Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffiti
Oh man, this was my entry-level Zep album. 'Kashmir' for a 17-year-old was like drugs, I was like, "Why has no one told me that this stuff existed before?" In the late 80s Led Zeppelin were always talked about in the music press in this kind of dinosaur context so I was semi-aware that they weren't cool but I didn't have any way of framing that. Especially after hearing Physical Graffiti for the first time - I couldn't work out what was old and dusty about it. 'Ten Years Gone' is a perfectly realised piece of music. There's a guitar solo on it that just melts me - and this is such an Alan Partridge thing to say - it's almost like classical music. Like diamonds raining down on your ears, sparkly guitars with this fucking heavy, grunting solo all the way through it. They recorded most of the album on the tour and there's loads of spill on that record which for me only makes it more magical.