Led Zeppelin III and ITTOD Album Jackets

[kashmiran]

All the CD versions in the US use E as their cover. Also, I don't know if there was one rarer cover but E was the most common one to get. My Dad tried getting all 6. He bought 10 and got E every time. This might also be why the CD versions use E...

[MadScreamingGallery]

Sigh....I did that with cassettes, too, until I wore them out. I really miss that.

The cassettes didn't wear well. We had dozens of cassettes and 8 tracks and they're all unplayable.

[docron]

Yea, cassettes were worse than CDs IMO...

The least amount of the total experience you could get out of any media. What really got me was the album artwork and booklet... or lack thereof.

I'm just 23, so vinyls aren't something that was commonplace (although when I came of age and started experimenting , I quickly found vinyls were well worth the work put in to actually finding one in the 90's).

Theres just no beating vinlys.

I suppose though, its more about being period correct. Music made in the 70's is the best on vinyl with the total album jacket/artwork and A/B-side flip experience, whereas music made today is best on iPod (along with their lossy .mp3 file type). lol

I don't understand my generation.

[LukeTheDuke]

... I also realize that, back then, I knew the music much more intimately than I do now. Part of it was not just the tactile experience with the vinyl but also the visual one. We all knew the width of each song's track, just by sight....

This is the best sentence I've ever seen on this forum: you're definetely right and you can't imagine how much I miss that kind of feeling.

Now it's even hard to remember the song titles.

[BUK]

Part of it was not just the tactile experience with the vinyl but also the visual one. We all knew the width of each song's track, just by sight. We became so familiar with each song that we could put the needle right down into the correct groove if we wanted to hear a portion of a particular guitar solo repeated.

MSG, very good description of the way it was.

It was fun, but I cannot tell you how many records I marred with my fumble fingers. Early on, before I fancied myself an audiophile, I actually taped a bottle of modeling paint to my tone arm to weigh it down as it passed over skips. Eventually I destroyed the groove to the point where I could hear the other side in reverse....not.

It just morphed the record into white noise.

I play records now and then, but I don't pine for the old days. I really like how easy it is to create playlists of similar music, compare and contrast songs, have random choice create weird juxtapositions of artists/songs. I have my own private latest/greatest hits. The only problem is I have this need to share my passions. I feel empty when no one else likes what I like, so I seek musical companionship. Do you think that this is a generational thing? Like because I grew up in the 60's and 70's I have this need to connect? Do kids today (thirty and under I guess would qualify) have a similar desire?

As an artist, I guess I morn the loss of the tactile experience of clever album art. It's lost in this format, as is "the music video".

Now I write to bands I like, connect with an international fan base via the net and have a less tactile connection, but have gained so much more.

[ally]

This is the best sentence I've ever seen on this forum: you're definetely right and you can't imagine how much I miss that kind of feeling.

Now it's even hard to remember the song titles.

Yeah, so true. Mad is right on the mark about that. Album covers were as much a part of the experience as the music itself. Some were absolute works of art. Black light, Salvador Dali posters and great album covers were hung on everyones bedroom walls. And finding the right groove on an album in the dark was an art form in itself

[MadScreamingGallery]

This is the best sentence I've ever seen on this forum: you're definetely right and you can't imagine how much I miss that kind of feeling.

Now it's even hard to remember the song titles.

Thank you very much, LukeTheDuke. I consider that quite a compliment as I've visited your website and know that, when it comes to Zep albums, you really know your vinyl.

MSG, very good description of the way it was.

It was fun, but I cannot tell you how many records I marred with my fumble fingers. Early on, before I fancied myself an audiophile, I actually taped a bottle of modeling paint to my tone arm to weigh it down as it passed over skips. Eventually I destroyed the groove to the point where I could hear the other side in reverse....not.

It just morphed the record into white noise.

LOL I remember putting a penny on the tone arm. Back then, we also managed to (inadvertently) mar and destroy many records. I remember hearing someone describe used Zep albums as looking like “someone used them for ice hockey practice”.

I play records now and then, but I don't pine for the old days. I really like how easy it is to create playlists of similar music, compare and contrast songs, have random choice create weird juxtapositions of artists/songs. I have my own private latest/greatest hits. The only problem is I have this need to share my passions. I feel empty when no one else likes what I like, so I seek musical companionship. Do you think that this is a generational thing? Like because I grew up in the 60's and 70's I have this need to connect? Do kids today (thirty and under I guess would qualify) have a similar desire?

