Coda | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Compilation album by | ||||
Released | 26 November 1982 | |||
Recorded | 9 January 1970 –21 November 1978, overdubs 1981 | |||
Studio | Sol, Cookham, Berkshire, England | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 32:59 | |||
Label | Swan Song | |||
Producer | Jimmy Page | |||
Led Zeppelin chronology | ||||
|
Coda is a compilation album [1] by the English rock band Led Zeppelin. It contains rejected tracks from various sessions during the band's twelve-year career. The album was released on 26 November 1982, [2] almost two years after the group had officially disbanded following the death of drummer John Bonham. The word coda , meaning a passage that ends a musical piece following the main body, was therefore chosen as the title.
The fifth Swan Song Records album for the band, Coda was released to honour contractual commitments to Atlantic Records and also to cover tax demands on previous monies earned. It cleared away nearly all of the leftover tracks from the various studio sessions of the 1960s and 1970s. [3] The album was a collection of eight tracks spanning the length of Zeppelin's twelve-year history. [4] Atlantic counted the release as a studio album, as Swan Song had owed the label a final studio album from the band. According to Martin Popoff, "there's conjecture that Jimmy [Page] called 'We're Gonna Groove' a studio track and 'I Can't Quit You Baby' a rehearsal track because Swan Song owed Atlantic one more studio album specifically." [1]
Guitarist Jimmy Page explained that part of the reasoning for the album's release related to the popularity of unofficial Led Zeppelin recordings which continued to be circulated by fans: "Coda was released, basically, because there was so much bootleg stuff out. We thought, "Well, if there's that much interest, then we may as well put the rest of our studio stuff out". [5] As John Paul Jones recalled: "Basically there wasn't a lot of Zeppelin tracks that didn't go out. We used everything." [6]
Side one
"We're Gonna Groove" opens the album, sounding as if it was a studio recording. The track actually came from a January 1970 concert at the Royal Albert Hall, with new guitar parts overdubbed, and the original guitar part removed, as well as the live audience sounds, all which can be heard in the original Royal Albert Hall show recording on 9 January 1970.[ citation needed ] The original album notes incorrectly said that it was recorded at Morgan Studios in June 1969. [4] This song was used to open a number of concerts on their early 1970 tours and was originally intended to be recorded for inclusion in Led Zeppelin II .
"Poor Tom" is from sessions for Led Zeppelin III , having been recorded at Olympic Studios in June 1970.
"Walter's Walk" is a leftover from the sessions for Houses of the Holy (which took place in April and May 1972). [7]
"I Can't Quit You Baby" is taken from the same concert as "We're Gonna Groove" but was listed as a rehearsal in the original liner notes. [7] The recording was edited to remove the overall "live" feel: the crowd noise as well as the beginning and ending of the song were deleted. Crowd tracks were muted on the multi-track mixdown on this recording as with "We're Gonna Groove".[ citation needed ]
Side two
Side two contains three outtakes from the band's previous album In Through the Out Door , plus a Bonham drum solo.
The uptempo "Ozone Baby" and the rock 'n' roll styled "Darlene" were recorded at that album's sessions at Polar Studios, Stockholm in November 1978. [7]
"Bonzo's Montreux" was recorded at Mountain Studios, Montreux, Switzerland in September 1976. It was designed as a Bonham drum showcase, which Page treated with various electronic effects, including a harmonizer. [7]
"Wearing and Tearing" was recorded at Polar in November 1978. It was written as a reaction to punk, and to show that Led Zeppelin could compete with the new bands. It was planned to be released as a promotional single to the audience at the 1979 Knebworth Festival, headlined by Led Zeppelin, but this was cancelled at the last minute. It was first performed live at the 1990 Silver Clef Awards Festival at Knebworth in 1990 by Plant's band with Page guesting. [7]
Other tracks
The 1993 compact disc edition has four additional tracks from the box sets, Led Zeppelin Boxed Set (1990) and Led Zeppelin Boxed Set 2 (1993), the previously unreleased "Travelling Riverside Blues", "White Summer/Black Mountain Side" and the "Immigrant Song" b-side "Hey, Hey, What Can I Do" from the former and the previously unreleased "Baby Come On Home" from the latter.
