Led Zeppelin reissues - what went wrong?

Yup... It's possible that the vinyl on my original III had wear that would affect the sound though. Not perfect vinyl, for sure. The reissue is brighter, but certainly not unpleasantly so. I found it to have better clarity and prefer it over the dull sound of my Canadian original.

 

I have a Red 'LED ZEPPELIN 1', it's pretty beat up and my reissue does sound better. Also have a Red '2' and it put's the reissue to shame. But I wouldn't discourage others on picking up the reissues, seeing as good original pressings are quite expensive.

 

The only complaint I have is getting single sheet inserts instead of proper inner bags for all albums after III except PG. That was appallingly cheap, I thought.

 

I can only comment from the CD format angle in regards to Page's reissue campaign of the catalog. Personally, the only one that delighted me the most was LZ III and mostly on the strength of the outtake material; rough mixes and/or alternate takes of numbers like Friends, Out on the Tiles, Gallows Pole and the electric version of Bron-Y-Aur Stomp(aka Jennings Farm Blues) were cool additions offered. Presence is another one that was decent, despite the hoopla of 10 Ribs and All/Carrot Pod Pod, interesting instrumental, but nothing mind-blowing, I did like Bonham's vocal of Royal Orleans and found it quite funny. I feel that Coda could have easily been a two disc set and thought that Page sort of screwed with us fans, monetary wise, with that particular edition.

Of course, the latest reissue is that of the BBC sessions, but I've no interest whatsoever in acquiring that as the only enticing feature is one number, Sunshine Woman. I think Page's intentions were partly noble, given the ever evolving lure of technology, but on the other hand, how many times can one go to the well and remaster/reissue material that's been available? Another bone of contention is some of the supposed rough mixes that were made available and the results were not that different from the final masters released the first time around. Kashmir is a prime example, as taken from the 3 disc edition, and most of In Through the Out Door's extras aren't particularly significant from what I've heard through other opinions by fans and collectors. I do own 4 of the reissues(III, PG, Presence and Coda) and I have snagged a couple of mp3 downloads from some of the other albums, but for the most part, I think Jimmy used the "smoke and mirrors" approach within this reissue campaign.

What I'd like to see is something along the lines of a live archives series, particularly the '75, '77 and '79/'80 spots of activity; it would certainly make for an interesting comparison of how the music evolved and the group matured and changed within those specific time periods.

 

Physical Graffiti is another of the latest remasters that fails to impress me. Again, it's thin and sterile sounding compared to my UK A1/B4/C1/D1 1st press. On tracks such as "In My Time Of Dying" you just lose all the power and impact of Bonham's awesome drumming. It's not a brilliant sounding recording to begin with but the original vinyl just sounds so much nicer to my ears.

 

I'm sure it does, but there's no real way I'd ever be able to afford a UK first pressing in brilliant condition. Just never going to happen.

 

Both my copies were bought on eBay and condition was as described. I paid £12 for one and £30 for the other.

 

Glad someone else noticed the Physical Graffiti outer sleeve was very off in the color tone (awful resolution too), plus the standalone 2-LP edition is a much thinner, cheaper sleeve than the 2-LP equivalent in the Super Deluxe box-set, the latter having the proper 'chunkier' sleeve, even the standalone 2-CD version has the chunkier sleeve, for Pete's sake... cost-cutting at the expense of presentation and quality.

But sound-wise, these remasters sounded just terrific, nothing wrong with them at all... of course new AAA masters for the vinyl would have been great, but certainly no cause for complaint they weren't.

 

I've got Axis and its wonderful. Not sure of the source, but it sounds gloriously analog to me.

 

"Most of us agree" The UK and US first presses are better.

We do?

 

I assume you mean the Classic Records pressing.. though the EH is also great...

The other reissues stated in the OP were a little larger-sale though... I feel like the Hendrix mono reissues were kind of for a niche group (i.e. US at SH forum and the Hendrix completists!).... The reissues of the core albums in stereo have not IMO been very good.. The original US/Japan CDs are still my go-to. Not any of the countless CD or Vinyl remasters.

 

And the red label Canadian is even better than the UK.

 

Speaking in term of the cd releases, the bonus discs, except for the first (wish it could've been the Fillmore shows) and coda, were underwhelming and somewhat boring. With the wealth of dozens of incredible incendiary live board recordings at Page's disposal you would think maybe .....

