Led Zeppelin / Physical Graffiti reissue confirmed for February

Price on Amazon UK dropped from £116 to £82.75. I succumbed to temptation!

It seems I’ve been able to find the justification for yet another JP remaster SDE. Oh the self loathing!!!!

I bought only the first box set that came out, hoping to make space for the rest of the collection, but I have to agree as everyone does, that these items are not worth the chunk of change they ask us for. If only it contained a live album showing off the material live, then I would say it is worth the price, and god knows they have access to that material. I would rather give Empress Valley my money at this point.. The books are fine but how many more pictures of Zeppelin can a fan collect? Don’t get me wrong, the presentation is classy but the content is too light. Page is not stupid, he knows a cash cow when he sees one.

Yes I think the deluxe boxes are over priced as you are only getting a book, print and hi res download extra over the deluxe versions. Physical Grafitti however is the only one that I have pre ordered. I got it from Spin for £89.99 (including postage) which seemed to be the best deal for UK buyers. I have bought some of the others at a reduced price. What Records had Led Zeppelin IV at £49.99 plus postage and I got III and Houses of The Holy at a reasonably reduced price from Amazon compared to the price on release. I am still waiting on I and II dropping to a more reasonable level before taking the plunge.

If you shop around on the Internet you can get the super-deluxe box sets cheaper at about £89 e.g. from Spin discs.

I have been buying the deluxe CDs and will continue to do so as they get released, but the bonus material isn’t compelling enough for me to shell out so much for the vinyl boxes. As collectibles, they look great, but that money can be better spent elsewhere.
Having bought the Classic Recordings remasterings of the first 5 LPs a decade ago, I think I would rather save my cash for the rest of the catalogue from that now-defunct label.

Jimmy Page is laughing all the way to the bank!

I agree with all the complaints about bonus material. The main selling point for me is the sound quality of the original material, and so far I have been really impressed. The way I look at it is these will be the final editions I purchase (unless 5.1 editions are released), and I am fortunate to be able to afford the SD Editions.

These deluxe box sets are far too expensive for what they give… Curiously, the prices of the deluxe box sets of I, II, III, IV and Houses of the Holy have dropped in some French stores (75€). Which is still too much !

Barrie and Paul, I don’t see what you’re getting at regarding the difference between the 2-cd and 3-cd packaging, apart from the extra disc. The 2-cd is also a replica sleeve, isn’t it? Can’t quite see what you mean.

Too costly and not worth the money. King Crimson 1 – 0 Led Zeppelin

Kashmir sounds identical crisis!

Burning Shed just confirmed, order been shipped, yahoo

At the moment, for those wanting these sets in Europe, it seems that Amazon.fr and Amazon.it have the best prices whatsoever.

what a scam,still no complete Earls Court remastered…

I’m glad I didn’t bought any of these box !
flac torrent of the bonus tracks will be enough

3 CD version dropped to £17.99 on Amazon.

It looks like the only way to get the CD’s in a mini replica sleeve is via the 3 CD set. The pic of the super deluxe edition indicates that the CD’s are only in simple card wallets, with the vinyl in original sleeves. Is that right?

Wow I am completely underwhelmed…. I’ve bought all the new SD Editions so far. PG was the one I was truly excited about. Like many, I have the bootlegs that surround this album – but I wanted those songs polished up and released under Swan Song. Bootlegs never feel like a true part of a collection. You messed up here Jimmy. You messed up big. Surely you’re aware that this album sits at the top of the catalogue for so many of us? Yet 7 tracks is the best you can do, when you had enough material to reward fans with a 2 disc expanded/alternate version of the entire album.

Except with Floyd, the album that would have arguably benefited from the 5.1 treatment – The Wall – missed out. Bizarre.

But yes, a couple repro documents and a picture does not mean a set should go for £100. Pricing is an overriding consideration.

I have the three Floyd boxes, and I don’t regret them at all. The issue with the Zeppelin boxes is – to be perfectly frank – this is likely to be the last opportunity for a lavish box set of this type. With physical media looking like a dying proposition, and the band members not getting any younger, I can’t imagine any of the band will be involved in another round of sprucing these titles up. So, this is – well let’s call it the final coda. As such, more is the pity.

