Unreleased studio mixes from the recording sessions for Led Zeppelin’s 1975 double-album, “Physical Graffiti”, are going up for sale next month, and Amherst, New Hampshire-based RR Auction has posted an audio preview for interested buyers.
The auction house will sell the tapes – from the collection of audio engineer Ron Nevison – as part of its Marvels Of Modern Music auction, which runs March 13 – 20.
Led Zeppelin recorded the “Physical Graffiti” tracks in the Ronnie Lane Mobile Studio that Nevison designed in an Airstream trailer.
Structurally, many tracks are not very far along – most of the guitars and vocals were redone later, and some lack the vocals entirely. Additional orchestration was also added, and many times only the drum tracks from the recordings were used in the final product.
Most notably, one of the tapes features the drums from “Kashmir” (then entitled “Driving To Kashmir”). Because bass player and keyboardist John Paul Jones had been late for the recording sessions, guitarist Jimmy Page used the time to work on the riff with drummer John Bonham.
Nevison recorded Bonham’s drums on a separate track, running the cymbals through a phaser as an experiment; the band liked the results and used it on the final song. In addition to the drums, the fully-instrumental “Driving To Kashmir” recording also features the instantly recognizable guitar riff.
“Nevison's Physical Graffiti tapes provide a window into the creative process behind one the greatest albums ever produced,” says RR Auction VP Bobby Livingston. “An absolutely remarkable piece of modern music history.”
The Marvels Of Modern Music auction will feature more than 800 items – for details, visit rrauction.com
See also:
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Search Led Zeppelin at hennemusic
