Jimmy Page says Unheard Led Zeppelin songs Coming Next Year

[Yellow Jester]

Jimmy Page says Unheard Led Zeppelin songs Coming Next Year

Jimmy Page recently said he's heading back into Led Zeppelin's vaults for the band's 50th anniversary next year, and he noted there will be some previously unheard music to help celebrate.
In a new 50-minute video for the Academy of Achievement, Page was asked about Zeppelin's golden anniversary next year, and he said, “There’ll be Led Zeppelin product coming out, for sure, that people haven’t heard, because I’m working on that. Next year will be the 50th year, so there’s all manner of surprises coming out.”

In October, Led Zeppelin News reported that engineer John Davis, who worked with Page on the remasters, posted a Facebook update that said: "Today I am mostly mastering Led Zeppelin." The post was deleted, but as Led Zeppelin News notes, the Page interview was filmed on Oct. 19, shortly before Davis' post, so when the guitarist says "I'm working on that," it could refer to unearthed music he's remastering with Davis.
Right now, it's unclear whether these previously unheard Led Zeppelin tracks will be more studio leftovers, like the majority of the bonus cuts found on the 2014-15 remasters, or live songs, since there's likely plenty of unreleased concert recordings in the band's vaults.

http://ultimateclassicrock.com/led-z...unheard-songs/

[3LockBox]

Yeah, because CODA was so awesome

[JJ88]

Not interested in more studio scraps (Coda was already half-rubbish, really), it has to be live stuff.

[Rael]

Not interested in more studio scraps (Coda was already half-rubbish, really), it has to be live stuff.

Agreed. Unless there are truly unreleased studio songs-and I don't think there are-I'm hoping for live stuff. Hopefully, something along the lines of a box set of the 1971 Japanese tour.

[Vic2012]

I played Presence today. Great album. I like every single song. It's a marginalized LZ album. I fucking love it.

[JJ88]

Agreed. Unless there are truly unreleased studio songs-and I don't think there are-I'm hoping for live stuff. Hopefully, something along the lines of a box set of the 1971 Japanese tour.

'Baby Come On Home' was the last, twenty odd years ago (and better than much of Coda). I think those bonus disc remasters had more unfinished stuff and jams.

[syncopatico]

I played Presence today. Great album. I like every single song. It's a marginalized LZ album. I fucking love it.

I like it too! Hots On For Nowhere has to be the funkiest Zeppelin song ever--so funky they never tried it live!

[Vic2012]

Yeah funky.

[Koreabruce]

I like it too! Hots On For Nowhere has to be the funkiest Zeppelin song ever--so funky they never tried it live!

Much of that song was built out of material that they had already improvised live. You can hear a portion of it at 14:05 during fast part of Dazed and Confused on "How the West Was One" (and as a side note: man, is that an awkward edit in that song or what?)!

[Rael]

Man, I wish I loved "Presence" as much as the "underrated" crowd loved this record but I just can't get behind it. The recording itself is top notch and almost without question the best sounding Zep record. But outside of "Achilles Last Stand" and to a lesser extent "Nobody's Fault But Mine", I find the album completely lacking in the tunes department. IMO, easily the weakest Zeppelin record.

[Koreabruce]

Getting a bit off-topic here, I know, but I agree with Rael. I really want to like this record, but it just never has fully clicked with me outside of a couple of tracks. To me, it was the lack of tunefulness as well as what I've always felt was an ineffective delivery in the vocal department. True enough, it was still uncertain at the point this was recorded if RP would ever walk properly again, and no doubt some of that frustration comes through on Presence. FWIW, Plant himself has said he considers his vocal performance to be pretty weak on this one.

[GuitarGeek]

Wait a minute: I thought there weren't any leftover Zep songs. My understanding was that most of the leftovers from the first five albums got used on Physical Graffiti so that they wouldn't have leave off any of the newly recorded material. Then was leftover from there was what was on Coda, plus the one or two things that made it onto the boxset they put out in the 90's.

[Koreabruce]

If I may speculate, it could be one of these things:

#1. It's previously unreleased live material, as others have suggested.
#2. He's gone into his archive and finished up some uncompleted instrumental LZ-era demos that included input from JPJ and/or Bonham or other unfinished music that had Plant's vocals on them already.
#3. Some material previously thought lost forever was located either by accident, by having it sent to him unexpectedly from an outside source, or through careful sleuthing.
#4. He's intentionally held back on releasing a certain amount of previously unheard Led Zeppelin material all along specifically with an eye on a 50th anniversary release.

Most likely it's #1.

[Vic2012]

I wish they'd release an exhaustive documentary similar to The Beatles Anthology, or something like Beyond The Lighted Stage. I don't just mean concert footage, I mean interviews with them and other musicians.

[BravadoNJ]

more crumbs........

[JJ88]

I wish they'd release an exhaustive documentary similar to The Beatles Anthology, or something like Beyond The Lighted Stage. I don't just mean concert footage, I mean interviews with them and other musicians.

