Led Zeppelin 2014 Remasters - I-III CD Format (part 2)

I picked up the deluxe Led Zeppelin II just to see how the new remastering compared to the Barry Diament version and while I very much enjoyed the bonus outtakes disc I thought the album itself was too bright. The overall resolution was a noticeable improvement due to the current state of A/D technology but for me the additional high end was a disappointment. That being said I am looking forward to the deluxe Led Zeppelin IV and Houses Of The Holy for the bonus outtakes.

 

Just got the Japan pressings of all 3. Packaging is unbelievably perfect! It's worth the extra cash for me. I'm sticking with the Japan releases all the way through this now. Plus they give you these neato man cool stickers with all three album covers on them! For fanatics only!

OH and this was the first time I used SAL to ship. MUCH cheaper but definitely 3 weeks Japan to doorstep.

 

Just for hoo ha's I created a pic that shows what might possibly be the negative shots for the remaining releases.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/g6a7xk0klantk8u/all.jpg

 

I like the HOTH one!

 

Nice work but you forgot In Through The Outdoor.

 

Oh shoot! I did! It was late.

 

Here's In Through The Out Door full on! Will they all be integrated into the packaging somehow?

https://www.dropbox.com/s/tv0qzg7nayhpv86/In Through The Out Door.jpg

 

Probably just a case of his Continuum Turntable being unable to resolve the detail of the 2014 vinyl - he may want to consider tranistioning to the model Page used in the movie It Might Get Loud.

All joking aside, I expected it to be far more damning than it was.

JQ

 

Easily done.

 

Finally received the super deluxe boxed set of Led Zeppelin II. I purchased mine from importcds.com and it was very well packed. What is weird is that the cover of the box has a weird white mark across the bottom right hand corner...almost like a lite razorblade mark. Pretty bummed considering I paid over $100 for the set. Anybody else have that mark on their box?

 

Bump

 

Hi everyone. Without having to look through all the thread.......does anyone know the next release date for the next batch of Zep albums?
And is it only two this time ( Zep 4 & HOTH)??

 

The word has been November and yes, just the 2 albums you mentioned.

 

Cheers mate, thanks. I thought it was September sometime so that's a bit disappointing. I'm hanging out a bit for the new releases.....

 

Hey Groggy! Just a heads up; now is a GREAT time to trawl eBay for the first three if you want the discs not the vinyl. There are a ton of kids that bought 'em and just ripped them to an iPod and are now looking to unload the physical media for cheap!

 

Hey mate thanks, but I picked up the first 3 not long after they were released (with matching t.shirt!) just a bit impatient for the next ones!
Might have to take up your idea for the next ones though.....

 

Agreed! I'm going INSANE waiting for the next round!

 

My source at Warner/Rhino says October for IV and Houses.

 

I picked up I, II and III from the local Best Buy the other day and like others hate the scuff sleeves. I will be emailing Dr. Rhino at some point when I have time to get pictures taken etc. I can't comment on sound yet as I have not had time for a critical listen. Apologies if someone else posted the EAC for LZ I but the peak levels are very encouraging since they are not all 100% or not all 98.6% etc. It really looks as if they took some care while doing the mastering and the peaks are similiar to how they mastered the Huey Lewis 'Sports' anniversary issue. I can't wait to hear and compare to the previous issues. Here are the EAC peaks for LZ I and I apologize if this was posted previously:

Track 01 Good Times, Bad Times.wav
Peak level 84.0 %
Track 02 Babe I'm Gonna Leave You.wav
Peak level 82.3 %
Track 03 You Shook Me.wav
Peak level 96.2 %
Track 04 Dazed and Confused.wav
Peak level 86.0 %
Track 05 Your Time is Gonna Come.wav
Peak level 80.2 %
Track 06 Black Mountain Side.wav
Peak level 81.3 %
Track 07 Communication Breakdown.wav
Peak level 84.8 %
Track 08 I Can't Quit You Baby.wav
Peak level 91.0 %
Track 09 How Many More Times.wav
Peak level 96.8 %

 

I got my first listen to the 2014 LZ I in my car. Yes, I know this is not the place for a critical listen but I take advantage of the time I spend driving long distances to listen to music. First off, as noted by my EAC results above this was not 'MFtC' ("Mastered For the Car") as I found myself more than once turning the volume UP instead of down. No kidding-really! I found the clarity of this release to be quite refreshing and at least in my car I did not sense this was overly bright by any means but merely that I was hearing things I do not remember from the previous releases. That said....obviously I was intently listening which I probably haven't done with the previous issues for quite some time. To be fair I will need to A/B/C all of the issues to see what the real differences are. I did notice that I was hearing JPJ's bass notes and keyboards very clearly as well as the harmonica. I thought the cymbals had more crash/detail than splash and although the overall bass may be a bit less pronounced than the Marino mastering it did not sound particularly lacking. I will wait for a listen on my home system to formulate more thoughts on that. Am I disappointed that I once again started buying the LZ catalog? Nope, not at all and I look forward to hearing II and III as well as future releases and plan to buy these on vinyl as well to go with my orignals and Classics. I can already see the Super Deluxe 'Definitive SHM Japanese box set' with the additional UK cover for I and all the sleeves for ITTOD etc. etc. etc. (in both CD as well as vinyl). The USB stick of Hi-Rez for the catalog will be housed in the Presence 'Obelisk' but of course will be 96/24 so we can get the 192/24 in five or ten years when the next round of reissues are marketed....

One of my pet peeves with new reissues is that they don't include cd-text. Well, these do! No need to use Nero to add text

One last thought; I perused the live disc and although I had no plans to buy the deluxe editions it made sense since the price difference between the single disc and the deluxe was not that much and you get the negative image of the album cover. I did not listen to this disc fully but HMMT struck me as one of the better tracks and I enjoyed that one quite a bit.

 

I saw the deluxe editions at Target this early evening and wondered about a couple of things:

1) How do the new remasters compare to the mini lp-replicas I've got of the 1994-remasters?

2) Are the last 30-or-so seconds of Ramble On restored? I remember the original vinyl and the original Atlantic cd having this loooooong fade-out that pretty much leads into Moby Dick. On the '94 remaster (and, if I'm correct, also on the box set) that ending is a lot shorter. Any info on that, anyone?

 

Bump.

 

How much is Target charging for the Deluxe CD sets these days?

 

1) Mini-LPs are the same mastering (but louder) as the 1994 remasters. Check earlier in this thread for the sonic comparisons between these new versions and those 1990s versions. Overall opinion is that these new versions are better.

2) Yes, the extended fadeout is restored (or at least mostly restored) - same is true for other early fades on the 1990s version: they have been restored here.

 

13 bucks.