The archives are shut. The unreleased songs remain unreleased. Remastering the soundboard tapes is a pipe dream. It’s 2025 and Led Zeppelin is somehow less culturally relevant than Elvis Presley.
Fans of Presley have this year been treated to a feature-length documentary using unseen concert footage that comes hot on the heels of 2022’s biopic, a new memoir by Priscilla Presley and an exhaustive new biography of Presley’s manager.
The world of Led Zeppelin, however, is far less exciting. “Becoming Led Zeppelin”, the feature-length documentary about the band’s origins that was produced independently from the band, caused a wave of interest in Led Zeppelin’s music. The band reacted to the film’s release with the equivalent of a shrug of their collective shoulders.
No band members attended the film’s premieres or gave even a single interview to promote the release of what will likely be the definitive history of their early years. It’s only now, months after the film’s release, that the band members have seemingly realised their royalty cheques are larger than normal.
Perhaps it was a 23% rise in streams of Led Zeppelin’s music that prompted a decision to celebrate February’s fiftieth anniversary of Physical Graffiti by re-releasing the album on vinyl in September with an added poster, perhaps the least effort that could have been put into celebrating the album’s anniversary.
There was a glimmer of hope this month when Led Zeppelin released Live E.P., a four track vinyl release containing live performances. Instead of taking the opportunity to unearth unheard gems, however, the band simply released the audio of four songs from Led Zeppelin’s 2003 DVD, using the same mixes of the songs that were made in 2002.
The lack of effort was also shown by the fact that the release simply copied and pasted the credits from the band’s 2003 DVD, leading to scratching of heads as the credits mention John Paul Jones’ mandolin playing, something which can’t actually be heard on the EP.
The lack of any liner notes for the album, with the band choosing to leave one half of the vinyl’s inner gatefold sleeve blank, baffled even the most ardent fans of Led Zeppelin. Dave Lewis, the editor of the long-running Tight But Loose fanzine, rightly called the omission “a missed opportunity”.
Perhaps realising that Live E.P. was a half-baked package containing a handful of songs originally released in 2003, no band members have bothered to promote the EP. Robert Plant is understandably focused on promoting his new solo album, leaving Led Zeppelin to dig out a quote he gave in February 1975 to include in its announcement of the EP.
Frustrations over Led Zeppelin’s inactivity are often batted away by staunch defenders of the band who insist that the surviving members of Led Zeppelin owe us nothing. They are, of course, correct. Jimmy Page has more than earned the right to sit in his garden complaining about his neighbours, an activity he indeed seems to have spent several years doing.
But the longer Led Zeppelin keeps its vaults shut, the less relevant the band becomes. It’s especially apparent when contrasting the band’s recent lack of activity with other heritage rock acts.
Even the feuding members of Pink Floyd managed to agree with each other long enough to sell their catalogue to Sony Music for $400 million last year. That deal led to a flood of interest in the contents of the band’s vaults, resulting in a stunning remaster of the 1972 concert film “Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii” earlier this year.
Now, Pink Floyd is releasing a new fiftieth anniversary box set of the 1975 album Wish You Were Here that comes with unreleased songs, a live album from Wembley as well as a remastered bootleg audience recording made by Mike Millard in 1975.
As a reminder, Led Zeppelin celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of its own 1975 album Physical Graffiti by re-releasing it with an added poster. Any hopes of Led Zeppelin remastering and releasing any of Millard’s legendary audience tapes of Led Zeppelin in its prime remain as realistic as the fantasy sequences in “The Song Remains The Same”.
What’s more, while Pink Floyd was left reliant on Millard’s audience tapes because of the band’s lack of soundboard material, we know that Led Zeppelin has multi-track recordings from its 1975 Earl’s Court shows. Page, ever the perfectionist when it comes to Led Zeppelin’s legacy, wouldn’t need to use audience recordings if the concept troubled him.
Jealous Led Zeppelin fans look with envy at Bob Dylan, whose bootleg series of official archival releases is now on to its 18th volume and Bruce Springsteen, whose archival releases will soon include his long lost Electric Nebraska material. After denying the existence of the material in June, Springsteen seemingly checked his vaults, found the recordings and decided to release them, all within a matter of months.
Led Zeppelin’s recent lack of activity looks even worse when compared to The Beatles, with upcoming projects from that band including a fourth Anthology volume and a remarkable four biopic films due to be released in 2028. The 2023 release of the single “Now And Then” earned The Beatles a Grammy Award for best rock performance earlier this year, while the 2021 “Get Back” series gave fans hours of remarkable unseen insights into the making of the 1970 album Let It Be.
What’s particularly frustrating for Led Zeppelin fans craving more from the band is the fact that we know how much more could be released. It’s widely understood that the band have multi-track recordings from the band’s legendary 1971 tour of Japan, a project Page seems to have worked on before abandoning it.
Furthermore, a multi-track recording of the band’s 1973 Southampton University performance has emerged through bootleg releases but remains officially unreleased.