My grudge about memorabilia is aimed at the price of The Jam Setting Sons box set. The band have a loyal following and the price of the box set is £100 on Amazon, too high for what you get!
There is no vinyl to push the price up. There is a replica programme, poster and photos. There is a nice earbook to hold the 4-CD’s and the book is filled with literature, pics and press cuttings.
It was only released in November but already the price has been slashed to £40 on a couple of websites which seems to prove the record company were trying to recoup as much as possible on loyal fans.
At least with the Pink Floyd box sets most of them had a 5.1 mix.

@MIG

Fair enough, Mig. I do hope they did it right for the benefit of those that will be buying the options with Vinyl – they at least deserve that.

You know, Page’s decision about not including bootleg material simply legitimizes bootlegs, he’s actually pushing people to seek them out, and to pay money to bootleggers who pass nothing on to the band. Weird.

I also want to make a comment about an instance where I disagree with many. The subject is all the “memorabilia” in these box sets. Personally, I love it. I note most people seem ambivalent (at best), but for me it can be a really good value-add. With these sets it IS about the music, of course. But when you get to Deluxe Editions, I’m also looking for something else, something unique and special. I’m looking to extend the music itself with great packaging, a good booklet, and whatever else the big brains can come up with. Yes, I even like the Pink Floyd marbles – they’re wonderfully eccentric, that British eccentricity that was almost Pythonesque. A really good SDE extends and expands the music in lots of ways – some informative (if the booklet actually has something in it other than pictures), some beautiful (artwork), and others just plain crazy (the aforementioned marbles).

Of course the whole thing needs to be thought through. You can’t charge 80% more than the music itself demands for replica tickets and marbles. But done right, yeah, I’d slightly over-pay for something that is lovingly created. The music is nice too. :)

In terms of mastering, do the reissues sound better than the previous set?

Is it Jimmy Page’s fault regarding the pricing of the super deluxe boxes or the record company?

Vinyl reissues alone seem to be quite costly these days. I assume the 180gm weight is a lot heavier than in the 70’s/80’s. What’s more annoying is some of the prices of CD only box sets. I’m buying box sets for the music not the memorabilia.

Being a Zep fan for almost 40+ yrs now, I cannot tell you how excited I was at first when I heard the catalog was being remastered. This has been one big missed opportunity as far as I am concerned. Except for the 1st album, the bonus discs have been lame at best. When I can go online and find countless outtakes, some of which I never heard before. One source alone had a box set of 15+ discs of outtakes. I know Page said that he didnt want to release stuff that was already available but you know not all of us have the bootlegs.

I know this has all been said before; but i was really hoping for something better for my fav Zep album. I guess I set my hopes too high, yet again. Maybe I will just buy the 2 cd version; and try to pick up a bootleg of some of the sessions.

@Dean

Hard to tell from these photos. The SDE does look wrong, but that might just be the photo. The 2LP vinyl edition looks right, and might even be die-cut (then again, the fact you can see the lettering in the windows AND the folded-out inner sleeve that had that lettering suggests not).

On the original vinyl, the outer sleeve (non-gatefold) was top loading, but the two inner sleeves (with the pictures in the windows) were side-loading. That’s what you see there.

I’ll second (or third, or fourth) the comments disagreeing with circulated bootlegs not worthy of inclusion. They’re more than worthy. Certainly much better than demos or different mixes that sound almost exactly like the final version on the album.

I was never a big fan of PG, but as a double album the skimpy bonuses on this re-issue seem like an even bigger disappointment. As the only album being released this round, I would have thought a 4-CD set would have been warranted to really make this a special release.

PS: Looking at the picture given – they haven’t even bothered to replicate the original sleeve art/design of the album (the vinyl should go into the top of the building, not the side). Over £100 and they didn’t even do that?!?

I’ll just join in with the majority. I wanted these box sets when they were first announced, but the pricing totally took me off the market. Even the books have been disappointing, since they’re essentially picture books. This was a great opportunity to give the history of the albums, to get their place in time etc – all missed in print. I have zero interest in Vinyl – so another cardinal sin was committed by making its purchase mandatory.

I like Led Zeppelin, but the reality is it competes with other music I love, and nothing presented has been compelling enough. Physical Graffiti is by far my favorite album by the band – and now there’s this.

I also want to send a message to people who put these things together. The idea that something shouldn’t get a lovingly created official release “because it’s been available on bootlegs” is so wrong-footed. Take Bowie’s San Monica release of an example where fans will buy it to the benefit of the labels and artists if they could. We want the music. Arguably, if we’re willing to put up with bootlegs, we want it MORE. Please think about it!

