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Driving Through Kashmir: Led Zeppelin’s “Physical Graffiti” Turns 40, Arrives In Deluxe Formats Next Month

The series of expanded and remastered reissues from Led Zeppelin is getting into the home stretch. Following the 2014 deluxe releases of the band’s first five albums, 1975’s Physical Graffiti – the band’s sixth of nine studio albums – will arrive in a variety of formats on February 24, 2015 – exactly forty years after the original album was first unveiled.

The hotly-anticipated Physical Graffiti was released almost two years after Led Zeppelin’s last album, Houses of the Holy, and was also the band’s most sprawling effort to date. The double-disc set, showing off every side of the band’s increasingly varied repertoire, featured material that dated as far back as 1970’s Led Zeppelin III. Also notable as the first release on Zeppelin’s own Swan Song label, the Grammy-winning Graffiti topped both the U.K. and U.S. album charts, and introduced such favorites as the lengthy, hypnotic orchestral track “Kashmir,” the acoustic guitar instrumental “Bron-Yr-Aur,” the Robert Johnson-inspired funky blues “Trampled Under Foot” and the epic “In My Time of Dying.” The Rolling Stones’ road manager and pianist Ian Stewart even dropped by for the jam session “Boogie with Stu.”

Physical Graffiti will be available in the following formats:

Double CD – Remastered album packaged in a replica of the original LP jacket.
Deluxe Edition (3CD) – Remastered album on two discs, plus a third disc of unreleased companion audio.
Double LP – Remastered album on 180-gram vinyl, packaged in a sleeve that replicates the LP’s first pressing in exacting detail.
Deluxe Edition Vinyl (3LP) – Remastered album and unreleased companion audio on 180-gram vinyl.
Digital Download – Remastered album and companion audio will both be available in standard and high-definition formats.
Super Deluxe Boxed Set – This collection includes:

o Remastered double album on CD in vinyl replica sleeve.

o Companion audio on CD in card wallet featuring new alternate cover art.

o Remastered double album on 180-gram vinyl in a sleeve replicating first pressing.

o Companion audio on 180-gram vinyl in a sleeve with new alternate cover art.

o High-definition audio download card of all content at 96kHz/24 bit.

o Hardbound, 96 page book filled with rare and previously unseen photos and memorabilia

o High-quality print of the original album cover, the first 30,000 of which will be individually numbered.

After the jump: more details, including what you will find on the bonus disc, plus pre-order links! Read the rest of this entry »

Written by Joe Marchese

January 8, 2015 at 12:07

Posted in Box Sets, Led Zeppelin, Reissues

Release Round-Up: Week of October 27

Rhino Gets The Led Out, Wave Two: “Led Zeppelin IV” and “Houses of the Holy” Arrive TODAY!

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The wait is over! The second wave of Led Zeppelin reissues arrive in stores today! Led Zeppelin IV premieres an entire alternate version of the album, including the Sunset Sound Mix of “Stairway to Heaven,” the U.K. mix of “When the Levee Breaks” and the basic track with guitar overdubs of “Black Dog.” Houses of the Holy has seven of its eight tracks in bonus form, primarily rough or working mixes. This is your place to sound off on this pair of remastered and expanded releases from Messrs. Page, Plant, Jones and Bonham!

JULY 29, 2014 – It may be the dog days of summer, but that hasn’t stopped Led Zeppelin from adding a little more heat. Following yesterday’s news of the next two reissues in Paul McCartney’s Archive Collection series, the legendary blues-rock band has announced the two next installments in its own definitive reissue program. On October 28, Rhino/Atlantic – in conjunction with Zeppelin’s Swan Song label – will release Led Zeppelin IV and Houses of the Holy in a variety of CD, vinyl and digital formats.

The album referred to as Led Zeppelin IV arrived in late 1971, bearing no album title or even the band’s name on its cover. Not that anybody was confused; with songs like “Stairway to Heaven,” “Black Dog,” “Rock and Roll” and “Going to California,” sales soared. Though it peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, it’s currently the second-best selling album ever in the U.S., nestled between Michael Jackson’s Thriller and Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon. How to top that? Houses of the Holy, consisting of all original material, arrived in spring 1973, and moved the band even further away from its blues-based brand of hard rock. Its layered production and intricate compositions of “The Rain Song,” “The Song Remains the Same” and the reggae-based “D’yer Mak’er” a chart-topping album on both sides of the Atlantic.