The album cover was designed by Hipgnosis, the fifth album cover the design group designed for Led Zeppelin. It was also the last album cover Hipgnosis designed before disbanding in 1983. The main four letters CODA are from an alphabet typeface design called "Neon Slim" designed by Bernard Allum in 1978. [8]
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [9] |
Classic Rock | 7/10 [10] |
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal | 8/10 [11] |
The Daily Telegraph | [12] |
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [13] |
MusicHound Rock | [14] |
Rolling Stone | [15] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [16] |
The Village Voice | B+ [17] |
Reviewing for Rolling Stone in 1983, Kurt Loder hailed Coda as "a resounding farewell" and a "marvel of compression, deftly tracing the Zeppelin decade with eight powerful, previously unreleased tracks, and no unnecessary elaboration". [15] Robert Christgau wrote in his "Consumer Guide" column for The Village Voice :
They really were pretty great, and these eight outtakes—three from their elephantine blues phase, three from their unintentional swan song—aren't where to start discovering why. But despite the calculated clumsiness of the beginnings and the incomplete orchestrations of the end, everything here but the John Bonham Drum Orchestra would convince a disinterested party—a Martian, say. Jimmy Page provides a protean solo on "I Can't Quit You Baby" and jumbo riffs throughout. [17]
According to Julian Marszalek of The Quietus , however, "Coda has always been regarded as the band's weakest release. Made up of eight tracks that spanned Led Zeppelin's lifetime, it refused to flow as an album. Devoid of a coherent narrative, it felt tossed together to make up for contractual obligations." [18] In a retrospective review for AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine said while it did not include all of the band's notable non-album recordings, it offered "a good snapshot of much of what made Led Zeppelin a great band" and featured mostly "hard-charging rock & roll", including "Ozone Baby", "Darlene", and "Wearing and Tearing": "rockers that alternately cut loose, groove, and menace". [9]
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 78/100 [19] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
Mojo | [20] |
Pitchfork | 7.3/10 [21] |
Q | [22] |
Rolling Stone | [23] |
Uncut | 8/10 [24] |
A remastered version of Coda, along with Presence and In Through the Out Door, was reissued on 31 July 2015. The reissue comes in six formats: a standard CD edition, a deluxe three-CD edition, a standard LP version, a deluxe three-LP version, a super deluxe three-CD plus three-LP version with a hardback book, and as high resolution 24-bit/96k digital downloads. The deluxe and super deluxe editions feature bonus material containing alternative takes and previously unreleased songs, "If It Keeps On Raining", "Sugar Mama", "Four Hands", "St. Tristan's Sword", and "Desire". The reissue was released with an altered colour version of the original album's artwork as its bonus disc's cover. [25]
The reissue was met with generally positive reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 78, based on 8 reviews. [19] In Rolling Stone, David Fricke said it is "the unlikely closing triumph in Page's series of deluxe Zeppelin reissues: a dynamic pocket history in rarities, across three discs with 15 bonus tracks, of his band's epic-blues achievement". [23] Pitchfork journalist Mark Richardson was less impressed by the bonus disc, believing "there is nothing particularly noteworthy about the 'Bombay Orchestra' tracks". [21]
All tracks written by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, except where noted. All tracks produced by Jimmy Page, except for "Travelling Riverside Blues", produced by John Walters, and "White Summer"/"Black Mountain Side" produced by Jeff Griffin.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Source | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "We're Gonna Groove" (live) |
| Recorded 9 January 1970 at the Royal Albert Hall, London, England) (Edit; remix with guitar overdubs and live audience eliminated | 2:37 |
2. | "Poor Tom" (outtake) |
| Led Zeppelin III sessions, 1970 | 3:02 |
3. | "I Can't Quit You Baby" (live) | Willie Dixon | Recorded 9 January 1970 at the Royal Albert Hall, London, England: sound rehearsal, edited version | 4:18 |
4. | "Walter's Walk" (outtake) |
| Houses of the Holy sessions, 1972, vocals and guitar solo overdubbed in 1981 | 4:31 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Source | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Ozone Baby" (outtake) | In Through the Out Door sessions, 1978 | 3:36 | |
