Led Zeppelin unleash unheard recordings

I was only telling Gale about STH being based on Taurus last week. Like you I knew it was common knowledge for years. Spookily the law suit was announced on Monday. Taurus was written by Randy California who died in 1997 so it must be his estate who are after the money. I thought there was a statute of limitations in the US.

• On Led Zeppelin's album Led Zeppelin II (1969), parts of the song "Bring It On Home" were copied from Sonny Boy Williamson's 1963 recording of "Bring It On Home," written by Willie Dixon. On the same album, "The Lemon Song" included an adaptation of Howlin' Wolf's "Killing Floor." In 1972, Arc Music, the publishing arm of Chess Records, brought a lawsuit against Led Zeppelin for copyright infringement over "Bring It On Home" and "The Lemon Song"; the case was settled out of court for an undisclosed sum.
• Led Zeppelin's song "Whole Lotta Love" contained lyrics that were derivative of Willie Dixon's 1962 song "You Need Love." In 1985, Dixon filed a copyright infringement suit, resulting in an out-of-court settlement. Later pressings of Led Zeppelin II credit Dixon as co-writer.^[18]

• Led Zeppelin also paid a settlement to the publisher of Ritchie Valens' song "Ooh! My Head" over "Boogie with Stu" (from their album Physical Graffiti) which borrowed heavily from Valens' song.^[19]

Let's face it: they do have a history of "borrowing" bits without duly crediting original authors but I am always perplexed at the length  of time it takes for these lawsuits to be brought forward.

PS. Even Gale had a song "named" after him.

Did the SIBLY mix still have Bonzo's squeaky pedal?

Yes, as far as I could hear. It's a much looser version, but seems more heartfelt, which is why I preferred it.

Thanks for the info Kevin. III has always been my favourite Zep album so a new version of SIBLY would make it a must-have.

Page was on Jimmy Fallon's show in the US recently. It was a bit rubbish, because Fallon is a monumental egotist who barely let JP get a word in edgeways.

But there were two things:

1. He had the three super-deluxe boxes with him - they look lovely.

2. Page said when the albums first came out, 1969 - 1982, they were mastered for vinyl; the first remasterings - Diament/Sidore in the 1980s and with George Marino [Page didn't mention the Diaments, just the Marinos, so that's my inference] in 1990 - were just for CD. This latest remastering, Page said, was for a wide variety of formats - digital, CD and the resurgence of vinyl.

Now whether this means that the same (hi-rez digital?) source was used for all formats, or whether he went back to the masters (or a two-track mixdown, or a safety tape) just for the vinyl, we don't know, because he didn't say, and Fallon didn't ask.

But it's something to ponder as we wait for 2nd June.

Cheers Scott, most kind.

The whole STH/Taurus thing is old news, as Steve says. Personally I can't see it either. LZ have been guilty of non-attribution and even alleged plagiarism in the past, but in this case I don't think there's a case to answer.

Indeed. In a rare charitable gesture, Page & Co gave Richie Valens' mum a songwriting credit on that track after they heard that she'd never earned a penny in royalties on her son's hits (including "La Bamba") after he died in 1959.

I did see the Fallon/Page "interview" and as usual the guy is a complete tosser. Celebrity struck and arse licker. It is just pathetic the way he goes on about talking about things which he has not got a clue at all and briefing from the production team is just like informing  Bambi that mummy is dead. Bring back Leno... At least he knew what vynil was.  Fallon should stick to interviewing third rate American celebrities which he seems to be quite comfortable doing so.

PS: This is the same program White/Young decided to showcase their Vinyl recording machine.

Yes Tony, he's awful. He gets a big audience though, which is why I guess all these stars go on to plug their new wares.

On another note, someone I know went to the playback in Paris (lucky sod), and said the music sounded brilliant played back through the theatre sound system.

Just looked on Amazon at the Super deluxe version of the first album. The Paris concert includes "Moby Dick" which was missing even from the Pre-FM boots I've seen so that's a definite bonus. The HD downloads are 24bit 96KHz except for the Paris concert which is 24/48 but I suppose that's to be expected.

Does anyone know where the downloads will be available from?  Or does one have to buy the packages to get them?

The Super deluxe versions include vouchers for the downloads.

According to a post on Computer Audiophile the HiRes material at 96 and 48 will be available from HDTracks for those who want to buy these versions only. I'm not certain when.

Unfortunately "How Many More Times" has been cut down from 23 minutes to 11 to make way for "Moby Dick", so I'm not 100% convinced it's that much of a bonus...

The 24/ Bit downloads will be on Hiresaudio on May 30th and HDTracks on June 3rd.

Harry, sorry for showing my ignorance, but can we buy from either of these sites in the UK ?

Don't know.

Just finished listening to disc one of the Led Zep I (vinyl) and it sounds pretty good to me.

Keith

Just answered my own post above and downloaded the hi-res versions from hiresaudio.com.

Cancelled pre-order CDs with Amazon.

Will report back later. Soooooooo excited

It's probably the best I've heard it sound. Your excitement is justified. I have struggled to get good 2nd hand pressings of Led Zep vinyl (other than Physical Graffiti, which I bought new in 1976). They often sound muddled and muddy to me, although this may be because I haven't paid silly money for first pressings. The new LP is not muddled or muddy, quite the opposite and perhaps a tad harsh in the upper frequencies. haven't compared it other versions, but I look forward to reading the views of others. I will listen properly this evening.

The concert is playing now (Dazed and Confused). Obviously, the fidelity is not that high and the volume comes and goes a bit but it is very entertaining. The packaging is gorgeous and love the fact that the inner sleeves are poly lined.

Keith 

I've just listened to III in its entirety. I'd agree with KRM it's much clearer than other versions I've got on first listen. The bass lines are much easier to follow.

The extra material is good too. SIBLY especially.

The CA forum has been populated with comments like "wow!" and "I've got the downloads and cancelled my order for the box set because they're all I'll ever need", but it's all gone a quiet now. I think this may be a good sign.

HDT starts selling them tomorrow so hopefully the feedback will start increasing. I wonder if I will be able to resist pressing the button until there's been more discussion? Unlikely.

Everything posted so far on all formats looks positive, if sparse.

Led Zep II sounds flippin' a-maz-ing! 

Is that the vinyl Keith?