Early Days & Latter Days: Vol. 1 & 2 [ENHANCED]

Led Zeppelin

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 19, 2002)
• Original Release Date: November 19, 2002
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Enhanced
• Label: Atlantic / Wea
• ASIN: B0000787GW
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (85 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #17,953 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Full Title - Early Days & Latter Days - The best of Volumes One and Two. This special two-disc set captures the legendary power of Led Zeppelin's finest moments in a collection of 23 classic tracks selected by Jimmy Page himself. As if that weren't enough, Early Days Volume one includes a never-before-heard live version of 'Communication Breakdown' recorded circa 1969. Latter Days Volume two is enhanced with never-before-seen performance footage of 'Kashmir' filmed at London's Earl Court back in 1975. 2 standard jewel cases housed in a slipcase. Atlantic. 2002.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A decent collection for the casual fan, November 4, 2003

By	Elizabeth Kyparisis "Samuel the Great" (Miami, FL USA) - See all my reviews

This collection is okay. There is nothing wrong with the songs on this compilation; in fact, they are the best songs of Led Zeppelin's career and each one has amazing power and craftsmanship behind it. However, few Led Zeppelin fans remain casual, and what should you do if you want more?

As the other reviewers urge, I recommend shelling out the money for the box set. I own it, and it's a truly beautiful, remastered collection with 10 disks in sleek packaging, showing the masterful artwork and majesty of the original LPs. With bonus tracks and even a book included, it's well worth it. Led Zeppelin was essentially an album band, with the beautiful covers reflecting their titles and contents, contradictory to the age-old saying, "don't judge a book by its cover."

Led Zeppelin also did transitional material on some albums, like Your Time Is Gonna Come/Black Mountain Side on Led Zeppelin, the debut album. In these two songs, the chords of Your Time... resonate into Black Mountain Side, so it would be unthinkable to separate the two.

On Physical Graffiti, arguably the best album aside from IV, most of the songs are long. In fact, ALL Led Zeppelin songs are usually 4-8 minutes long, so how could you fit all the greats on two discs? The biggest dissapointment is 'forgetting' to include In My Time Of Dying, a 10.22 epic that I could not have become a fan without. And what about In The Light, also from PG, Jimmy Page's favorite song on his favorite album? Doesn't the band get any say in what their greatest hits are?

Still, I would recommend this to a Led Zeppelin novice, for it shows off the truly impressive songs without the frustration of
their listener meandering into a 10-minute song without knowledge or reassurance of its quality. I would also recommend BBC Sessions, perhaps even instead of this album and in addition to the box set, for it is their best live recording available, genuinely showing their stage behavior and mixing in old blues medleys, their roots, with classics.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars AWESOME SET, November 11, 2004

By	MMAfan (USA) - See all my reviews

Well I was actually glad that each individual cd got 3.5 star rating overall. Why- because I loved this set so much that I knew there albums are even better (as most people didn't like it because each Led Zeppelin album is its own thing). This is the first thing I bought of Led Zeppelin and right after I listened to the first disc I went right to the mall and bought the $120 COMPLETE STUDIO RECORDINGS set only like a day after I got this. That means beware people with no Led Zeppelin albums for if you buy this you'll want all there albums. You'll hear great guitar, vocals, drums, bass throughout the whole cd. You will be satisfied with this in all ways.

DISC 1-Early Days
1.Good Times Bad Times-(2:48)-10/10
2.Babe I'm gonna Leave You-(6:41)-10/10
3.Dazed and Confused-(6:27)-10/10
4.Communication Breakdown-(2:29)-10/10
5.Whole Lotta Love-(5:34)-10/10
6.What is and What Should Never Be-(4:44)-9/10
7.Immigrant Song-(2:25)-10/10
8.Since I've Been Loving You-(7:24)-9/10
9.Black Dog-(4:54)-10/10
10.Rock and Roll-(3:41)-10/10
11.The Battle of Evermore-(5:52)-9/10
12.When the Levee Breaks-(7:08)-10/10
13.Stairway to Heaven-(8:02)-10/10

DISC 2-Latter Days
1.The Song Remains the Same-(5:28)-10/10
2.No Quarter-(6:59)-10/10
3.Houses of the Holy-(4:01)-10/10
4.Trampled Underfoot-(5:35)-9/10
5.Kashmir-(8:31)-10/10
6.Ten Years Gone-(6:31)-9/10
7.Achilles Last Stand-(10:22)-10/10
8.Nobody's Fault But Mine-(6:27)-8/10
9.All My Love-(5:53)-10/10
10.In the Evening-(6:49)10/10

I recommend this to anyone who wants to get a great starter Led Zeppelin cd.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for introduction to Zeppelin, August 9, 2006

By	Chris (Lethbridge, AB) - See all my reviews

The Early Days, were the introduction to Led Zeppelin for me. The Latter Days came shortly after. The reason I say these two albums are great (especially the first of the two) is how well they introduced someone to the band. The Early Days, when I first got it, I realized every single song on the CD was an absolute masterpiece and within a week, Zeppelin had surpassed GNR on my favourite all-time band. The complete studio albums came soon after.

I understand why an older fan of Led Zeppelin would be disappointed with this; it misses a few major hits such as Ramble On, Heartbreaker, Over the Hills and Far Away, and The Rain Song (these songs could have still fit onto the two albums without passing the 80-minute CD limit). However, I find this almost a good thing, because it led me to not end up disappointed when getting their studio albums, realizing that there were even more masterpieces than just the ones on the greatest hits, for example: the ones listed above, Living Loving Maid, Tangerine, and all the remaining songs on the fourth album.

With such little new music as great as once was, it's becoming more necessary for younger music-listeners such as me, to look into classic rock like Zeppelin. There was no greater way than by getting the Early Days and the Latter Days.

And, how much better to have all the songs in their albums' order on a greatest hits compilation, yet to still have it end on the uncomparible Stairway to Heaven. Great job.