2. | "Darlene" (outtake) |
| In Through the Out Door sessions, 1978 | 5:06 |
3. | "Bonzo's Montreux" | Bonham | Recorded in 1976 | 4:22 |
4. | "Wearing and Tearing" (outtake) | In Through the Out Door sessions, 1978 | 5:27 | |
Total length: | 32:59 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Source | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
9. | "Baby Come On Home" (outtake) |
| Led Zeppelin sessions, 1968; also appeared on Boxed Set 2 , 1993 | 4:30 |
10. | "Travelling Riverside Blues" (live) |
| Recorded 24 June 1969 in London, England, also appeared on Led Zeppelin Boxed Set , 1990 | 5:08 |
11. | "White Summer"/"Black Mountain Side" (live) | Page | Recorded 27 June 1969 in London, England, also appeared on Led Zeppelin Boxed Set | 8:01 |
12. | "Hey, Hey, What Can I Do" |
| B-side of the "Immigrant Song" single, 1970; also appeared on Led Zeppelin Boxed Set , 1990 | 3:52 |
Total length: | 54:35 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Recording Date | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "We're Gonna Groove" (Alternate mix, live at Royal Albert Hall) |
| 9 January 1970 | 2:40 |
2. | "If It Keeps On Raining" ("When the Levee Breaks", Rough mix) |
| 11 November 1970 | 4:11 |
3. | "Bonzo's Montreux" (Mix construction in progress) | Bonham | 12 September 1976 | 4:57 |
4. | "Baby Come On Home" |
| 10 October 1968 | 4:30 |
5. | "Sugar Mama" (mix, Led Zeppelin outtake) | 3 October 1968 | 2:50 | |
6. | "Poor Tom" (Instrumental mix) | 5 June 1970 | 2:16 | |
7. | "Travelling Riverside Blues" ( BBC Session ) |
| 23 June 1969 | 5:08 |
8. | "Hey, Hey, What Can I Do" |
| 29 May 1970 | 3:52 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Recording Date | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Four Hands" ("Four Sticks", Bombay Orchestra) | 19 October 1972 | 4:43 | |
2. | "Friends" (Bombay Orchestra) | 19 October 1972 | 4:25 | |
3. | "St. Tristan's Sword" (Rough mix, Led Zeppelin III outtake) | Page | 5 July 1970 | 5:40 |
4. | "Desire" ("The Wanton Song", Rough mix) | 15 February 1974 | 4:08 | |
5. | "Bring It On Home" (Rough mix) | Dixon | 24 July 1969 | 2:32 |
6. | "Walter's Walk" (Rough mix) | 16 May 1972 | 3:18 | |
7. | "Everybody Makes It Through" ("In the Light", Rough mix) |
| 28 February 1974 | 8:31 |
Total length: | 1:04:02 |
The CD edition mistakenly lists the running time of "Bring It On Home" (Rough Mix) as 4:19, which matches the duration of the finished version on Led Zeppelin II , not the intended time for the Rough Mix.
Led Zeppelin
Production
Chart (1982–1983) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) [26] | 9 |
Canada Top Albums/CDs ( RPM ) [27] | 3 |
Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts) [28] | 9 |
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [29] | 5 |
Japanese Albums (Oricon) [30] | 16 |
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [31] | 7 |
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) [32] | 18 |
UK Albums (OCC) [33] | 4 |
US Billboard 200 [34] | 6 |
Chart (2015) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australian Albums (ARIA) [35] | 23 |
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [36] | 7 |
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [37] | 19 |
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) [38] | 7 |
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [39] | 9 |
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) [40] | 9 |
French Albums (SNEP) [41] | 34 |
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ) [42] | 5 |
Italian Albums (FIMI) [43] | 28 |
Portuguese Albums (AFP) [44] | 21 |
Scottish Albums (OCC) [45] | 8 |
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE) [46] | 17 |
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [47] | 7 |
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [48] | 12 |
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC) [49] | 2 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom (BPI) [50] | Silver | 60,000^ |
United States (RIAA) [51] | Platinum | 1,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist and keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are cited as one of the progenitors of hard rock and heavy metal, although their style drew from a variety of influences, including blues and folk music. Led Zeppelin have been credited as significantly impacting the nature of the music industry, particularly in the development of album-oriented rock (AOR) and stadium rock.