 

For us here in the US, obtaining a UK A5/B5 Plum in decent shape is a real challenge. Checking discogs just now, it would cost me at least 5X the price of the reissue for a copy listed as VG+. And we all know how these quality ratings usually go. Then there is the shipping cost from the EU on top of that. So that, to me, is sort of an apples and oranges comparison, even if the difference is as stark as you say.

Clean UK pressings of the Zep catalog are never seen in my neck of the woods (USA Pacific Northwest). In fact, I've never seen one in any condition.

 

They should have just been up front about the lack of new material. Forget the whole "deluxe" thing.

Then they could have made a 2 or 3 disc Coda with the few new worthy tracks (La La/Jennings Farm Blues/Key To The Highway/10 Ribs & All).

Soundwise I was only really disappointed with Zep 1 and 4. There was room for improvement over the previous CD's and they just blew it. Too bright and thin. The last thing you neeed with blues rock.

But we did get definitive versions of Zep 2 and 3. So I can't be too mad.

 

God, just played my first reissue LZ - Song remains the same. Could stand like 3 minutes of this torture. Bright, unnatural, digital sound, little better than his godawful 1993 remasters. Thank you but I'll pass on the rest.

 

I know many on here rate the Canadian red label. I heard a needledrop and found it to have more bass than the UK Plum but it sounds veiled compared to the UK. More than likely due to being cut from a copy of the master tape. I love the Plum.

 

Thats not my recent (yesterday) experience. Just had a friend get an A5/B5 plum in tip top condition - to be posted to the Far east from the UK - 60 US dollars all up.

 

Cool, good on ya!

 

When you start off by implying absolutes its pretty obvious you know your argument is weak.

 

Sorry fella's, I can't 100% agree with the sentiments of the OP. I have all the US originals (and a red label Canadian III) and saying the originals sound better as a blanket statement is flawed.

The only reissues that get spanked by the originals to my ears are Physical Graffiti and Houses Of The Holy. The latter is my least favorite of all the Davis remasters. Some of the other remasters get edged out in a photo finish but in the case of Presence, the Davis remaster is far superior to the 2 vinyl copies I have from 1976. Zep II is not as good as a coveted RL, but it hangs in there quite nicely with a wider soundstage and deeper bass than the Marino masters. The new Zep III KILLS my original US.

Regarding the bonus content on the companion discs - yes, some of it was a joke, but there were plenty of revelations as well. I would say the only one that probably should not have happened was the companion disc for ITTOD. Now THAT is garbage, especially when better material has been on bootleg for years. Yes, I know Pagey said he wanted to avoid redundancy with the boots, but he broke his rule on the Zep III companion disc. He should have broken that rule again on "Out Door." Or, given us a set of live tracks from the Knebworth shows. Although, I must say I enjoyed the alt mix of "In The Evening" which brings Plants voice to the forefront.

 

I think the remastered Physical Graffiti and Presence sound fantastic. Haven't really checked out the other releases yet.

 

I agree with this totally. Especially since a lot of people have heard nowhere near the potential for vinyl playing it on
a modest system. I am as enthusiastic as anyone for getting the "best possible" pressing, from analog sources, all the advantage
that vinyl has to offer - but i am also completely realistic knowing that whatever I'm hearing at home could be completely blown away
by a much better HiFi.

So basically, that "definitive" 1st press that "smokes" the reissue? Guess what, your Project TT with a $75 needle
will be stomped into the ground by a $80k system. I keep that in mind. Ultimately, for the majority of us, it's not that
important these reissues are only 95% of the way to the 1st press. My system is only 50% of the way to audio nirvana anyway.
Sometimes i think the fact people obsess with "the best" version of an album is precisely because they won't ever have a real
reference level system. Can't have a $200k system, but they can dig crates hoping to have the reference level vinyl.

 

I guess I should list the Zep pressings I've got...

I = UK Plum (A1/B1), Page reissue

II = RL

III = UK Plum (early press. Can't remember the numbers right now), Page reissue

IV = UK Plum

HOTH = RL

Graffiti = UK 2nd press

Presence = US Monarch. Maybe one of the best sounding albums I own

ITTOD = US press

Coda = US Monarch, Page reissue

In all, I prefer my originals to the reissues

 

With a little help...