Arriving six years after Emotion & Commotion, a largely instrumental album that found Jeff Beck pushing at his prog boundaries, Loud Hailer is a very different beast than its predecessor. Revived by the presence of two female collaborators -- vocalist Rosie Bones and guitarist Carmen Vandenberg, both proving to be worthy sparring partners -- Beck returns to gnarled, loud guitar rock on Loud Hailer, not so much reveling in the psychedelic skronk of the Yardbirds or the heavy stomp of the Jeff Beck Group but favoring an arena-ready rock that places an emphasis on such old-fashioned values as chops and social consciousness.

Now, 40 years to the week after its original release, it is the turn of Physical Graffiti. Out on Monday, with extra whistles, bells and seven supplementary tracks, Zep’s sixth still lives up to its billing as one of the best double albums of all time.
The record took 18 months to finish, with sessions delayed when bassist John Paul Jones announced he was leaving to become a choirmaster at Winchester Cathedral.