Tracking the Led Zeppelin Barry Diament Cds

Discussion in 'Marketplace Discussions' started by Aramis12, Feb 2, 2021.

  1. Aramis12

    Aramis12 Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Costa Rica
    Hi. I'm trying to get the first 4 albums of Led Zeppelin 80s remasters by Barry Diament, but I'm having a hard time.

    Are all the 80s CD versions listed on discogs from the 80s, Barry's work?

    I've succesfully tracked one version of the first 3 on discogs:

    I: Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin
    II: Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin III
    II: Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin III

    However I'm wondering if there are more version I can choose from and also where can I find is LZ IV? :(

    Thank you!
     
  2. Dave

    Dave Esoteric Audio Research Specialist™

    Location:
    B.C.
    You can safely choose any original CD pressing prior to the George Marino remasters that started in 1990. Anything prior, from I up to In Through The Out Door was done by Barry except of course IV that was done by Joe Sidore.
     
  3. Detroit Rock Citizen

    Detroit Rock Citizen RetroDawg Digital

    Didn't barry do Coda also.
     
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  4. johnny q

    johnny q Forum Resident

    Location:
    Bergen County, NJ
    Yes he did- correct.
     
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  5. Dave

    Dave Esoteric Audio Research Specialist™

    Location:
    B.C.
    Oops, I forgot about Coda.
     
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  6. Aramis12

    Aramis12 Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Costa Rica
    Thank you! :)
     
    tmtomh likes this.
  7. stillrockin

    stillrockin Forum Resident

    Location:
    United Kingdom
    Isn't there an issue that some versions of the Sidore IV have the channels reversed??
     
  8. Detroit Rock Citizen

    Detroit Rock Citizen RetroDawg Digital

    I've never heard this.
     
  9. Detroit Rock Citizen

    Detroit Rock Citizen RetroDawg Digital

    There's a guy on Facebook Market Place who has a few for sale and if they're like any of the other things I've bought from him, they're in NM quality.
     
  10. Detroit Rock Citizen

    Detroit Rock Citizen RetroDawg Digital

    oops sorry he doesn't ship
     
  11. stillrockin

    stillrockin Forum Resident

    Location:
    United Kingdom

    There are several threads on Led Zep mastering ( surprisingly enough). I found this one which discusses the issue

    Led Zeppelin IV original CD question
     
  12. PatMcC

    PatMcC Active Member

    Location:
    Halifax, NS
    Were original Led Zeppelin Canadian CDs done by Barry Diament. Trying to track down some of his LZ CDs. Thanks.
     
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  13. tmtomh

    tmtomh Forum Resident

    Every pre-1990s Led Zeppelin CD was mastered by Barry Diament (except LZ IV, mastered by Joe Sidore as noted by @Dave above). The 1990s George Marino remasters say something like "Mastered by George Marino at Sterling Sound" on the back inserts, and the CDs themselves have either the red and green Atlantic label design, or (for Presence through Coda) a color silkscreen of the Swan Song records logo.

    The 2014/2015 John Davis remasters come in card wallet cases.

    So if a Led Zeppelin CD comes in a jewel case and does not have the Marino text on the back and the disc-face designs noted above, it's a 1980s version. And those 1980s versions all have the same mastering as each other - the Diament (or Sidore) mastering - regardless of where they were pressed.
     
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  14. Detroit Rock Citizen

    Detroit Rock Citizen RetroDawg Digital

    Were the 90's versions released at the same time as the box or did they come later. Some of the Diament's come with the Atlantic label on them.
     
  15. Detroit Rock Citizen

    Detroit Rock Citizen RetroDawg Digital

    I looked at my collection, and I was wrong: none of the Diament's have a full silkscreened Atlantic label. I also looked on Discogs. It doesn't seem that the next push for individual albums was until 1994. There was two piecemeal boxes that weren't arranged according to album and a complete studio albums box. If you can find the two boxes (released in 1990 and 1993) you'll have what can be considered the complete recordings. The other box has its faults but they do sound decent. I don't think Led Zeppelin has ever had a bad CD remaster.
     
