The wait is over! The second wave of Led Zeppelin reissues arrive in stores today! Led Zeppelin IV premieres an entire alternate version of the album, including the Sunset Sound Mix of "Stairway to Heaven," the U.K. mix of "When the Levee Breaks" and the basic track with guitar overdubs of "Black Dog." Houses of the Holy has seven of its eight tracks in bonus form, primarily rough or working mixes. This is your place to sound off on this pair of remastered and expanded releases from Messrs. Page, Plant, Jones and Bonham!
JULY 29, 2014 - It may be the dog days of summer, but that hasn't stopped Led Zeppelin from adding a little more heat. Following yesterday's news of the next two reissues in Paul McCartney's Archive Collection series, the legendary blues-rock band has announced the two next installments in its own definitive reissue program. On October 28, Rhino/Atlantic - in conjunction with Zeppelin's Swan Song label - will release Led Zeppelin IV and Houses of the Holy in a variety of CD, vinyl and digital formats.
The album referred to as Led Zeppelin IV arrived in late 1971, bearing no album title or even the band's name on its cover. Not that anybody was confused; with songs like "Stairway to Heaven," "Black Dog," "Rock and Roll" and "Going to California," sales soared. Though it peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, it's currently the second-best selling album ever in the U.S., nestled between Michael Jackson's Thriller and Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon. How to top that? Houses of the Holy, consisting of all original material, arrived in spring 1973, and moved the band even further away from its blues-based brand of hard rock. Its layered production and intricate compositions of "The Rain Song," "The Song Remains the Same" and the reggae-based "D'yer Mak'er" a chart-topping album on both sides of the Atlantic.
Both albums will be available in the style of the recent Led Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin II and Led Zeppelin III reissues, in the following formats:
- Standard CD - Remastered album packaged in a gatefold card wallet.
- 2-CD Deluxe Edition (2CD) - Remastered album plus previously unreleased companion audio disc.
- Standard LP - Remastered album on 180-gram vinyl, packaged in a replica sleeve of the album's first pressing.
- Deluxe Edition Vinyl (2LP) - Remastered album and previously unreleased companion audio pressed on 180-gram vinyl.
- Digital Download - Remastered album and companion audio will both be available.
- Super Deluxe Box Set featuring the remastered original album and companion audio on both CD and 180-gram vinyl, plus a high-resolution digital download card for all content, housed in a hardbound 80-page book with a high-quality print of the album cover (the first 30,000 of which are individually numbered) also included.
After the jump, we have more information including the complete track listings and pre-order links for both titles!
Led Zeppelin IV and Houses of the Holy will hit stores on October 28, just in time for the holiday gift-giving season. You can check out the specs and pre-order links just below! (Amazon U.K. links are currently inactive; we will update shortly!)
Led Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin IV (Atlantic SD 7208, 1971 - reissued Atlantic/Swan Song, 2014)
1-CD Edition: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
2-CD Edition: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Super Deluxe Box Set: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
1-LP Vinyl: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
2-LP Vinyl: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Digital Download: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Original Album:
- "Black Dog"
- "Rock And Roll"
- "The Battle of Evermore"
- "Stairway To Heaven"
- "Misty Mountain Hop"
- "Four Sticks"
- "Going To California"
- "When The Levee Breaks"
Companion Audio Disc:
- "Black Dog" - Basic Track With Guitar Overdubs
- "Rock And Roll" - Alternate Mix
- "The Battle Of Evermore" - Mandolin/Guitar Mix From Headley Grange
- "Stairway To Heaven" - Sunset Sound Mix
- "Misty Mountain Hop" - Alternate Mix
- "Four Sticks" - Alternate Mix
- "Going To California" - Mandolin/Guitar Mix
- "When The Levee Breaks" - Alternate UK Mix
Led Zeppelin, Houses of the Holy (Atlantic SD 7255, 1973 - reissued Atlantic/Swan Song, 2014)
1-CD Edition: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
2-CD Edition: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Super Deluxe Box Set: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
1-LP Vinyl: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
2-LP Vinyl: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Digital Download: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Original Album:
- "The Song Remains The Same"
- "The Rain Song"
- "Over The Hills And Far Away"
- "The Crunge"
- "Dancing Days"
- "D'yer Mak'er"
- "No Quarter"
- "The Ocean"
Companion Audio Disc
- "The Song Remains The Same" - Guitar Overdub Reference Mix
- "The Rain Song" - Mix Minus Piano
- "Over The Hills And Far Away" - Guitar Mix Backing Track
- "The Crunge" - Rough Mix - Keys Up
- "Dancing Days" - Rough Mix With Vocal
- "No Quarter" - Rough Mix With JPJ Keyboard Overdubs - No Vocal
- "The Ocean" - Working Mix
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Zeppelin's been my favorite band since I was 13 (that's 35 years & counting) so I will continue to be excited about this reissue campaign & purchase all of the super deluxe editions, but they're definitely overpriced based on the content included. At least they do the right thing by offering each album in multiple formats and they don't induce fans to buy an expensive box by putting one rarity on it.
I respect that Page is curating these releases & taking an artistic approach with the Companion Audio discs, but there's so much great unreleased music in the vaults & these reissues are the place where they belong. I hope there's a rarities box set waiting for us at the end of this reissue rainbow.
Yes, I hope there will be some sort of rarities box too. I'm damned if I'm gonna buy these albums again just to get 40 odd minutes of unreleased stuff. Grrrrrrr.........
Where's the recordings from India? There's only two songs recorded!
would prefer unreleased tunes or actual alternate takes to these alternate mixes. Or a concert recording.
Agreed. I'm not a big alternate mix guy unless it's something truly extraordinary (like that version of Gabriel's "In Your Eyes" that to this day has never been released on CD). A couple of great albums here (maybe my two favorites from Zep), but I'll stick with the CDs I have.
The extras on the 2nd CD in each of these sets seem a little thin, compared to those that accompanied the first three reissues. But, yes, I'm going to buy them; need you ask?
“When The Levee Breaks” – Alternate UK Mix
This is already the single biggest disappointment of the new sets:
How the **** could he not give us an instrumental mix of this song?!?!?!?!?!
Yes, it seems Page is only interested in things that exist as multi-tracks, hence a lot of alternate mixes and takes. Omitting things like the "Stairway to Heaven" acoustic demos seems like a mistake regardless of quality, but I guess he did frame these as alternative views of a given album, not so much how it came to be. Like someone said already, I'd feel better knowing a true rarities set was also in the offing. Maybe that's being saved for Coda.