“Led Zeppelin have the tapes”, photographer Ross Halfin, a close friend of Page, said in a 2021 podcast interview when asked about the contents of Led Zeppelin’s vaults. “There’s the live in Japan 1971 that’s never come out. There is Southampton 1973 that has never come out. They have stuff,” he explained.
The surprise emergence on YouTube in 2022 of incredible unseen footage of Led Zeppelin performing at Bath Festival in 1970 was yet another indicator that material remains available for Led Zeppelin to release. But the footage wasn’t licensed by the band and was later deleted from the internet, returning to obscurity in the hands of the estate of director Peter Whitehead.
Even a simple remaster of the band’s DVD, now released more than 22 years ago, is long overdue. Surely releasing “Led Zeppelin: Blu-ray” with fresh, high definition transfers of performances such as Royal Albert Hall 1970 and Knebworth 1979 is a no-brainer?
Revisiting those tapes would have given the finale of “Becoming Led Zeppelin” an extra visual flourish, while also being the perfect product to release while the film shone a global spotlight on concert footage of Led Zeppelin.
However, rather than digging out the original tapes, the band instead appears to have used artificial intelligence to remaster Earl’s Court and Knebworth footage before releasing it on YouTube to promote Live E.P.
Page’s four-year project to remaster Led Zeppelin’s albums, adding unreleased material and alternative mixes, was an unambiguous victory for fans. But the end of that commendable effort in 2018 has served to highlight the material left in the vault.
We know, for example, that unreleased Led Zeppelin studio material exists. Page took it upon himself to release a home demo of “The Rain Song” online in 2023. At the time, LedZepNews was told by a source that more material was on the way. In the end, nothing further was released.
The closest we’ve come to an official release of the tapes of Led Zeppelin writing “Stairway To Heaven” was when Page explained the contents of four recordings as they were played in a Los Angeles courtroom in 2016.
Hopes were also raised by Page’s repeated mentions in 2017 of the imminent release the following year of unreleased Led Zeppelin material. “There’ll be Led Zeppelin product coming out, for sure, that people haven’t heard,” he told the Academy of Achievement in 2017, “because I’m working on that. Next year will be the fiftieth year so there’s all manner of surprises coming out.”
In the end, the band only managed to release two alternative mixes of studio songs in 2018 alongside a book and, bizarrely, a snowboard that emerged the following year. By 2022, Page seemed to admit defeat. “Obviously, there is source material that could come out – but it seems the band don’t all agree so there’s no point,” he told Uncut Magazine.
Plans for a Led Zeppelin exhibition, seemingly titled “The Led Zeppelin Experience” appear to have been abandoned. It now exists solely as a trademark application after the band let its original US trademark lapse earlier this year.
Meanwhile, Page managed to shorten the length of the live album How The West Was Won in its 2018 remaster, cutting the two-minute “Hello Mary Lou” medley. When asked about adding more material to the album, Page admitted in a 2018 interview that he was “not entirely sure why” he didn’t add a live performance of “Tangerine”.
With Led Zeppelin seemingly content to keep its head down, the most interesting Led Zeppelin activity in 2025 comes not from the band itself, but by outsiders intent on carrying the torch.
“Becoming Led Zeppelin” director Bernard MacMahon spent months painstakingly restoring lost footage of Led Zeppelin performing in Amsterdam in 1969 for the upcoming Blu-ray release of his film, a project that took place entirely outside of Led Zeppelin’s control.
This year, LedZepFilm released the second-earliest footage of Led Zeppelin to emerge along with upgraded footage of the band performing in Tokyo in 1971 and close-up footage of Led Zeppelin performing in Landover in 1977.
A pipeline of unseen photographs of Led Zeppelin on stage is coming not from the band itself, but from small galleries in the US and Sweden.
Here at LedZepNews, we’ve spent years writing exhaustive histories of Led Zeppelin covering everything from unseen police records about the 1973 robbery of the band in New York to legal files that revealed the impact of backstage violence in 1977 and confirming the location of the first Led Zeppelin rehearsal in a London basement in 1968. Our reporting has been met with radio silence by the band and even a legal threat.
Meanwhile, Led Zeppelin’s scant activity seems limited to re-releasing old material. On September 22, the band announced an upcoming vinyl re-release of a 1975 promotional single for “Trampled Underfoot”.
Four hours later, the announcement was deleted. It seems the band somehow managed to break the embargo for upcoming Record Store Day releases by more than a week.
Remarkably, this was the band’s second bungled vinyl single re-release in a row. A 2021 “Immigrant Song” single release was scrapped just one day before it was due to be released, with no explanation given. It seems that even successfully announcing and then re-releasing old material is beyond the reach of Led Zeppelin.
How can Led Zeppelin fix this malaise? If both Plant and Jones can both be persuaded to attend one of the band’s regularly scheduled meetings with Page, perhaps they can all agree on an archival release.
If even this is beyond their reach, it might be time to question whether the surviving members of Led Zeppelin are the best custodians of their legacy. Sony Music’s stewardship of Pink Floyd’s catalogue has already resulted in two blockbuster releases. Could an outside owner do the same for Led Zeppelin?