Led Zeppelin is the debut studio album by English rock band Led Zeppelin. It was released on 13 January 1969 in the United States and on 31 March 1969 in the United Kingdom by Atlantic Records.
Led Zeppelin II is the second studio album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, released on 22 October 1969 in the United States and on 31 October 1969 in the United Kingdom by Atlantic Records. Recording sessions for the album took place at several locations in both the United Kingdom and North America from January to August 1969. The album's production was credited to the band's lead guitarist and songwriter Jimmy Page, and it was also Led Zeppelin's first album on which Eddie Kramer served as engineer.
Led Zeppelin III is the third studio album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, released on 5 October 1970. It was recorded in three locations. Much of the work was done at Headley Grange, a country house, using the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio. Additional sessions were held at Island Studios and Olympic Studios in London. As with the prior album, the band eschewed the use of guest musicians, with all music performed by band members Robert Plant (vocals), Jimmy Page (guitars), John Paul Jones, and John Bonham (drums). The range of instruments played by the band was greatly enhanced on this album, with Jones especially emerging as a talented multi-instrumentalist, playing a wide range of keyboard and stringed instruments, including various synthesizers, mandolin and double bass, in addition to his usual bass guitar. As with prior albums, Page served as producer on the album, with mixing done by Andy Johns and Terry Manning.
The untitled fourth studio album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, commonly known as Led Zeppelin IV, was released on 8 November 1971 by Atlantic Records. It was produced by guitarist Jimmy Page and recorded between December 1970 and February 1971, mostly in the country house Headley Grange. The album contains the band's most well-known recording, the eight-minute-long "Stairway to Heaven".
Houses of the Holy is the fifth studio album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, released on 28 March 1973 in the United States and on 30 March 1973 in the United Kingdom by Atlantic Records. The album benefited from two band members installing studios at home, which allowed them to develop more sophisticated songs and arrangements and expand their musical style. Several songs subsequently became fixtures in the group's live set, including "The Song Remains the Same", "The Rain Song" and "No Quarter". Other material recorded at the sessions, including the title track, was shelved and released on the later albums Physical Graffiti (1975) and Coda (1982). All instruments and vocals were provided by the band members Robert Plant (vocals), Jimmy Page (guitar), John Paul Jones, and John Bonham (drums). The album was produced by Page and mixed by Eddie Kramer. The cover was the first for the band to be designed by Hipgnosis and was based on a photograph taken at Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland.
Physical Graffiti is the sixth studio album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin. Released as a double album on 24 February 1975 in the United States and on 28 February 1975 in the United Kingdom, it was the group's first album to be released under their new label, Swan Song Records. The band wrote and recorded eight new songs for the album in early 1974 at Headley Grange, a country house in Hampshire, which gave them ample time to improvise arrangements and experiment with recording. The total playing time covered just under three sides of an LP, so they decided to expand it into a double album by including previously unreleased tracks from the sessions for the band's earlier albums Led Zeppelin III (1970), Led Zeppelin IV (1971) and Houses of the Holy (1973). The album covered a range of styles including hard rock, progressive rock, rock 'n' roll and folk. The album was then mixed over summer 1974 and planned for an end-of-year release; however, its release was delayed because the Peter Corriston-designed die-cut album cover proved difficult to manufacture.
Presence is the seventh studio album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, released by their own label Swan Song Records on 31 March 1976 in the United States and on 2 April 1976 in the United Kingdom. While the record was commercially successful, reaching the top of both the British and American album charts, and achieving a triple-platinum certification in the United States by the RIAA, it received mixed reviews from critics and is the lowest-selling album by the band.
The Song Remains the Same is the live soundtrack album of the concert film of the same name by the English rock band Led Zeppelin. The soundtrack was recorded 27–29 July 1973 and released on 22 October 1976 on Swan Song Records.
How the West Was Won is a live triple album by the English rock group Led Zeppelin, released by Atlantic Records on compact disc on 27 May 2003, DVD-Audio on 7 October 2003 and Blu-ray audio in 2018. The recordings are taken from two 1972 performances in California during their tour of North America: L.A. Forum and Long Beach Arena.