Both albums will be available in the style of the recent Led Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin II and Led Zeppelin III reissues, in the following formats:

Standard CD – Remastered album packaged in a gatefold card wallet.
2-CD Deluxe Edition (2CD) – Remastered album plus previously unreleased companion audio disc.
Standard LP – Remastered album on 180-gram vinyl, packaged in a replica sleeve of the album’s first pressing.
Deluxe Edition Vinyl (2LP) – Remastered album and previously unreleased companion audio pressed on 180-gram vinyl.
Digital Download – Remastered album and companion audio will both be available.
Super Deluxe Box Set featuring the remastered original album and companion audio on both CD and 180-gram vinyl, plus a high-resolution digital download card for all content, housed in a hardbound 80-page book with a high-quality print of the album cover (the first 30,000 of which are individually numbered) also included.

After the jump, we have more information including the complete track listings and pre-order links for both titles! Read the rest of this entry »

Written by Joe Marchese

October 27, 2014 at 10:30

Posted in Box Sets, Led Zeppelin, News, Reissues

Ramble On! Review: The Led Zeppelin Remasters – “I,” “II” and “III”

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Led Zeppelin wasn’t built in a day.

“Good Times Bad Times,” the first track off the hard rock combo’s first album, today sounds very much of its time and also unusually forward-thinking. The crunchy riff that introduces the track augured for the amped-up sound of metal to come, but the opening verse and chorus still have one foot in mod pop. Yet the sheer attack that marks Zeppelin’s best work was already there. Jimmy Page’s guitar cuts loose at about the minute-and-a-half point, John Bonham’s intense drums drive the entire song. John Paul Jones does so much more than just anchor the song with his bass, while Robert Plant can’t help but sound like a man possessed once he hits his stride. Recorded in just 36 hours and produced by Page, Led Zeppelin built on the foundation of the British blues boom and took heavy blues-rock to the next level.

Led Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin II and Led Zeppelin III have just arrived in their first-ever expanded editions, available in a plethora of formats from Rhino and Atlantic Records: 1-CD, 1-LP, 2-CD, 2-LP and 2-CD/2-LP box sets. These are among the most eagerly-awaited reissues of the compact disc era, and miraculously, both the remasterings and the previously unheard music live up to expectations. These decades-old recordings sound fresh and vividly crisp, with increased clarity, presence and detail, and pronounced stereo separation. Longtime fans are likely to be seized with the excitement of rediscovery at the classic albums in upgraded sound, but the 2-CD editions are also ideal primers for those exploring the band’s compact catalogue of just nine “core” albums for the first time. This first wave of reissues traces the early arc of the band from swaggering, upstart blues-rockers to metal pioneers to creators of an original sound all its own.

I: Your Time Is Gonna Come: Led Zeppelin I

Jones’ funereal organ introduced “Your Time is Gonna Come,” with Page on steel guitar. Like “Babe I’m Gonna Leave You,” the song has the both the light and the dark sides of the band on display. It’s almost “hard folk” with a sing-along chorus and a pronounced soul influence. Just plain hard is the frenetically pulsating “Communication Breakdown,” a two-and-a-half minute nugget of fast and dirty proto-punk rock and roll. On the other end of the spectrum is the album’s longest track, “How Many More Times,” with its shifting jam reinvention of the bolero blueprint.

The storming, urgent “Babe I’m Gonna Leave You” was based on Anne Bredon’s folk song which also attracted the attention of folk heroines (Joan Baez), teen stars (Mark Wynter), San Francisco rockers (Quicksilver Messenger Service) and harmony pop bands (The Association). It took until the 1980s for Bredon to be credited, along with Page and Plant, for providing the basis of the Zeppelin transformation. “Babe” showed the band’s versatility, with passages of quiet beauty juxtaposed with rage and thunder. “Dazed and Confused” was written and recorded by Jake Holmes in 1967 but Zeppelin’s recording of the song with new lyrics and a modified melody was credited solely to Page. Following a 2012 settlement with Holmes, the credits on the new discs read, “Jimmy Page inspired by Jake Holmes.” Regardless of its authorship, “Dazed” is a furious showcase for Page’s bowed-guitar technique, with the band melding psychedelia with deep blues. The beguiling, short instrumental “Black Mountain Side,” featuring Indian drummer Viram Jasani, was inspired by a traditional song but followed the (uncredited) arrangement of folk artist Bert Jansch. Willie Dixon, on the other hand, received full credit for two covers on the album: the torrid twelve-bar blues-based “You Shook Me” (with turns for Jones on organ and Plant on harmonica) and “I Can’t Quit You Baby” inspired by the performance of bluesman Otis Rush.

