New box sets including unreleased material

[pujols05]

I gotta say that I've given it some thought and even though there's a good chunk of change involved with the Super Deluxe Box Sets, I went and pre-ordered them.

First, I figured if I can't save up that much money between now and October 28, that would be pretty sad of me. Heck, I could go pick up cans alongside the road and recycle them to get it if I was that desperate.

Yeah, I've been selling old comic books, the old Complete Studio Recordings box set, the odd (Pink Floyd) bootleg or two and such to raise some spending money.

But second, I got the Deluxe CDs last round and while I love them, I realized right away that I wanted more.

Yeah, that's probably the rub. If there's any way of getting the SDBS, how can you pass them up? Gorgeous!

At least the point you are making has some merit and is truly debatable. Maybe middle ground should have been an option.

My issue was really with the complaint above about the CONTENT being worthless. That is absolutely nuts. How can any fan in their right mind complain that they "no longer care" about releases which have included BRAND NEW Zeppelin in 2014?? Moreover, how can anybody write off the next batch of albums without even hearing them? PG through Coda have been written off without even seeing a track list! Its completely laughable!

You start to wonder if these people are fans, or just complete weirdos who are so wrapped up in ridiculous minutiae that they can't spot a true gift when it hits them in the face!

Well stated.

[shejustsatisfies]

Get ready to be dissapointed then because Jimmy has already stated that there'll be no more live stuff with these remasters.

Personally I think that the IV alternate disc looks far more exciting than the HOTH one, slightly dissapointed there are no 'new' songs (ala La La & Keys to the Highway) on this round of reissues, both delux CDs pre-ordered this morning however.

+1

Was hoping for more "new" tunes as well. I have the Sabbath deluxes and hardly listen to the alternate mixes or instrumental versions of the songs we have listened to for 30+ years.....The new tunes and live album really makes me put these Zep companions on more but not sure how excited I am for the bonus material on these 2, JP did say though that this new version of Stairway is amazing, I am hoping for something like SIBLY. Backing tracks without vocals or piano, if its the same as the album version, is just not exciting. Still I ordered the SDBS as I have to have the remastered vinyl and CDs and the books.....

[lif]

Was hoping for more "new" tunes as well.

I guess I'm so into the music that every version is "new" to me. Each song is all the richer for having a history - multiple versions over time - as well as for having a studio version on the original albums as a kind of baseline for me to compare to.

Brand-new songs would be great, too, but then they'll never be played again by LZ again anywhere, anytime, right? So they're "one-offs". Of interest, for sure, but not as alive and deep to me over the long run.

And I'm into the music for the long run.

[SteveAJones]

I can't stand when people bitch and moan for Zep to open the vault and then have the audacity to complain when they do. But its worse than that. I think you complain because you think its cool to do so. I have no doubt that if "La La" or "Keys to the Highway" found their way into the Steve A. Jones Archives a year ago that you would be touting them as the greatest find since the Dead Sea Scrolls. Now, because they are out, and everybody else has them, you "no longer care".

Why be such a contrarian? If I PM'd you a year ago and said I had an unreleased Zep track - that nobody even knew existed - how much would you pay for it? Seems to me that would be worth the price of the Super Deluxe set by itself. If not much, much more.

Now make it two never before heard of tracks, then ADD absolutely ripping, never before heard, versions of SIBLY and WLL in studio quality plus some alternate mixes, plus a live show at much better quality than currently circulating. The fact that you can download all of this AND get top quality remasters of each the original albums at the same time ALL for 15 bucks a piece (in Canada anyway) is truly unbelievable. If you want a cool photo-book AND vinyl, AND HD Downloads AND CD's AND awesome packaging AND a numbered print, it will cost you a bit more. Worth every penny to me, but again, if you don't think so it is available at all price points to suit your needs.

I think these sets are spectacular. I think the way they are being released is spectacular. I think the excitement around a band that broke up many decades ago is spectacular. And the best thing for you is, if you don't like them, or "no longer care" you don't have to buy them!!