We know that Helen Grant, the daughter of Led Zeppelin manager Peter Grant, has spent years searching for a buyer for her 10% stake in the band’s royalties. There is no sign of that deal closing, however, and any buyer will be limited to receiving royalty cheques and politely asking the band to do something.
The recent release of Led Zeppelin’s Live E.P. should serve as a reminder to the surviving members of the band as well as their record label Warner Music Group that fans are desperate for more from Led Zeppelin.
At its peak, Led Zeppelin was an unrivalled live act. We know that tapes exist, including multi-track, soundboard and audience recordings, showing Led Zeppelin’s musical peak. Surely fans of the band should be treated to a little more?
You’d think that all of their albums would be prepped for Blu-ray audio releases at the least. They would feature Atmos, 5.1 and high-resolution stereo mixes. If Steven Wilson can work on Rolling Stones material (a la the upcoming Black And Blue box), then why not Led Zeppelin? How about remixes?
I would buy all unreleased official live material from the band (even though my personal preference is of the period from the beginning of the band up to and including the point in 1972 before Plant started losing the high-end on his voice) as a show of support. I have to admit that it does irk me concerning Page’s edits. I’m sure rights stuff can be worked out for releases. It’s too quirky on his part. Japan ’71 would be a pre-order I’d put in for in a nanosecond.
That Led Zeppelin did not do any more remastering of any of their albums is a sort of cause for questioning and wonder. Robert Plant steadfastly refusing to sing a song by them on his solo tours is akin to a joke. No fan wants or deserves this. We’d all like plenty more to be done, but is it? Nope. Not today, not never.
Thank you for your comments. No fan base has been more under-served than this one. The collective egos from the 3 (Princes) challenge …the size of Texas. Led Zeppelin has been my favorite band for 45 years. I have purchased so many albums, in any possible configuration. There’s so many things they could release, but choose not to. The castles these men live in … are because of us … the fans. The lack of appreciation for that reality, is palpable. Another crappy Robert Plant album … does nothing for me anymore. Jimmy hasn’t written a song for at least 27 years. Disgusting that they are constantly re-selling the same sh*t … over and over (with an additional poster)! There’s a lot of things that they’ve done … that I’ve appreciated, but WTF. Why no MF’n Earl’s Court??? It makes no sense.
I totally agree this band starting with primadonna Rob Plant has disrespected fans since death of Bonzo,the 3 survivors and maybe Bonzos son on drums could have and should have done a few concerts for the fans..because if there was no fans back in old days would be no band or the big bucks
I feel that same what the function. It’s not as if Led Zeppelin were some nobody that had a few ardent fans from one’s high school who heard them at a dance. No, this, folks, is Led fucking Zeppelin. There is nothing to have been released since 1980. The Beatles, yes, had more of a proper farewell story. Pink Floyd will, if Roger Waters and David Gilmour don’t kill each other,have The Wall to look back on with reverence. Led Zeppelin? Not even close.
Agree! Even Springsteen opened his archives this year and he’s still creating new music. Hearing anything we never heard raw/live whatever the case, should be paramount to the band. Us fans who have supported them and loved them for decades would really appreciate it. Even if they just do it as a money grab, do it right, put some effort into it, and no one would care.
When it comes to all things that involve Led Zeppelin , it’s too complicated to the point of is it worth the effort. Each band member has the right to veto any future releases and many times Jimmy Page has mentioned that unreleased material can be released and a lot of time and energy is required but what’s the use when its rejected by the other band members. A perfect example is the release of the Celebration Day DVD, what a nightmare to get the negotiations between 5 sets of estates and lawyers , promoters ,and the whole soap opera of getting all the band members on one stage together. So what are the chances of seeing a 1977 show which were all recorded on video just like Earls Court , no chance especially with 20 minute guitar , keyboard and drumming solo’s , Robert Plant would be horrified and will never see the light of day.
Here you loud and clear. Going to pass on this EP. Kashmir from Earls Court should be on it. Where is the Earls Court video/album box set???
Someday…when Led Zeppelin’s legacy has been left to someone else….the vaults will eventually open I think.There were many years when I was growing up where very little to nothing came out.However..since then Led Zeppelin have released or re-released quite a bit.Granted,even now it’s been awhile since that happened.It would be nice to see something mostly new or even completely new from them but if that continues to not happen I’m not going to start complaining about what I may or may not be entitled to when what Page and co.have accomplished is still…many years later…beyond quite amazing.There’s a good chance Page will release more before his death,with Zeppelin waiting is not new ground.🙂🎸🎶
Page should work with Steven Wilson to create a box set of all nine studio albums mixed in Dolby Atmos. Zep could charge $300 for a box like that and sell half a million of them.
You are absolutely spot on, James. We’re left carrying the torch for what is, arguably, the greatest rock band of all time. The live material is stellar and there are plenty of options for them, even based solely on what we know exists. There are tons of unheard stuff.
The EP release is what I would expect from a low key archival live album a la live Allmans, or live Neil Young stuff. Simple cover, exceptional music.
