenia. A man once blazing with creativity had slipped away, his brilliance eclipsed by fragility.
Shine On You Crazy Diamond is their requiem: a suite in nine parts that drifts like a dream, haunted by Barrett’s presence. Midway through recording, Syd himself appeared in the studio, bloated and shaven, unrecognizable to his former bandmates. It was as if the ghost of their friend had returned, silently underscoring the tragedy. His condition — and his brief, unsettling reappearance — gave the music its aching gravity.
But Wish You Were Here is not only about Syd. It is also a furious critique of the music industry itself, a world that chews up artists and spits them out, indifferent to their humanity. Welcome to the Machine plays like a nightmare in steel and static, the band’s vision of society as a factory, stamping out identities and dreams until all that’s left is product. Have a Cigar drips with irony and bitterness, mocking record executives who treat musicians like pawns in a game of profit.
And then there’s the title track, Wish You Were Here — simple, aching, universal. A song about absence, disillusionment, and the deep longing for connection in a world that feels mechanical and cold. For Syd, for lost youth, for authenticity in an industry that only cares about numbers, it became an anthem of vulnerability wrapped in acoustic warmth.
Together, these songs form more than an album: they’re a reckoning. Pink Floyd were still reeling from the pressures of fame after Dark Side, and in this record, they turned that tension into art. It’s music that feels both intimate and epic, tender and furious, timeless in its scope and still relevant today.
Wish You Were Here is Pink Floyd’s most human work — a meditation on friendship, loss, and the crushing weight of the machine. It asks listeners to pause, to feel, and to remember that beyond the contracts and concerts and numbers, music is made by people — fragile, flawed, brilliant people.
So sit back, drop the needle, and let’s take you inside one of the greatest albums ever pressed to vinyl.
🎙️ Old School Vinyl – Episode 6: The Grateful Dead Ascend
Album Focus: Blues for Allah (1975)
You’ve heard the myths. You’ve seen the tie-dye. But this is where the Grateful Dead’s musical transformation becomes something cosmic. In this episode, the Old School Vinyl crew takes a deep, heady dive into Blues for Allah — the Dead’s most intricate, experimental, and mystically funky studio album.
Fresh off a 20-month hiatus, the Dead came back in 1975 not just to jam, but to innovate. This album is where their live improv brilliance meets studio craftsmanship, and the result is a sound that’s as mind-expanding as it is technically jaw-dropping.
🎸 Garcia’s guitar floats like incense smoke.
🧙♂️ Phil Lesh plays bass like a wizard weaving spells.
🌀 Mickey and Billy drum in telepathic tandem.
🎹 Keith’s keys are pure alchemy.
🎤 Donna and Bob trade vocal magic that moves from the desert to the stars.
This is not your uncle’s “Casey Jones.” From the serpentine grooves of “Help on the Way / Slipknot! / Franklin’s Tower” to the deeply strange and hypnotic title track “Blues for Allah,” the band pushes boundaries with jazz fusion, Middle Eastern motifs, and some of their finest musical interplay ever captured on tape.
We talk Dead history, wild facts, favorite moments, and why this album proves the Dead weren’t just a cult band — they were ascending to rock deity status in the mid-70s.
So crack open your brain, drop into the mix, and let’s get grateful for one of the most ambitious albums of 1975.
Welcome to Episode 5 of Old School Vinyl, where we’re kicking off our wild ride through the unforgettable albums of 1975!
This week, we’re slappin' on the eyeliner and dialing up the funk with David Bowie’s Young Americans — the album where the Thin White Duke discovers Philly soul and makes saxophones sexy again.
Then we head to Planet Zappa for Frank Zappa’s One Size Fits All — where time signatures are suggestions and weird is the law.
As always, your favorite wisecracking hosts bring the tunes, the trivia, and the takes nobody asked for — but you’ll love anyway.
So cue up the turntable, crack open something cold, and get ready to dive deep into the grooves of ‘75. This vinyl spins hard.
The Boys are Back! We kick off Season 2 with our favorite Rockin One-Hit Wonders from the 70's. Listen in to hear if your favs are on our list!
1975 produced some of the best music ever recorded. Tune in and turn on to Old School Vinyl and listen to the bands and songs that shaped the next 50 years of Rock music!!!
A single hit, but like roaring thunder.
Wait for the rain...
just a one hit wonder!
We're rockin out to MORE of the best Rockin One Hit Wonders of the 70's! Check it out, & see if your favs are on the list! (Part 2)