Led Zeppelin is a boxed set by English rock band Led Zeppelin. It was the first compilation of songs by the band and the selection and remastering of the tracks were supervised by Jimmy Page. Atlantic Records released it on 8 October 1990 on several formats: four compact discs, six vinyl records, or four cassette tapes. A 36-page booklet was also included with the release.
Sabotage is the sixth studio album by English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, released on 28 July 1975. The album was recorded in the midst of a legal battle with the band's former manager, Patrick Meehan. The stress that resulted from the band's ongoing legal woes infiltrated the recording process, inspiring the album's title. It was co-produced by guitarist Tony Iommi and Mike Butcher.
The discography of the English rock band Led Zeppelin consists of eight studio albums, four live albums, 10 compilation albums, 19 singles, 16 music videos and nine music downloads. The band is estimated to have sold over 300 million records worldwide, becoming one of the best-selling music artists in history. According to Billboard, they are the 40th Greatest Artist of All Time, as well as the 11th Most Successful Artist on Billboard 200 history. The band has scored 7 number-one albums on Billboard 200 and has sold 112.5 million certified albums in the United States, becoming the 5th best-selling album artist in RIAA history.
BBC Sessions is a compilation album featuring studio sessions and a live concert recorded by English rock group Led Zeppelin for the BBC. It was released on 17 November 1997, by Atlantic Records. Disc one consists of material from four different 1969 BBC sessions. Disc two contains most of the 1 April 1971 concert from the Paris Theatre in London. Disc three was only included in a limited run of album releases and features rare interviews from 1969, 1976/1977, and 1990.
Mothership is a compilation album by English rock band Led Zeppelin, released by Atlantic Records and Rhino Entertainment on 12 November 2007 in the United Kingdom, and 13 November 2007 in the United States. It was released on the same day that Led Zeppelin's entire catalogue became available in digital stores, including the iTunes Store. The cover was designed by artist Shepard Fairey.
The Best of Led Zeppelin is a two-volume best-of compilation album series by English rock group Led Zeppelin; containing selections from all of the band's studio albums it was released by Atlantic Records. Volume one, Early Days was released on November 22, 1999; volume two, Latter Days, was released on March 21, 2000. Early Days is composed of tracks from the period in the band's history dating 1968 to 1971 and doesn't use a traditional "greatest hits" format as Led Zeppelin largely avoided single releases. Latter Days covered 1973 to 1979. Early Days debuted at #71 on the Billboard's Pop Albums chart and Latter Days debuted at #81. A combined disc set, called Early Days and Latter Days, was released on November 19, 2002 in the United States and on February 24, 2003 in the United Kingdom. Both Early Days and Early Days and Latter Days were certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.
In Through the Out Door is the eighth and final studio album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin. It was recorded in three weeks in November and December 1978 at ABBA's Polar Studios in Stockholm, Sweden, and released by their label Swan Song Records on 22 August 1979 in the US and 24 August 1979 in the UK. Unlike earlier Led Zeppelin albums, In Through the Out Door was dominated musically by bassist and keyboardist John Paul Jones. It was the band's last release before the death of their drummer John Bonham in September 1980 and their disbandment three months later.
Celebration Day is a concert film and live album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, recorded at the Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert on 10 December 2007, in The O2 Arena, London. The film was given a limited theatrical release starting on 17 October 2012, and was released on several home audio and video formats on 19 November 2012. The performance, the film, and album releases have been widely praised.
The Led Zeppelin Deluxe Edition is a series of albums reissued by English rock group Led Zeppelin, distributed by Atlantic Records. It contains all nine of the original Led Zeppelin studio albums remastered from the original analog tapes. Along with the remastered albums, there is a companion disc with each album, consisting of previously unreleased audio tracks and alternate mixes of released tracks. Many of these are described as work-in-progress or alternate mixes made during the original production rather than new remixes generated to highlight discarded recording elements. The first companion album consists of the 10 October 1969 concert in Paris. The albums were released in chronological order, each with inverted album covers.
References
Sources