REMASTERS

Led Zeppelin has never been one of my favourite groups so a 2 CD compilation covering their entire career to my mind is most welcome. This is a 26 track collection and for the casual listener (which I would be) it serves up pretty much a complete list of the best from their studio albums, there are no live recordings included. CD 1 has material from their first four albums while the second CD covers the final four (there are no songs from Coda either). All the tracks benefit from re-mastering as well.

It's hard to fault the selections on the first CD; you get four songs from LZ1, four from LZ2, two from LZ3 and five from the mighty LZ4, all presented chronologically. I would have preferred the inclusion of The Lemon Song from LZ2, but this only from a personal preference point of view. The best from these four albums is very much present and correct.

The second CD has four songs from Houses of the Holy, this has to be overkill as it is generally regarded as an uneven album. Contrast this with only three from Physical Graffiti which to my mind is the best Zeppelin had to offer - and a double album to boot. Two from Presence, including the mighty Achilles Last Stand and two from In Through the Out Door. Again for me this is nearly perfect the only grumble is they did not include Tea for One from Presence. For other listeners however there should have been better balance of selections between Houses and Physical Graffiti.

For those looking to explore Zeppelin music this album will be your first and probably only step. The only other purchase would be Physical Graffiti. With a flawless selection on CD 1 it warrants 5 stars; CD2 is less effective and only gets 4 stars giving a well deserved 4.5 starts.