No Led Zeppelin Record Store Day Announcement Yet...

... but this has to qualify as close.

Two Yardbirds albums will be available on Record Store Day, April 19th, 2014.

The Yardbirds final album, Little Games, with "magic finger" Jimmy Page on guitar, will be reissued in splatter colour vinyl for Record Store Day. The album will be available on LP, and is a "British import... cut from the 1992 stereo remix."

The second album, Sounds I Heard, is a collection of tracks, including the Beck/Page written, Happenings Ten Years Time Ago, recorded on De Lane Lea Studios, London August 1966. As well, the vinyl LP has Mister You’re a Better Man Than I from Stockholm on April 7th, 1967, and Dazed and Confused form a 1968 BBC recording. The album will also include a 1-sided 7" single of BBC session "White Summer."


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Already with an update:  Wax Poetic reports "BLACK CROWES AND JIMMY PAGE Live a the Greek (3LP Red, Clear and Blue vinyl set, limited to 2000 copies)"

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Update: March 21: The compete list for Record Store Day is now available. Jimmy Page and the Black Crowes LP will be a run of 2,000 copies, while The Yardbirds Little Games LP will be 2,500. The Yardbirds  Sounds I Heard compilation is not on the list, and disappointingly, neither is any Led Zeppelin releases.

The Jimmy Page and the Black Crowes will be a 3-LP set in red, clear, blue vinyl with gold sticker Little Games will be a British import, reissued on psychedelic spattered vinyl, cut from the 1992 stereo remix.

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Update March 28th: While the Yardbirds Sounds I Heard is not listed, my local record store has posted that they have ordered it. Also, see this post about The Drive-By Truckers Dragon Pants EP, including the title song which is about Jimmy Page.

The Led Zeppelin Podcast Episode #52: Tea For One

This week, I did not have an inerview with Dave Lewis, so I talked about him instead. More specifically, I talked about his book, Then As It Was: Led Zeppelin At Knebworth.

As well, I discussed the Drive By Truckers, Jimmy Page's Dragon Pants and his daughter,the photographer.

 

You can download the podcast at Podbean or Spreaker. If you go to Spreaker, be sure to follow the episode.

You can also subscribe on iTunes. If you subscribe via iTunes, be sure to leave a review.

Dave Lewis runs the website Tight But Loose, and his magazine and books come highly recommended.

If I Was Jimmy Page

The Drive-By Truckers new EP, Dragon Pants, is available to stream on Grooveshark.  The title, and title track is an homage to Jimmy Page by Drive-By Tuckers singer Patterson Hood.

The song first made it's appearance at some of Patterson Hood's solo shows this time last year.

Click here to listen to Dragon Pants.



The actual EP will be available as a 10" vinyl record released specifically for Record Store Day on April 19th. The Truckers will be doing an in-store appearance at Twist and Shout Records in Denver on that day.  The EP is being listed at Vintage Vinyl for $11.99.

Update: The Drive-By Truckers cover.

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California Breed - Sweet Tea

The first video from Jason Bonham's new group, featuring Glenn Hughes on bass and vocals and Andrew Watt on guitar. Sweet Tea by California Breed.

 

John Paul Jones To tour With Dave Rawlings Machine

After a successful run of shows last November, John Paul Jones is set to do another mini-tour with the Dave Rawlings Machine in June. Jones will join Rawlings, along with Gillian Welch, Willie Watson and Paul Kowert for a five show run beginning June 18 in Boulder.

Pre-sale for all six shows begins Thursday at 10:00 local time, and presale password for each show is DAVE14. Here's the announced dates so far:

• Wed. June 18 - Boulder Theater - Boulder, CO
• Tue. June 24 - Uptown Theater - Kansas City, MO
• Wed. June 25 - The Sheldon - St. Louis, MO
• Thurs. June 26 - Brown Theatre - Louisville, KY
• Fri. June 27 - Ryman Auditorium - Nashville, TN

Here's Dave Rawlings Machine, featuring John Paul Jones on November 20th last, playing Going to California.




h/t @LedZepNews
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Finally We Get a Bonham/Hughes Tour

It looks like California Breed will spend some considerable time on the road in 2014.

I've given California Breed's first album a spin and, at first blush, it's a good one. It appears that California freed is going to get a better chance to succeed than it's predecessor, Black Country Communion.

