I’ve never been what you would call a Led Zeppelin die-hard. I’ve certainly appreciated their stamp on the Rock genre - even if lately they have come under considerable criticism due to some underhanded ways they stole some of their music from other artists. Having said that, I grew up in the Black Sabbath camp but always had a passing glance at what Zeppelin was doing.
Last week I noticed the new compilation ‘Mothership’ had been released. What really caught my eye was the beautiful packaging and stunning artwork which was designed by the infamous Shepard Fairey. I bought the disc on the spot just for this very reason. It was just too gorgeous to pass up and I’ve got my fingers crossed a vinyl version is produced.
Says Fairey on his website: “…I was recently asked to do the package for Led Zeppelin’s two CD one DVD greatest hits package Mothership. Zep is one of my favorite bands of all time and if they aren’t one of yours, you need to check that your DNA is human. If my art is 1 percent as good as this band I’m in good shape. What I’m trying to say is that the opportunity for me to hitch a ride on the coat tails of such an influential band is an honor and a coup…”
So with the new disc in tow, and God it sounds friggn amazing. The remastering is absolutely second-to-none and I am hearing stuff on this that I have never heard before in over 30 years of listening to Zeppelin. And so the Zep bug has bitten down hard ‘cos for the past week or so, this is all I have been listening to!
Despite the fact that Zeppelin’s music is best heard in the context of each album, I have to admit that this is still an extraordinary collection. These Zep masterpieces have finally received a proper sonic update that is immediately apparent. All, and I mean all of the British bands, from The Beatles (Chuck Berry, Little Richard)forward, have been inspired by, and thus emulated American blues artists. For my money, Zeppelin did the most with their influences, creating an entirely new genre of music with themselves as the sole occupants. The mistake they made was not giving the proper writing credits on some of the early songs, but the music they created was almost without exception unrecognizable from the sources that inspired them. For example, they should have credited Willie Dixon for some lyrics, but the actual musical composition of Whole Lotta Love is in a separate universe from anything ever even dreamed of by Dixon. Despite some poor judgement on a few early writing credits (I suspect Peter Grant had something to do with it), the overwhelming majority of the Zeppelin canon is totally unique, brilliant and utterly unprecedented, which is why they remain the greatest rock band that ever stepped on a stage. PS I am an old Sabbath fan also.
I’m with you on Led Zeppelin in general, and I’ll also say that while most bands are influenced by blues, Led Zeppelin basically just appropriated and ripped off the blues.
All my feelings about that band aside, that artwork is great, I’d love to have it as a poster. I am partial to black and red
Led Zeppelin stole their songs from other song writers.
call me ignorant but isn’t this basically Remasters with 4 songs missing and 1 song extra? is it a “remastered” Remasters?
I’ve compiled four versions so you can hear the differences and judge for yourself.
HERE’S a clip that has a few versions of Whole Lotta Love. (9.3 MB WAV file)
1. Barry Diament’s mastering on the original CD
2. Remastered LZ II
3. Mothership
4. Classic Records LZ II LP
Listen to the kick and bass and how the low end thins out as the clip progresses. Also the continuing increase in the upper mids makes it sound a bit sharp. This new release makes me love Barry’s version even more!
Apparently Lucky, they are remastered remasters!
Check out this link.