woz70 Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 http://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/jun/08/led-zeppelin-hear-the-unreleased-song-sugar-mama Interesting, but you can see why they left it off of I and Coda the first time around. It's more of a jam than a proper song, and those lyrics are definitely a work in progress. Bonham sounds awesome. Not sure about the rest of it. Lots of 21st Century processing going on with the guitar solo - this was mixed especially for the remasters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators sam_webmaster Posted June 8, 2015 Administrators Share Posted June 8, 2015 ... Lots of 21st Century processing going on with the guitar solo - this was mixed especially for the remasters. The guitar solo effect is a Leslie cabinet, same as on the Good Times Bad Times solo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
For My Life Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 It is really amazing to finally hear this in decent quality, compared with the rather muddy sounding bootleg version that has been circulated for years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woz70 Posted June 8, 2015 Author Share Posted June 8, 2015 The guitar solo effect is a Leslie cabinet, same as on the Good Times Bad Times solo. Not talking about the Leslie! I'm talking about the harmony guitar doubling the solo, which sounds suspiciously like it's been put through an Eventide Harmonizer - not available until 1974. Perhaps this was mixed during the sessions for the original CODA release then..... that had the Harmonizer all over it. Certainly not a sound you heard in 1968. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators sam_webmaster Posted June 8, 2015 Administrators Share Posted June 8, 2015 It's a Coda-era mix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woz70 Posted June 8, 2015 Author Share Posted June 8, 2015 It's a Coda-era mix. Thanks Sam. Nice to know my ears are still working properly! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sathington Willoughby Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 For the rest of us: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/hear-led-zeppelins-rare-riotous-blues-rave-up-sugar-mama-20150608 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Old Hermit Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 It's a Coda-era mix. If it was mixed during the compiling of Coda, why didn't it end up on that album in 1982? Or added to the 1993 version? Strange that it took this long for it to have gotten an official release... that being said, it's a nifty little number, very addictive, although I think I prefer the alternate take that has been bootlegged for years, Plant's vocals are better and it's just a more groovy take, nothing wrong with this one though, and as Jimmy is/was the producer, it's his prerogative which take he feels works best. Nice way to start Monday, it has to be said ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mook Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 Sounds a lot like the riff from Happenings Ten Years Time Ago, which is no bad thing. Looking forward to listening to that on my stereo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZeppMan93 Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 Waited awhile to see if this song ever got a good producing, glad to hear this have good quality. For some reason Robert sounds a little younger in this better version that in the bootleg muddy one that's been around the Internet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melcórë Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 The track has been uploaded to the official YouTube page. It's a Coda-era mix. Thanks for the confirmation, Sam. If it was mixed during the compiling of Coda, why didn't it end up on that album in 1982? Or added to the 1993 version? Strange that it took this long for it to have gotten an official release... that being said, it's a nifty little number, very addictive, although I think I prefer the alternate take that has been bootlegged for years, Plant's vocals are better and it's just a more groovy take, nothing wrong with this one though, and as Jimmy is/was the producer, it's his prerogative which take he feels works best. Nice way to start Monday, it has to be said ... The official track is identical to the bootlegged version, aside from an additional "Sugar mama!" lyric at about :30 into the song. Any sonic differences you're hearing are due to the limitations of technology (or deliberate sabotage) at the hands of the bootleggers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Old Hermit Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 The official track is identical to the bootlegged version, aside from an additional "Sugar mama!" lyric at about :30 into the song. Any sonic differences you're hearing are due to the limitations of technology (or deliberate sabotage) at the hands of the bootleggers. Ah, no problemo, but why is the officially-released version (2:51) a full nine seconds shorter than the bootleg version (3:00)? Is it tape speed or what? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melcórë Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 Ah, no problemo, but why is the officially-released version (2:51) a full nine seconds shorter than the bootleg version (3:00)? Is it tape speed or what? Definitely issues with tape-speed -- the version released on Godfather's Studio Magick clocks in at around 2:50, and I have a version transferred from a trading cassette that is about the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stairway is NOT stolen Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 Quite good, definitely not finished, it's almost like an impromptu Jam rather than an actual song. