Album Reviews

The third Led Zeppelin album has its heavy moments as on the banshee scream opener "Immigrant Song" but most often the pace is faster, the grooves lighter and at times it's downright celebratory.

The group's folk roots show on "Gallows Pole" side two's opener, while the blues base is evident on "Since I've Been Loving You" and the closer "Hats Off To (Roy) Harper". Parts of "Out on the Tiles" could be an outtake from Jeff Beck's Truth album while "Friends" signals what the band had in store for Physical Graffiti. One can easily imagine Jack White listening to "Bron-Y-Aur Stomp" and being inspired to launch a career.

Side two is almost all acoustic folkie-based with "Tangerine" pointing the way towards "Stairway to Heaven". The first two album's bombast and heavy, almost cartoonish rhythmic jerks are mostly MIA while Page's nimble acoustic guitar forays produce luxurious listening.

The whimsical cover art telegraphs well what's found in the grooves. I can't recall how the album was originally received by either the press or the public in 1970 but in 2014 Led Zeppelin III holds up very well.

Analogplanet.com readers are most interested in how this reissue compares to other versions so i spent a good deal of time comparing it to an original Atlantic mastered at Mastercraft by "RR" with "So Mote Be It" handwritten in the lead out groove area, with a later German orange/green pressing and with Classic's Bernie Grundman cut from a decade ago.

First of all, the original is pretty awful compared to any of the others. It's dynamically limited and frequency limited as well. It's just plain muddy. And the UK "plum label" Atlantic was pressed using another Mastercraft lacquer so while the plating and pressing quality are probably somewhat better the sound is most likely equally mediocre.

The German reissue (ATL 50 002) I have which says ©1973 but probably is a later issue sounds far better than the American original and is overall pretty good but the Classic reissue cut by Bernie Grundman is far superior being far more dynamic and transparent with better bass response.

This time Grundman holds off the upper frequency extension so obvious on the first and second Led Zep Classic reissues to provide a far better overall frequency balance. If anything he's punched up the bass slightly compared to the Page supervised reissue, though overall the tonal balance is close though the Classic sounds more lush in the mids and the digitally mastered reissue sounds slightly recessed. It emphasizes the initial acoustic guitar transient pluck over the wooden body sustain. The Classic is more about the sustain and a bit softer and more luxurious on the transient attack.

Overall the tonal balance is close between the Classic and Page supervised digital remaster but what's not is the textural balance and dimensionality. The Page reissue has a slightly gritty quality to all of the transients. It's something you only hear in a direct comparison, which shows that the Classic reissue has a silkier yet no less precise attack. What you also hear in a direct comparison is that the Classic reissue is noticeably more transparent, definitely more dynamic and the sustain and decay are more generous. The Classic is also far more three dimensional. The digital remaster is spatially flatter.

The final track "Hats Off To (Roy) Harper features a "tearing" vocal sound effect. When I played the digitally remastered version I noted it. When I played the Classic version I jumped, worrying that it had damaged my speakers.

What you hear and how you react will to a certain degree be personal taste and system-dependent but here are two short samples, one from the Classic reissue and one from the digitally remastered reissue.

Sample 1

Sample 2

Overall I'd say the new digitally sourced reissue is certainly way better than the original American and UK pressings and equal to but different than the Classic reissue. Given a choice I'd opt for the Classic but given what those are going for, this new one, well-pressed at Pallas will surely do for most fans, especially those with the original pressing.

I'm not identifying which sample is which for now. Please give us your preference in the comments section. As for the second disc in the deluxe edition, most of it is alternative mixes or versions without vocals so Karaoke away! There are tracks here not on the actual release and vice-versa. I'd say it's only for Led Zep completists.