Many people have clamored for the band to open their vault, however I have not because generally speaking if something was truly worthwhile it would have already been released between 1968-1980. La La and Keys to the Highway are perfect examples of this. In my opinion they are both weak songs - curiosities at best - and if anyone cares in my opinion alt mixes are not that interesting. I'm not jumping for joy over an edited version of '69 concert recording already out on bootleg either.

I get you like to say nice things about certain people in particular and not so nice things about me, in particular. Whatever floats your boat and makes you feel better about yourself.

[kayley10]

I personally am thankful we're getting anything at all. I bought the reissues when they came and I'll buy these ones too. The problem is not the reissues. It's people's expectations of the reissues. I usually approach something new thinking it's going to disappoint me and I'm usually happily surprised.

[seaweed gate]

I really hope a book will be released (separate release I mean) gathering all the books from each Super Deluxe Box Set after the complete serie of remasters will be out. I don't want to indulge in buying each SDBS to have so, because I don't think the SDBSets as they are designed are essential releases.

I'm no vinyl addict nor I think the new Davis Remasters are surpassing the good old Marino 1990 remasters.

But the books, YES, they are a REAL added value to the whole packaging from my point of view. And I know I'm not the only one to think so.

SO PLEASE, CONSIDER A SEPARATE RELEASE OF ALL THE BOOKS FROM THE SDBS somewhere along the way. THANKS.

[Dandu]

Many people have clamored for the band to open their vault, however I have not because generally speaking if something was truly worthwhile it would have already been released between 1968-1980.

You can ignore me all you want, but it won't change the facts. How do you reconcile the above quote with the one below a few months before??

Obviously some people don't fully realize how much time and attention Jimmy has committed to this project. I'll tell you this much, and you can bank on it (perhaps it will count for a lot given I'm apparently considered one of Jimmy's most critical commentators: these releases are going to knock your damn socks off!

and how do you reconcile the above with the below?

I no longer care. The level of ambition regarding the content of this remaster series is just not there to merit any of my continued enthusiasm.

So let me get this straight: There is nothing good in the vaults, but what is in the vaults will blow my socks off, and Jimmy has taken painstaking time and effort in making this set spectacular, but the level of ambition he has put in is truly lacking.

Come on Steve. I don't spend my days looking to say "not nice things about you". But I do call BS when I see it. And I'm calling BS.

Maybe, before the release, you got your hopes up too high and didn't take your own advice that these are leftovers and outtakes. Looked at through that lens - getting new music/new versions in 2014 is outstanding. Sorry you take offence to that but don't blame others who see the release for exactly what it is and are so happy to have it.

[SteveAJones]

For the record, I stand by all of my previous statements. Jimmy (among others) did put a lot of time and effort into these releases and as I said the content would/will knock YOUR socks off (though not necessarily mine). They are a good value for the money at whatever price point one enters the arena. Collect them all as I have done and will continue to do so. Begin (or continue) to build your own archives of images & sounds that resonate with you. All that I ask of people in the course of doing so is to get off my back! I've done the best I could for others, all too often for sweet fuck all in return.

[Dandu]

I said the content would/will knock YOUR socks off (though not necessarily mine).

- so why are YOU now complaining about the content?

Moreover, are you honestly not blown away to hear TWO brand new Zeppelin tracks that nobody even knew existed - even if you don't love the tracks (I happen to like them both)?

All that I ask of people in the course of doing so is to get off my back!

So don't go on a Zeppelin forum and denounce a release which includes brand new, never before heard tracks and new, never before heard versions (particularly WLL and SIBLY) as being devoid of content!! And then take a run at the next 6 releases which you haven't even heard! How can you expect people not to get on your back for that??

I've done the best I could for others, all too often for sweet fuck all in return.

I don't know what this means.

Look, Steve, I don't want a war with you. I have no interest in it, but sometimes I think the only way the band can satisfy some of the hardcore fans would be to release stuff under bootleg labels. It has become vogue to insult official releases amongst that crowd. I have no doubt if ANY of the companion discs came out as bootlegs they would be hailed as spectacular!