The lowest effort imaginable for a band renowned for being meticulous with their releases. Worse than a fan made project.
It is disheartening. They’re letting the torch, which we are carrying in their absence, sputter out.
We warm our hands by the guttering flame as it grows every dimmer. I think the myth of Jimmy fervently imploring a stoic Robert to allow the spice to flow, is dashed when one considers the dearth of unreleased Roy Harper, The Firm, Outrider, or even (shudder) Coverdale/Page material coming out.
Ever onward? Not hardly. Such a waste.
I echo you, it is such a waste. I’m 58 and I stand a MUCH better chance of making the Olympic team than I do of hearing Led Zeppelin. All this ai shit is just that. We fans don’t get even a chance to say “hey, why not do a show in LA and one in Boston? There’d be no shortage of fans going to hear them. EVERYONE was a Led Zeppelin fan then. It was the exact same thing as with The Beatles bcuz EVERYONE liked them. We have been robbed.
At least your not getting cash grabbed every quarter like The Beatles guys.
For anything substantial to happen in the realm of releasing live concert footage, unreleased original studio material, or even remastering original releases in various enhanced formats, the surviving members of Led Zeppelin would need another Peter Grant. They are obviously not really keen or interested in what fans want. As a commenter pointed out earlier, living in their castles and enduring their legacies are a result of loyal fans; but just as much a result of Peter Grant. He was the galvanizing force which took a collection of talented musicians from being a really good band, to achieving the pinnacle of absolute greatness. If Plant, Page, and Jones fail to see the beauty in that, then the void left unfulfilled by all the available material left collecting dust, will be as much their loss as it is ours.
Page said in an interview years ago that there was enough live material to make an album every year for ten years, so what’s changed ?
Yes Zeppelin fans are being short changed. What about Earls Court 50th anniversary?
He never actually said a live album every year for 10 years.
He said “There’s a lot of stuff to come out, a number of releases. I’d like to say that they’ll be coming out over the next 10 years.”
I admire and respect the effort, commitment and love that this Web site has for Led Zeppelin.
Not sure the news here other than maybe creating a new drop down menu item called Opinions.
Thank you again for keeping us led heads up to date on the lack of anything new of substance
In all fairness, Led Zeppelin fans aren’t the only ones being screwed (to put it somewhat bluntly). I’m a big fan of The Who and of the countless re-releases of Live at Leeds not one has been the complete concert. I’m also waiting on the Beatles to officially release their 1965 Shea Stadium and ’66 Budokan concerts in full. There are a lot of bands that seem to be holding out on their fans.
I been a Led zeppelin fan my hole life definitely could have done better with the movie . I am sure there’s was a lot more to tell
Whatever happened to the film of Bath festival and one of their best performances?
It seems to me that they operate the same way they did when Grant was manager. I well remember the continous delays in releases of lps. There was always another excuse. In the 70s pre Internet it was frustrating but served to build up the intrigue of the band so looking back I think it was deliberate ploy. These days as we all get older it simply serves to piss me off
That Which Remains…is the Same. I Have been listening for 50 years. I can still remember when my 8-track tapes would click over to the next program right in the middle of the songs. I gladly bought all of the Super Deluxe box sets that started in 2014. Which eventually number 14 at about $1500 all together. I’m done. We made them Giants, that walked the land. I am glad to say I have seen Jimmy twice 1985 and 1988, and Robert once 2002. I am sorely disappointed that Jimmy hasn’t written any music or a damn thing on vinyl since. Other than the Movie Soundtracks and a Yardbirds ’68 Lp. Thank my lucky stars I got to see Jeff Beck in 2010. They’re just ordinary average guys, like Joe Walsh 💙🎶🤷♂️🎸 & Ringo 🥁
Jimmy and Robert for all their talent are basically two of the biggest assholes in Rock rivaling such heavyweight champions of assholeness such as Roger Waters. The way they have treated John Paul Jones is prime evidence of what the issue is. At least Robert is focused on his new music but Jimmy just sits around whining and bitching.
Sorry to sound a sour note but, PLANT has said numerous times. Wonderful memories.
He does also ALWAYS has a Zep song or two in his set list.
I think the belief is
All this rehash rubbish is for the secondary money market.
How is it possible that only 3 live albums have been released? I don’t consider Celebration Day part of Led Zeppelin because its not John Bonham on drums and thats Jason Bonham which i respect. I mean only How The West Was Won, The Song Remains The Same and BBC sessions are the only ones. Even Deep Purple has alot of live CD’s i been a favor Led Zeppelin since 2003 and during those years. I’ve only seen the resmastering the catalogs over and over. Mothership? Really? And Definite Collection Box set? Really is that what they got? Why can Jimmy Page release a live album of the Royal Albert Hall? I even own it on bootleg. What about the 1977 Seattle Kingdome Come? They have a pro shot video. Why can’t we have it on DVD? Again I own the bootleg as well. It would be nice to have releases of live in Japan and other live performances that the members of the band are holding out. Especially Jimmy Page. I honestly don’t give a damn about Robert Plant solo career or hes music. Hes music doesn’t appeal to me. Only some of hes songs from back that he started solo in the 80’s like Tie Dye Highway and Sea Of Love. Again as I mentioned Deep Purple has released alot of live albums and a shame that the Mighty Led Zeppelin can’t have any releases whatsoever. I don’t understand why Jimmy Page has to edit so many songs out too. I mean come on. If you have to pay royalties. Be a leader of the band Jimmy and stop with the edits and pay those Royalties. Its better to listen the live version of Led Zeppelin than to cut it out the song or erase it.
