Mothership

There are some critical reviews here and I question the comments made? I suggest some are sour grapes from people who have not actually heard this CD, but don't want to spend the money to buy what in their view 'is just another re-mastered collection and the record company cashing in'. Well if you feel that way, don't whinge about it, just don't buy it! For those that want to hear the best of Zeppelin as you have never heard them before, then buy it. It's reasonably priced and the work that has gone into producing it is exceptional. I won't labour on, as there are some fantastic comments already about the technical presentation of this set. Suffice to say if you like Zeppelin, you won't be disappointed with this very good value double CD. The songs sound fresh and new and I have never heard Zeppelin sound so fine. I do have their complete catalogue, including the re-masters double CD, so have something to measure this against - trust me, it's astonishing how good this sounds compared to the original studio CD's. The clarity and seperation of the instruments is remarkable, I have not done a Pepsi challange as to me the sound is so much better, I don't need to compare - I can hear it clearly. The first CD benefits most and the reworked 'Stairway to Heaven' is worth the purchase price alone.

A great collection of the best from Zeppelin's catalogue and a VERY worthwhile addition to any serious rock fans music collection. Do yourself a favour and see how good one of the best rock bands of all time can sound...........

A solid 5 stars is earned, if I could award more I would.

(If you disagree after hearing it, them I will buy you a beer!).

OK, unlike some of the other reviews here this one is written after hearing the album.

Firstly, the music here all sounds better than I ever heard it before. I did direct A-B comparisons and would defy anyone to say they cannot hear an improvement. This improvement might not be significant for some, but to me it really lets each instrument and musician really stand on their own. Pages guitar army really glows and buckles in a way that reinforces his genius. No-one else in rock, or jazz for matter, has had such a wide palette of sounds and to hear it so clearly is an unalloyed pleasure. Overdubs, stereo placement, space around each instrument, cymbal decay and all of the other anorak details that I love are all here. This is not just a quick re-eq with a bit extra top end thrown in to compensate for hearing loss with age and a general lowering of the standard of stereo gear these days but a real reworking of the digital master tapes. Good Times Bad Times sounds like it was recorded earlier today by a band with enough energy to light up London.

Secondly, which tracks do you leave out when picking Zeps best? I can think of a handful that were on In Through The Out Door and they have been left out. After that???? The tracks here are all stoaters, fine examples of a band that took risks, stretching the envelope, taking the listener on a journey through several worlds, middle , middle eastern, far eastern, the under and the over.

I have bought every Zep album on vinyl, and cd, so there is nothing here that is new. I can however recommend this to anyone who is curious about Zep, anyone with a love for great sound quality and production and lovers of damn fine rock music. Enjoy!

It's easy to be cynical about yet another greatest hits package from Led Zeppelin. It's true that this collection differs little in terms of track listing from the decade-old Remasters compilation, and you don't have to be a genius to work out that it's intended to capitalise on interest reawakened by the forthcoming reunion show.

Diehards who complain that there's nothing new here for them are absolutely right. Although the songs have been remastered once again, this time by John Davis of Alchemy, it's unlikely that anyone who already owns the entire oeuvre would buy Mothership for that reason alone. They'd be more likely to cherrypick, now that the entire back catalogue has been made available for legal digital download.

Where this collection scores high is as an initial introduction to the work of probably the greatest rock band ever to have existed. Unlike many of their contemporaries, Led Zeppelin have never really ceased to be cool - and that means that a succession of new generations are ripe for the sheer exhilaration of discovering this music. Rather than allowing it to gather dust in the digital archives, it's right to remarket it every few years - in the same way as new productions of classic plays reintroduce Shakespeare to a new generation, or CGI-fest trilogies from New Zealand reawaken interest in Tolkien.

So how good a primer is this? Any sixteen-year-old getting this 2-CD collection for Christmas has instant access to most of the band's best work without the need for a costly trawl through musical history. There are some wonderfully informative sleeve notes from Rolling Stone veteran journalist David Fricke. And tracks have been chosen by the three surviving members of the band, so what you're getting here is Led Zeppelin's idea of what made Led Zeppelin great - and that's got to be a pretty good place to start.

Nevertheless, everyone will have their own ideas about the wisdom of the choices made here. For me, The Battle of Evermore, In My Time Of Dying and Ten Years Gone could have replaced D'Yer Maker, In the Evening and keyboard-infested horror All My Love - but there you go. All eight studio albums are represented, though it's odd to see four tracks from the relatively lacklustre Houses of The Holy as opposed to just three from classic double album Physical Graffiti.

The four tracks from the band's debut are a joy, though - their audio imperfections newly smoothed out, the restored tracks enchant even this old-timer who bought the album on vinyl when she was still in white knee-socks. Dazed and Confused has a pristine clarity that does nothing to upset its sinister atmosphere and the lovely Babe I'm Gonna Leave You makes Page's crystalline, Spanish-inflected guitar sound like it was recorded yesterday. This early on, Robert Plant had yet to acquire the mannered tics and flourishes that sometimes marred his later grandstanding performances and his vocals here are yearning, soulful, even subtle.

Mothership is available in multiple formats, with or without an accompanying DVD offering live highlights from the 2003 boxed collection. And those who whinge about profiteering are missing the point. If you've yet to discover Led Zeppelin, trust me - this is a very good place to start. If you know it all of old, buy this for your son, your daughter, your grandchildren, and share what you were lucky enough to witness first-hand.

Mothership is available in multiple formats, with or without an accompanying DVD offering live highlights from the 2003 boxed collection. And those who whinge about profiteering are missing the point. If you've yet to discover Led Zeppelin, trust me - this is a very good place to start. If you know it all of old, buy this for your son, your daughter, your grandchildren, and share what you were lucky enough to witness first-hand.