Though Led Zeppelin was formed from the ashes of The Yardbirds, there could be no doubt after the release of Led Zeppelin I that the group had found a style far removed from that of the band in which Page once served. After the jump: more on Led Zeppelin II, III and beyond! Read the rest of this entry »

Written by Joe Marchese

June 16, 2014 at 12:11

Posted in Box Sets, Led Zeppelin, News, Reissues, Reviews

Tagged with Reviews

Release Round-Up: Week of June 3

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Led Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin I / Led Zeppelin II / Led Zeppelin III: Deluxe Editions (Swan Song/Atlantic)

Anyone ever heard these albums? Interesting stuff. I don’t know about you, but I’d predict big things for these guys.

Led Zeppelin
1CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
1LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
3LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
2CD/3LP Super Deluxe: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Led Zeppelin II
1CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
1LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
2CD/2LP Super Deluxe: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Led Zeppelin III
1CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
1LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
2CD/2LP Super Deluxe: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Soundgarden, Superunknown: 20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition (A&M/UMe)

This grunge-pop classic comes back with a vengeance as a bonus-filled box set featuring demos, outtakes, rare tracks and a surround mix on Blu-ray.

1CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
4CD/1BD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Morrissey, Vauxhall and I: 20th Anniversary Definitive Master (Parlophone/Rhino)

It would appear that Moz and I share the same opinion of this record: so good, the track list doesn’t need to be played with. Add an unreleased live show from 1995 on a bonus CD, and this is a heck of a set for the discerning fan.

2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Vinyl: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

The 5th Dimension, Earthbound/ Vikki Carr, Love Again – The Lost Columbia Masters / Vikki Carr, The First Time Ever (I Saw Your Face) (Expanded Edition) / Robert Bearns & Ron Dexter, The Best of the Golden Voyage / The Sweet Inspirations, The Complete Atlantic Singles Plus / Faith Hope & Charity, Faith Hope & Charity (Expanded Edition) /Fanny, Charity Ball (Expanded Edition) / Linda Martell, Color Me Country / The Grateful Dead, Dick’s Picks Vol. 18 – Dane County Coliseum, Madison, WI 2/3/78 Uni-Dome, University of N. Iowa, Cedar Falls, IA 2/5/78 (Real Gone Music)

Another great Real Gone slate features two titles with liner notes from our own Joe Marchese – The 5th Dimension’s Earthbound and Vikki Carr’s The First Time Ever (I Saw Your Face)!

The 5th Dimension: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Vikki Carr/Love Again: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Vikki Carr/The First Time Ever (I Saw Your Face): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Robert Bearns & Ron Dexter: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
The Sweet Inspirations: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Faith Hope & Charity: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Fanny: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Linda Martell: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Grateful Dead: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Nat “King” Cole, The Extraordinary Nat “King” Cole (Capitol)

This new compilation – available as a two-disc deluxe edition with a host of rare and newly-discovered tracks – does a pretty darn good job of living up to its name.

Standard 1CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Deluxe 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Blu-ray Audio: Analogue Productions

Elvis Presley, Bossa Nova Baby: The Ultimate Elvis Party Album (RCA/Legacy)

A new Elvis compilation for your summer party features some of the usual hits plus a few tracks from the Cirque du Soleil Viva Elvis show to rediscover. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Carol Williams & The Salsoul Orchestra, ‘Lectric Lady: Expanded Edition (Big Break)

An expanded version of the debut album by Carol Williams, the first female solo act signed to the Salsoul label! (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Written by Mike Duquette

June 3, 2014 at 08:20

Posted in Blu-Ray, Box Sets, Compilations, Elvis Presley, Led Zeppelin, Morrissey, Nat King Cole, News, Reissues, Soundgarden, The 5th Dimension, The Grateful Dead, The Sweet Inspirations, Vikki Carr, Vinyl

Tagged with Release Round-Up

Rhino Gets the Led Out with Deluxe Zeppelin Remasters

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After endless speculation fueled by former guitarist Jimmy Page, Led Zeppelin and Atlantic/Swan Song today announced the first wave in a new reissue campaign from one of the world’s most acclaimed rock bands.

Starting on June 3, with the first three Led Zeppelin albums from 1969-1970 – all self-titled, with Roman numerals appended to each “sequel” – Page has overseen remastered and expanded versions of each of the band’s albums, all featuring a disc’s worth of unreleased vault content, including studio outtakes, alternate mixes, live cuts and a few entirely unheard songs. In a statement, Page called these bonus discs “a portal to the time of the recording of Led Zeppelin.”

