LED ZEPPELIN: Video Of Unboxing Of 'Super Deluxe' Reissue Of Debut Album
April 22, 2014John Bonham, John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant came together in 1968 as LED ZEPPELIN. Over the next decade, the band would become one of the most influential, innovative and successful groups in modern music, selling more than 300 million albums worldwide. Their songs are some of the most celebrated in rock 'n' roll history that, to this day, resonate with fans young and old around the globe. Still, no matter how many times you may have listened to their music, you've never heard LED ZEPPELIN like this before.
With the June 3 release of deluxe editions of "Led Zeppelin", "Led Zeppelin II" and "Led Zeppelin III", the band will launch an extensive reissue program of all nine of its studio albums in chronological order, each remastered by guitarist and producer Jimmy Page. LED ZEPPELIN will also open its vaults to share dozens of unheard studio and live recordings, with each album featuring a second disc of companion audio comprised entirely of unreleased music related to that album.
"The material on the companion discs presents a portal to the time of the recording of LED ZEPPELIN," says Page. "It is a selection of work in progress with rough mixes, backing tracks, alternate versions, and new material recorded at the time"
"Led Zeppelin", "Led Zeppelin II" and "Led Zeppelin III" will each be available June 3 from Atlantic/Swan Song in the following formats:
* Single CD - Remastered album packaged in a gatefold card wallet.
* Deluxe Edition (2CD) - Remastered album, plus a second disc of unreleased companion audio.
* Single LP - Remastered album on 180-gram vinyl, packaged in a sleeve that replicates the LP's first pressing in exacting detail. (For example, "III" will feature the original wheel and die cut holes.)
* Deluxe Edition Vinyl - Remastered album and unreleased companion audio on 180-gram vinyl.
* Digital Download - Remastered album and companion audio will both be available.
* Super Deluxe Boxed Set - This collection includes:
- Remastered album on CD in vinyl replica sleeve.
- Companion audio on CD in card wallet.
- Remastered album on 180-gram vinyl in a sleeve replicating first pressing.
- Companion audio on 180-gram vinyl.
- High-def audio download card of all content at 96kHz/24 bit. (Live tracks are 48kHz/24 bit).
- Hard bound, 70+ page book filled with rare and previously unseen photos and memorabilia.
- High quality print of the original album cover, the first 30,000 of which will be individually numbered.
- "Led Zeppelin" will also include a replica of the band's original Atlantic press kit.
The LED ZEPPELIN legend began in January of 1969 with the group's eponymous debut. From the opening salvo of "Good Times Bad Times", on through to "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You", "Communication Breakdown" and "Dazed And Confused", the album introduced the band's unmistakable sound and left an indelible mark on the music landscape. "Led Zeppelin" has been certified diamond by the RIAA for sales over 10 million and was inducted into the Grammy Hall Of Fame in 2004.
The companion audio for "Led Zeppelin" features a previously unreleased performance recorded on October 10, 1969 at the Olympia Theatre in Paris. The nine-song set features seven tracks from the album, including an epic 15-minute version of "Dazed And Confused", as well as "Heartbreaker" and "Moby Dick", which would debut on "Led Zeppelin II" later that month.
The band wrote and recorded nearly all of "Led Zeppelin II" while touring relentlessly to support its debut album. Incredibly, the album was released just seven months after "Led Zeppelin" in October of 1969. "Led Zeppelin II" features some of the band's most beloved tracks including "Ramble On" and "Heartbreaker" as well as "Whole Lotta Love", considered by many to be one of the greatest rock 'n' roll songs of all time. The album is certified diamond by the RIAA with sales of over 12 million copies.
The "Led Zeppelin II" companion audio gives fans the first peek into the band's recording sessions, with alternate mixes of five songs from the album, backing tracks to "Thank You" and "Living Loving Maid (She's Just A Woman)", and the previously unreleased track "La La".
Following the whirlwind success of their first two albums and near constant touring, Page and Plant took to the now famous Bron-Yr-Aur cottage in Wales in 1970 to start the early composition of "Led Zeppelin III". They later convened with Bonham and Jones for rehearsals before entering London's Olympic Studios to begin recording in May 1970. Fueled by classic tracks such as "Immigrant Song" and "Since I've Been Loving You", the album soared to the top of charts worldwide upon its release in October of 1970 and has since been certified six times platinum.
The nine tracks featured on "Led Zeppelin III"'s companion audio continue to offer a window into the band's recording process with seven studio outtakes of songs from the album as well as three previously unheard compositions: "Jennings Farm Blues" (an instrumental forerunner of "Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp"),"Bathroom Sound" (an instrumental version of "Out On The Tiles"),and their take on the blues classics "Keys To The Highway/Trouble In Mind".
LED ZEPPELIN continues to be honored for its pivotal role in music history. The band was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 1995, received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005, and a year later was awarded with the Polar Music Prize in Stockholm. Founding members Jones, Page and Plant — along with Jason Bonham, the son of John Bonham — took the stage at London's O2 Arena in 2007 to headline a tribute concert for Ahmet Ertegun, a dear friend and Atlantic Records' founder. The band was honored for its lifetime contribution to American culture at the Kennedy Center Honors in 2012. In January of 2014, the band won their first ever Grammy Award as "Celebration Day", which captured their live performance at the Ertegun tribute concert, was named "Best Rock Album."
"Led Zeppelin" track listing:
01. Good Times Bad Times
02. Babe I'm Gonna Leave You
03. You Shook Me
04. Dazed And Confused
05. Your Time Is Gonna Come
06. Black Mountain Side
07. Communication Breakdown
08. I Can't Quit You Baby
09. How Many More Times
Companion Audio Disc: Live At The Olympia - Paris, France October 10, 1969
01. Good Times Bad Times/Communication Breakdown
02. I Can't Quit You Baby
03. Heartbreaker
04. Dazed And Confused
05. White Summer/Black Mountain Side
06. You Shook Me
07. Moby Dick
08. How Many More Times
"Led Zeppelin II" track listing
01. Whole Lotta Love
02. What Is And What Should Never Be
03. The Lemon Song
04. Thank You
05. Heartbreaker
06. Living Loving Maid (She's Just A Woman)
07. Ramble On
08. Moby Dick
Companion Audio Disc
01. Whole Lotta Love
02. What Is And What Should Never Be
03. Thank You
04. Heartbreaker
05. Living Loving Maid (She's Just A Woman)
06. Ramble On
07. Moby Dick
08. La La
09. Bring It On Home
"Led Zeppelin III" track listing
01. Immigrant Song
02. Friends
03. Celebration Day
04. Since I've Been Loving You
05. Out On The Tiles
06. Gallows Pole
07. Tangerine
08. That's The Way
09. Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
10. Hats Off To (Roy) Harper
Companion Audio Disc
01. The Immigrant Song
02. Friends
03. Celebration Day
04. Since I've Been Loving You
05. Bathroom Sound
06. Gallows Pole
07. That's The Way
08. Jennings Farm Blues
09. Keys To The Highway/Trouble In Mind
Video footage of the unboxing of the "Super Deluxe" edition of "Led Zeppelin" can be seen below.
Page told The Pulse Of Radio that after all the success LED ZEPPELIN had, the real reward has been that the music has lasted so long. "The most satisfying, the most rewarding part of it, is having been part of music like that, which has stood up to the test of time," he said. "Every musician hopes that their music will hold up. And it's wonderful."
Page, who produced all of LED ZEPPELIN's live and studio albums, has served as the band's chief archivist and personally oversaw the remastering of the band's catalog back in the early '90s.
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