Led Zeppelin RSD

How nice of them to leave these off the "deluxe" releases when there was plenty of room.

 

Thanks for those observations, I'll try to listen for those differences next time that I give it a spin!

 

I hope these mixes get released digitally.

 

You have more ambience and echo on the new Sunset mix. In my opinion not as dry as the original version. Not sure if I prefer it though.

 

I heard it, R&R, today on the radio. BBC Radio 2 - Johnnie Walker Sounds Of The Seventies. You can listen online now.

 

I have had the time to really sit down and LISTEN to these new mixes and they do differ. For those who have enjoyed the delightful 'Sunset Sound' mix of 'Stairway To heaven' (included in the superdeluxe vinyl box) on a higher end set know what I'm talking about here, more ambience and air and not as dry as the version that ended up on the original record. Before I post my opinion about the musical I'd like to compliment on the fine pressing quality - I was VERY concerned about this being released on the 7" format but the cutting and pressing quality is up to standard. In a perfect world for audiophiles like myself I would have preferred a release on a 12" record but this is good enough and that's all that matters. The songs included sounds vibrant and ALIVE - perhaps a bit more of that 'hats off to Little Richard' feel than we're used to: slightly more hihats and a bit more up close drums from Bonham ('Rock and Roll') but the real gem is a cut down and more intimate 'Friends' without the background arrangements. IMHO a BETTER version as I have never fancied those dronelike sounds interfering with the strings and Plants vocals.

 

Thanks for your review! I do remember enjoying the Stairway to Heaven Sunset Sound mix when I heard it a few years ago, maybe I should listen to it again to see if I can hear parallels with the new Sunset RnR. Good to hear that you like the quality of this 7" single, no pressing issues at all? Mine's a bit warped, maybe because of the tight fit of the 45 adapter?

 

The drums in 'Rock and Roll' are pretty drenched in reverb.

 

As an aside, I love the record stores in Amsterdam! My brother worked at Boom Chicago for years. You're quite lucky to be there.

I've always liked the friendly folks at Concerto - bought some great Holland and UK pressings there. I hear Rush Hour, Record Friend and others are pretty cool too.

 

Great to hear that there's love for Dutch record stores from abroad, thanks for sharing that! I try to go to Amsterdam once a month, there are so many big and small record stores with great collections there that I always take some treasures back home. Concerto is one of the biggest record stores in the country, and I got all I wanted for RSD there: Floyd, Springsteen, and the Led Zep single. I arrived there only at around 3pm, and was afraid to find all three sold out, but to my surprise it was all still there, and multiple copies even! Makes me feel a little bad for the American Floyd fans, since it was a lot harder to get Piper at the Gates of Dawn in the States...

 

That's great! And that store was the scene of one of my greatest record collecting experiences.

One afternoon I hit Concerto, had a great coffee and pastry, and picked up a pristine mint first UK pressing of McCartney's Ram. This was followed by an early dinner at Casa Di David - up on the second floor, overlooking a beautiful canal, and one of the best meals I've ever had.

It wasn't necessarily about the store or the record itself - it was the perfect afternoon for a wandering record nut from California.

 

Sounds like a perfect day out, great score, wonderful atmosphere! I had a similar experience in the south of the Netherlands; found a Led Zep II RL in decent shape (very rare to find here in Europe) at Didi's record store in Heerlen (which is even bigger than Concerto in Amsterdam and packed with over 100.000 LPs and 250.000 singles, a lot of rare stuff too, I highly recommend that shop, even if it's far away from many of the major Dutch sights...), and after that I went to a wonderful Greek restaurant in a beautiful town closeby called Maastricht; a perfect day.

 

Why not, I waited forever for How the West Was Won on vinyl.

 

I gotta say, that is also my sentiment (and I say that as someone who bought every one of the Deluxe releases).

 

Hmmm. Thanks . Would like to hear it.

 

I paid $14. However the store where I bought it (I tried them first this year) had everything marked up 20% or more over list price. But I figured it might be gone at other stores by the time I got there and stood in line.

 

There are some differences I could hear.

Rock and Roll - Sounds slightly brighter (not lacking of bass) Jimmy's lead overdubs at the beginning are slightly different as well as the end of the solo is different from the original. (Original was probably an edit) Also drum solo at the end has added reverb.

Friends - No orchestra, Bongos are more prominent in the mix and a different harmony by Plant on the second verse.

 

Nice observations, after another listen I find the different vocal harmony on Friends the most interesting novelty.

 

I think the drums on "Rock and Roll" have the reverb throughout. It is somewhat audible in the intro and other moments.

 

Nice to have a place like this to get info that should be included in the sleeve notes of these things in the first place.

 

You're absolutely right! I'm relatively new to this forum and close-listening to music, so I really appreciate all the info and help here!

 

What should be included?

 

I still haven't found anywhere to hear these online in their entirety. Closest I've come is an incomplete youtube spinning a very crude record player.

 

What to listen for on the new versions - the little differences between the new versions and the originals.