Led Zeppelin Remasters in 2014+ to include 2nd disc of bonus material (Pt 8)

Wonder if any hardcore fans have attempted yet to use the 2 minute, and change, Sick Again instrumental, before the fade maybe, as an intro, or as an 'instrumental reprise' to the finished tune on PG. A Frankenstein creation . Wonder if it could work.

Looking forward to hearing the upcoming extra Presence. Going to give the album proper, the cd (Marino) a listen tonight. Is it a May or June release date?

 

I noticed that first track on the companion audio was at 44.1 a long time ago. They've had a disclaimer about that on the HDtracks site ever since it was released last year so I've just assumed it was that way because of the original transfer/source. Now that I look at the http://www.ledzeppelin.com/HDdownload site I see that they don't make any mention of it at all. Let us know what their customer service says about it.

 

Has anyone else noticed that more tape hiss is apparent on the new 24bit/96kHz copy of Physical Graffiti compared to the new CD edition? Is there a reason why this may be?

 

March... 2016!

Honestly, I have no idea.

 

I agree it's very similar. But there is the one big difference, and that's the drums: On the original album track they're phased; on the companion disc track they're not. Someone else pointed this out somewhere (maybe earlier in this thread) and it was the "aha!" moment for me: The difference in the drums is why the companion disc version of the track has so much better and punchier bottom end. The phasing effect on the album version has the side-effect of hollowing out the low-end impact of Bonham's kit.

 

We can only guess at this point, but I would say June - approximately the one-year anniversary of the start of the reissue campaign, and would continue the prior pattern of a new batch coming out approximately every four months.

 

I like that performance too, but I don't think it's going to happen. It's not a Led Zeppelin performance, and Page has been adamant that all companion material is going to be from the time period the original albums were made. (Plus it's not clear if Page even has access to the pre-FM master tape for that performance, and the FM source that circulates is pretty bad for an FM source - sounds like it was miked in the venue and not even a soundboard.)

 

Fwiw, I can't imagine a better mix for For Your Life than the one on the album. Sounds perfect to me, and wouldn't want to be without that guitar solo either before that last vocal section. However, the drums seem to me a bit recessed in Royal Orleans. I'm keen on hearing an alternate of that one! Also, I wonder if that opening and closing riff is repeated a few more times, but had to edited for lp length. Just speculation.

Nobody's Fault But Mine seems like it could go in some different mix directions, but it's real good as it is. Bass guitar especially. Drums, perhaps on that one too, could be a tad more forward in an alternate mix? Like that guitar solo too at the end
of Nobody's Fault.

4 months = too long a wait for me

That extra percussion and the acoustic guitar in the album version of Candy Store Rock sounds very tasty.

 

I am not a fan of phased drums. I do think they have their place, and work on live versions of Moby Dick, but then I don't often listen to live versions of Moby Dick anyway. But on Kashmir, they made the track sound like it was a 32kps file taken from someone's geocities site circa 1999.

Interestingly, the drums are phased on the instrumental version of Kashmir that circulates.

 

I emailed customer service Tuesday about this problem. Early this afternoon I was sent a new code to download the correct versions. I am downloading them now so I'll let you know if I have any problems.

 

I just downloaded my HD files from my Super Deluxe and the overall size - 2.98GB - was right (HDTracks' files, which have been 24/96 from the beginning, come in at 2.99GB I believe). And all the files are indeed 24/96.

 

I rolled my eyes at this remaster campaign at first. Then, one night while having a few beers, I ordered the first 5 in one fell swoop. Holy cow, man. They never sounded so good. I've had the Diaments, and I have the '93 Complete Studio box. But they have NEVER sounded this good to me.

I also never noticed the red-line levels on II before. It's like they've softened that up on all CD releases. I imagine this is what a double RL vinyl sounds like.

Love the packaging. Love the subtle differences in the alternates and I love the instrumental versions of tunes like "Going To California".

Bring on the final 3!

 

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To me it seems that CODA is going to contain the most bang for the buck concerning the companion tracks ( lest we not forget Hey, Hey What Can I Do among the gems ---[ yes I know it was part of the original release and that would explain why it wasn't included on the LZIII companion disc] ).

It would not surprise me that CODA will be a stand alone release (Presence and ITTOD in June and CODA in October), as it will be the last piece of the legacy ( as far as this campaign ).

 

I hope we get all 3 in June, but it also wouldn't surprise me if you're right about splitting them up.

 

When I first read Page's comments about Coda, I felt the same way - maybe it'll be a standalone release. However, he's also said that the companion disc will have some alt. versions of the main album tracks. He's specifically mentioned an alt. version of Bonzo's Montreux, and I've heard a rumor from a source I am inclined to believe (not as reliable as my Rhino source, but still I think pretty good), that an alt. version of Poor Tom will be on the companion disc.

So, if you add those two tracks to the ones that almost certainly will be on the companion disc - Hey Hey What Can I do, Baby Come on Home, and the BBC version of White Summer/Black Mountain Side - that makes five, which means we're looking at only two or three truly unreleased tracks, one of which is likely to be Swan Song. That leaves only one or two tracks that would be really and truly new.

And so I just can't see them holding back Coda for a standalone release because of one or two songs.

 

Maybe versions of the Coda tracks less the '80s vocal and guitar overdubs which at least We're Gonna Groove (guitar) and Walter's Walk (vocals and guitar?) had.

 

That's what I was thinking. And that would fit the theme of the earlier companion discs as well. However, an instrumental version of "Walters Walk" exists in collectors circles so if Page stays true to his word it would knock it out of contention.

 

Not necessarily. Page has put stuff on there that's been in circulation. I'm not keeping track, but the big ones that come to mind are Jennings Farm Blues, In The Light. But on the flip side, those were probably 2 of the best known unreleased tracks with a higher level of demand/expectation to be on a set like this. Of course, that didn't seem to do "Swan Song" any good.

 

Local Target had them located under "Z" no kidding.

 

Wow that takes me back to high school in the 80's when you would ask someone if they liked Led Zeppelin and they would answer, "he's pretty good".

 

Or on 25 September, the 35th anniversary of Bonham's death and the de facto end of Led Zeppelin?

 

Agree on the phased drums on Kashmir, never liked'em. Suck the whole punch from the drum sound. It's even worse on the Knebworth performance on the DVD.

 

That sounds about right. I would be surprised if there were more than 2-3 "unreleased" songs included. The vaults are not loaded with that sort of material, but Page has insinuated that Coda will contain some "surprises," so it isn't a stretch to conclude that means something unreleased.

 

I've noticed there is more tape hiss apparent on the high rez release, compared to the new CD edition, but this doesn't bother me. I guess the high resolution is just revealing more detail on the original tapes (both positive and negative details). All in all there is a clear difference between the new CD edition and the 24/96 high rez files. I'm just so glad they didn't use any noise reduction when remastering the LZ catalogue. That really does mess the sound up.

Is it fair to say that the 24/96 high rez files are giving us the best audio reproduction possible from the original 2-track master tapes or are you saying that they are holding back better sounding quality high rez files for another future re-release? I'm referring to all the 24/96 high rez LZ releases so far in this series.

 

Higher bitrate or sampling frequency wouldn't introduce more tape hiss.