Just a Bruce Springsteen fan dropping in on this thread. I feel for LZ fans. Bruce was always very spotty on releasing outtakes until recently. I actually think his mind was changed recently by the fact he didn’t want to lumber his kids with having to manage the legacy. He sold the catalogue to Sony and even went and found the Electric Nebraska tapes, which are the Holy Grail to Bruce fans. In fact, Electric Nebraska was even rarer than the Holy Grail. In short, Bruce has cashed out and emptied the vault in his mid-70s. Of course, Bruce is a solo artist, so can do what he wants ala Bob Dylan. I don’t know the dynamic between the LZ members. Good luck
It’s Led Zeppelin. They were always aloof. Shy of the media. Surrounding themselves in mystery. Always. When I first became obsessed with them at 11 or 12 years old, I would go to the library scouring old news and magazines for pictures or articles. Not much! Unauthorized biographies and bootlegs ARE the legacy. Tantalizing teasing glimpses are the currency. And don’t forget, there is no more led zeppelin. They disbanded ages ago. Their relevance is in the music and the legends. They are legends and let’s be ok with that.
That last statement of yours sounds about right as they are now just a bunch of ordinary guys with a legacy big enuf to fill MSG, Earls Court and Knebworth and Bath + Scandanavia.
I agree with everything you wrote here. The anger expressed by a minority of fans is odd to me. If there are songs that weren’t released isn’t there a reason for that? I’m in the arts and I don’t sell what didn’t work. I’d hate if it happened after I’m gone. As for people having the nerve to give Page crap because he doesn’t perform or put out new material, have you considered that he’s done? Maybe he has nothing new. And Robert Plant ALWAYS does at least 4 Zeppelin songs in every concert to this day. How many live albums do you want? I own two and really only listen to one of them. Zeppelin created the greatest rock music and then were forced to leave. That’s it. You already have the best of them. I trust that I do.
Been a Zeppelin fan since 1969 when I was 9 years old and heard communication breakdown and thought now that’s rock and roll..All of us Zeppelin fans would love to here any unreleased music from them but I don’t think we’ll ever see that until they pass..Robert acts like Zeppelin was something he’d like to forget,he doesn’t understand how much Zeppelin had an impact on all of us..but hey give them a break they’re getting up there in age and probably just want to relax and enjoy what time they have left..Led Zeppelin 4ever..
It’s fine to trash the band members but in the past the fans always quenched their thirst for new material by scooping up new bootlegs. So, when is the next new soundboard due out? There’s still plenty of unheard material from ’73, ’75 and ’77. How about these tape hoarders start throwing us a fans a bone or two?
No one is entitled to anything the band doesn’t want to release. You have access to the music they have released, be happy about it.
They are a legendary band whose place is cemented in history and they have no need, other than financial gain, and no responsibility to anyone else.
Its great that we have their music to listen to, learn from, and appreciate…but its THEIR music.
Thank you. Couldn’t have said it better myself.
I totally agree this band starting with primadonna Rob Plant has basically disrespected fans since death of Bonzo,the 3 survivors and Bonzos son on drums could have and should have done a few concerts for the fans..because if there was no fans back in old days would be no band or the fame n fortune with it.
I have a lot of thoughts about this but the realization that we are here is because we have such love for Zeppelin. Of course we want more. What other band has a top 5 or better musician at each instrument? What other band has lesser songs that other bands would kill to have written let alone having the best ones? I’ve wanted the unleashed studio material and live versions forever and not seeing any movement on this would drive me nuts in the past. I have hope still but if nothing but remasters come out in the future I’m ok with this because I already have access to the greatest band there ever was. Led Zeppelin forever!!
They owe no one anything
The saddest thing is that even the release date of Becoming Led Zeppelin is pure confusion. Not clear even if or when this is going to be released. Then they abbouncr a RSD release and delete everything related from their website the day after.
Thanks for the opinion piece. I share your frustrations. Physical Graffiti is such a monumental release I would like to see/hear it celebrated more.
I actually think they have released a decent amount of audio for live concerts, especially given that many of the same songs were played over the years. Having said that, I still think there is room for some choice releases. I don’t understand not remastering/remixing the’70 RAH show for a physical release.
Give me break. Honor thy masters by letting go of the hype it was a time and place nothing more. Move on. Zep did
While we’re at it — what about a little more effort cover art and graphics. How The West Was Won looked like it took an hour to slap together using desktop software. Where’s the mystery? The unfathomable symbolism? Aubrey Powell we need you!
