Early Days and Latter Days - The Very Best of Led Zeppelin

So what do you get in addition to Stairway To Heaven? Well from the early days, we get 4 tracks from Led Zep 1 for starters, including the incendiary primal blues rock of ‘Babe I’m Gonna Leave You’ and ‘Dazed And Confused’. Led Zep 2 is strangely under-represented, the obligatory ‘Whole Lotta Love’ (classic Top Of The Pops theme, pop-pickers) is joined only by ‘What Is And What Should Never Be’. Similarly, Led Zep 3 also only gets two tracks (although given its lack of popularity compared to the albums released either side of it this is less surprising). This is my only gripe with the album really – surely the likes of ‘Heartbreaker’ and ‘Bring It On Home’ (from ‘2’) and ‘Gallows Pole’ and ‘That’s The Way’ (from ‘3) could have been squeezed on there (particularly as Led Zep 4, or whatever you want to call it, has 5 of its 8 tracks on display).

The Latter Days features a good selection of tracks, too. I was particularly pleased to see ‘No Quarter’ from the ‘Houses Of The Holy’ album as well as ‘Trampled Underfoot’ from ‘Physical Graffiti’ for which this album served to remind just how good that particular track is. Later epics such as ‘Kashmir’, ‘Achilles Last Stand’ and ‘In The Evening’ show how much the band developed musically throughout the 70s and are arguably the best tracks from ‘Physical Graffiti’, ‘Presence’ and ‘In Through The Out Door’ respectively.

There isn’t much to dislike really. Every track is great despite my earlier arguments for other tracks to be included. With a back catalogue so strong there are always going to be one or two of everyone’s favourites not featured. This is a great collection of the very best of Led Zeppelin. If you want to know what the fuss was about, get it now.

We get four tracks from 69's debut album: the brief joys of 'Good Times Bad Times ' & 'Communication Breakdown'- that latter having a primal spirit more akin to harsh punk than the hippy era. The cover of Joan Baez's 'Babe I'm Gonna Leave You' is inspired, taking in the acoustic part of Led Zep that people tend to overlook (it's all hammers & snappers & satan. Yawn...)Nice to hear a relatively short 'Dazed & Confused'- which doesn't go on for half a decade like it does on 'The Song Remains the Same'...Their second album was recorded 'on the hoof' & remains one of the classic rock albums, the Zep just up for it, bigtime. Surprisingly we get just two tracks from an album that should be owned by everyone- the overfamiliar 'Whole Lotta Love' (don't mean it's not great- see my comments on LZ4 material)& one of my fave's: 'What is & What Should Never Be'. Don't know how they could have passed over the joys of Thank You, Ramble On & Bring it on Home though...I think their third album is another great release, though its largely acoustic joys are passed over for the huge Immigrant Song & the epic blues of Since I've Been Loving You. With songs like Tangerine and That's The Way being featured in 'Almost Famous' it feels like another missed chance for people to dig an album that isn't as revered as the one's that preceded and followed it...The untitled fourth album is perhaps over-represented & over-familiar- not that the songs are bad, I just can't take this release like I can't take 'Dark Side of the Moon' or 'Sgt Pepper'. 'Battle of the Evermore' is too Lord of the Rings & 'Stairway to Heaven' I'm allergic to (even though it could hardly not be included). Of the tracks here I can only take 'When the Levee Breaks'- whose drumbeat would influence hip-hop & be sampled en masse (see Chapterhouse's Pearl, Beastie Boys 'Licence to Ill' or the early material from Eric B&Rakim).

Disc 2 opens with two tracks from 73's 'Houses of the Holy'- opener 'The Song Remains the Same' & a surprise choice: the epic 'No Quarter' that sees John Paul Jones offer some great keyboards. Odd that 'The Ocean' is passed over- put it down to space...The collection takes four-tracks from my fave Zep album, 75's double-set 'Physical Graffitti': the belated title track to the previous album, the epic eastern soundtrack of 'Kashmir' , the Doors-y 'Trampled Underfoot' & one of Page's best guitar performances: 'Ten Years Gone'. Fantastic...But something had to give & Plant's car crash was the major event that pushed them into alien territory. Here we have the downbeat 'Whole Lotta Love'-style blues of 'Nobody's Fault But Mine' & the huge opening track from 'Presence': 'Achilles Last Stand'- which is huge & infinite stuff. Again, pity more of this album can't be heard- 'For Your Life' having a divine guitar sound & 'Candy Store Rock' being a more laidback Led Zep (the "Oh Baby/Baby" refrain being very Britney Spears!)...The final, somewhat dissappointing 'In Through the Out Door' album is represented by the two best songs: the touching 'All My Love' (written for Plant's son Karac, who had died of a viral infection & containing John Paul Jones best keyboard performance) & the huge 'In the Evening' - which I feel has more in common with The Cure's 'Disintergration' album (The Cure's Porl Thompson has since played with Plant).

'Early Days & Latter Days' is a fine introduction to one of the greatest bands of all time- having said that I don't think it's definitive & it misses off many great songs. Led Zeppelin aren't a band you can deny & here you can hear their trademark soundscape & Plant's much imitated/never bettered vocals. Every home should have some...