I ordered the classic records copy of zep1 back in 2009 before the prices went crazy. it was $89. When my order arrived (it was at christmas) I set it aside to open as a present. To my surprise, they picked the wrong record, and i got zepII by mistake, which wasn't a bad thing, i had planned to order it as well. But i never got around to rebuying the first one, and prices quickly went up, and i missed out.
I don't have any complaint. I have a lot of Spanish pressings and they are consistently good sound-wise. My ACDC LPs are original spanish pressings and they sound like thunder
I don't think it did. It was an early Warners era pressing, not a Polydor one. They certainly sounded different, but not much. Edit: This is the 1972 pressing I had. Going by the matrix info shown here side one uses original stampers and side two is a recut. Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin II
Yupp. Matrix is king people, the movies are decent too. Never heard a UK one, though I heard they didnt have the master tape there. So Im mostly looking for an MFSL and RL copy of LZ II anyway.
I love the plum Zep II most out of the four plum label UK Zep LPs. I'd love to hear a RL but it's not going to happen!
Yeah it sure was lucky, although I almost wish it wasnt sealed so I could play it. I gave away my opened copy believe it or not. Pretty stupid.
I'm not relatively anywhere near an audiophile and haven't had much to compare it to outside of other UK pressings. It could just be that I like the sound of Zep II most as a recording. Very hot and powerful. I can't fault the plum label. On parts like the middle of The Lemon Song where it's mainly just the bass and drums grooving away it's sounds fantastic to me, but I've never heard a RL.
Just did a shootout between 3 Monarch pressings (1971, '72, and '73 CC cuts) and the 180 gram Classic Records pressing. The Classic pressings sounds nice and pretty yes, but I don't like the sterile presentation. The instruments were clear and all that, but they sounded constrained to one area; primarily to the left side of the soundstage. While on the '70s pressings, the music was allowed to float freely between the speakers. Also, the high hat on I Can't Quit You Baby is on the left channel on the C.R. pressing, while on the other records it is on the right. What gives? In all, the '72 pressing will be my go to listening copy. The Classic is clean sounding and all, but compared to the other records from the C.R. catalog, it doesn't cut the mustard.
Nope..go back and read the thread. The US early George Piros cut has been praised as a top tier (perhaps the best) sounding pressing. It's neither expensive, exclusive, or rare.
I'm still finding my way through the maze of Zeppelin pressings. Having found my top copy of Zep II, I turned to finding my ultimate copy of I. Here's what I used for comparison: 1) 1st Press SD 8216-PR - Rob Grenell 2) 1st Press SD 8216-CT - Columbia Press 3) 1st Press SD-8216 - Canadian Red Label - Non TG 4) 8216-MO 1974 Monarch - George Piros 5) 19126-AR 1982 Allied - George Piros Right off, Piros isn't for me. His 1974 is cut hot as hell, but there's no dimension to the mastering: it's just flat, loud, and in your face. Personally it was exhausting and I couldn't listen to the whole album in a sitting. His 1982 Allied was much better, warm and full of bass. However, it is heavily compressed and loses the air and atmosphere of the original recording. Rob Grenell's 1st Press is mastered beautifully, lots of cool ear candy and dimension. The bridge of "How Many More" with Page's guitar bowing was my favorite moment -- Grenell floods the guitar into the ears like a 3D nightmare, it's mightily impressive. However, I had two significant problems with this press. Most importantly, the lead vocal is slightly recessed in most of the songs, the instruments are more to the forefront. The lack of anchor (Plant's vocal) makes this a slightly nauseous experience, the ear can't quite grab onto anything for focus. Adding to that, there's a slight but definite commercial sheen to this pressing, a "Hi-Fi" polish that tweaks the sound to makes it sparkle. It doesn't belong on this band or this album. The SD-8216 CT is an improvement in some ways, the main vocal isn't recessed and it's an easier listen for that matter. However, it can't compete with the impressive soundstage of the Grenell. The 1st Press Red Label Canadian pisses all over the rest of these and laughs while doing it. This one is disgustingly good, it's already my favorite Zeppelin pressing and one of the best of my entire collection. There's none of that commercial sheen of the Grenell, this is stripped down and RAW. Guitars swirl around the speakers like a late night acid trip, instruments are crisp and discrete, you can hear the air in the recording (and electrical feed). This album was recorded like a straightforward "blues" record (by a blues band) and the mastering exemplifies those qualities in the best way possible. In terms of sonics, this press has the sound profile of a mid 60's jazz or blues recording. This is how Zeppelin should sound on every record, IMHO.
Wonderful review! We have the impression of hearing the sound ... and the desire to pick up this first Canadian pressing! In the same vein, have you ever heard the Spanish reissue of Led Zeppelin ll cut by engineer Alvear? the wildest, RAW version I've heard from this album! The beast in the cage! If you want to hear what the tape is like before Bob Ludwig infuses it with awesome authoritative mastering! It's this one !
I found a used copy for $20 on RSD last weekend (not quite NM- with one or two marks). This retailer knows their stuff and separates out pretty much anything with any rarity or demand (with a price to match). But they somehow missed this one (as I almost did too). Not necessarily my favorite version of this LP (although it's pretty close), but the best of Classic LZ's IMO.
My copy of LZI is an early 80's German Atlantic press, it sounds very dynamic. I have the LZIV EU reissue on vinyl. Although the vinyl sounds technically ok, no snap crackle pop, it's clean but I get the impression of a blanket over the speakers. But then again, brand new LZ vinyl with superb cover art can be had for 20€/£/$ a pop. Get them. They are dead silent, flat and bang for the buck..
I haven't heard any Spanish presses, it sounds worth checking out. I have a double RL SS, and while I like it, I prefer the 1st press Red Label Canadian for LZII. It's the most stripped down and raw of the pressings that I've come across. I'll have to seek out the Alvear, because I like my Zep RAW. Thanks for the recommendation.
Funny, I had the opposite experience. Bought a super clean 1977 Monarch which played great but I didn't enjoy the sound. A lo-fi crunchier presentation that sounded muffled and lifeless in comparison. At least, IMHO and on my system. The CR in contrast is alive, has much more depth to it, wider soundstage, presence, and detail. Sounds like it was recorded yesterday. Very fresh-sounding. Our gear is quite different so it could simply be that our tastes are quite different in what we prefer this album to sound like.
Possible. There are many different pressing years. A 1970 could possibly best the CR. Though I'm satisfied with the CR, if I come across a 1970 or 1971 clean Piros for a reasonable price, I'll grab it and hope to be pleasantly surprised.
I did some research and found out the channels were wacky out of the gate on the Atlantic pressings I preferred. With that, I am going to have a tough time not thinking about that while playing them, so my go to listening copy may as well be the Classic Records pressing.
I will try to post some 24/96 HD samples of the ALVEAR mastering (I no longer have a PC, just my smartphone!) on Google Drive. If that can help you to get a fairly precise idea of his work (Raw power!). You mention for Led Zeppelin ll a Canadian pressing, red labels. TG or MG?
Just recently bought a very nicely preserved red Canadian II. It is the MG pressing. Think it sounds quite good, but prefer my fourth UK plum. The instruments float in the air a little more and it's a tad smoother. I mentioned this in another thread, the red Canadians are almost always noisy, even though this one looked nearly unplayed, and was cleaned throughly it still plays with lots of annoying surface noise. The UK is more beat but is quieter.