  16. tmtomh

    tmtomh Forum Resident

    Yes, the Box Set came out in 1990, followed by Box Set 2 in 1993, which contained all the tracks not included on the first set. The individual albums came out on CD in 1994.

    Be aware, though, that the mastering on the 1990 and 1993 box sets is not exactly the same as on the 1994 individual album remasters. Part of the difference is that many tracks have slightly altered volume levels. This is because on the box sets, the tracks had to have consistent volume, whereas when the tracks were returned to their original albums and running orders for the individual 1994 CDs, the levels had to be changed a bit in order to restore the original, intended relative volume levels of the tracks on each album.

    In addition to that, however, there are other mastering differences: some tracks on the individual albums appear to have had a bit of compression added to them, as the DR meter shows their RMS (average) volume level slightly higher than the box set versions, but at the same time the peak levels on the individual albums are slightly lower than the box set versions. That means the dynamic range - the difference between the peak level and average level - is slightly lower for some tracks on the individual album CDs than it is for those same tracks on the box sets.

    However, the differences are small, and both the box sets and individual albums are based on the same mastering, so they sound very similar.
     
  17. PatMcC

    PatMcC Active Member

    Location:
    Halifax, NS
    Thank you!
     
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  18. dee

    dee Senior Member

    Location:
    ft. lauderdale, fl
    Looking forward this week to HOTH and then later II and III. US release and SRC listings. $25 with shipping.

    I read that the imaging or balance of the Joe Sidore IV mastering is slightly off-center? Would be a dealbreaker for me if true.

    Looking forward to the Diament cd's.

    I like to listen to ITTOD all the way through on vinyl and Presence too, Japan releases. I tried the Diament mastered ITTOD cd.

    But PG is sort of all over the place a bit and wonder if the cd not only sounds appealing but track indexing can be a good option for PG imo.

    My LZI I also like to listen to all the way througg on vinyl though a noise-free Babe I'm Gonna Leave You would be most welcome, though I read the channels on I are reversed.

    TSRTS is tempting too.
     
    Last edited: Jan 2, 2022
  19. Detroit Rock Citizen

    Detroit Rock Citizen RetroDawg Digital

    I put this on my Facebook page the other day,

    Many of you won't know what I'm talking about and many more of you won't care, but until the Diament masters of AC/DC are available on streaming, I'll keep my physical copies, thank you very much.

    This originally started out as Led Zeppelin but I quickly realized I like the George Marino's and the John Davis'. Marino's '03 ACDC's don't sound horrible but they are just too darned loud
     
  20. Blizzard

    Blizzard Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Italy
    I’m making a comparison between LZ I Atlantic 80's USA mastered by Diament and Atlantic 90's EU mastered by Marino
    After listening I came to the conclusion that
    Diament mastering has:

    -Better DR
    -Better RMS
    -Bass is more present and well balanced than Marino

    Marino mastering has a slight boost on the Highs freqs that gives the feeling of a better space and separation between instruments.
    The drum on Marino has more clarity and details..
    Globally,on my setup (headphone+DAC) Diament version offers a better listening experience
    If you have a detailed and Analytical DAC,stay away from Marino mastering.
     
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  21. Pythonman

    Pythonman Forum Resident

    Location:
    Florida
    In comparing the LZ I 80s Diament vs the Marino 90s version the biggest difference is the R an L channels are reversed on the Marino. A terrible goof up.
     
  22. kwadguy

    kwadguy Senior Member

    Location:
    Cambridge, MA
    And there's a guy down the chip shop swears he's Elvis.
     
  23. Detroit Rock Citizen

    Detroit Rock Citizen RetroDawg Digital

    :rolleyes::rolleyes:
    Let's bring up a two year old post. Granted, I should have gave more context, but still
     

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