Each album will be available in multiple formats:

1CD remaster in gatefold card wallet
2CD Deluxe Edition
1LP remaster on 180-gram vinyl with packaging “that replicates the LP’s first pressing in exacting detail (For example, III will feature the original wheel and die cut holes.)”
2LP Deluxe Edition (3LP for the first album) featuring the same contents of the 2CD Deluxe Editions
Super Deluxe Box Sets featuring the Deluxe Edition contents on CD and LP, a 96kHz/24-bit audio download card (the live tracks on the first album will be in 48kHz/24-bit audio), 70+ hardback book with liner notes and photos, a high-quality print of the original album cover (the first 30,000 of each album will be numbered) and, in the Led Zeppelin box, a replica of the band’s original press kit

Without any further ado, head on past the jump to check out full track lists and place your orders!

Read the rest of this entry »

Written by Mike Duquette

March 13, 2014 at 10:15

Posted in Box Sets, Led Zeppelin, News, Reissues, Vinyl

Esoteric Label Rediscovers Lord Sutch’s “Heavy Friends” Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, John Bonham

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When Screaming Lord Sutch promised the presence of some “Heavy Friends,” he wasn’t messing around. The cover of 1970’s Lord Sutch and Heavy Friends boasts some of the heaviest hitters in rock and roll: guitarists Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck, drummer John Bonham, pianist Nicky Hopkins and Jimi Hendrix Experience bassist Noel Redding. It’s recently been remastered and reissued by Cherry Red’s Esoteric Recordings imprint, and certainly qualifies for release on a label called Esoteric!

David Edward Sutch (1940-1999) was a showman through and through, whether rocking-and-rolling in his horror-themed stage act or sending up politics as founder of the Official Monster Raving Loony Party. (And yes, the Monster Raving Loonies have actually won elections!) Though he wasn’t much of a singer, “Screaming” Lord Sutch, 3rd Earl of Harrow, made a splash with the Joe Meek-produced, banned-by-the-BBC single “Jack the Ripper” in 1963. (His nickname was inspired by Screaming Jay Hawkins, and he wasn’t really an Earl…but no matter!) That was the same year he stood in his first election, representing the National Teenage Party. Always a colorful character, Sutch and his manager Reginald Calvert even formed a pirate radio station, inventively named “Radio Sutch.” Sutch was known to emerge from a coffin onstage, and could be found offstage tooling around in his Union Jack-adorned Rolls Royce.

Until 1970, however, Sutch had never released an LP. He called on some of his very famous friends to participate in sessions for the album that would become Heavy Friends, though most subsequently disowned it when Sutch emblazoned their names on the cover of the LP rather than allowing them the reportedly-promised anonymity. Recorded at Hollywood’s Mystic Sound Studios in 1969, Heavy Friends has a loose, off-the-cuff feel, as if the recorders had been turned on during a late-night jam session. Sutch resisted the temptation to record a batch of oldies, instead bringing self-described “modern rock ‘n’ roll with the real Zeppelin sound” to the table. Though it’s debatable whether he quite achieved that, one couldn’t deny Sutch’s understated assertion that “John Bonham is a tremendous drummer.” Jimmy Page ended up with a co-producer credit (“very nice of [Sutch],” he commented in 1970) and as co-writer of six of the album’s twelve songs. Sutch and co. were joined by Daniel Edwards, Martin Kohl and Rick Brown on bass, Kent Henrey on guitar, and Carlo Little and Bob Metke on drums.

Malcolm Dome, in his new liner notes, persuasively makes the argument for this “oddball yet strangely charismatic” and “weird and effective” album, but reaction upon its release was hardly so kind. Rolling Stone called it “absolutely terrible” and Page insisted the album was no more than a joke that “became ugly.” But Heavy Friends today plays like a primal early exercise in what would become punk, with musical nods to blues-rock and rock-and-roll. Sutch’s distinctive, if not particularly musical, vocals may not be to everyone’s tastes, but Beck’s guitar shines on “Gutty Guitar,” and Page and Bonham’s interplay on a number of tracks is particularly worthwhile. In addition, tracks like “Union Jack Car” and “L-O-N-D-O-N” are offbeat but memorable and very much of the period. Stripped-down, wild and woolly, and certainly original, Heavy Friends is certainly one of the strangest records to have been created by an all-star supergroup. Page and Bonham appear on seven songs, with Beck on one track, and Hopkins and Redding on three each (Redding supplies the “Thumping Beat” on the song of the same name).