[lif]

Everyone has their own expectations and wants when it comes to music (and all art). I don't see the point in expecting anyone else to share those expectations or desires, though reading about their *reasons* (such as they understand them) is always interesting. Even if sometimes I think their reasons are stupid.

But hey, that's why I try to remember to always add: IMO.

[SteveAJones]

- so why are YOU now complaining about the content?

Moreover, are you honestly not blown away to hear TWO brand new Zeppelin tracks that nobody even knew existed - even if you don't love the tracks (I happen to like them both)?

So don't go on a Zeppelin forum and denounce a release which includes brand new, never before heard tracks and new, never before heard versions (particularly WLL and SIBLY) as being devoid of content!! And then take a run at the next 6 releases which you haven't even heard! How can you expect people not to get on your back for that??

I don't know what this means.

Look, Steve, I don't want a war with you. I have no interest in it, but sometimes I think the only way the band can satisfy some of the hardcore fans would be to release stuff under bootleg labels. It has become vogue to insult official releases amongst that crowd. I have no doubt if ANY of the companion discs came out as bootlegs they would be hailed as the spectacular!

All I've said was my enthusiasm for this series has waned considerably. I am not going to get what I was looking for on the upcoming companion discs after all. Oh well, that's life in the big city.

Speaking only for myself, those two tracks are curiosities and though nice to have not necessarily something I'm going to play again.

There's no question releasing this material under a bootleg label would have afforded greater possibilities for content. Listeners could have gotten everything on the original reels as opposed to singular alt mixes.

There are only so many Spring times, I'll not spend another being a useful idiot.

[Dandu]

All I've said was my enthusiasm for this series has waned considerably. I am not going to get what I was looking for on the upcoming companion discs after all. Oh well, that's life in the big city.

Speaking only for myself, those two tracks are curiosities and though nice to have not necessarily something I'm going to play again.

This is a softer tone and far more palatable. It is totally fair for you not to like the two unreleased tracks as musical compositions. Nobody can argue with you about that.

It seems that your complaint is about a lack of content pleasing to you rather than an actual lack of content. While I am not sure what you were looking for on the companion sets given that you yourself acknowledge that anything truly great would have been released at the time, again, I can't argue with that opinion.

To me, if you take these releases for what they are, there are some truly special gems on them, regardless of taste. Just the fact they have been released at all is special. Not every alt mix is a winner (or even that different), but, just for the ones that are, these sets are home runs. New Zep in 2014. Unreal.

We know there won't be unheard of tracks, but I hope that there are alt gems on the next two releases as well. And maybe more unreleased and unknown stuff on the last four too.

Anyway, I'm just glad I'm not on your dreaded ignore list.

[SteveAJones]

It seems that your complaint is about a lack of content pleasing to you rather than an actual lack of content. While I am not sure what you were looking for on the companion sets given that you yourself acknowledge that anything truly great would have been released at the time, again, I can't argue with that opinion.

Anyway, I'm just glad I'm not on your dreaded ignore list.

Precisely! I freely acknowledge my criticism of companion disc content in this series is indeed rooted in self-centeredness. After all these years I am jaded and hard to please. Perhaps many of us have become spoiled to some degree.

[nirvana]

Precisely! I freely acknowledge my criticism of companion disc content in this series is indeed rooted in self-centeredness. After all these years I am jaded and hard to please. Perhaps many of us have become spoiled to some degree.

'S

I tend to see Steve' s intention here. I find myself in the middle ground of muted excitement over the first 3 releases. Yes they have some silver nuggets but not golden ones. I think the real gems may come from the "lost Presence tapes" that Jimmy found in a box that even he didn't realize existed. Then guys like Steve and me will join in the majority who are thrilled with the Companion releases. Unfortunately I think Presence will be the one and only super surprise release of the bunch.