I have been a long time fan (52 years) and I have become disillusioned by the way Plant, Page and Jones are handling their legacy. They have to be well aware that the fan base would love “official” releases of Earls Court and Japan 1971/72. We all know there is enough material in existence to accomplish this. As fans we deserve better….
I think I prefer the Led Zeppelin approach to the way “Experience Hendrix” has scraped the bottom of the barrel so often there is no bottom of the barrel (but still cannot deliver the one worthwhile legacy item, the 1969 ROH concert)
As a fan, I smack down a lot of lies about “stolen material” all the time. I literally fight the propaganda war for Led Zeppelin. It can get exhausting sometimes.
As a loyal fan, I dont expect much.
I just want Japan 71, is that too much to ask?
If Zeppelin guru and mega-fan Dave Lewis takes issue with the lads, then you know things aren’t good. Dave is reluctant to criticize the LZ members and with good reason: His publishing business revolves around them, so it’s not in his interest to bash the group.
All that said, I agree with the commentary in this post and the feedback from fans. The band can do a much better job. I get tired of hearing about how they don’t owe us anything. Maybe they don’t . . . but they kind of do, especially with releasable material gathering dust. I get tired of Percy grudgingly acknowledging the LZ legacy, without which, he might never have become the legend he is. He’s the one who blocks releases, in my opinion. Why? It’s competition for his own solo recordings, and he doesn’t want to answer more questions about potential Zeppelin releases. For the record, as some others have noted, I could care less about his solo work.
I respect and salute Jimmy’s attention to the band’s legacy. Yeah, don’t release sub-par material. That said, and again as others have noted, there is stuff in the vault that could come out! More Earl’s Court! More KNEBWORTH (I was there for the first show)! Some Seattle! The Japan shows! On and on . . . .
The 50th anniversary of PG was a bust. I expect even less for the upcoming Presence anniversary. And it’s discouraging when all of these other classic bands release gobs of material. The reissues last decade were also, mostly, a disappointment. Too many tracks with only a remix. “Listen, folks! Here’s a track where John’s cowbell is brighter in the mix!” Yay.
Leave them boys alone. They sang their song!! A
and they were the best ever! Jerry Jenkins
Do fans still sit in front of audio systems to listen to albums? Not me. Would i watch a COMPLETE movie that runs over three hours and covers all of the bands story both good and bad ? Yes. Because it’s reality. Everyone knows by now that Plant is mainly at fault for the rejection of any nostalgic products concerning the original Zeppelin. We’ve all heard the reasons. And many years later, we older fans still don’t care about Robert’s personal tragedies that block the high spirited revisiting of the band’s stellar history. It may sound rude to admit to that fact. But they were part of the glory days, just like the other mega stars. And they should have dealt with it much better in recent years.
I respect and care about Robert Plant’s personal tragedies and I’m an older fan. You don’t speak for all of us.
I disagree that they owe the fans anything. We all know the songs, the influence, the brilliance that was Led Zeppelin. But what about the younger generations? Kids these days have never heard of Led Zeppelin and that’s a shame. LZ’s music could and should still be a great influence on the future of music. I’ve watched some YouTube videos of kids discovering LZ for the first time and it’s priceless seeing the look on their faces when they hear Dazed and Confused or Stairway for the first time. Any new interest sparked will ensure their legacy. Without renewed interest their music and influence will go to the grave with the old fans.
That’s my fear too, Joan. That without “new” stuff to sustain interest and pull in new fans, they’ll be little more than a footnote in 50 years’time. Perhaps even less, because attention spans move on at an increasingly rapid clip nowadays.
They have done precisely nothing to attract new fans. I remember the buzz around the time of the DVD release and, a few years later, the O2. Young people were signing up to the Zeppelin message boards in droves, wanting to know what the fuss was about. Some eventually moved on as is inevitable but quite a few stayed and became diehards.
I’m not seeing that surge of interest anymore. Even after Becoming Led Zeppelin, which was half-assed, let’s face it. A bunch of footage, most of which had already been circulating on YouTube for years, interspersed with stuff cribbed from the DVD and a ton of padding in the form of audio played over still shots. There were no new insights. It wasn’t exciting.
I sometimes wonder whether the band themselves want to be forgotten. It’s strange.
Led Zeppelin , one of the best and one of my favorite music catalogs. Their music could bring you way up or fill yer soul with mellow high. I’m really tired of them, it(?), constantly wanting all this present day attention … that’s been going on since John Henry died. I will always love each member and their collaboration to make great music but I think it’s time , way past time , to just put the music out, let it speak for itself. One day soon I hope to not hear about wannabe Zeppelin posts. Over the hills and far away now here.
Oh look, more whining from pathetic and entitled Led Zep newbie nerds who need the crusts cut off their toast and perpetually cry about what they’re “owed” by the band. Whatever. You’ll all complain no matter what they do. Put your big boy pants on and enjoy your bootlegs. I’m old enough to remember when it was cool to be a LZ fan. Now it’s just like one “Revenge of the Nerds” sequel after another. Sad!
