Zeppelin Label ???
Rockadelic
Out Digging 13,993 Posts
How often do you diggers out there come across this label variation of a U.S. pressing?? 
Rockadelic
Out Digging 13,993 Posts
Comments
It's
Thanks for the info!
The first pressings of the first three LZ albums are highly collectable, partly because of who mastered them. However, they would be the standard Green/Red Atlantic labels in the U.S.
After looking on the SH boards, this copy appears to be an RCA Record Club issue, which you can probably confirm with the catalog # and or something on the cover which would say "RCA". The mix is slightly "drier", and no one is sure why the record club issues sound different. I'd be curious to know of other record clubs (Columbia or Capitol) were any different.
Value? Depending on condition, I would say $15+, and would be bought by completists more than anything.
EDIT/ADDITION: The reason for the different label variation is most likely that, if it is a record club pressing, they were given the labels and printed them up until they were given the new labels, which weren't always on time. It's similar to foreign pressings of albums. The U.S./main label had switched in 1968, and maybe the Canadian division used them until early 1970, when they finally received the new ones.
On eBay a few weeks ago there was a U.S. Capitol promo 45 for Pink Floyd's "One Of These Days" with the target label, yet they were technically on Harvest. What makes this even more interesting is that Capitol were pushing for "One Of These Days" to be the hit:
I remember reading about this in a Goldmine price guide a long time ago (pre-Reynaldo Guide) Sometimes when I'm diging and have a lot of time I check this label, bubt have yet to ever find one.
but it was thrashed.
I'm afraid to popsike that one...
Danm! I never see white label Zep records.
if that is a US pressing it is worth a lot more than $15.
i just sold a led zep III sealed for $100. stock copy.
stock copy zep records today sell for $15 in vg++ or ex condition.
label variations and in shrink with stickers are good.
white label zeps are WAY expensive now.
ap
True, however as I said earlier, the very first pressings of the first three albums are worth a lot because of the way they were mastered. Each of those albums came from the original master tapes, and subsequent pressings were done from other tapes that were not approved by the band, or were nth generation dubs.
Try to find the Robert Ludwig-mastered version of Led Zeppelin II, which is the one everyone wants.
How does one tell a first pressing?
They would be worth a lot even if they didn't sound any different... welcome to the world of collecting
Not really, Led Zeppelin sold in the millions, and with the second album, you can find a few variations outside of that initial first pressing, including:
1) early pressings without the RIAA sticker
2) early pressings with the RIAA sticker
3) the late 70's pressing with the new catalog #
It's the Ludwig version that is a rarity.
Basically, it has Ludwig's initials in the matrix: "RL".
For more technical information, you can read this thread:
http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=57035
...and don't forget that tell-tale Warner Communications logo, which probably didn't show up on any Atlantic record prior to 1975.
The "two and a half turds in a punchbowl" logo, correct.
I have never seen LZII with the Warner logo that had the four-digit catalog #, just the late 70's edition with the five-digits (SD 19127).
Led Zeppelin III[/b] says Do what thou wilt, so mete it be, a quote from Jimmy Page's satanic idol, Aleister Crowley. First half of the quote is on Side One, second half on side two .
My copy of 3 has something etched in the run-off in some lord of the rings font.
that's it
Yeah, I know about all that stuff
Minty original pressings of 60s rock bands, ESPECIALLY the popular ones (i.e. most likely to get played to death/trashed), are collectable
See Jimi Hendrix, Sabbath, Beatles, etc
now... did anyone have the in through the out door inner sleeve that turns colors when you put water on it? it is a motif of a bar top setting... ashtray, smokes and the rest. when you rub a wet rag on it all the objects in the drawing turn different colors.
each in through the out door cover has a different call number on the spine... a through f. collect them all.
ap
But I'm aiming it for those who don't.
Correct. Collectors want particular pressings, and it doesn't even have to be a minty first. As the 70's rolled in and record labels started becoming major conglomerates, the emphasis on quality grew thin. By the time the late 70's rolled around, the quality of vinyl was worse, and no one knew what generation tape was used for that pressing.
Or as another example, which I know we talked about years ago, some collectors prefer to get the first pressing of a record from the artist's home country. For example, Audio Fidelity released the new Steve Hoffman-mastered version of the first album by Bad Company. A lot of collectors shoot for the original pressing on Island in the UK. In the U.S., it came out on Swan Song, and it sold like crazy. Yet the version Atlantic was sent was not *THE* original master approved by the group.
Same goes for King Crimson's In The Court Of The Crimson King, hardcore fans want the first UK pressing on the pink Island label, because that was the original mix. Somehow, Atlantic in the U.S. received a completely different mix, and that became the way everyone else heard it.
My point in mentioning this is to not argue with you on valuable records from "name artists", but the reasoning behind wanting the first pressing goes beyond the fact that it was the first record pressed. It has a lot to do with sound quality issues, and the origin of the actual master tape.
Granted, it's being "picky" but then again what aspect of record collecting isn't about being picky? I like the Taiwan pressings of albums because it has all that extra crackle, so if I want Ice-T styled "Fried Chicken" crackle, I know where to go.
I hear what you're saying, and that stuff is interesting, but my point is far more pedantic: the original pressing of any good record is going to be sought-after, even if the sound quality is WORSE, because these are the things collectors tend to dwell on...
people want crusty fogged black atlantic and west 50th prestiges over mint high luster fan labels and blue labels. first pressing always sells better even when its thrashed.
True, and again I'm not doubting you on that. I'm someone who also looks for first pressings of albums with the original label variation, just to have them. Isn't there a store in Chicago or somewhere in the mid-west, which sells nothing but SS first pressings, for $100 and up?
But lately, after getting more on (and understanding) the technical side of certain pressings, I figured I would at least pass that information along.