Led Zeppelin - End Credits

Led Zeppelin made albums.  Like others of their generation, Led Zeppelin didn't make music to be radio stars.  They didn't make music to be featured in commercials, movies, or TV shows.  They didn't make music for any other reason but to make great music.  Their albums were islands.  Moments in time.  A place to journey to.  A sonic landscape to escape to.  Back then, it was about quality not quantity.  There are very few songs that slipped out from in between the cracks.  In fact, prior to the Led Zeppelin box set of 1990, the band only officially released one extra song as a B-side (Hey, Hey What Can I Do). This week sees the final release of the Led Zeppelin remasters series.  Though most of the bonus tracks were alternate versions and demos, some better than others (actually, few better than others), there was a handful more unreleased tracks in the overall series. Led Zeppelin bonus tracks are a rarity.  They may exist in small doses but only to draw attention to their larger contributions.  They exist like bonus scenes at the end of a Marvel movie.  The end credit scenes.  Over the course of the remasters and box sets, enough bonus material has come out to form one additional album...an "end credits" album. With the releases of Led Zeppelin coming to a close, here is the final culmination of their remaining music, compiled in one album, aptly called "End Credits."          

The 11 Best Bonus Tracks from the Led Zeppelin Remasters (so far)

  Part two of the Zeppelin Remasters has arrived.  Though the first set of releases (featuring I, II, II) were met with modest reviews, the unearthing of any new Zeppelin material is a monumental moment.  A lot of people haven't been thrilled with the clinical polishing of the Zeppelin classics.  It's too clean.  It's too loud.  A typical critique that all remasters suffer from.  I am not a fan of remasters.  Part of it is my personal attachment to the original arrangements.  The other part is that there are subtle emotional moments that can only be found in the dead air...or as musicians call "the space between."  I've learned to accept remasters as "alternate" versions and not ones that are replacing the originals.  When listening with that attitude, I have less distaste for the re-workings.  The real gem when remasters come out is not the new production of the old songs but the bonus material that comes alongside it.  The early bonus tracks for the Zeppelin remasters have been sparse...in part for the lack of quality material sitting around in their vaults from that early period...but there have been a few gems.  Rumor is, as we get later in the remasters, the truly amazing rare gems will surface (per Page). The following list was not chosen as the best finished songs but the songs that add the most interesting peak behind the scenes. Here are the 11 Best Bonus Tracks from the Led Zeppelin Remasters (so far):

1. Key To The Highway/Trouble In My Mind (Rough Mix)
2. You Shook Me (Live in Paris, 1969)
3. Immigrant Song (Alternate Mix)
4. La La/Intro (Intro/Outro Rough Mix)
5. Dazed And Confused (Live in Paris, 1969)
6. Moby Dick (Live In Paris, 1969)
7. Gallows Pole (Rough Mix)
8. What Is And What Should Never Be (Rough Mix With Vocal)
9. Heartbreaker (Live in Paris, 1969)
10. Heartbreaker (Rough Mix With Vocal)
11. How Many More Times (Live in Paris, 1969)

Buy the new Led Zeppelin Remasters IV and Houses of the Holy...now!!  

The 11 Best Songs By Led Zeppelin

 It's summer time and there's nothing I want to do more than be outside than be inside writing blog posts.  But with a lot of great music rolling out over the next few months, not to mention some hidden gems I've overlooked...I'm going to keep up the lists but with a lot less fanfare.  Instead of a long intro, you'll likely get a more condensed fun facts...which were well-received in my book.  More lists, less talk!

Led Zeppelin Fun Fact: Led Zeppelin I took 35 hours to record, produce and mix.

Have a great summer.

Here are the 11 Best Led Zeppelin Songs:

1. Over The Hills And Far Away (Houses of the Holy)
2. Stairway To Heaven (IV)
3. Tangerine (III)
4. All Of My Love (In Through The Out Door)
5. Rock & Roll (IV)
6. The Rover (Physical Graffitti)
7. Fool In The Rain (In Through The Out Door)
8. Communication Breakdown (I)
9. Immigrant Song (III)
10. Ramble On (II)
11. Dazed And Confused (I)

BTW...it's Zeppelin...so really, every song is fucking amazing.

Buy the Led Zeppelin Remasters, I, II, III...now!!

The 11 Best Albums of 1969

1969 might be the best year for music...ever. The albums that didn't make the list are better than most albums that top the list for other years. Debuts from Crosby Stills Nash, Blood Sweat & Tears, Mott The Hoople, Santana, and Moby Grape all didn't make the list. Bob Dylan's Nashville Skyline is sitting on the sideline. Nick Drake's Five Leaves Left is left out. Stevie Wonder's My Cheri Amour found no love and the Beatles' Yellow Submarine is sunk.


Here are the 11 Best Albums of 1969:


1. The Beatles - Abbey Road
2. Led Zeppelin - II
3. The Rolling Stones - Let It Bleed
4. Led Zeppelin - I
5. Velvet Underground - V.U.
6. The Who - Tommy
7. The Band - The Band
8. Creedence Clearwater Revival - Willy & the Poor Boys
9. The Grateful Dead - Aoxomoxoa (Cosmic Charlie)
10. Blind Faith - Blind Faith
11. Merle Haggard - Okie From Muskogee


I didn't forget Johnny Cash's Live From San Quentin...one of the most memorable albums of this year...but it's a live album and a compilation...which is why it didn't make the list. Same for Ummagumma.

You can buy most of these albums here at my store!

The 11 Best Albums of 1979

I had a friend Anthony who was obsessed with Pink Floyd. One day he spent the entire afternoon a dual cassette deck trying to line up the last song on the Wall so it would transition smoothly back into the first song. He was so proud of the 3-second splice that he made a mixed tape with that intertwined between every song. As strange (and super obsessive) as this was, there were something about his actions that embodied the mojo of his actions. That seemingly meaningless minutia was of the utmost importance. Maybe that's because everyone was smoking so much pot or that after the mayhem of the 60s...it was time to chill out.

Here are the 11 Best Albums of 1979:

1. Pink Floyd - The Wall

2. Michael Jackson - Off the Wall

3. AC/DC - Highway To Hell

4. Led Zeppelin - In Through the Out Door

5. The Police - Regatta de Blanc

6. Van Halen - Van Halen 2

7. Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures (Disorder)

8. The Ramones - End of the Century

9. Prince - Prince

10. Split Enz - Frenzy

11. Bob Dylan - Slow Train Coming (Gotta Serve Somebody)

Buy these albums here at my store!!

The 11 Best Led Zeppelin Songs:

There's one band everyone is talking about. There's one and only ONE band that matters today. That band is Led Zeppelin.

On the heels of last night's incredible reunion show, I wanted to do the 11 best Led Zeppelin songs. But picking 11 of the best LZ songs is like deciding which leg you're going to amputate. It's impossible. You can try to do it. Go ahead...you'll see how hard it is. Instead of posting just the best Zeppelin tracks, I've decided to post every single Led Zeppelin song from their 8 official releases. Believe it or not, below is the entire Zeppelin catalog condensed to a mere 3:30 seconds. Yep...hear every Zeppelin song in less time than it takes to listen to the opening track from Led Zeppelin 4.

Here are the...um...73 best Led Zeppelin Tracks:

1. Led Zeppelin I
2. Led Zeppelin II
3. Led Zeppelin III
4. Led Zeppelin IV
5. House of the Holy
6. Physical Graffiti
7. Presence
8. In Through The Out Door

Buy Great Led Zeppelin stuff here...