I think that would be unlikely- they are pretty inscrutable in interviews. Plant is always pretty open about his solo stuff and other music, but less so about 'Zeppelin. Page has given interviews obviously but is something of a brick wall IMHO- he's usually far more interesting when discussing his earlier session work. Meanwhile I've seldom heard John Paul Jones' voice! I remember reading Phil Collins talking about the (very odd) after-show interview they gave to MTV when they did Live Aid, and saying he'd never seen musicians being so difficult and evasive when faced with such simple questions.

There doesn't seem to be much footage beyond the shows Page used for the 2003 DVD. But more from those specific shows would be very welcome. There is a 1977 show from Seattle which wasn't used, but if you look at it, it's pretty obvious why- a really bad night!

[Vic2012]

^ True. Never understood why they have to be so mysterious about everything. And it seems like they just want to distance themselves from hard rock and heavy metal. I've argued with metal heads about that. Zeppelin was just as metal as Sabbath in the early days. At the very least, Zep was a huge, huge influence on all things heavy metal. I'm going off the rails here a bit but I just get so tired of arguing about this with young metal fans.

[Koreabruce]

I think that would be unlikely- they are pretty inscrutable in interviews. Plant is always pretty open about his solo stuff and other music, but less so about 'Zeppelin. Page has given interviews obviously but is something of a brick wall IMHO- he's usually far more interesting when discussing his earlier session work. Meanwhile I've seldom heard John Paul Jones' voice! I remember reading Phil Collins talking about the (very odd) after-show interview they gave to MTV when they did Live Aid, and saying he'd never seen musicians being so difficult and evasive when faced with such simple questions.

There doesn't seem to be much footage beyond the shows Page used for the 2003 DVD. But more from those specific shows would be very welcome. There is a 1977 show from Seattle which wasn't used, but if you look at it, it's pretty obvious why- a really bad night!

Interview stuff is probably not forthcoming, and maybe that's just as well. Plant would probably have a few insights worth hearing, but I'm not sure he remembers things very clearly now (or at least that would be his excuse!) JPJ can wax eloquent about lots of things when allowed to open up. His memory appears to be relatively clear, but he's still a pretty reserved guy. Plant commented in an interview several years ago that "the Capricorns", i.e. both Page and Jones, tend to "keep shtum". Page on the other hand often seems calculating and aloof in interviews and only gives very general information. He only gets interesting when discussing studio tricks or early session work. Also, you never, ever hear him taking even partial blame for their more egregious reunion debacles when it seems clear that he more often than not was the one who was the least match fit at the crucial moment. At any rate, I hold out a tiny hope there will at least be something both unexpected and good.

[Koreabruce]

The O2 show was, imho, truly redemptive for everyone involved. Kudos to Jason Bonham in particular for filling that huge role that probably only he could have done... and he KILLED! This show is well worth watching and re-watching. For Your Life, In My Time of Dying, and Kashmir were particularly remarkable.

[Rael]

I STILL keep forgetting to watch that 02 show. It's really that good, huh? I'll throw it in the wish list right now.

[Fracktured]

I'd speculate that it's alternate versions of songs we already have. Either studio or live. I can't imagine there's anything great left to release.

[JJ88]

I STILL keep forgetting to watch that 02 show. It's really that good, huh? I'll throw it in the wish list right now.

Plant sings most songs in a lower key so there's a caveat, but better than the dismal 80s reunions? Certainly, the playing was very tight compared to those trainwrecks- it seems they put in the effort with the rehearsals, and didn't just wing it. A few things really caught fire- the aforementioned 'In My Time Of Dying' is spectacular.

I would say the 90s No Quarter was better, though, as that wasn't just a nostalgic affair, and obviously they were a bit younger! Over time I have come to see merit in the Walking Into Clarksdale album in terms of material, but I wish someone else had produced and mixed it- Steve Albini really botched it IMHO.

[JJ88]

I'd speculate that it's alternate versions of songs we already have. Either studio or live. I can't imagine there's anything great left to release.

There isn't. The dismal-looking bonus tracks Page put on the remasters a few years back confirmed that. Indeed, Coda from 35 years ago confirmed that! The In Through The Out Door outtakes were by far the highlights. The rest adds nothing to the legacy really. A better album could have been put together if it had the handful of BBC-only tracks, the non-album 'Hey Hey What Can I Do' and the first album outtake 'Baby Come On Home', all of which eventually came out in the 90s anyway.

[GuitarGeek]

There doesn't seem to be much footage beyond the shows Page used for the 2003 DVD. But more from those specific shows would be very welcome. There is a 1977 show from Seattle which wasn't used, but if you look at it, it's pretty obvious why- a really bad night!

Yeah, I remember when I finally got to see the Seattle footage, I was really bummed. There's actually several bootlegs from that tour where they actually sound great, Page included. But Seattle, clearly, isn't one of them. What I'd love is if they'd put out something with one of those 30 minute versions of No Quarter they did circa 75-77, with the JPJ piano cadenza in the middle. But whether they have one that is of "releasable" quality is the thing.

[JJ88]

The Seattle footage shows Page in less than great shape and in pretty subdued mood. And Plant's vocals are rusty on that show. Plant has said he felt they were showboating too much on that tour and I agree. Even on some of the otherwise excellent LA Forum shows, Page's guitar solo is ludicrous (and unlistenable on that Seattle show!) and Bonham's drum solo is excruciating. This tour would also have very painful memories for Plant on a personal level.