Led Zeppelin Remasters

I've searched and searched through all the posts and am still confused about the Led Zeppelin remasters. I just got a hold of a bunch of Zeppelin CDs and am not really sure what I have here. All of them are USA. Are there any tell-tale signs beside listening for the correct channeling that would help figure it out?

Sorry for the newbie sort of question, I'm just confused! Any help would be appreciated!

Merrie

 

The original CDs have "white" generic looking spines. The reissue/remasters have theme-oriented spines. Zeppelin II has the white blimp art that runs over the spine, Zep IV has the grey art that wraps around, etc....

 

The remasters will say: digitally remastered from the original master tapes by Jimmy Page and George Marino at Sterling Sound

 

Well, according to your two comments, I guess that all the ones that I have are all unremastered.

Is there a general consensus about which sound better? The remasters or the unremasters?

 

The unremastered HOUSES OF THE HOLY (available on West Germany Target pressing and standard silver CD) is highly regarded around these parts...

 

Opinion is divided. The older discs are generally considered warmer and more analog sounding. But if you're gonna get the remasters, you should just go the whole way and get the "Complete Studio Recordings" box which has all 9 of their albums plus some bonus tracks that were scattered across b-sides and the old box sets. It's also very well-designed.

 

A consensus on this forum?

You may have to take it on a disc by disc basis. I haven't A/B'd any of the original vs. remasters for Zeppelin. However, for the Rolling Stones discs, I prefer the originals for some titles and the remasters for others (and some like only the remasters - period).

There is a search function along the top bar. Go to "advanced search" and try there. I'm sure this has been discussed before.

BTW welcome to the forum.

EDIT: here is an old poll from the "archives" (search: zeppelin remasters) http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=17140&highlight=zeppelin+remasters

 

When I went through my Zep-phase I picked up whatever copies were available in the shops. I think all except 2 were the Remasters. One thing a friend pointed out is that the basedrum pedal squeek on SINCE I'VE BEEN LOVING YOU is loud as hell on the Remaster (he had just the original issue). Of course, I hadn't noticed until he kindly brought it to my attention, and now it is all I hear! (Sorry for spreading that curse to anyone else reading this).

Matt

 

Except for this good one - I like the remasters for the rest.

 

I did an A/B of "Rain Song" on the remaster versus the target. The target has some wonderful air around it. The remaster has more bass(which I think works), but the clarity just isn't there. It's just a matter of EQ preference. To me, there is a planet of difference from the first upward strum.

BTW, does anyone know who mastered this one(HOTH target)? Was it Barry Diament?




Dan

 

Well, in my opinion you did great. I love the non-remastered Led Zeppelin CD's.

If you want to compare for yourself, try to find LZ III as the remastered version. This is one album where the remaster might have some advantages in some areas (I still prefer the non-remastered version of LZ III overall, but I can understand if some prefer the remastered version).

To me, LZ I, LZ II and HOTH are clear winners in their non-remastered form. I also consider Presence and In Through The Out Door as well as Coda clearly better in their non-remastered form, but the difference is not as big as with the previous mentioned three titles.

With the other albums, it can be a track to track preference.

Roland

 

The Complete Studio Recordings
$59.90 10-CD Set -YourMusic.com

 

I hope they remaster these again. I am dissappointed with both the originals and the remastered CDs. To bad, i don't have the albums anymore (or a TT). I would love to see some decent treatment on Zeps like the remastered versions of The Doors and Sabbath that I have - these (Rhinos) sound great to me.

 

In some ways, the non-remaster of LZII is on par with the RL vinyl... at least in terms of low end.

 

Max, should you ever decide to upgrade your components your opinion of The Doors and Sabbath remasters may just change. I know mine sure did.

 

As far as Coda goes, I stick to the Vinyl version. Neither CD pressing of this is correct. I'm not sure what happened, but the bass drum sound in Poor Tom is HUGE on the record, and I mean it makes your eyes open wide, but on both CD versions the bass drum doesn't have nearly the depth or cool sound that the vinyl does. Coda on Vinyl is one of the best sounding records I own. I think transferring the song Poor Tom to digital really messed up the low end on it in a bad way!

Frank R

 

Sounds like a good reason not to upgrade, lol.

Will upgrading make the Zeppelin CDs sound good? Zep I and III remasters sound Ok. The Original HOH sound Ok too. The others are on the harsh side. Zep II sounds like crap. Are these just crappy recordings?

 

What's wrong with the latest Doors remasters? I know the Sabbath ones aren't liked much around here but I always thought the general consensus on the Doors remasters was that they sounded pretty good.

 

When I go to Tower Records, I see a lot of Japanese import of Zep -- are these better than the original/remasters versions?

 

Doesn't really answer your question definitively, but...

I bought the Japanese mini-LPs when they first came out (mid-90s), and found them to be no different than the US Page / Marino remasters.

I can tolerate the remasters, but I've yet to hear any CD version that comes close to vinyl... and even though I dumped my LPs, I may have to make an exception and re-acquire Zep on on that medium.

Not to go off-topic, but were the (highly-regarded here) Classic Records releases mastered especially for vinyl?... from good source tapes?

 

deeppurpleman , the post seem to indicare that it'd be great if The Led Zeppelin remasters sounded closer to Doors and Black Sabbath remasters , that seem to be fine.........( in my view Doors are good and Black sabbath decent........)

In my view, The Led Zeppelin remasters are too bright for my taste, in general I don't like george Marino's remasters----..............however original Led zeppelin on cd are far from Ok.......Vinyl still rules for led Zeppelin.

 

I thought the George Marino Zeppelin remasters sound rather harsh and gritty, even compared to the Barry Diament and "wonder who mastered them"(IV,Houses). It seems like Led Zepplelin II in any form other than Th RL or MoFi LP's sound like they were mastered from safety copies...???

 

LZ II is a worse recording than the other albums. When I compared the old CD against the remaster, I did not notice any upgrade/downgrade in fidelity or clarity. Either both are from the same tape, or the copy tape sounds the same as the master. The differences in eq are considerable for some songs, and whenever there was a difference, the older CD was preferrable (fuller drum sound, stronger bass).

 

Its funny, Zep II was one of my favorites as a teenager (like many teenagers). Its also the one that sounds the best on a cheap boom box. I guess i should break out my cheap boombox whenever i have a need to listen to it (which is pretty rare), although it does have "Ramble on" which is one of my favorites. I never had this on vinyl for some reason.

 

LZ II is probably one of the most heavily engineered/produced albums of all time. No matter what you do, it's not going to sound "real" and "crystal clear." The early Bob Ludwig mastered vinyl pressings (the famous RL in the deadwax) on Atlantic are fabulous because they unleash the enormous power in the recording and maintain decent clarity without emphasizing all the electronic "futzing" involved in creating the music. The MFSL vinyl isn't too bad either (actually, one of the better MFSL efforts), but the later Atlantic pressings and the Classic Records mastering fall short (in the case of the Classic mastering, because of heavy-handed EQ). Unfortunately, the CDs don't really come close on this one either. Too bad because IMO this is the seminal hard rock album.