The guitar line in Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir” is one of Jimmy Page’s most iconic riffs. Only the opening of “Stairway to Heaven” rivals its memorability. It grabs you instantly and holds your attention throughout the song. The kind of riff that instantly grabs you and keeps your attention for he rest of the song.
The riff is simple but has a unique count that intrigues the ear. The first time I heard it was as a child, when Puff Daddy sampled it on the 1998 Godzilla soundtrack. Though I didn’t love the rap vocals’ megaphone effect, I was captivated by the riff and the song’s changes. It would be years before I heard the original, realizing how much it blew the Godzilla soundtrack version out of the water.
“Kashmir” is the sixth song on the album “Physical Graffiti,” or the third song on side B of the record, if we were in 1975. This album marked a turning point in the band’s career, as it was the first album released on their own label, Swan Song Records. They decided to go all out with it, releasing the album as a double LP after working on it for several years.
The album blends heavy rock, progressive rock, and folk, achieving commercial and critical success. It debuted at number 1 in the UK and number 3 in the US, then climbed to number 1 on the Billboard 100, where it stayed for six weeks.
It contained memorable tracks like “Houses of the Holy” and the blues-inspired “In My Time of Dying,” but the song that’s stood the test of time, outshining the rest, is undeniably “Kashmir.” Written over the course of three years, Page, Plant, and Bonham created a new Eastern-influenced sound for the band, incorporating a full string section arranged by John Paul Jones toward the end of the studio session. Since he showed up late, he wouldn’t get a writing credit, but imagine the song without his arrangement. It wouldn’t hit nearly as hard without it, but anyway.
Rock historians and critics call it the album’s quintessential track. The band’s archivist, Dave Lewis, describes it as “arguably the most progressive and original track that Led Zeppelin ever recorded.”
Several live versions of the song exist, including a 1994 performance by Page and Plant with an Egyptian and Moroccan orchestra. For our purposes, we’ll watch the 2007 reunion show, with Jason Bonham on drums.
Over 30 years after its release, the band shows their age—creased eyes, grey hair—but they still play with power. As soon as the riff starts, the crowd erupts. Plant’s voice is lower than it was in the mid-70s, but still strong and controlled. We hear it especially during the song’s heavy breakdown, where he belts out that first “oooooooooooh, taking us right back to the first time we heard the song.
What a huge sound coming from four fellas. John Paul Jones fills out the places between chord strikes with interesting Eastern-sounding synth lines, almost recreating an entire string section with two keyboards. It’s like they never stopped playing. The chemistry and energy are still there in full force, and Jason is filling the shoes his father left behind, leaving us with a sentimental tingle behind the eyes every time he rips into a classic Bonham drum fill.
We are lucky to have such a high-def recording to watch and listen to today. It almost feels as though we were transported back to 1975, watching them play it live. The vibe is just right: moody lighting and fantastic stage sound amplify the ominous melodies and changes. It makes me yearn for an earlier era, and though they aren’t at their 1970s peak, they rocked the hell out of this performance.