Listening to this more closely tonight on 24/192 FLAC using the Ifi Micro driven from X3 via digital out.
Boy, is this clear and revealing, to say the least.
Unfortunately, so clear that I'm picking up all the awful flaws that have been there from the start. Tape hiss is really there. Compression at times is desperate and I can actually hear 'pumping' levels where some kind of limiter is used very clumsily. Not only that, there is also added distortion on many peaks, making the album sound pretty rough to say the least.
I initially ripped my all my Led Zepp red book CD's to 16/44 flac and all sounded fine. In fact, more than fine, they sounded great.
Then, when the Jimmy Page-remastered Hi-res reissues came out, I bought in, at 24/96, since that was all that was available (and anyway I can't hear the difference between 24/96 compared to 24/192, at least with my ears and my equipment). At that point I heard all the tape hiss, compression and some distortion, in some places. However, in fairness, I must also say that I also heard a slight improvement (
in the musical signal) from the 24/96 download over the 16/44 rip.
But c'mon folks , we're listening to a 20th century recording on 21st century playback devices!
Lets not forget Led Zepp II is 46 years old!
I repeat . . . 46 years old. Older than most of our members!
It's also compounded by the fact that we are able to hear the music almost under a microscope nowadays and the gear that we now have access to is capable of extraordinary definition which reveals these kinds of flaws with laser like accuracy.
The stuff we use now is streets ahead of what we had in the 70s and these older recordings are really showing the problems of the time in recording which got really nasty in the 80s with the arrival of 'perfect sound'!!
While it's great to hear the album now in fresh light and pull out minute detail, the flaws in the recording are really quite dreadful.
Although we all strive for greater fidelity, greater accuracy, greater insight, etc, etc, and amass ever more high-quality, high-fidelity equipment, able to 'look' forensically into a recording, isn't this a strong argument to keep a relatively low, or at the most, mid-fi, solution to hand? ( Something like my set-up?
) Maybe that could take the form of a basic amp and cans with which we could still enjoy albums like this? An amp and cans that are 'forgiving' and are
unable to put music under the microscope, and overlook the flaws of the legacy recording , allowing you to enjoy even technically flawed music?
I hate to say this really, but it also reveals (in parts) how Jimmy Page's playing could be a bit hit and miss in some passages. There's one point where his timing goes a bit helter skelter and sloppy. Now all the Jimmy Page fans will go,nuts!!!
O.K. Ian, that's it. I'll bite!! I've officially gone nuts GRRRRR You are probably right though, and being a professional musician, this jumps out at you. However I reckon it's probably not that noticeable to the rest of us.
Or maybe the reason is, he's emulating a certain Mr Hooker, whose contempt for 'timing' was legendary? Luckily enough for me, I don't notice it! Best part of Led Zep II in hi res for me is the bass playing. When you hear him so plainly, you realise just how on the ball he was.
Ian, I'm so glad to hear you saying this. On
every album, JPJ is a phenomenally underrated bass (
and keyboard!) player.
You have inadvertently touched on a hobby-horse of mine
I have always thought of Zeppelin as an
'organically grown super-group'.
I guess we are all familiar with the concept of the 'supergroup'. You take the best vocalist, guitarist, drummer, and bass player from their respective bands, and combine them to form a 'Supergroup'.
Think Cream, The Firm, Bad Company etc.
Zeppelin, to me, already had -
undeniably and unarguably - the best guitarist and the best vocalist, which made up a
song-writing duo of incredible quality. When you add in a drummer of Bonham's power, speed and precision, and a bass player of Jones timing, feeling and technical expertise, how could they
not become the biggest band in the world?
In the track 'Achilles Last Stand', from "Presence", it would be easy to focus on the brilliant rock vocals of Plant, or the licks and stylings of guitar-maestro Page. But listen in to JPJ. His rolling, rhythmical, 8-string bass provides the link between Bonham's driving undertone, and Plant and Page's melodic overtones.
Talking of Bonzo, have a listen to him letting rip in the same track (
especially in the little 'drumming middle-eights'), it's less like drumming and more like someone letting loose on a '
Gimpy'.
Chris and Mick will know exactly what I mean.
This guy was the love-child of a metronome and a machine-gun.
In the classic 'Trampled Underfoot', Jones shows shows his adaptability by giving a masterclass in driving, funk-laden keyboards, in this case the Clavinet. To the uninitiated, the clavinet plays the very first notes you hear on 'Trampled', and they then go on to provide the relentless, insistent, driving rhythm to the rest of the track. It's this keyboard side of JPJ that I feel is never properly recognised.
In the end, I feel Zeppelin's success was due more to what they
weren't, than what they were . . .
They weren't a heavy metal band.
They weren't a blues band.
They weren't a folk band
They weren't a Rock band.
They were all of these and more . . .