Led Zeppelin: How The West Was Won Remaster And Vinyl Debut

WITH REMASTERING SUPERVISED by guitarist and torch-bearer Jimmy Page, Led Zeppelin’s How The West Was Won will be reissued on March 23.

Featuring recordings culled from the band’s concerts at the Los Angeles Forum and Long Beach Arena on June 25 and 27, 1972, the album – first officially released in 2003, although bootlegs of the performances had been widely circulated – will emerge for the first time on (four 180-gram) vinyl LPs. Remastered 3-CD and hi-res 5.1 surround sound Blu-ray Audio editions, plus streams and downloads will also be available. As will a Super Deluxe Boxed Set featuring: the CDs and vinyl; a DVD of the album in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround and PCM Stereo, plus photo gallery; a high-def download card of all stereo audio content at 96kHz/24 bit; a book filled with rare and previously unpublished photos of the band at each of the concert locations, plus memorabilia and ephemera; and a high-quality print of the original album cover, the first 30,000 of which will be individually numbered. 

The recordings include a 25-plus minute version of Dazed And Confused and a 21-minute medley based around Whole Lotta Love, plus songs from Zep’s then-unreleased album Houses Of The Holy album – including a crushing version of The Ocean – which would be released nine months later.

Led Zeppelin’s 50th Anniversary – officially dating from their first show, billed as The New Yardbirds, in Gladsaxe, Denmark, on September 7, 1968 – is to be celebrated throughout 2018, with news of more releases and shenanigans forthcoming.

Photo: Neil Preston