Led Zeppelin II

Atlantic, 588 198 / 588198, black vinyl, repress

    - BARCODE: none

    - RUNOUTS: side A, full runouts, stamped: 588198 A//5  11 17 

                          side B, full runouts, stamped: 588198 ∇B//4 14[four deleted marks]18

    - NUMBER OF SONGS: 9 (4/5)

    - VINYL: cut at and pressed by Philips at Chingford/Walthamstow, Greater London, in the UK (known as Phonodisc Ltd. at the time)

    - CENTER LABELS: standard orange/plum Atlantic labels,  

                                    ℗ 1969 Under licence from Atlantic Recording Corpn., U.S.A., 

                                    MADE IN Gt. BRITAIN,

                                    POLYDOR RECORDS LIMITED

                                    588198,

                                    track A3 is credited as KILLING FLOOR

    - COVER: very dark brown matt-surfaced gatefold cover,

                    588 198

                    Under License from Atlantic Recording Corpn. U.S.A. 

                    Manufactured by POLYDOR RECORDS LTD.,

                    Printed and made by E.J.Day & Co., London W11,

                    spine: LED ZEPPELIN 2     ATLANTIC 588 198

    - INNERSLEEVE: white polylined paper innersleeve, die-cut to show the center labels (not the original innersleeve)

    - RELEASED: This is a repress from 1969 or early 70s.  

                          Originally released in 1969.

    - NOTE: The cutting quality is excellent and well balanced with great bass. In addition this one also sounds significantly more rougher than the release right below. 

                  The US Presswell edition sounds a lot more distorted and less bassy especially on the last track than this one.

                  This is like a combination of the Orlake pressing and Presswell pressing: the great bass of the Orlake pressing combined with good and lively higher frequencies. 

                   I like this one the most of all the editions of this album I've yet played.

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Atlantic, K 40037, black vinyl, reissue

    - BARCODE: none

    - RUNOUTS: side A, full runouts, etched: K 40037A  OR  "B"

                          side B, full runouts, etched: K 40037 B2  OR 

    - NUMBER OF SONGS: 9 (4/5)

    - VINYL: pressed by Orlake in the UK

    - CENTER LABELS: standard green/orange Atlantic labels,  

                                    ℗ 1969 

                                    Made in UK,

                                    K 40037, K 40037 A * (side A) / K 40037 B * (side B)

    - COVER: very dark brown matt-surfaced gatefold cover,

                    K 40037

                    An ATLANTIC recording distributed by WEA RECORDS LTD., ® 1971 ©

                    Sleeve printed and made in England by Gothic Print Finishers Ltd., London SE9

                    spine: LED ZEPPELIN 2     ATLANTIC RECORDS K 40037

    - INNERSLEEVE: white polylined paper innersleeve, die-cut to show the center labels and no corners clipped (not the original innersleeve)

    - RELEASED: This is a UK reissue from the 70s or from the 80s. Supposedly released in 1973/1974 due to the presence of Warner W logo on the labels.

                          The first UK editions were released with plum labels. 

                          Originally released in 1969.

    - NOTE 1: Track A3 has two titles on this release: the gatefold cover credit it as The Lemon song but the side A center label reads Killing Floor. 

    - NOTE 2: The cutting quality is VERY good with great bass (maybe even a little too bassy) but unfortunately the pressing quality is not as good.

                     The records surface looks heavily wavy and the vinyl is noisy. 

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Atlantic, 40 037 / K 40 037 / (SD 8236), black vinyl, reissue

    - BARCODE, as printed on the back cover: 0 75678 15261

    - RUNOUTS: side A, full runouts: R/S Alsdorf 40037-A5  H 58

                          side B, full runouts: R/S Alsdorf 40037-B4 H 42 

                          side A, etched: H 58

                          side B, etched: H 42

                          side A, stamped: R/S Alsdorf 40037-A5  

                          side B, stamped: R/S Alsdorf 40037-B4

    - NUMBER OF SONGS: 9 (4/5)

    - VINYL: pressed by Record Service in Alsdorf, Germany

    - CENTER LABELS: standard green/orange Atlantic labels,  

                                    ℗1969 Atlantic Recording Corp.,

                                    MADE IN GERMANY BY WEA MUSIK GMBH [Warner W logo] A WARNER COMMUNICATIONS COMPANY,

                                    K 40 037, (ST-A-691 671) (side A) / (ST-A-691 672) (side B), GEMA/BIEM, LC 0121

    - COVER: glossy gatefold cover,

                    Atlantic Recording Corp. ℗© 1972

                    Made in Germany by WEA Music GmbH [Warner W logo] A Warner Communications Company.,

                    40 037, (SD 8236), LC 0121, G in a circle, France: WE 321,

                    embossed Warner W logo on the lower right corner of the back cover,

                    black border on the front and back cover

    - INNERSLEEVE: white polylined paper innersleeve (not the original innersleeve)

    - RELEASED: Probably one of the last vinyl reissues from the late 80s or from the early 90s.

