Given their iconic status within the rock world, music legends Led Zeppelin aren’t even close to fading away, with lead singer Robert Plant announced for next year’s Byron Bay Bluesfest and the recent screening of their new concert film Celebration Day, Australia’s Led Zep fans already have a lot to look forward to, and now there’s even more reason to get excited.
Classic Rock has reported that iconic lead guitarist Jimmy Page has been hacking away at a 21st-century re-master of their impressive nine-album body of work.
The exciting remastering news was announced by Page’s manager Peter Mensc during a recent interview with UK press, which evokes hope the remasters will be available sometime next year and may even include alternative takes as well as unreleased material.
Taking on the impressive project – Page has reportedly been working in a West London studio remastering every single Led Zeppelin LP, and plans to release each fully remastered LP separately.
Reminiscent of cult icon Pink Floyd’s Immersion series, the new Led Zeppelin remasters will undoubtedly ring fresh to new and old ears with Paste Magazine rumouring the release is also set to be backed with re-designed artwork by graphic designer, Shepard Fairey, best known as the creator of the Andre The Giant ‘OBEY’ stickers and street art.
Fairey also designed the cover to the 2007 Led Zeppelin best-of compilation Mothership, with the band’s name plastered across the iconic blimp.
While those reunion rumours continue to dog the band, the answer is unclear, and with few details available at this stage, fans will have to wait a bit longer to find out if the re-masters are part of a larger celebration.
Aiming to underline his band’s well deserved cult status Jimmy Page is arguably the only the man for the job, knowing the band’s various recording techniques back to front and experiencing the sessions first hand it’s hard to imagine the music icon screwing things up.
Yet will the notorious cliché of the lead guitarist turning up his amp come into play? Who knows, and considering such notoriety, might not even be that bad of a result.
In the meantime, Zeppelin fans can no doubt look forward to the release of Celebration Day, the brand new concert film of the band’s 2007 London O2 reunion show getting a CD, DVD, and Blu Ray release on November 16th, following its one-day cinematic release on October 17.
The voice of Zeppelin, the lion-haired Robert Plant, is also making his way to Australia for the first time since 1996, when he toured as Page & Plant, for the Bluesfest 2013 lineup, leading the third round of acts added to the festival bill including fellow music legends, Roger Hodgson of Supertramp, Jon Anderson of Yes, and Madness.