BCC's guitarist Joe Bonamassa was reluctant to tour with them, preferring instead to concentrate on his solo career. this, in support of three studio albums they did a few festival shows, a very small tour of the mid-west and a three week or so jaunt around Europe, recorded and released as the DVD/CD set Live Over Europe.

California Breed, conversely, appears set to do more performances in 2014 than Black Country Communion did in three years. According to Jason Bonham via twitter, California Breed will spend September through December?

I have 4 different tours this year so far JBLZE May 3 to May 18 Heart from June 14 to June 29th Sammy Hagar & friends from July 17th until Aug 16th Then California Breed Sept , Oct , Nov , Dec !!!!

via Jason Bonham, Twitter and Facebook.



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In the summer of 2010 I started playing with the notion of a Led Zeppelin podcast. This blog was had progressed as far as it could without a push, and other people seemed to have twitter and Facebook covered. To move forward, something was needed, and I was surprised to discover no one else was doing a podcast on the subject of Led Zeppelin. Questions such as do I want to have a partner (in fact, my first idea was to do one with Led Zeppelin News' Steve "the Lemon" Sauer, with whom I had met up with in July. I had just finished doing a stint covering for Led Zeppelin News, and the two of us had a pretty good rapport. However, I couldn't see me finding a way to fit a regular weekly hookup into my weird, shift worker schedule), do I want to pay for a licence fee to use music, how on earth do you record and upload a podcast and could I actually sit and talk into a microphone for an hour.

On the night of August 17th, a Sunday, the house was quiet and I had a fair bit of wine in me. Time to try, I thought, and sat down at my computer. It was meant to see if I could actually do it, not to really record a podcast, but I pressed record so I could listen back, and started talking off the top of my head. Over 40 minutes later I finished, and what I had was not great - way too many uhmms, errs and "that's all I have to say about that"'s, but it wasn't wholly awful, so I took the plunge. It would be another three or four days before I figured out how to upload the podcast and get it to iTunes, and find a place to upload it to.

So it is, this week I celebrate the 50th episode, with news that the 1st three remastered albums are finally ready for release. I cover what we know, and what we will learn in the next few days.

As well, I review John Paul Jones Avante-Garde band, Minibus Pimps', 1st album, Cloud to Ground.






Thank you to everybody who's taken the time to listen over the past 50 episodes. It makes my day every time I hear from someone who listens.


You can download the podcast at Podbean or Spreaker. If you go to Spreaker, be sure to follow the episode.

You can also subscribe on iTunes. If you subscribe via iTunes, be sure to leave a review.

Reissues Finally Here

Led Zeppelin announced that it will release remasters of it's first three albums on June 3rd (June 2 in Europe). The remasters will come in CD, LP and digital formats, as well as deluxe edition which include a bonus disc of each album, plus a super deluxe edition box of each. Each deluxe edition will come in a special "negative artwork" cover.

Here are the details:

Led Zeppelin

Single CD of the original album in a gatefold sleeve with an 8-page booklet.

Single LP, 180 Gram vinyl in a single sleeve replicating the original vinyl.

Deluxe Edition CD featuring the original artwork, the newly created negative artwork, the original album plus a second CD featuring the October 10, 1969 Paris concert.

Deluxe Edition LP, 3-lp 180-gram vinyl set, featuring the original LP, plus the October '69 Paris concert on 2-lp's.

Digital Download, Remastered album and companion audio

Super Deluxe Edition Box

Remastered album on CD in vinyl replica sleeve with companion audio on CD in a new sleeve; a 180-gram vinyl including bonus material, remastered album on 180-gram vinyl in a sleeve replicating the first pressing; high-def audio download card of all content at 96kHz/24 bit; hard bound, 70+ page book filled with rare and previously unseen photos and memorabilia; a replica of the band's original Atlantic press kit and a high quality print of the original album cover.
The first 30,000 will be individually numbered



Tracklist

LP/CD 1
1. Good Times Bad Times
2. Babe I'm Gonna Leave You
3. You Shook Me
4. Dazed And Confused
5. Your Time Is Gonna Come
6. Black Mountain Side
7. Communication Breakdown
8. I Can't Quit You Baby
9. How Many More Times