After the jump: more on Heavy Friends, including the track listing and order links! Read the rest of this entry »

Written by Joe Marchese

December 6, 2013 at 10:45

Posted in Jeff Beck, Led Zeppelin, News, Reissues, Screaming Lord Sutch

Release Round-Up: Week of November 19

Short Takes, Early 2013 Watch: Jackson 5 Get Animated, Talk Talk Rarities, Zeppelin Redux?

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What, you thought the renewed interest in the Led Zeppelin catalogue would end with the release of Celebration Day? Jimmy Page recently revealed in an interview with MOJO (excerpted by NME) that he is working on remastering the LZ catalogue for 2013. “There are different versions of tracks that we have that can be added to the album so there will be box sets of material that will come out, starting next year,” Page said. “There will be one box set per album with extra music that will surface.” So, a Zeppelin Immersion Box series, then? Four words: Led Zeppelin collectible scarves. Awwww yeah.
The next Jackson 5 material to be unearthed from the vaults is non-musical. Classic Media will release The Jackson 5ive, a Rankin/Bass-produced animated series that aired on ABC Saturday mornings in 1971 and 1972. While none of the brothers provided their own voices on the 23 episodes, classic J5 masters did score specially-animated performances in every episode. The show will be released January 15 on two-disc DVD and what looks like a four-disc Blu-Ray/DVD combo pack.
An article in The Guardian about Mark Hollis and his ’80s pop-rock outfit Talk Talk indicates a forthcoming collection Hollis is working on with EMI, called Natural Order. Our friends at Pause & Play further indicate a January 14 release date in the U.K., alongside a reissue of the 1990 compilation Natural History. Natural Order does not have a final track list, but will apparently serve as a companion to Natural History, and will include tracks from the final Talk Talk LP Laughing Stock, released by Verve in 1991.

Written by Mike Duquette

November 5, 2012 at 13:57

Posted in Box Sets, Compilations, Led Zeppelin, News, Reissues, Talk Talk, The Jackson 5

Led Zeppelin’s 2007 Reunion Concert to Be Released in November (UPDATED WITH PRE-ORDER LINKS)

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It was the reunion everyone wanted, but possibly never expected. On December 10, 2007, at London’s O2 Arena, Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and Jason Bonham (John’s son) took the stage as Led Zeppelin for the first time since the band broke up in 1980. (Page, Plant and Jones had several tepidly-received reunions in the ’80s, one at Live Aid and one at the Atlantic Records 40th anniversary concert, but none were considered by the band to be true Led Zeppelin performances.) It was the passing of Ahmet Ertegun, Atlantic Records founder and mentor to the group, that got them together, and the 16-song set was a fitting tribute to the musical icon.

This year, five years after that landmark performance before some 16,000 attendees, Atlantic Records is finally making that concert available to the public as Celebration Day. It’s a fitting tribute for one of the heaviest bands in the world, with an international theatrical release planned starting October 17, followed by a multi-format release on November 19.

On September 21, the full release plan for Celebration Day was announced. The show will be featured as:

A two-disc “music only” edition
“Standard” audiovisual sets, the two audio CDs with the concert on DVD or Blu-Ray disc
Deluxe editions: 2-CD/2-DVD and 2-CD/1-DVD/1-BD editions will feature an additional DVD “featuring exclusive bonus video content including the Shepperton rehearsals and BBC news footage”
A music-only edition on Blu-Ray, “featuring high-resolution 48K 24-bit PCM stereo and DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround sound” (link forthcoming)
A 180-gram triple-vinyl edition (link forthcoming)
A digital download

The set list and pre-order links (in case you missed them up top) are after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »

Written by Mike Duquette

September 13, 2012 at 10:47

Posted in DVD, Led Zeppelin, News, Vinyl

The Second Disc

Archive for the ‘Led Zeppelin’ Category

Driving Through Kashmir: Led Zeppelin’s “Physical Graffiti” Turns 40, Arrives In Deluxe Formats Next Month

Release Round-Up: Week of October 27

Rhino Gets The Led Out, Wave Two: “Led Zeppelin IV” and “Houses of the Holy” Arrive TODAY!

Ramble On! Review: The Led Zeppelin Remasters – “I,” “II” and “III”

Release Round-Up: Week of June 3

Rhino Gets the Led Out with Deluxe Zeppelin Remasters

Esoteric Label Rediscovers Lord Sutch’s “Heavy Friends” Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, John Bonham

Release Round-Up: Week of November 19

Short Takes, Early 2013 Watch: Jackson 5 Get Animated, Talk Talk Rarities, Zeppelin Redux?

Led Zeppelin’s 2007 Reunion Concert to Be Released in November (UPDATED WITH PRE-ORDER LINKS)

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