[SteveAJones]

I tend to see Steve' s intention here. I find myself in the middle ground of muted excitement over the first 3 releases. Yes they have some silver nuggets but not golden ones. I think the real gems may come from the "lost Presence tapes" that Jimmy found in a box that even he didn't realize existed. Then guys like Steve and me will join in the majority who are thrilled with the Companion releases. Unfortunately I think Presence will be the one and only super surprise release of the bunch.

Right on! My shelves are already groaning under the weight of previously bootlegged outtakes and alt mixes. If there's a gold nugget still left to be found the odds are it's from the Presence album recording sessions.

[achillestand]

Personally, I would have liked Jimmy to include lots of live material for these reissues, especially considering the time lapse between LZ official releases. I think Jimmy had live, unreleased material for IV (Japan 71 shows), HOTH (outakes form the 72 LA Forum and Long Beach shows, Southampton 73 and outakes form TSRTS), PG (Earls Court) Presence (some soundboard from the 77 tour), and ITTOD (Knebworth). However, maybe we must understand that this is about LZ´s STUDIO ALBUMS and not LIVE. But this is far from being a complaint, I very much wellcome these new editions and their companion discs.

[ksgemini]

It seems differing opinions are not even welcomed here. People r free to knock every musician Robert plays with... His set lists... Cd's but disliking the remasters is forbidden I get it "don't buy it if u dont like it"

Fine but pointing out the overinflated prices and awful companion discs is not allowed. Leaving 1's companion disc as the ONLY live material and including backing track and mixes that at times r barely different and 30 minutes a disc shows someone is just milking the cash cow. The sound is slightly better on the originals but everything else books prints and pretty mundane outakes is a disappointment for many. Maybe Jimmy does need a nap...

[luvlz2]

I tend to see Steve' s intention here. I find myself in the middle ground of muted excitement over the first 3 releases. Yes they have some silver nuggets but not golden ones. I think the real gems may come from the "lost Presence tapes" that Jimmy found in a box that even he didn't realize existed. Then guys like Steve and me will join in the majority who are thrilled with the Companion releases. Unfortunately I think Presence will be the one and only super surprise release of the bunch.

+1

[Melcórë]

Right on! My shelves are already groaning under the weight of previously bootlegged outtakes and alt mixes. If there's a gold nugget still left to be found the odds are it's from the Presence album recording sessions.

You simply can't say that without having heard the music in question, though. It's absurd to react negatively to something you have no experience with...not to mention the fact that we've already been given the "gold nugget(s)" you speak of...but you're self-admittedly hard to please, and I'm tired of trying to convince people. You're either happy, or you're not, and I'm very happy.

It seems differing opinions are not even welcomed here. People r free to knock every musician Robert plays with... His set lists... Cd's but disliking the remasters is forbidden I get it "don't buy it if u dont like it"

Fine but pointing out the overinflated prices and awful companion discs is not allowed. Leaving 1's companion disc as the ONLY live material and including backing track and mixes that at times r barely different and 30 minutes a disc shows someone is just milking the cash cow. The sound is slightly better on the originals but everything else books prints and pretty mundane outakes is a disappointment for many. Maybe Jimmy does need a nap...

Is that you, kezarharry?

[Cecil.]

I think everyone here came to the new releases with different expectations and hopes as to what may be included, so now the albums are arriving, it is good to hear everyones opinion of the bonus albums.

For me it has been the little things on the tracks which I have picked up on most, after hearing the song over the years, I've had few "oh this is different" moments which sort of reveal the inner workings of the band, familiar but different.

If I am honest the live show with Led Zeppelin 1 is the going to be the least played of all the companion discs, I was hoping a few tracks might surface.

[andrew r]

It seems differing opinions are not even welcomed here. People r free to knock every musician Robert plays with... His set lists... Cd's but disliking the remasters is forbidden I get it "don't buy it if u dont like it"

Fine but pointing out the overinflated prices and awful companion discs is not allowed. Leaving 1's companion disc as the ONLY live material and including backing track and mixes that at times r barely different and 30 minutes a disc shows someone is just milking the cash cow. The sound is slightly better on the originals but everything else books prints and pretty mundane outakes is a disappointment for many. Maybe Jimmy does need a nap...