LP 2*
1. Good Times Bad Times/Communication Breakdown (Live in Paris, 1969)
2. You Shook Me (Live in Paris, 1969)
3. Heartbreaker (Live in Paris, 1969)
4. Dazed And Confused (Live in Paris, 1969)


LP 3*
1. White Summer/Black Mountain Side (Live in Paris, 1969)
2. Moby Dick (Live in Paris, 1969)
3. I Can't Quit You Baby (Live in Paris, 1969)
4. How Many More Times (Live in Paris, 1969)


*CD 2 will consist of all material on LP 2 & 3

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Led Zeppelin II

Single CD of the original album in a gatefold sleeve with an 8-page booklet.

Single LP, 180 Gram vinyl in a single sleeve replicating the original vinyl.

Deluxe Edition CD featuring the original artwork, the newly created negative artwork, the original album plus a second CD featuring new bonus material.

Deluxe Edition LP, 2-lp 180-gram vinyl set, featuring the original LP, plus new bonus material.

Digital Download, Remastered album and companion audio

Super Deluxe Edition Box

Remastered album on CD in vinyl replica sleeve with companion audio on CD in a new sleeve; a 180-gram vinyl including bonus material, remastered album on 180-gram vinyl in a sleeve replicating the first pressing; high-def audio download card of all content at 96kHz/24 bit; hard bound, 70+ page book filled with rare and previously unseen photos and memorabilia and a high quality print of the original album cover.
The first 30,000 will be individually numbered



Tracklist

LP1
1. Whole Lotta Love
2. What Is And What Should Never Be
3. The Lemon Song
4. Thank You
5. Heartbreaker
6. Living Loving Maid (She's Just A Woman)
7. Ramble On
8. Moby Dick
9. Bring It On Home

LP2
1. Whole Lotta Love (Rough Mix With Vocal)
2. What Is And What Should Never Be (Rough Mix With Vocal)
3. Thank You (Backing Track)
4. Moby Dick (Backing Track)
5. Heartbreaker (Rough Mix With Vocal)
6. Living Loving Maid (She's Just A Woman) [Backing Track]
7. Ramble On (Rough Mix With Vocal)
8. La La (Intro/Outro Rough Mix)

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Led Zeppelin III

Single CD of the original album in a gatefold sleeve with an 8-page booklet.

Single LP, 180 Gram vinyl in a single sleeve replicating the original vinyl.

Deluxe Edition CD featuring the original artwork, the newly created negative artwork, the original album plus a second CD featuring new bonus material.

Deluxe Edition LP, 2-lp 180-gram vinyl set, featuring the original LP, plus new bonus material.

Digital Download, Remastered album and companion audio

Super Deluxe Edition Box

Remastered album on CD in vinyl replica sleeve with companion audio on CD in a new sleeve; a 180-gram vinyl including bonus material, remastered album on 180-gram vinyl in a sleeve replicating the first pressing; high-def audio download card of all content at 96kHz/24 bit; hard bound, 70+ page book filled with rare and previously unseen photos and memorabilia and a high quality print of the original album cover.
The first 30,000 will be individually numbered



Tracklist

LP1
1. Immigrant Song
2. Friends
3. Celebration Day
4. Since I've Been Loving You
5. Out on the Tiles
6. Gallows Pole
7. Tangerine
8. That's the Way
9. Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
10. Hats off to (Roy) Harper

LP2
1. The Immigrant Song (Alternate Mix)
2. Friends (Track - No Vocal)
3. Celebration Day (Alternate Mix)
4. Since I've Been Loving You (Rough Mix)
5. Bathroom Sound (Track - No Vocal)
6. Gallows Pole (Rough Mix)
7. That's The Way (Rough Mix)
8. Jennings Farm Blues (Rough Mix)
9. Key To The Highway/Trouble In Mind (Rough Mix)

That's Dr. Doctor Jimmy (OBE)

Dr. Jimmy Page at University of Surrey, 2008

Already Dr. Jimmy Page OBE after being conferred with an honorary degree of Doctor of the University from the University of Surrey in 2008 and an Order of the British Empire in 2005.

Yesterday the Berklee College of Music gave Dr. Doctor Page the news that they will honour him with an honorary doctor of music degree on May 9th at a ceremony at Boston University's Agganis Arena.