Anyway – I’m not paying this kind of money for this. So sadly – and it is sad – I’m passing it up.

$122.97 with free shipping in the USA at bullmoose.com

Search YouTube for ‘Physical Graffiti Outtakes’, loads of stuff there.

Eddie,
There are numerous rehearsals and studio outtakes for Physical Graffiti. One that stands out is a take of Kashmir with just John Bonham and Jimmy Page. Custard Pie with a different harmonica solo. In the Light with a completely different set of verses and intro. An alternate take of Wanton Song that was broadcast on a radio station back in ’75. There’s outtakes of a track titled “Swan Song” which later became Midnight Moonlight on the first “The Firm” record. The rehearsals for Trampled Underfoot are worth the price of admission alone.

What are the outtakes that should have been on the bonus discs?

Are they complete songs or different versions of already issued songs (as opposed to what we are getting here, which is different mixes?)

Big Zep fan for over 30 years and have to agree with others who stated they are very disappointed with the overall content included on the companion discs. Was really hoping that the 40th Anniversary Edition of “PG” would at least include a full disc of bonus tracks and as others have pointed out, a live DVD of Earls Court. This could have been so much better and although I have versions of the other remasters, I’m in no hurry to order this. I’m not holding my breath but I sure hope there will be blu ray audio versions of these albums in the future with additional bonus material in hi rez stereo and maybe even 5.1 and also a live series.

Like all the SDE sets that simply replicate the same music on three formats, it’s aimed at the band’s true believers. Its value lies in its physicality, it’s as nice object to own and look at so fair enough then.

The initial price point is geared towards the artist’s flush faithful who will pre-order it for day of release. I would imagine from the continued high prices on these SDE editions that the labels sell enough copies at initial price point to cover their costs and make a good profit. Thereafter, the price can drop dramatically on the remaining stock simply to clear it as Paul has already noted.

I like Zepplin but I don’t love ’em. I have the European CD / Jap sleeved mini LP CD box set from a few years ago and that’s as much as I need. It provides the basic albums inside great mini LP sleeves. From what I’ve read and looked at here and elsewhere from more knowledgeable and devoted Zep fans, I’m not really missing anythhing much musically, though those SDE books do look nice!

I’ve generally avoided the deluxe editions as the material is average at best and way overpriced. We’ve got Presence, In through the Out Door, and Coda remaining…. I look forward to finding out what Presence will have in store as I think its the most overlooked in their catalog.

I’m sure The Song Remains The Same will be left alone. It was expanded in 2007 to include the tracks we did not have before and it also contained the edits to match the movie versions. I can only imagine what Jimmy has left. My guess is Jimmy spent the time and money to mix down all of the multi-tracks he had available for Madison Square Garden ’73, Earl’s Court ’75 and Knebworth ’79. It would be foolish not to have done that back in 2002-2003. He was already mixing down for the DVD so why not do the complete shows.

After the official DVD came out the complete Earls Court May 25th, 1975 surfaced in amazingly clear Pro-Shot quality. Jimmy has stated that the reason nothing from 1977 was included is because he has no multi-track recordings from that tour. The soundboard recordings from that tour tend to sound very brittle and thin. You would be far better off tracking down a copy of Los Angeles June 21st, 1977 show for an accurate representation of Zeppelin live during that tour. It’s an audience recording of arguably their best night of that tour.

Coda must be a 4 CD box set !

I had wondered if Coda was going to be part of the re-issues. On the one hand, I can see it remaining as a separate album. On the other, I wouldn’t have minded the Coda songs being bonuses on whatever album they were originally related to in terms of when they were recorded. Having said that, I’m really not familiar with where the Coda songs fell into the recording sessions for each album.

Does anyone know if The Song Remains the Same (live album) is going to be a part of the re-issues, or are they calling the 2007 remaster good and not doing anything more with it in this campaign?

Keep in mind the expanded edition of Coda promises to include many additional rarities, and maybe that’s where tracks like ‘Swan Song’ will end up. Engineer John Davis has said on his Twitter page “there are a lot of treats on Coda!” Hopefully this will be the case.