                          Originally released in 1969.

    - NOTE: This one sounds a lot more distorted and higher frequency oriented than the Canadian edition below, I'd rather play the Canadian edition than this one.

                   In addition this is much less dynamic than the two US editions below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Atlantic, SD 8236, black vinyl, reissue from the early 70s

    - BARCODE: none

    - RUNOUTS: side A, full runouts: STA.691671-N  LW  AT  [two unidentified marks, might be 0B or aB]  W

                          side B, full runouts: ST.A.691672-N  [backwards S in a circle]  LW  AT  [two unidentified marks, might be 0B or aB]  W 

                          side A, etched: STA.691671-N  LW  AT  W

                          side B, etched: ST.A.691672-N  LW  AT  W

                          side A, very lightly etched: [two unidentified marks, might be 0B or aB]

                          side B, very lightly etched: [two unidentified marks, might be 0B or aB]

                          side A, stamped: [no stamped markings]

                          side B, stamped: [backwards S in a circle] 

    - NUMBER OF SONGS: 9 (4/5)

    - VINYL: pressed by Shelley Products in the US based on the stamped backwards S in a circle on the B-side runouts, the big pressing ring and sound quality

    - CENTER LABELS: matt-surfaced standard green/orange-red Atlantic labels with big pressing ring,  

                                    MFG. BY ATLANTIC RECORDING CORP., 1841 BROADWAY, NEW YORK, N.Y.,

                                    SD 8236, (ST-A-691671 PR) (side A) / (ST-A-691672 PR) (side B)

    - COVER: heavy rough-surfaced gatefold cover,

                    © 1969 Atlantic Recording Corporation       Printed in U.S.A. 

                    ATLANTIC RECORDING CORPORATION

                    1841 Broadway, New York 10023,

                    three stickers on the front cover (tracklist sticker, gold award sticker and a hype sticker of Whole Lotta Love),

                    spine: ATLANTIC SD 8236

    - INNERSLEEVE: white polylined paper innersleeve, die-cut to show the center labels (not the original innersleeve)

    - RELEASED: One of the first US vinyl reissues from the 70s made and released after the Ludwig cut edition was banned.

                          Originally released in 1969.

    - NOTE 1: The first US edition of this album was cut by Rob Ludwig but it caused problems in playback for poor quality cartridges and so it was recut.

                      Around 200 000 copies is said to have been pressed from the Ludwig cut and it's nowadays a holy grail for every audiophile Led Zeppelin fan. 

    - NOTE 2: Shelley Products is known to have pressed records for Atlantic but they usually had -LY suffix on the center labels, this one has PR suggesting this was

                      pressed by Presswell. Knowing some Presswell made records this was definitely not pressed by Presswell, it's possible though the Presswell center labels were

                      reused by Shelley or they were in such a hurry to press the records there was no time to update the labels for Shelley. It may also be a pure mistake.

                      Whatever the reason for the wrong suffix on the center labels is this seems to be very rare pressing.  

    - NOTE 3: Compared to the Presswell edition below this one sounds slightly more distorted but is otherwise quite the same. I like slightly more of the Presswell edition. 

    - NOTE 4: The two markings (0B or aB) on the runouts are VERY shallow and VERY difficult to read. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Atlantic, SD 8236, black vinyl, reissue from the early 70s

    - BARCODE: none

    - RUNOUTS: side A, full runouts: ST.A.691671-M  MG LW AT  11  W

                          side B, full runouts: ST.A.691672-M-1  MG LW AT  OB  W 

                          side A, etched: ST.A.691671-M  LW AT  W

                          side B, etched: ST.A.691672-M  LW AT  W 

                          side A, very lightly etched: MG

                          side B, very lightly etched: MG  OB

                          side A, stamped: 11

                          side B, stamped: -1

    - NUMBER OF SONGS: 9 (4/5)

    - VINYL: pressed by MGM in the US based on the -MG suffix on the B-side center label, MG etched on the runouts and the vinyl material quality

    - CENTER LABELS: smooth-surfaced standard green/orange-red Atlantic labels with normal pressing ring,  

                                    MFG. BY ATLANTIC RECORDING CORP., 1841 BROADWAY, NEW YORK, N.Y.,

                                    PR suffix on side A label and MG suffix on side B center label, the center labels are clearly not from the same plant (diiferent layout and font size)

    - COVER: heavy matt-surfaced gatefold cover,

                     © 1969 Atlantic Recording Corporation

                     Printed in U.S.A. 

                     ATLANTIC RECORDING CORPORATION 

                     1841 Broadway, New York, New York 10023,

                     no stickers on the cover

    - INNERSLEEVE: thin printed paper innersleeve with pictures of other Atlantic records releases (most likely the original innersleeve)

    - RELEASED: One of the first US vinyl reissues from the 70s made and released after the Ludwig cut edition was banned.

