Led Zeppelin Preview Unreleased Live Tracks From Deluxe Reissues
Two years after Jimmy Page teased Led Zeppelin fans with promises of bonus material on the forthcoming deluxe editions of the band’s catalog, the band has just shared a first glimpse of what it has in store. A one-minute video includes snippets of “Good Times Bad Times” and “Communication Breakdown,” recorded at the Paris venue L’Olympia in October 1969, which will appear on the June 3rd reissue of Led Zeppelin.
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“Good Times Bad Times” sounds rough and raw as Robert Plant wails, “My, my, my,” and the rest of Led Zeppelin lock into a noisy groove. When it switches to “Communication Breakdown,” Plant offers up a faithful performance of the recorded version with a little extra warble, while Page digs his pick deep into his instrument’s strings. They sound light, focused and hungry – likely their mindset at the time as the concert took place a couple of months before the release of Led Zeppelin II. The bonus CD contains nine live songs from the concert, including two that would eventually appear on Led Zeppelin II and a 15-minute rave-up of “Dazed and Confused.”
Deluxe editions of Led Zeppelin II and Led Zeppelin III will also come out on June 3rd and will contain alternate mixes of songs, instrumental versions and outttakes. Led Zeppelin II includes one song that the group never released, “La La.” Release dates for reissues of the rest of Led Zeppelin’s catalog have yet to be announced.
In 2012, Page told Rolling Stone that he wanted to revisit the albums because they didn’t sound up to snuff to his ears. “The catalog was last remastered 20 years ago,” he said. “That’s a long time. Everything is being transferred from analog to a higher-resolution digital format. That’s one of the problems with the Zeppelin stuff. It sounds ridiculous on MP3. You can’t hear what’s there properly.”