Have been interested in these (the 2 CD editions, not the boxed sets) as I only have ‘best of’ and ‘live’ Led Zep stuff, but have held back as (i) I wasn’t overwhelmed by the bonus discs (lots of alternative ‘remixes’ rather than alternative ‘versions’ – am I wrong here?), and (ii) I have a horrible suspicion that at the end there will be a boxed set of all the 2CD editions which brings everything together in one (hopefully) nicely boxed (and priced) package ……

After the first two albums were re-issued last year, Jimmy said of the bonus tracks in the rest of the upcoming albums that they get even better. Quite the opposite in my mind… they’ve gotten worse. I’ve been buying the re-issues just because it’s been so long, I like having the upgraded audio quality compared to what I have on CD from before. But if I were buying these just on bonus tracks alone… well, I probably wouldn’t be buying them as it’s gone downhill since LZ 1 & 2. They’ve made for a nice curiosity to listen to… once.

But I will say this… someone put Jimmy in touch with Paul McCartney so he can help Sir Paul understand what an acceptable time-frame is between catalog re-issues. At this rate, Page will have released a completely new set of re-issues after this batch before Paul is done with his current re-issue campaign.

There is a version of Stairway on a Bootleg that has a completely different Guitar Solo. I do know Robert has been a major roadblock when it comes to releasing live stuff since his voice wasn’t always up to par. Jimmy is a perfectionist as well. I wish the general public could hear some of the live shows such as the 1975 Soundboard recordings (Seattle, Long Beach, New York City, Vancouver etc….) There’s some amazing moments there. As for this set i was hoping to get a much better quality version of the alternate Wanton Song that was broadcast on New York radio back in 1975. A love Led Zeppelin and always will but the bonus discs on these releases are subpar coming from the world’s greatest band……..

Oh what could have been. The bootlegs from the 1975 tour and the stuff on the DVD from Earl’s Court show there is some wonderful stuff available, cryjng out for a proper release, maybe one day in their own right – I can but hope. Even from the known studio outtakes surely ‘Swan Song’ belongs on here?

Would be buy only by the hardbook. In fact, the new material is what counts. I don’t know if it justifies the price for those 7 new themes and photo album.

The live show offered with the first album was the only bonus disc worth the purchase IMO, and even then I’ve only listened to it twice. Some of the alternate mixes on the Zoso and Houses reissues were the worst; if you can barely detect any difference between the album version and the “new” mixes then what’s the point? Did anybody but the most obsessed fan notice much difference between the Sunset mix of Stairway to Heaven and the album version?

Not everyone has the bootlegs that have been floating around for ages. I disagree with leaving off important out-takes/demos.
I like the Zep box sets so far but a little patience will save a lot of money. I haven’t paid over $100 for any of them so far off of Amazon US. Of course I’m not able to get them on release date but its worth the wait.

I will be brutally honest here. I have yet to purchase any of the reissues. The bonus content has been pure rubbish. I have been a Zep fan for well over 30 years and I am a collector of the live recordings and outtakes. I understand Jimmy’s desire to not use any outtakes that already circulates. The sad part is not everyone has the knowledge or time to track down this stuff. The general Zep fan is truly missing out on a lot of cool stuff. Do we really need to hear an alternate mix of In My Time Of Dying? There’s so much live stuff that Jimmy could have included. He can’t use the “poor sound quality” excuse anymore because he released the Paris show as the bonus disc for the first album. At the end of the day Jimmy, Robert and John Paul have dropped the ball on this big time. I mentioned all 3 because they all have to sign off on any releases. Feeling Bummed…..

Bought the first three boxes for around £75 each if I recall correctly. Hesitated on IV and HOTH but bought both when the price dropped to around £80. With each release the content of the accompanying disc seems to have deteriorated (or perhaps it is just familiarity). Hard to believe that there is nothing more interesting than this in the vaults – companion live tracks would have made purchase a no-brainer. Was looking forward to this one as a chance to replace my long gone die cut vinyl copy but think I will pass or at least wait until the price drops significantly. Don’t suppose we can look forward to picking up a facsimile of the cover art ‘object’ as part of the Presence box set?

Me gustaría algún concierto de la época de casa disco que estos remoces que no aportan mucho, si voy a tener que gastar dinero que sea algo mas interesante

Yes once again a total disregard for the fans by an out of touch rock superstar. I haven’t bought any of the super deluxe sets as they are an insane waste of money. I echo the earlier comment regarding the Crimson box sets – absolutely superb and fairly priced. Shame on you Mr Page, no wonder people end up obtaining this stuff through downloads.