Maybe the over inflated media storm hype prior to release is to blame?

The actual content was never going to measure up

I fell into buying them all, perused them once, went back to my plum originals.

We all actually want Jimmy to include a time machine in the next sets, so we can get back to

when we all heard this magical music for the first time.

[Melcórë]

If I am honest the live show with Led Zeppelin 1 is the going to be the least played of all the companion discs, I was hoping a few tracks might surface.

It's down to the Zeppelin work ethic, which was heavily informed by Page and Jones' experience as session musicians: They seem to have rarely gone into the studio and produced take after take of a song. Instead, they would work on the music (individually and collectively) before entering the studio, lay down a basic track once they were there, and build on it.

It's clear that there aren't many surviving tapes from the Led Zeppelin sessions -- and that brings us (again) to a pertinent point: These aren't 2014 Frankenstein multi-track remixes, like so many other artists' archival releases -- the tracks we're getting were mixed at the time the songs were recorded, which is a gift in that we're able to see the songs at different points of development.

Anyone's problems with the sets are down to their own false expectations and dreams, not due to any actual deficiency in terms of the music. A friend of mine has said that had any of these tracks been released by a bootleg label or "liberated" by someone in the trading community (i.e. stolen) they would have received universal praise.

[ksgemini]

I would agree with the above comment and plead guilty to having expectations too high. Also a lot of the benefits seem for people with high end systems and downloading hd capabilities which I admit on the latter have no frame of reference. I wish they had done one 75-100 dollar box with remastered originals and maybe a 1 or 2 disc compilation of the best of the companion discs...

Kezarharry? Ummmmmmm?

[Melcórë]

I would agree with the above comment and plead guilty to having expectations too high. Also a lot of the benefits seem for people with high end systems and downloading hd capabilities which I admit on the latter have no frame of reference. I wish they had done one 75-100 dollar box with remastered originals and maybe a 1 or 2 disc compilation of the best of the companion discs...

Kezarharry? Ummmmmmm?

I had high expectations too...but somehow it hasn't taken away from the fun. I realize that I'm on the younger side of fandom -- a lot of people have had twenty, thirty, or even forty years to imagine what was in the vaults...

I wouldn't be surprised if they box the remasters and/or the companion tracks together at some point -- they've certainly done so a few times in the past, after all.

Oh, and your post reminded me (vaguely) of someone else online. The comparison wasn't actually apt, though.

[The Dark Lord]

Overall, I'm pretty satisfied with the new releases, although I will say that they are very safe, and conservative, having followed the lead of all the other bands that have released DE's over the years. I think it is important to remember that these are DE's, and not "new" stand alone releases. By their very nature, they were only really intended to satisfy a curiosity as to how Zeppelin's songs and albums were created. I suppose there is some level of disappointment for me when I reflect on Jimmy's comment that he was including material that would "knock their [bootleggers] pants off". I don't really think that he has overwhelmingly achieved that goal. I think its great to have this stuff, and I will always cherish it, but the term DE implies that the material was not going to be anything mind blowing. DE's are generally intended to provide insight into how songs and albums were worked out, and offer something new to the highly committed followers. My advice is to keep expectations low, and appreciate these discs for what they are: treats for the super fans. So far, the LZ III DE is my favorite. I do believe that the vaults are pretty much empty, as there really is no reason for Jimmy to hold back, given his age and the improbability that he will have another opportunity to put out more material at a later date. It would be quite fitting, however, if he saved the best for last, and created a Coda companion disc of ALL new material, such as Fire and others. That still remains within the realm of possibility, and Coda would be a very suitable vehicle for such an approach, since it is already a compilation album. I have said from the outset that I think Coda will be the one to watch, and Jimmy's approach on the first five supports that either the well is dry, or that there is a surprise in store for us at the end of this DE journey.