Led Zeppelin - Box (4CD) [Best of, Box set, Original recording remastered]

 

 

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Led Zeppelin is, unquestionably, one of the greatest bands of all time in any genre. John Paul Jones, John Bonham, Jimmy Page, and Robert Plant were musical geniuses. And, as with most popular musical artists out there, the band released a career-spanning box set. But was this a good move or not? Read on for my review of Led Zeppelin - The Box Set.

PROS:
-You get a number of Led Zeppelin classics in this career-spanning box set - four discs worth of them! That's a whole lot of Zeppelin. And that's about it for the good things I have to say about this box.

CONS:
-There are two ways you can do a career-spanning box set - the good way (a definitive collection of all of your releases to date) or the bad way (basically a hits compilation, but with a lot of discs.) Sadly, this box set goes with the latter style. That means all this is is a really expensive hits compilation.
-Why buy this scattershot collection when for just double the cost of this you can get the considerably better Complete Studio Recordings box set?
-If you're a casual fan, why not just buy one of the many single or double disc Led Zeppelin hits packages out there?

OVERALL:
I'm a pretty big Zeppelin fan, but I sure as hell aren't too impressed with the way this box set was done. If you're going to get into Led Zeppelin, get the Complete Studio recordings box set. Unlike this one, that one will give you everything you have ever wanted from the band and then some.

It was the fall of 1990, and I was on the verge of graduating highschool and entering the "real" world. However, my musical development was way far behind -- everybody's was, in 1990. Poison, Whitesnake and Motley Crue ruled the charts: All bands, one way or another, influenced by Zeppelin. Yet, I had avoided actually hearing a Zeppelin studio recording. MuchMusic's endless showing of The Song Remains The Same had cooled any interest I might have had in this great band. So what happened?

In 1990, pop rock was showing its first signs of death and I was becoming interested in bluesier, rockier sounds. I was beginning to listen to FM radio and I heard a song called "Travelling Riverside Blues". The slide guitar was eloquent and infectious. Immediately, I wondered what I was missing.

A friend, who also had never owned a Zeppelin album in his life, picked up the Box Set released that fall. I asked him how it was. Cryptically, he responded, "It's good." It went on my Christmas list and I anxiously opened it on December 25, 1990.

I read the liner notes and I listened to the whole thing in one marathon almost-5-hour-session. Today, this is the running order that I associate these Zeppelin songs in, not the original studio album order.

For the record, this is no substitute for owning all the Zeppelin studio albums. Thay have a life all their own. However, Jimmy Page carefully assembled this running order to breathe new life into these tracks, and breathe they do.

I can't imagine a better opener than "Whole Lotta Love". It is a one-two punch followed by "Heartbreaker", and then "Communication Breakdown" took things to an out-of-control pace. Geniously, Page followed this with "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You". I was hooked. I couldn't imagine a band better than this. Better late than never, right?

Today I own all the Zeppelin albums in box set form (The Complete Studio Recordings), but I still listen to this box and its sequel, 1993's Box Set 2. When I have 5 hours at home, this is the way I prefer to go. This box set creates a journey. Each disc is a journey with a distinct opening and a distinct close, but the entire running order is like that as well. Witness "All My Love" as the final track. I couldn't imagine a better way to end a five hour journey.

Interestingly, even though the unreleased/rare tracks here were later reissued on the Complete Studio Recordings (they were "Traveling Riverside Blues", "White Summer/Black Mountainside", and "Hey Hey What Can I Do"), one slipped through the cracks and to the best of my knowledge is only available on this set. "Moby Dick/Bonzo's Montreaux", an interesting remix (today we would call this a "mashup") of Bonzo's two drum solos intertwined, would not find its way onto the complete box. It's not because it's inferior or redundant. Jimmy lovingly put this track together as a tribute to his friend 10 years after his death, and it works brilliantly.