"It's truly an honour to be the recipient of an Honorary Doctorate at Berklee as the music of America has been a primary driving force in my early years and pivotal to my musical development," said Page, according to Rolling Stone.

Congratulations Dr. Doctor.

Led Zeppelin, Olympia Paris. October 10, 1969

The newly remastered Led Zeppelin I Deluxe Edition album will feature, as bonus material, the Oct 10, 1969 Led Zeppelin show in Paris. The show was originally broadcast on French radio. Here is the broadcast, from Led Zeppelin Radio.

Robert Plant Saving Lives One Show at a Time

During Robert Plant and The Sensational Space Shifters shows last year, Plant and the SSS allowed the Love, Hope, Strength Foundation  into the building to sign up as bone marrow donors through their On The List campaign. Fan's entering the show could have a cheek swab done and fill out a consent form.

Thousands of patients with leukemia, aplastic anemia, sickle cell anemia and over 70 other life threatening disease world wide rely on finding a donor. The odds of identifying a compatible marrow donor is 1 in 20,000 to 1 in 1,000,000.

According to RobertPlant.com, Love, Hope, Strength is now reporting that a match has been found from a fan who signed up at a Strange Sensation show. Good on the fan, who's possibly saving a life and good on Robert and the band for facilitating this simple connection.

Review: Minibus Pimps - Cloud to Ground

John Paul Jones avant-garde side project, Minibus Pimps, have released their first album, Cloud to Ground, on SusannaSonata records. The album is an ambient noise-scape, lacking any element of what the average person would familiarly describe as music: there is no recognizable melody, rhythm or harmonic structure. That's a warning to someone who may buy this based in John Paul Jones name, unfamiliar with what you are buying. You are warned, this is not be your go to album for the next six-months, with an addictive song or two you can't get out of your head. 

What it is is four songs, twenty-six minutes of bass, guitar and keyboards, run through a computer system to the point of unrecognizability. The soundscape is akin to spaceships, angry chickens and out of control organ grinders, designed to create tension, without ever resolving itself. The pieces are not meant to be studied, but to lose yourself in, to create a physical reaction rather than emotional. In contrast, Jimmy Page's Lucifer Rising uses a drone effect to (or for that matter, Kashmir) create a trance like condition in the listener, Cloud to Ground seems more intent on creating stress within' the listener.

All that said, I threw the earbuds on in work, which is a manufacturing environment, and let the sound wave over me. What happened surprised me, as I found myself enjoying each piece,  finding the soundscape complimentary to the environment.  Put another way, I think i enjoyed it.

Overall, Minibus Pimps are always going to be an extremely acquired taste, and if you have acquired that taste, Cloud to Ground won't disappoint.


 


Note: Those wishing to check out the latest Jonesy work, but unsure , the entire album is available from Amazon for $3.99.


Note 2: For a review from somebody more familiar with the style of music, try this one from Benjamin Bland at Ech(((o)))es and Dust.

The Led Zeppelin Podcast #49

Coming up on #50 of the podcast. If you haven't already, subscribe on iTunes, so you don't miss an episode. As well, while your there, rate Ramble On Radio and leave a review.

You can also download the podcast at Podbean or Spreaker. If you go to Spreaker, be sure to follow the episode.

There is a plan to begin removing old episodes from Podbean (Spreaker necessitated this already), so if you want to hear the earliest episodes, now is the time. Feel free to download and back up if you wish.

Meanwhile, here's Episode #49, on the Ron Nevison Physical Graffiti mixdowns, currently at auction.

California Breed Album Details

California Breed are set to release their self titled debut album on May 20th. Recorded at producer Dave Cobb's Nashville studio, the album features 12 songs written by the three members, drummer Jason Bonham, bassist and singer Glenn Hughes and guitarist/keyboardist Andrew Watt.

Along with a regular version of the album, there will be a deluxe edition that includes a bonus track, two music videos and a documentary.

Here's a tracklist:

1. The Way
2. Sweet Tea
3. Chemical Rain
4. Midnight Oil
5. All Falls Down
6. The Grey
7. Days They Come
8. Spit You Out
9. Strong
10. Invisible
11. Scars
12. Breathe
13. Solo (deluxe edition bonus track)


More on California Breed here.