Led Zeppelin announces ‘The Complete BBC Sessions’

Nearly 20 years ago, Led Zeppelin introduced BBC Sessions, an acclaimed two-disc set of live recordings selected from the band’s appearances on BBC radio between 1969 and 1971. Later this year, the band will unveil The Complete BBC Sessions, an updated version of the collection that’s been newly remastered with supervision by Jimmy Page and expanded with eight unreleased BBC recordings, including three rescued from a previously “lost” session from 1969.

The Complete BBC Sessions will be available in multiple formats from Atlantic/Swan Song on September 16th:

  • Deluxe Edition (3 CD) – Remastered original album plus a third disc of unreleased audio.
  • Deluxe Edition Vinyl (5 LP) – Remastered original album, plus a fifth LP of unreleased audio, on 180-gram vinyl.
  • Digital Download – Remastered album and unreleased audio will both be available.
  • Super Deluxe Boxed Set (3 CD/5 LP) – This collection includes:
    • Remastered album. 2 CDs, each in a replica sleeve.
    • Unreleased audio on CD in a separate card sleeve.
    • Remastered album on 180-gram vinyl.
    • Unreleased audio on 180-gram vinyl.
    • High-def audio download card of all content at 96kHz/24 bit.
    • 48-page book filled with photos of the band, the recording locations, BBC memorabilia, and session information.
    • High-quality print of the original album cover, the first 30,000 of which will be individually numbered.

BBC Sessions was originally released in 1997 and has been certified double platinum by the RIAA.The Complete BBC Sessions builds on that collection with a third disc that boasts eight unreleased performances. In addition, the set includes extensive session-by-session liner notes written by Dave Lewis. For the first time ever, it provides accurate details and notes about all of the band’s BBC sessions.

Musical highlights on this new collection include the debut of a long-lost radio session that has achieved near-mythic status among fans. Originally broadcast in April 1969, the session included three songs: “I Can’t Quit You Baby,” “You Shook Me,” and the only recorded performance of “Sunshine Woman.”

Also included are two unreleased versions of both “Communication Breakdown” and “What Is And What Should Never Be.” Separated by two years, the performances vividly demonstrate the young band’s rapid evolution over a short period of time.

Jimmy Page spoke about the band’s growth in an interview with Guitar World: “The BBC Sessions show in graphic detail just how organic the group was. Led Zeppelin was a band that would change things around substantially each time it played…We were becoming tighter and tighter, to the point of telepathy.”

Speaking with Wall of Sound, John Paul Jones added: “We’d been on the road a lot by the time those sessions were recorded. The albums were always the starting point of the music, and then we’d take it out and expand it on the road. Then we’d come straight off the road into those BBC studios.”

Recalling the BBC experience in an interview with Mojo, Robert Plant said: “The whole thing was very quaint: the politeness of the audience, the technicians fumbling about, proper hallowed low-key introductions. Like there was some sort of holy moment about to occur.”

CD | LPSuper Deluxe Boxed Set

[one_third]CD 1:

1. You Shook Me (23/3/69 Top Gear)
2. I Can’t Quit You Baby (23/3/69 Top Gear)
3. Communication Breakdown (22/6/69 Pop Sundae)
4. Dazed And Confused (23/3/69 Top Gear)
5. The Girl I Love She Got Long Black Wavy Hair (22/6/69 Pop Sundae)
6. What Is And What Should Never Be (29/6/69 Top Gear)
7. Communication Breakdown (29/6/69 Top Gear)
8. Travelling Riverside Blues (29/6/69 Top Gear)
9. Whole Lotta Love (29/6/69 Top Gear)
10. Somethin’ Else (22/6/69 Pop Sundae)
11. Communication Breakdown (10/8/69 Playhouse Theatre)
12. I Can’t Quit You Baby (10/8/69 Playhouse Theatre)
13. You Shook Me (10/8/69 Playhouse Theatre)
14. How Many More Times (10/8/69 Playhouse Theatre)[/one_third]

[one_third]CD 2:
1. Immigrant Song (1/4/71 Paris Theatre)
2. Heartbreaker (1/4/71 Paris Theatre)
3. Since I’ve Been Loving You (1/4/71 Paris Theatre)
4. Black Dog (1/4/71 Paris Theatre)
5. Dazed And Confused (1/4/71 Paris Theatre)
6. Stairway To Heaven (1/4/71 Paris Theatre)
7. Going To California (1/4/71 Paris Theatre)
8. That’s The Way (1/4/71 Paris Theatre)
9. Whole Lotta Love (Medley) [1/4/71 Paris Theatre]
10. Thank You (1/4/71 Paris Theatre)[/one_third]

[one_third_last]CD 3:
1. Communication Breakdown (23/3/69 Top Gear)
2. What Is And What Should Never Be (22/6/69 Pop Sundae)
3. Dazed And Confused (10/8/69 Playhouse Theatre)
4. White Summer (10/8/69 Playhouse Theatre)
5. What Is And What Should Never Be (1/4/71 Paris Theatre)
6. Communication Breakdown (1/4/71 Paris Theatre)
7. I Can’t Quit You Baby (14/4/69 Rhythm & Blues Session)
8. You Shook Me (14/4/69 Rhythm & Blues Session)
9. Sunshine Woman (14/4/69 Rhythm & Blues Session)[/one_third_last]

Buddy Iahn
Buddy Iahn