As an artist, I guess I morn the loss of the tactile experience of clever album art. It's lost in this format, as is "the music video".

Now I write to bands I like, connect with an international fan base via the net and have a less tactile connection, but have gained so much more.

Thanks, BUK. I hear you. I don’t pine for the days of vinyl any more than I pine for anything else that was part of that now lost world (but that is not to say that there aren’t times when I occasionally look back and feel nostalgia for those days). I think that we (as humans) will always feel that need to connect with others who share our passion but the ways in which we connect with others changes along with technology. We used to connect by phoning each other, talking about new music, hanging out together, going to concerts, and spending afternoons in record stores. The face-to-face, human connection was beautiful. Now, we find ourselves connecting in the way you describe – in a broader, more international, virtual way – something is lost but, as you note, something is also gained.

Yeah, so true. Mad is right on the mark about that. Album covers were as much a part of the experience as the music itself. Some were absolute works of art. Black light, Salvador Dali posters and great album covers were hung on everyones bedroom walls. And finding the right groove on an album in the dark was an art form in itself

Well said, Ally. You have described our rooms perfectly (the only thing I would add would be the incense ). It didn't matter where we lived (U.S., Canada, big city, small town), if we were Zep fans, there were certain commonalities that ran through our lives.

[SunChild]

Thank you very much, LukeTheDuke. I consider that quite a compliment as I've visited your website and know that, when it comes to Zep albums, you really know your vinyl.

LOL I remember putting a penny on the tone arm. Back then, we also managed to (inadvertently) mar and destroy many records. I remember hearing someone describe used Zep albums as looking like “someone used them for ice hockey practice”.

Thanks, BUK. I hear you. I don’t pine for the days of vinyl any more than I pine for anything else that was part of that now lost world (but that is not to say that there aren’t times when I occasionally look back and feel nostalgia for those days). I think that we (as humans) will always feel that need to connect with others who share our passion but the ways in which we connect with others changes along with technology. We used to connect by phoning each other, talking about new music, hanging out together, going to concerts, and spending afternoons in record stores. The face-to-face, human connection was beautiful. Now, we find ourselves connecting in the way you describe – in a broader, more international, virtual way – something is lost but, as you note, something is also gained.

Well said, Ally. You have described our rooms perfectly (the only thing I would add would be the incense ). It didn't matter where we lived (U.S., Canada, big city, small town), if we were Zep fans, there were certain commonalities that ran through our lives.

I had forgotten what you describe Mad but the minute I read that sentence about knowing the width of the tracks on vinyl, it came flooding back. As well as knowing where to drop the needle within a track to replay favorite bits. We certainly would wear albums out that way. And cassettes, forget about it.

And the penny on the tone arm... yep. Plus, saving money so I could buy a diamond needle, once. The cruddy cheap needles caused alot of damage.

As for album covers, I remember making sure the cooler ones were at the front of the stack so people could see them. Spent hours staring at the first Santana album cover.

So, is Zeppelin to blame (or applaud, depending on POV) for the way magazines come out with different "collectible" covers, then?

[beatbo]

the best i ever had it was with my purchase of a sharp vertical turntable-i loved that thing! the turntable stood on it's side and you pressed a button and the door opened, like a clam. it had two linear tracking cartridges, so you inserted the album, pushed 2 more buttons, the door closed with the album in, spun one way and you heard side one, then without touching anything else. it spun the other way and played side two.

if you ever see one at a flea market or garage sale, pick it up (if you love vinyl)....

now i'm making do with a Bang & Olufsen, plus a standby kenwood.

[Suz]

Well, I had more vinyl as a kid (70's), and more cassettes as a teen (80's). The only exception was Zep- I HAD to have those on vinyl. I wish I still had them, but they disappeared.

[docron]

For the guy who asked if people under thirty years old still wish that other people liked the same stuff...

I'd say yes, if not twice as much. Think about it. People in my generation only know Zeppelin for "that one song" (yes, Stairway) , and think I want coffee when I speak of Cream . I want to associate with people who know what real music, that is, everyone in the band is a master of their respective instrument, have no electronic help in the studio, and actually sound BETTER live than in the studio. Nobody I know is bigger into music than I, and it really sucks because I have no one to share experiences/talk with. This is why I'm a forum troll.