Raise your hand if you’re Sure
They just released versions of four songs previously unreleased.
Low effort equals low interest. Their arrogant indifference has seeped through & shows on their surface. They sit in their gardens & toss chipped records at fans.
I don’t understand this article. Remasters and re-releases are all well and good, but maybe the reason material was left unreleased is because it wasn’t that great. The band broke up along time ago. That’s all the songs were going to get. That’s usually the way it works.
I have a collection of studio out takes, that I don’t think many people have heard. It includes 4 tracks from Olympic Studios, in (get this)…Sep. & Oct. 1968!
Another from Nov. that year with Steve Winwood on Organ. Morgan Studios Jun. 25, 1969, Then unknown studios thru 69. Back to Olympic Studios Jun. 5 1970, then studio rehearsals from May 1970. Then there are tracks 5-10 (2nd disc) from Headley Grange Hampshire Jan-Feb 1971 including 7 minutes of instrumental takes over by of “Stairway…” and 8 plus minute vocal take (still working out some lyrics). Then a take of “ “Walter’s Walk” from Star Groves May 15, 1972. And finally three takes of “Friends” from Bombay India in 1972.
I didn’t set out to list the whole collection but I may as well mention more song titles, the earliest tracks (I believe from their first two months as a band, are first off two takes of “Babe I’m Gonna Leave You”, then “You Shook Me”, and “A Tribute to Bert Burns”, a few takes. Then there’s “We’re Gonna Groove”, and a bunch of takes of “Jenning’s Farm Blues” and “Moby Dick” intro. That’s cd 1.
Second disc starts out with “Poor Tom”, “The Immigrant Song”, “Out On The Tiles”, “That’s the Way”, “Willow Tree”, “Something Else”, “Black Dog”, and ”No Quarter”
So, I’ve had this CDs probably 25 years. The copyright printed on the sleeve is 1996 by Laughing Skull and the collection is titled Studio Haze Vol. 1.
Is this something you all are familiar with or is it kind of rare?
Someone at a LedZepagain tribute concert mentioned that Bombay one but I personally had never heard of most of the ones you referred to and, other than,I think a 68 bootleg of “We’re Gonna Groove” I hadn’t seen or heard of any others.
This is all pretty common material, its been floating around for maybe 30 years now.
I’ve been wanting to share this stuff for many years, I’m just not sure of, for one; legal ramifications. But more so; ethical issues. The fact that the recordings are works in progress. They expose the very human side to these, often Dieted Rock legends. There are ideas that don’t necessarily work so well, tentative versions of many songs in their infancy that go on to become all time greats.
Just normal writing processes for most bands, I suppose. But it takes away the “mystique” or “legend” often associated with some of these songs and definitely with the band. So I have pause in being the one to de-mystify all of that by putting it out there.
I’m not saying I won’t, just that it’s a weird position to be in.
The other thing is just logistics.. what platforms, under what name? etc.
Why should they bother?no one will be interested and it’s only OCD completists who ll buy this stuff.we ve got everything we need.we ve got original vinyl,cd discs and probably downloads.if you really need more to waste money on more fool you.
I have been a long-time fan of Led Zeppelin. For me, they are the greatest rock band ever. Like many of my fellow fans, we love their music. The musical genius that it contains, its intricacy, themes, tuning, sophistication, diversity. At this point, all I really want, and wished would have happened over the years, is more of their music.
Realizing that the expectation is not to re-hash their previous catalog, trying to turn-back the clock 50 years, but rather to have stories from where they are now. While I have enjoyed the production of each surviving member over these years, I must admit that it was not up to the level that the original members, working together, produced. The line up they had in ‘Celebration Day’ could work together, to produce wonderous songs, we could enjoy. Jason Bonham, could contribute an admired amount of creativity, based upon his extensive study of his father’s body of work.
It doesn’t have to be the wonderous nostalgic music of the seventies, but rather, an evolution. Much like their albums ‘LZ III’ and ‘In Through The Out Door.’ I imagine it will be quieter, more bluesy, more acoustic. Probably closer to a Robert Plant current tour line up. Speaking of touring, I would say, there will be none of that at this point. Let’s be satisfied with new music from the studio, much like we were from the Beatles.
Lastly, I don’t really care what they call this group. Maybe there will be no name, just symbols (wink.) Or I don’t care what they call the album(s)…’Where It is Now,’ ‘Looking back, forward.’ Whatever. I just want new adventures with my favorite musicians.
「Jimmy Page’s manager was thinking about remastering the entire Led Zeppelin catalog for a new generation. “The original fans bought and listened to George Marino’s remasters from the 1990s. The original fans will buy both versions even if something new comes out,” Jimmy told him. “I was thinking about how to get young fans under 18 to react and buy it.”」 – John Davis (Mastering engineer for the CD with ZEP Companion)
I wonder if the reason for making “Becoming LZ” is the same as above? From their perspective, the Hardcore baby boomer generation may no longer be the target audience. (T_T)
Real fans spend most of their Zeppelin time listening to audio, many on vinyl, sat down in front of their Hi Fi. Video is nice but it’s not the main course.
