If you bought your Led Zep vinyl in the eighties, or if your old copy is crackly, then these new versions ought to be better sounding copies – and that’s a good reason to buy.
Because the value in buying any forthcoming re-issue will be in the quality of the vinyl – especially for the first four albums. These can be bought for substantially less, albeit on lightweight eighties vinyl. With all of these albums, you can buy cheaper copies by targeting the eighties reissues on green Atlantic labels. Which just goes to show how gullible people were in the seventies… “So Mote Be It” and “Do What Thou Wilt”, which led to much apparently serious speculation as to whether Page, Plant, Bonham and Jones had sold their souls to the devil. Led Zep III also (shock horror) has the inscription in the run off groove of that Scottish master of evil magick Alistair Campbell, sorry, Alastair Crowley. (Whilst we’re on the subject, “The Rain Song” from “Houses of the Holy” is another not-as-tricky-as-you-think song to learn – with an alternative tuning from low to high DGCGCD – that just sounds beautiful as you play it). Ever try to play That’s The Way on guitar? It’s hellishly tricky – until you realise Page uses an alternative tuning (it’s an open-G tuning, the same one that Keith Richards uses to play “Rocks Off” or “Start Me Up” -and pretty much all of his songs) and then you just learn a few basic chord shapes and Bob’s your uncle (or should that be Jimmy’s your uncle?) – it’s actually pretty easy to play the basics. Led Zep III is a terrific record all round. However, whichever copy you look for, finding Led Zep II in great condition is harder work than listening to Depeche Mode’s third album. Look also for a light brown sleeve with a blurry green edge. Later copies are c£40 and call this song “Killing Floor” with a credit to Willie Dixon – which if you have ever heard Willie Dixon’s song you will have some sympathy for. Still a first pressing, but without the “Living Loving Wreck” mis-print is a £60 copy in mint condition which lists “The Lemon Song”, crediting the writers as Plant and Page on the label. First pressings said “Livin’ Lovin’ Wreck” Note the “Livin’ Lovin’ Maid” song title, meaning this is not a first pressing. A “Plum” coloured UK Pressing of Led Zep II. Led Zep II is less expensive, and there are a couple of things to look out for: Top money for Led Zep 2 can be up to £250 for a mint first pressing – identifiable by a mis-credited “Living Loving Wreck” on the label. I found one for twenty-five quid a little while ago, but it jumped, so I didn’t buy it… Second pressings – still from the sixties and with orange lettering on the cover – are marginally less ridiculously priced, but may still set you back a few hundred quid if mint. Oh, and by the £1,500 price tag in mint condition. The first pressings of Led Zep 1 are easily identifiable with Turquoise lettering on the front cover. You shouldn’t be prepared to look for first pressings unless you are fond of shouting “- Me!” whilst you suffer a heart attack from fright. Note the lilac label and “House of the Holy” titleĪnother thing you should know about buying Led Zep vinyl is that their first couple of albums are very, very expensive. I didn’t know it at the time, but my US pressing was pretty early and has excellent sound – probably better than an equivalent UK version. It seems Led Zep are an exception: they had such great success in the USA that this generally fairly reliable guideline doesn’t hold true – after the first album at least. This is in contrast to the general rule of record collecting that if you buy an early pressing from the country of origin of the artist, you are most likely to be nearer the source tapes, and therefore the sound ought to be better. However, a bit of impromptu research from some audiophiles* has revealed that in the majority of cases the US pressing actually sounds better than the UK one. It’s because I could get *almost* the same thing for thirty-two pounds fifty less, and a penny saved is, as the saying goes, a penny earned. This wasn’t because I have some sort of maverick vision or second sight as a record investor.
When I first started building up my record collection again, my local record shop, Leigh Records, had a £40 UK plum labelled copy of Led Zep III and a US pressing for £7.50 in the same condition. But received wisdom, I have discovered, is not always correct. It is received wisdom that the earliest Led Zep UK pressings – with a plum and red label, rather than the later green and yellow label – are the ones to have. Want to know why some Led Zeppelin vinyl LPs sounded better than most other rock LPs? Read on…
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