Customer Reviews

Latter Days: Best of Led Zeppelin, Vol.2

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(12)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

Well I gave this CD a 5-star rating because the music on it is, well, Zeppelin, and nothing's better than that. I dont know why it's called a "Best Of.." series, when in fact Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 are both lacking major radio staples. On Vol. 2, where's D'yer Mak'er, Dancing Days, The Ocean, Fool In The Rain, etc.? Those are always on the radio, more than Ten Years Gone and Achilles Last Stand, anyway (I'm not putting those last two songs down, they just arent as big 'hits' as the first ones..). I'd say this might be a worthwile introduction to Zep for the beginner, but the Remasters series might be better. For those of us who want better Led releases (Page/Crowes @ The Greek comes close, and its pretty good! ), we'll have to wait 'til Earls Court or Knebworth gets released.

The music in this CD is some of the very best rock music ever written and performed, but Led Zeppelin's material doesn't fit the "greatest hits" package. Zeppelin is one of the pioneers of album rock, so the songs here sound better in their original context, the studio albums. Maybe this two volumes, "Early days" and "Latter days", are a fair introduction for the people who doesn't have an idea of who were Led Zeppelin and are not willing to buy all the albums, but the albums are the ideal way to start with Zeppelin. Bands like Led Zeppelin and Queen have been repackaged over and over (Just take a look at Queen Greatest Hits III and you'll see.) Zeppelin should release some live performances, studio outtakes, rarities... like the BBC Sessions, which was appealing to long time fans and new fans as well. The music here is excelent, but the disc is useless for long time fans.

Obviously, the music on here is top-notch, some of Led Zeppelin's best tracks from their latter days. However, since Led Zeppelin was essentially an album band you should either buy all their albums, or one of the boxed sets. Sure, there is a different version of Kashmir on here, but it cannot possibly compare to the original. I also think that the track list on here could've been a little better. Where the hell is Fool In The Rain and Achilles Last Stand?

Now, the music on here is excellent, so I could not possibly give it anything other than a 5 star rating, but the music of Led Zeppelin is available in better packages.

Looking over the songlists for both Early Days and Latter Days, I am often baffled as to who these compilations are aimed at. (My 2 star rating is obviously more a criticism of the compilation than the music itself, which is 5 stars all the way).

So, are you an existing Zeppelin fan? Then chances are that you already have every one of these songs. There's nothing new or contraversial here. Certainly you should have all of Early Days (which comprises the hits from Led Zeppelin I-IV) and much of this CD.

If you don't own these tracks yet, you would be MUCH better off to invest in "Houses of the Holy" and "Physical Grafitti" INSTEAD. You'd get the first six (out of ten) tracks from Latter Days, as well as the inexplicably absent: "In My Time of Dying", "The Rain Song", "Over The Hills And Far Away", "D'yer Mak'er" and "The Ocean".

Are you just discovering Led Zeppelin? (If so, savour these first listens.) Or a casual fan who doesn't own any albums? DON'T START WITH THIS. Zeppelin is just not a "hot singles" band, you NEED to invest in a few full albums; I can guarantee that you won't regret it.

What albums SHOULD you start with?

The Most Essential:
Led Zeppelin I
Led Zeppelin IV

The Also Essential:
Led Zeppelin II
Houses of the Holy

The Very, Very, Very Good:
Physical Graffiti
BBC Sessions

There's obviously room for negotiation on which of those albums are "better" and given the depth of Zeppelin's catalogue you'd be hard-pressed to choose a best release. But, one thing I can say for sure is that any Zepp fan (new or old) is better served buying some of these albums rather than Early and/or Latter Days.

Well I was actually glad that this cd got 3.5 stars 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 this I went right to the mall and bought the $120 COMPLETE STUDIO RECORDINGS 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 their albums. You'll hear great/awesome guitar, vocals, drums, bass throughout the whole cd. You will be satisfied with this in all ways.

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. GET THE 2 DISC SET WHICH CONTAINS EARLY DAYS AND LATTER DAYS (ITS $16.99 GETTING BOTH TOGETHER and its $14.99 BUYING THIS ONE SEPERATE).

Because D'yer Mak'er, The Ocean and Fool In The Rain (to name only a few) aren't available on this CD, it's obvious neither surviving Zeppelin members nor advocate followers are getting their share of what's best about this monumental R'nR band. In relatively brief summarization, 10 songs put on a greatest hit disc is pretty slack material for any retrospective compilation no matter what the tunes' length are or may be.
Do us all better credit Jimmy/Robert/John Paul and next time (if ever there is one) please don't offer your fans a queasy aftertaste about what accurately represents the great Led Zeppelin. Sure many substantial tracks are included on this anthology, but definitely not enough to properly characterize the group's Latter `Years` by any convincing means...

After buying Early Days brother of the CD, I bought the Latter days, hoping it only half as good as its kin. What I got was perhaps the most incredible hour of music I have yet heard. The first song, The Song Remains the Same, has some of the best guitar solos I have ever heard from any band, the second song No Quarter slows it down but introduces a new instrument to the "Best of..." series: the piano. The succeeding song, Houses of the Holy, is a good old fashion rock song that makes you tap your feet with John Bonham's drums, along with the next song, Trampled Underfoot. Kashmir, the next song, is haunting, with addicting guitar riffs and a climax worth waiting for. The next song, Ten Years Gone, creates a serene feel, mostly to allow you to recover from everything you had heard so far. The epic ten minute Achilles Last Stand is everything you can want from a rock song, offering incredible guitar solos, intense drumming, and screaming vocals. Nobody's Fault But Mine offers more guitar and drums, leading into the incredible All of My Love, which offers a symphony in the background of the band's rock and roll feel. To conclude the album comes an album which almost forshadows the 80s, including sythosizers and Indian instruments.
Many people say that the CD doesn't have enough songs, or is lacking classics. Chill out. It's Led Zeppelin. You can't go wrong. What this CD contains shows what few bands have touched since Led Zeppelin's breaking: talent.

Led Zeppelin's music is legendary. And this 'Latter Years: The Best Of Led Zeppelin, Vol. 2' showcases it.

This set spans the legendary 'Houses of the Holy' through 'In Through The Out Door,' which is a nice, 6 year period (1973-1979) covered.

What's here is great. 'Kashmir,' 'The Song Remains The Same,' 'Achilles Last Stand,' 'Trampled Under Foot' and 'No Quarter' all appear on this set for your listening pleasure. And, Atlantic did a wonderful job remastering it.

But, there's a ton missing. Where are 'Over The Hills And Far Away,' 'Dancing Days,' 'D'yer M'aker,' 'Custard Pie,' 'Royal Orleans' and 'South Bound Suarez'? These are all huge Zeppelin hits, and it's a shame to leave them off.

Overall, if you want to get hooked on Zeppelin's music, than give this CD a shot. But this is a great set to own if you are a Zeppelin fan, and if you are new to their music, I would recommend this set along with 'Early Days.'

This is highly recommended. ENJOY!!!

The Cd has good tracks from the last four studio albums. A few songs could have been switched for better. This is not a bad CD for the casual Led Zeppelin listener. A video track of "Kashmir" can be played on a computer with Quicktime loaded.

Personally, I like the song choices. A few crowdpleasers, a few less-obvious picks, but all showplace the unique melodic and harmonic discipline that makes Zep essential listening to this day. Listen to it as a whole, setting aside your preconceptions, and you'll get it. Page did a great job with this. Relax, musos.