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Jimmy Page says he may release Led Zeppelin studio material on Record Store Day “in five years time”


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WTF?????

So there is still plenty of stuff in the vault that was not inluded in the reissues this year. This is highly iritating.

I wouldn't go as far as saying there's plenty of stuff left in the vaults, Jimmy stated in that same interview that the current remasters campaign was pretty much it as far as studio material goes, he might be talking about a potential lower-key release of an alternative mix released just for Record Store Day... in other words, nothing much to talk about and not a lot of fuss surrounding it's release, just a one-off for the hardcore Zepinistas to buy.

Frankly, none of the companion disc material has been up to snuff or been substantive - with the exception of 'Key to the Highway/Trouble in Mind' and 'Sugar Mama' (and both could have just been included on Coda for goodness' sake) - but let's be truly honest about the actual reasons for their release now, and it isn't because they were in any way essential, if they had been, they would have seen the light of day officially many years ago... no, the REAL reason was because Jimmy needed a new hook to bait people into buying newly-remastered albums that many people had multiple copies of already, and they couldn't go the whole 'mini-LP vinyl replica' route again 'cause they already played that card with 2008's Definitive Collection box set release.

Don't get me wrong, I take nothing away from those who are genuinely enjoying the companion discs, and at least Jimmy and the powers-that-be gave us the choice of which version we want to buy, but we didn't need half-finished or work-in-progress outtakes to buy the albums again, the stellar remastering and the sheer transcendent quality of the albums themselves should have seen to that, well that and nice vinyl replica packaging (both outer AND inner sleeves) to really seal the deal... and that's probably the sole flaw with these new releases; the fact the discs themselves (at least on the standalone CD editions, both deluxe and standard) don't come with protective inner sleeves, leading to scuffed and even scratched discs, other than that, they're the best Zeppelin have ever sounded and a very considerable sonic upgrade on all previous editions.

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Asked if there was anything left in the studio archive Jimmy summarised that that was about it –though he did hint at a possible future Record Store Day release noting ‘’Something might pop up on international Record Day or something like that. But it will be a long way off.”

http://www.tightbutloose.co.uk/tbl-news/presencein-through-the-out-door-coda-olympic-studios-playback-event-report-plus-exclusive-tbl-track-by-track-complete-companion-discs-preview/

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Record Store Day releases are rarely full albums. For all we know, it could be a 45 of another mix to Whole Lotta Love. Will i buy it, absolutely. Do i expect it to be something far out and earth shattering? Nope. There's 8 albums of far out and earth shattering content already in existence. Give me new material (from Page) and any other live Zeppelin stuff he may have prepared for the future.

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I wouldn't go as far as saying there's plenty of stuff left in the vaults, Jimmy stated in that same interview that the current remasters campaign was pretty much it as far as studio material goes, he might be talking about a potential lower-key release of an alternative mix released just for Record Store Day... in other words, nothing much to talk about and not a lot of fuss surrounding it's release, just a one-off for the hardcore Zepinistas to buy.

Frankly, none of the companion disc material has been up to snuff or been substantive - with the exception of 'Key to the Highway/Trouble in Mind' and 'Sugar Mama' (and both could have just been included on Coda for goodness' sake) - but let's be truly honest about the actual reasons for their release now, and it isn't because they were in any way essential, if they had been, they would have seen the light of day officially many years ago... no, the REAL reason was because Jimmy needed a new hook to bait people into buying newly-remastered albums that many people had multiple copies of already, and they couldn't go the whole 'mini-LP vinyl replica' route again 'cause they already played that card with 2008's Definitive Collection box set release.