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sathington Willoughby Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 Quite good, definitely not finished, it's almost like an impromptu Jam rather than an actual song. Totally agree, good riff but it needs some chord changes, bridge/chorus, middle eight, whatever. Pretty repetitive as is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Old Hermit Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 Definitely issues with tape-speed -- the version released on Godfather's Studio Magick clocks in at around 2:50, and I have a version transferred from a trading cassette that is about the same. I had a chance to go back and listen to the bootleg version of 'Sugar Mama' on Youtube - for brevity's sake - and it's definitely a slightly different verson than the officially-released one, the tape speed may be slightly slower but Robert Plant's vocals are different in one or two places. Again, it doesn't really matter, but there is a slight difference between the two, that much is obvious at first listen... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQDiSnNOSAM. By the way and just out of interest, is there anyone else out there who feels the upcoming Coda deluxe edition's black/white negative cover is SO much better than the normal cover? It almost looks decent now; a black background signifying a death (namely Bonzo's) against relatively spartan white font... dignified but functional (an apt description of the album itself)... it would have been a better cover than the one released in 1982. Looks like I'm going to have to shell out for the deluxe edition after all... oh Jimmy, you crafty devil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glyn Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 I had a chance to go back and listen to the bootleg version of 'Sugar Mama' on Youtube - for brevity's sake - and it's definitely a slightly different verson than the officially-released one At about 40 seconds there's an alternate drum fill, the guitar is different. Then again at around 1:14-1:17, the guitar is different here as well. The vocals are also missing. Another different fill at 2:04-2:07 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walter Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 You guys broke me down....just had to listen to it. I like it! Very basic, but very cool at the same time! Did they ever do it during a WLL or D&C jam? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTM Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 The riff to me sounds a bit like The Yardbirds Little Games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrycja Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 Wow so much cleaner that the boot! Faster than I remember, too, (and Old Hermit's link confirms). Plant definitely sounds a lot younger; Bonzo's groove is all the more sultry; a work in progress, but still sooo Zep and already had the makings of being wayyy better than anything whichever band was in distant second could muster. That sound... p.s. thanks for all the link versions so more of us can have a listen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixpense Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 Sounds great. I remember back when CODA was released, Jimmy said in interviews that there were no more unreleased tracks. Whatever was on CODA was all that was left. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Only Way To Fly Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 I like the track a lot - but with a lot of these treasures unearthed (Jennings Farm Blues, etc) I find that after a few "that's really interesting" listens these quickly make their way out of rotation for the more familiar tracks. I think more live material would have pleased a lot more of us. - But it's not about us - it's about Page/Zeppelin and That's The Only Way To Fly! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melcórë Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 I had a chance to go back and listen to the bootleg version of 'Sugar Mama' on Youtube - for brevity's sake - and it's definitely a slightly different verson than the officially-released one, the tape speed may be slightly slower but Robert Plant's vocals are different in one or two places. Again, it doesn't really matter, but there is a slight difference between the two, that much is obvious at first listen... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQDiSnNOSAM. By the way and just out of interest, is there anyone else out there who feels the upcoming Coda deluxe edition's black/white negative cover is SO much better than the normal cover? It almost looks decent now; a black background signifying a death (namely Bonzo's) against relatively spartan white font... dignified but functional (an apt description of the album itself)... it would have been a better cover than the one released in 1982. Looks like I'm going to have to shell out for the deluxe edition after all... oh Jimmy, you crafty devil. You're right! I'm sorry for being a jerk. <3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
For My Life Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 Sugar Mama is now available on Spotify Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Old Hermit Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 You're right! I'm sorry for being a jerk. <3 Absolutely NO need to apologize, Melcore, you didn't do anything wrong . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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