10 years? It was hard for me to believe that Zeppelin had been gone for only 10 years at that time. It seemed to me like they were part of pre-history, something that predated everything I'd known. Yet all the bands I knew cited Zeppelin as an influence, from Kiss on down to Badlands. They were a part of my rock and roll soul without me even knowing it. Hearing this box for the first time was like discovering a part of myself.

Today, I would recommend this purchase to music fans on the following conditions:
1. You're a die-hard Zep fan who is missing "Moby Dick/Bonzo's Montreaux".
2. You don't own any Zeppelin at all, and this will be your first.

Because there have been many other sets since then (remember, back then Zeppelin didn't even have a greatest hits yet) this might be a hard purchase for you to justify making. However, listening to it the first time will be the best five hours of your day. I guarantee it.

Five stars.

This is the first CD box set I ever owned, and now after 10 years of ware and tear on the CDs, I'm buying it again. I can't say enough of how LZ shaped my childhood and teenage years and eventually got me playing electric bass in a few bands. We used to hash out "The Ocean" for about 10 minutes... Great CD collection.

My only complaint are the missing songs, which Box Set 2 provides (and gives you most everything LZ ever recorded). I was somewhat aghast when "Lemon Song", "That's the Way", "Good Times, Bad Times", "Down by the Seaside" and "Bring it on Home" didn't make the cut. But then again, the second box set includes all the missing tracks from this set, so I suggest throwing in the extra $20 for the second set. These two box sets include (I believe) a bit more than the 10 albums that LZ released, plus you get the nice book liners and have all the songs on 6 CDs, not 10.

If you are wondering where to start with your LZ collection, I recommend Led Zeppelin II (my favorite rock album of all time), and then this box set. You can't go wrong.

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5.0 out of 5 stars How can you give this set 4 stars ?
This IS Led Zeppelin! And they sound great and you get the Heave How! >Like Plant's Voice which seems unmatchable! Read more

Published 8 months ago by marketminutdave

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Set from the Greatest Band
Before this set, I was a fan of Zeppelin, but not a huge listener. Sinec buying these 4 cd's, I am a hardcore Zeppelin fan, and at least one of these cd's can be found in my cd... Read more

Published on July 8 2004 by Nick

5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT BOXED SET
I am someone who thinks Zeppelin is the greatest band of all time, and happen to have most of their stuff: Zeppelin 1-3, ZOFO, House Of The Holy, Physical Grafitti, The Song... Read more

Published on July 1 2004 by David Brown

3.0 out of 5 stars Good Band, Not a Good CD
Led Zeppelin is an awesome band. They are probably my favourite band of all time. But, do not buy this CD. Every Led Zeppelin song is good, you need to hear them all. Read more

Published on Jun 30 2004

5.0 out of 5 stars The best selling box set of all time
This box set is what introduced me more to the gods of rock. I had originally bought Zep 2 and thought that was awsome but when I bought this, it blew me away even more. Read more

Published on Jun 17 2004 by N. Gray

3.0 out of 5 stars YES! but No
This was an amazing Cd to listen to it took a long tiem because of the 4 cds. and a band like zeppelin deservs three cds but its way too expensive to buy! Read more

Published on May 29 2004

1.0 out of 5 stars All boxed up... and ready for the dump
Comes with four discs, which make excellent brake rotors for your car.

Published on April 19 2004 by a music fan

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing
It's rare that you can buy a Greatest Hits CD and not find some filler, let alone a 4 CD compilation. Read more

Published on Feb 28 2004 by G. Pink

3.0 out of 5 stars GO BUY 'Complete Studio Recordings'
Great compilation - so what? I cannot think of any Zep song that should not be heard. Go buy the complete studio recordings Box Set along with How the west..... Read more

Published on Feb 25 2004 by M. Deshmukh

2.0 out of 5 stars Some Moments But A Whole Lotta Of Drudge
Sorry, try as I might I just cannot listen to Led Zeppelin on a long term basis. Robert Plant's bellowing voice just irritates me to no end. Read more

Published on Feb 9 2004 by G. J Wiener

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