Don't get me wrong, I take nothing away from those who are genuinely enjoying the companion discs, and at least Jimmy and the powers-that-be gave us the choice of which version we want to buy, but we didn't need half-finished or work-in-progress outtakes to buy the albums again, the stellar remastering and the sheer transcendent quality of the albums themselves should have seen to that, well that and nice vinyl replica packaging (both outer AND inner sleeves) to really seal the deal... and that's probably the sole flaw with these new releases; the fact the discs themselves (at least on the standalone CD editions, both deluxe and standard) don't come with protective inner sleeves, leading to scuffed and even scratched discs, other than that, they're the best Zeppelin have ever sounded and a very considerable sonic upgrade on all previous editions.

Great post. Thanks. Agree with everything you've said here.

As far as I'm concerned, and from what I can discern, the only real treasure that's left in the Zeppelin vaults are the Earls Court multitracks, and the best moments from these have already surfaced on the DVD. So maybe it's finally time just to be happy with the immense offficially released riches we already have and the stacks of very listenable boots.

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Great post. Thanks. Agree with everything you've said here.

As far as I'm concerned, and from what I can discern, the only real treasure that's left in the Zeppelin vaults are the Earls Court multitracks, and the best moments from these have already surfaced on the DVD. So maybe it's finally time just to be happy with the immense offficially released riches we already have and the stacks of very listenable boots.

The best moments??? Tangerine. The best version of Kashmir ever. Extended No Quarter. Extended Dazed And Confused. Etc. This release would be fucking amazing!

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The best moments??? Tangerine. The best version of Kashmir ever. Extended No Quarter. Extended Dazed And Confused. Etc. This release would be fucking amazing!

You are right. Jimmy put out the Earls Court tracks that best fitted the time limits and overall representation of the band on the DVD, but these didn't include all the best moments from the EC shows. I stand corrected.

Looks like Jimmy needed to avoid marathon solos on the DVD, which explains why Dazed and the stellar NQ from the 24th didn't make it. Also he must have preferred the Knebwoth Kashmir to the EC one.

Agreed, a best of EC would be a monster release. Let's hope.

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You are right. Jimmy put out the Earls Court tracks that best fitted the time limits and overall representation of the band on the DVD, but these didn't include all the best moments from the EC shows. I stand corrected.

Looks like Jimmy needed to avoid marathon solos on the DVD, which explains why Dazed and the stellar NQ from the 24th didn't make it. Also he must have preferred the Knebwoth Kashmir to the EC one.

Agreed, a best of EC would be a monster release. Let's hope.

Back in the day when Jimmy still had every intention of putting together the chronological live album, one of the tracks he specifically cited was 'No Quarter' from Earl's Court, although which night's rendition he had in mind I don't know...

If Jimmy does indeed decide to put together an EC live album, I would hope he forgoes a vinyl release for it and makes it a CD-only album like HTWWW, that way he doesn't have to worry about tight time constraints and can let each track flow naturally, however long that takes...

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Back in the day when Jimmy still had every intention of putting together the chronological live album, one of the tracks he specifically cited was 'No Quarter' from Earl's Court, although which night's rendition he had in mind I don't know...

If Jimmy does indeed decide to put together an EC live album, I would hope he forgoes a vinyl release for it and makes it a CD-only album like HTWWW, that way he doesn't have to worry about tight time constraints and can let each track flow naturally, however long that takes...

Agreed, a 3CD release of the best moments of the EC shows conjoined into a typical EC setlist would be the most satisfying way to go.

Some folk on this forum have questioned whether an 3 CD EC release would sell enough units to make it viable in today's market. Can't quite see this myself. I would have thought there is still a sizeable market for such a release, though I'm hardly an industry expert.

JPJ is on record as saying one of his EC NQ solos was 'particularly fine'. I've always thought he was referring to the 24th as this seems to be the most celebrated of the EC NQs. So maybe Jimmy was reffering to this one too in his comments about the chronological live album.

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I don't understand why anyone would be surprised by what Page said. I don't entirely agree with Hermit. Page may be a bit greedy and

cheap, absolutely. But he is very rich and I don't see much reason for him to string people along or release sub-par stuff to at this point

just to make more money.

