Coda (Deluxe Edition)

Led Zeppelin

Atlantic, 2015

http://www.ledzeppelin.com

REVIEW BY: Benjamin Ray

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 08/18/2015

[NOTE: In 2014-2015, Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page remastered all of Led Zeppelin’s albums and included a second disc full of rarities and/or remixes. ]

Of all the Zeppelin remasters for Page’s 2015 project, Coda is the most natural disc to provide a clearinghouse for archival material, just as the original disc was in 1982 when it was released to fulfill a contract despite the band having broken up. As was expected, the disc was not well received at the time. But over time, it has gained in stature among fans for how it completes the story while provided better produced versions of songs fans had been bootlegging for a while.

In that same spirit, the deluxe Coda features the original album on one disc, and then two other discs of unreleased songs, songs released on box sets that get radio play, and alternate mixes of songs that span the band’s career. Much like Coda, little of this is on the same scale as the band’s best work, but it is just as compelling for how it completes the story.

That fact is important, because for casual fans, Zeppelin is the sum total of their major classic rock radio staples like “Kashmir,” “Stairway To Heaven,” the overrated “Whole Lotta Love” and “Black Dog,” and so they can be forgiven for thinking the band had a unilateral, if appealing, approach. What made Zeppelin great was how those massive epics were blended with world music influences, a sense of humor, swinging upbeat boogie-rockers, acoustic explorations, and a never-ending spirit of exploration. The deluxe Coda presents all of these sides of the band, offering a look into the songwriting process, the band’s influences, and the dose of reality that accompanies all rarities collections like this.

Being a master producer, Page knew how he wanted the songs to sound, so the alternate or rough mixes on these reissues are hardly revelatory, with only minor differences that don’t add or detract from the songs. The same holds true here; “We’re Gonna Groove” is a bit more raw but still a shining example of early Zeppelin, the drum solo opus “Bonzo’s Montreux” is presented as an in-progress construction and an instrumental “Poor Tom” is simply that, with only some of Page’s guitar fills being heard without Plant’s vocals over top. my_heart_sings_the_harmony_web_ad_alt_250

Also present are the B-side “Hey Hey What Can I Do,” the BBC session song “Travelling Riverside Blues,” and the blues crawl of “Baby Come On Home,” all of which appeared on Zeppelin’s first two box sets and the original re-release of Coda on CD. I can’t imagine Zeppelin fans not owning these already, but it’s good to have them all in one place, and this is the logical one. Of more interest to fans will be the different mixes of earlier cuts, including a rawer “The Wanton Song” (here called “Desire”), a harmonica-laden rave-up version of “Bring It On Home” that outshines the original, a rough mix of “In The Light” and, most interesting, a vastly different sounding “When The Levee Breaks” mix called “If It Keeps On Raining.” The song increases the bass and tones down the guitar, while the drums are at normal volume and Plant’s vocals are more muted and earthy. It’s obviously a rough mix, but also an interesting look at how the song could have been had the band not discovered the stairwell at Headley Grange.

Fans also will eat up the unreleased “Sugar Mama,” an early Yardbirds-sounding track in which Plant’s voice is mixed far too loud to the front and Page rides pretty much one chord, then switches to another when he gets bored. It’s pretty amateur sounding compared even to the first album, but indicative of both Zeppelin’s live show at the time (it would have fit in nicely on BBC Sessions) and of Page’s Yardbird past. Also present is an instrumental called “St. Tristan’s Sword,” which is more of a jam than anything else, and not a particularly interesting one at that, though still fascinating for fans just to get a peek behind the curtain. Finally, two songs recorded with the Bombay Orchestra (“Friends” and “Four Sticks”) hearken back to Zep’s ongoing interest with that type of music, which would continue well into Plant’s solo career and the No Quarter project in 1994.

As for Coda itself, the remastering brings out the power of John Bonham’s drums and makes fans rethink the virtues of “We’re Gonna Groove” and “Poor Tom,” while the rollicking “Wearing And Tearing” is more fun than most of In Through The Out Door and the soundcheck version of “I Can’t Quit You Baby” blows the original away. “Ozone Baby,” “Darlene” and “Walter’s Walk” are run-of-the-mill Zeppelin, power without majesty. These are three of the few times they sounded generic and a little bit tired, which is perhaps why the songs never saw the light of day until they had to.

Coda was never an essential album, but it was a necessary one to complete the Zeppelin story. The deluxe edition actually does complete the story with the two unreleased songs, the various alternate mixes and the two Bombay tracks. Those songs are of interest primarily to collectors and longtime fans, and they will be rewarded. Put it this way: if you’re enough of a dedicated fan to even consider buying Coda, this is the version to get.

Rating: B

User Rating: Not Yet Rated


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