General Chat

[Tyler]

Well, my weigh-in is finally here...

As I've stated up to this point, the only versions of the Led Zeppelin albums that were deemed with the highest quality sound, range and natural projection to them, both by myself and other diehard listeners, were the CDs mastered by Barry Diament and Joe Sidore in the early to mid '80s. However, a major factor in those high praises from audiophiles has been because of the reviews of later remasters that have been released in decades past, both in terms of mastering processes and the multitude of variation between pressings. Essentially, until the release of these HD remasters, we had been unknowingly settling for what we deemed to be the best sound, and not what the actual sound should have been, though we never knew.

The emphasis on those CDs has always been the warm, analog sound, thus giving a high listening experience. This was due to the fact that when the albums were first mastered for CD, the master tapes were not used. They were instead sourced from previous vinyl releases, hence the vinyl-like quality to them. Because of this, it was more difficult to hear John Paul Jones' bass guitar since the CDs had bass-like sheeted sound on them due to vinyl's dynamics limitations. We no longer have to deal with this because of the reissues' tighter grip. So, in comparison of those early CDs to the 2014 reissues, it's no contest. The 2014 reissues are the best editions by a landslide.

What's most noticeable on the first three albums of this extensive reissue project is that there is new life breathed into John Bonham's drum tracks, giving a sincere and distinct quality unheard before. But here's the kicker: the newly-enhanced drum tapes do not overtake any of the songs' remastered mixes. Every song now has a more harmonious and balanced punch than what we've previously heard on past releases. The resonance of the analog master tapes is still present in the reissues, yet thankfully not overpowering for the sake of this enhanced sound and modernized quality. Jimmy Page's guitar presence now has more depth than what we've been accustomed to hearing, giving off a more rich experience. All of these elements are now completed by Robert Plant's newly-spacious vocals resulting in an entirely different listening experience for both Led Zeppelin fans and audiophiles alike.

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As a treat to all of you, I've uploaded all three of the reissued 2CD Deluxe Edition albums in FLAC-HD for you to enjoy, straight off the HD download cards from each respective album package. Each album download is at least 1.6GB in size, and comes with a high-res photo of the reissued album art. I've tagged all songs by hand to include precise metadata, including punctuation and composer citation. All songs are also tagged with a comment section, in which I've included each album's record label and catalog release number information. Just click any of the album's artwork, and you'll be brought straight to its download page. I've also directly provided each album's label and catalog number below the artwork in this post so you can see which FLAC-HD edition was sourced. YOU'RE WELCOME. ;)

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Label: Atlantic/Warner Music Group
Catalog #: 8122796457



Label: Atlantic/Warner Music Group
Catalog #: 8122796453



Label: Atlantic/Warner Music Group
Catalog #: 8122796449

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ENJOY!! :D