Since were comparing record players, mine is a Panasonic Technics SL-1700 direct drive. Regarding putting a penny on the head.., I don't have to because mines got customizable counterweights.

[MadScreamingGallery]

the best i ever had it was with my purchase of a sharp vertical turntable-i loved that thing! the turntable stood on it's side and you pressed a button and the door opened, like a clam. it had two linear tracking cartridges, so you inserted the album, pushed 2 more buttons, the door closed with the album in, spun one way and you heard side one, then without touching anything else. it spun the other way and played side two.

if you ever see one at a flea market or garage sale, pick it up (if you love vinyl)....

now i'm making do with a Bang & Olufsen, plus a standby kenwood.

I remember the vertical turntables! I never owned one myself but my friend's older brother did and I thought that it was very, very cool. When we were young, I remember that my husband and I desperately wanted a Thorens or B&O turntable but both were out of our price range.

[ally]

I remember the vertical turntables! I never owned one myself but my friend's older brother did and I thought that it was very, very cool. When we were young, I remember that my husband and I desperately wanted a Thorens or B&O turntable but both were out of our price range.

And a MacIntosh amp

[Jahfin]

I still have my original copy of In Through the Out Door on vinyl complete with the brown paper bag. I forget how I learned of the various covers but I did know about them at the time of the album's release. I have always wanted to own all of the covers but have never actively gone in search of them. As for the inner sleeve thing, I never knew about that until I joined this board around 5 years ago.

As for vinyl in general, I still have a pretty extensive collection (over 1,000 records) that I worked very hard to build since I was just a kid so I have no plans to part with it. I know of people that have not only gotten rid of their vinyl but their CDs as well. Of course they burned all of their CDs before doing away with them but they still got rid of them. I've even read of some folks that just threw them away after saving the music to their hard drives. I have no such plans. For me, vinyl isn't some sort of nostalgia trip or an attempt to be "cool". I have a lot of time and money invested in my collection so it's not something I would ever part with (same for my cassette collection which is largely made up of homemade mixtapes).

Unfortunately I have been separated from my vinyl collection since Hurricane Floyd hit the NC coast in 1999. We got pounded by hurricanes between '96 - '99 and I simply got tired of having to haul my collection out every time there was a threat of a storm so they went into storage. Even more unfortunate was having to sell our home on the Intracoastal Waterway after continuing to be hit by hurricanes into the 00s. Hopefully, in the not too distant future I'll be reunited with my vinyl.

Back to the subject at hand, I enjoy sitting down listening to my records with the jacket in hand. I also enjoy the record shopping experience whether it's in an actual record store or a yard sale, a used record store, where ever. No download will ever replace that experience. Or, like musician Shelby Lynne has said, "you can't roll a joint on an iPod!"

[docron]

Back to the subject at hand, I enjoy sitting down listening to my records with the jacket in hand. I also enjoy the record shopping experience whether it's in an actual record store or a yard sale, a used record store, where ever. No download will ever replace that experience. Or, like musician Shelby Lynne has said, "you can't roll a joint on an iPod!"

haha - yes, yes you can.

lol, I have one of the bigger 30 GB ones, and it was the only thing flat in my car... just wasn't the tightest roll ever. I don't think you could do it on a Nano though.

[MadScreamingGallery]

And a MacIntosh amp

Don't forget the Klipsch speakers.

[Evster2012]

Mmmm, MacIntosh!

I just love it when we wax nostalgic about wax!!

[LukeTheDuke]

As for vinyl in general, I still have a pretty extensive collection (over 1,000 records)

....

ehm I've almost 1000 Led Zeppelin records (albums) and 400 (LZ) singles ... is it your 1000 records of LZ only or more artists?

[docron]

My buddy's dad has a MacIntosh ...

... but not for too much longer lol

[JTM]

haha - yes, yes you can.

lol, I have one of the bigger 30 GB ones, and it was the only thing flat in my car... just wasn't the tightest roll ever. I don't think you could do it on a Nano though.

What.... You can't roll a joint without a flat surface ?..... Amateur.......

[docron]

What.... You can't roll a joint without a flat surface ?..... Amateur.......

Hey hey hey..., as long as it gets into your system at some point its all the same.