Many fans (even on this thread) fail to understand the central reality here: Art is Art and Business is Business. The former is soul-nourishing; the latter is often soul-killing. I’ve been a rock musician for 50 years myself and saw my own dreams dashed repeatedly by certain unscrupulous souls in the music “biz.” Why would these living Rock Gods want to put themselves through it when they don’t have to? Each are worth a couple hundred million. And their combined musical legacy is virtually unmatched. They gave us the best music of a generation. We made them rich. End of story.
This is such garbage and the person to blame is Robert Plant- he truly believes that if anything of Zeppelin comes out it will overshadow his solo work. I think someone better tell Robert that his solo work doesn’t sell well and he is just putting out garbage for his own joy, then goes on tour asking for $200 per ticket. I just looked up his album sales and his new works no one is buying and it is really sad to look at.
Last time Robert Plant sold more than 100K in album sales ceaseless roar with 114K in sales. (2014)
2017- carry fire 60000 copies sold.
2021- raise the roof 60000 copies sold.
Why does he continue putting out this garbage?
I agree 100%. Zep was such and legendary live band and their sound changed from tour to tour. Yes we have the BBC sessions, HTWWW, and the great TSRTS (expanded yet made worse when the original album versions went bye bye). But how great would it be to have official live releases from Japan 1971, Offenburg or Vienna 1973 (Jimmy and Bonzo on fire), or some kind of compilation of songs from the 1975 American tour for example. There’s tons of great live stuff that exists in much better sound quality than the boots. Why not release it?
The lack of legacy material is the by-product of the lingering resentment that still exists within the egos of Plant and Page. Robert’s resentment of Jimmy because of Jimmy not being emotionally supportive after Karac’s death, combined with Robert’s pain and guilt over Bonzo’s death (it was Robert who begged Bonzo to join Zeppelin, so in a way Bonzo might be alive if not for Robert) are the main reasons why Robert couldn’t care less about what Jimmy wants, or Zeppelin’s legacy. Robert’s lingering resentment of Jimmy and the band are why he won’t play nice now as far as releasing legacy material, or reuniting for shows. Zeppelin was Jimmy’s baby, and Robert won’t cooperate after he’s stepped away successfully from the shadow of Zeppelin. We won’t likely see any meaningful movement for the release of Zeppelin legacy materials until the band members have passed, and even then I suspect Robert will put up roadblocks to stop Jimmy from having the freedom to do it. Robert has a massive chip on his shoulder, and a massive ego to go along with it, and the ones who lose out are the fans, who deserve much better.
You’ve either made this crap up or read it somewhere because it’s just not true. How do I know? Well, there’s the fact that Page and Plant got back together, toured and put out a couple of albums. Why would Robert Plant blame himself for anyone’s alcoholism? And how do you know Page wasn’t there for Plant when his child passed?
Lots of comments here already but I’ll add my two cents: Robert has not been shy about the fact that he is now mainly interested in his solo career and doesn’t want to look back or spend much time on Zepp, especially the later years. Page has been clear in interviews that he is frustrated with Plant for that. Page also has a lot of other interests, has tons of money, and has been essentially retired for a number of years. I also recall Page saying the live material is available out there for anyone who really wants to track it down. My guess is that there will not be much more that comes out until Plant passes away and his estate takes over his Zepp ownership, if even then…
The majority of ridiculous comments on this opinion piece have proved that Led Zeppelin fans do not deserve better.
I agree w every damn post here .It’s very odd.what zep did andis doing now . Cole and Grant and Bonham are rolling in the grave . A damn crying shame It’s all on Page and Plant. Yes I am 64 now but gave up holding my breath
Led Zeppelin’s concert at the Montreaux Jazz Festival in 1970 was filmed to allow fans outside the sold out concert to see them. There are the odd unofficial clips but I would love to see it officially released like Montreaux have done with Rory Gallagher and Gary Moore concerts.
I am a diehard Zeppelin fan since 1973.
No new releases from 26 Oct 1982 (Coda that was in all honesty a big disappointment) till 17 Nov 1997 (BBC Sessions that everybody already had in bootleg by that time with complete versions).
The first new release for most fans was How the West Was Won 27 May 2003.
Video bootlegs of Earls Court, Knebworth and RAH had been in circulation for a long time making DVD interesting only for the great audio. So most fans had to wait more that 20 years for truly unheard material !
Just be grateful that we have what we have.
While there is no question Led Zeppelin made some incredible music, that was more than 45 years ago. As evidenced by the numerous soundboard bootleg recordings of the band in concert, the band is reluctant to release further live recordings that fans crave. Not sure if it’s egos, or simply selfishness, but one can’t help but think that the three surviving members would welcome extra income from another historic live recording. Page has stated over the years that new material is “forthcoming…” and yet he never produces a product. Getting a bit disappointed in Page for building fans up to a forthcoming release and then not putting out new recordings either studio or live concerts. At his age, and after some 45 years since the untimely death of John Bonham, one would think he could go thru the vaults and give the fans some new recordings.