I think there is plenty of stuff unreleased and not on studio boots, but just like the live stuff, Jimmy while he is alive simply will

not release material which is not above certain standards of sound quality, band performance, especially his performance(!?!?),

Very uneven hard to correct EQ,etc.,. Just think of that Jennings Farm Blues sound check tape, with all the Elvis, 50's covers.

IMO this is a brilliant performance. But there are stops and starts, clear if somewhat harsh sound quality, and although Page

kicks ass, he is very sloppy and sounds like a punk guitarist, which actually furthers the music. But if Page would be in

possession solely of another tape like this, NO way would his vision permit it to be released. A shame. The

EC ideas are great, but is Page going to add 2nd guitars and overdub "weak" solos like on HTWWW ???

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IF there's a full EC release, I hope it includes video as well. Visually, they were possibly at their peak in 1975. Musically, well, at least Robert wasn't at his best IMO. Would still love both, audio and video of EC in better quality than the bootlegs. Hopefully, it'll happen in 2016, and not 10 years later.

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I don't understand why anyone would be surprised by what Page said. I don't entirely agree with Hermit. Page may be a bit greedy and

cheap, absolutely. But he is very rich and I don't see much reason for him to string people along or release sub-par stuff to at this point

just to make more money.

I think there is plenty of stuff unreleased and not on studio boots, but just like the live stuff, Jimmy while he is alive simply will

not release material which is not above certain standards of sound quality, band performance, especially his performance(!?!?),

Very uneven hard to correct EQ,etc.,. Just think of that Jennings Farm Blues sound check tape, with all the Elvis, 50's covers.

IMO this is a brilliant performance. But there are stops and starts, clear if somewhat harsh sound quality, and although Page

kicks ass, he is very sloppy and sounds like a punk guitarist, which actually furthers the music. But if Page would be in

possession solely of another tape like this, NO way would his vision permit it to be released. A shame. The

EC ideas are great, but is Page going to add 2nd guitars and overdub "weak" solos like on HTWWW ???

I was aware that Kevin Shirley had tampered with Bonzo's drum sound for HTWWW ('tightened it up a little' he called it in an interview, but to my ears, 'made it so sound artificial and inorganic' might have been a better phrase), but didn't know that Jimmy had done any adding second guitars and, aside from selecting the best solos etc from the nights in question, had overdubbed anything from later/earlier. To my recollection The Garden Tapes site doesn't mention this in the HTWWW section. Would be interested in any clarification.

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I think there is alot of material in "the vaults"...and i will be buying any record store release in the future...or burn it if i cant get it.

The studio material is a 3rd major facet to the whole zep mystique...and unlike some of the later live stuff suffering, the studio stuff got better...

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  • 5 weeks later...

scope of work/project is not clearing the vault, rather, providing the best listening experience for present and future methods of play(formats)... then provide content(companion) that allows the listener access to glipse the process and development of the LP as it developed not in total but a representative glimpse and this all at the pleasure of caretaker. Unprecedented success on both tasks.

Of course there is, however if it wasn't worthy of being included in this series...

Grateful to SAJ for his continued practical insight, you are appreciated- 100% on the mark about passing the worthy test. If it isn't public, theres a really, really good reason.

======================================

Regarding EC tapes/celluloid and Caveman... just don't wonder about it if you can help it. If a missing kick drum track is the only thing in the way, well enough signal can be captured from the bleed thru on other tracks to suffice. So many ways to make it work. That in itself is the point... Led Zeppelin standards are higher than "make it work" - a lot more.

[for the critical listener] It will be a long time before another band offers a LP with the precision of primary isolation and ambient field that each of these has- everyone I know is stumped by how the ambient field was created and preserved without bleed thru or mud particularly on some of the guitar work especially on the companion disc for PG. The usual tell tale signs are not there. Singular achievement that so far cannot be duplicated exactly. Listening to these reminds me (usually the keys and Bonham's left hand work) how exceptional and rare a treat it is to hear a band at their best- and they are.

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