                          Originally released in 1969.

    - NOTE 1: The first US edition of this album was cut by Rob Ludwig but it caused problems in playback for poor quality cartridges and so it was recut.

                      Around 200 000 copies is said to have been pressed from the Ludwig cut and it's nowadays a holy grail for every audiophile Led Zeppelin fan. 

    - NOTE 2: MGM is known to have pressed some records for Atlantic but they usually had -MG suffix on the center labels, this one has PR suggesting this was

                      pressed by Presswell. Knowing some Presswell made records this was definitely not pressed by Presswell, it's possible though the Presswell center labels were

                      reused by MGM or they were in such a hurry to press the records there was no time to update all the labels for MGM. It may also be a pure mistake.

                      Whatever the reason for the wrong suffix on the center labels is this seems to be very strange and rare pressing.  

    - NOTE 3: This one sounds much like the Presswell edition below but due to the poor condition of my MGM pressed copy I like slightly more of the Presswell edition. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Atlantic, SD 8236, black vinyl, reissue from the early 70s

    - BARCODE: none

    - RUNOUTS: side A, full runouts: ST.A.691671-M  P LW AT  PR  [W with two dots below]

                          side B, full runouts: ST.A.691672-J  P AT  [W with one dot below]

                          side A, etched: ST.A.691671-M  P LW AT  PR  [W with two dots below]

                          side B, etched: ST.A.691672-J  P AT  [W with one dot below]

                          side A, stamped: [no stamped markings]

                          side B, stamped: [no stamped markings] 

    - NUMBER OF SONGS: 9 (4/5)

    - VINYL: pressed by Presswell in the US based on the center labels and the runouts

    - CENTER LABELS: smooth-surfaced standard green/orange-red Atlantic labels,  

                                    MFG. BY ATLANTIC RECORDING CORP., 1841 BROADWAY, NEW YORK, N.Y.,

                                    SD 8236, (ST-A-691671PR) (side A) / (ST-A-69 1672PR) (side B) 

    - COVER: heavy rough-surfaced gatefold cover,

                    © 1969 Atlantic Recording Corporation     Printed in U.S.A. 

                    ATLANTIC RECORDING CORPORATION

                    1841 Broadway, New York 10023,

                    one sticker on the front cover (gold award sticker),

                    spine: STEREO     LED ZEPPELIN     ATLANTIC SD 8236

    - INNERSLEEVE: white polylined paper innersleeve, die-cut to show the center labels and no corners clipped (not the original innersleeve)

    - RELEASED: One of the first US vinyl reissues from the 70s made and released after the Ludwig cut edition was banned.

                          The release right above was not pressed by Presswell though these two releases may have been released around the same time.

                          Originally released in 1969.

    - NOTE 1: The first US edition of this album was cut by Rob Ludwig but it caused problems in playback for poor quality cartridges and so it was recut.

                      Around 200 000 copies is said to have been pressed from the Ludwig cut and it's nowadays a holy grail for every audiophile Led Zeppelin fan.

    - NOTE 2: Of all the editions of this album I've played so far this is the one I like the second or the third best due to good dynamics in addition to warm and the

                     not-so-distorted sound even though the last track on B side has considerable inner groove distortion. The fact that my copy is in near mint condition might

                     have something to do with it as well. ;) I prefer more only of the plum label UK pressing above and the UK Orlake pressing above, the former because of

                     more balanced and lively cut and the latter one is better only because it has no inner groove distortion. 

    - NOTE 3: I've played only few Presswell pressings, namely those listed under Led Zeppelin here, and they all carry that signature warm and not-so-audiophile sound.

                     Otherwise the pressing quality seems to be VERY good though as this record is perfectly centered and nearly perfectly flat.  

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Atlantic, SD 19127, black vinyl, reissue from 1990, repress, no gatefold cover

    - BARCODE, as printed on the back cover: 0 7567-81526-1 0

    - RUNOUTS: side A, full runouts: ST A 691671-AA  1-6  ATLANTIC STUDIOS D.K.  [SRC logo]

                          side B, full runouts: ST A 691672 AA  1-3  ATLANTIC STUDIOS D.K.  [SRC logo] 

                          side A, etched: ST A 691671-AA

                          side B, etched: ST A 691672 AA  

                          side A, lightly etched: 1-6

                          side B, lightly etched: 1-3

                          side A, stamped: ATLANTIC STUDIOS D.K.  [SRC logo]

                          side B, stamped: ATLANTIC STUDIOS D.K.  [SRC logo]

    - NUMBER OF SONGS: 9 (4/5)

    - VINYL: cut by Dennis King at Atlantic Studios in the US and pressed by Specialty Records in the US

    - CENTER LABELS: standard green/orange Atlantic labels,

                                    MFG. BY ATLANTIC RECORDING CORP., 75 ROCKEFELLER PLAZA, N.Y., N.Y. [Warner W logo] A WARNER COMMUNICATIONS COMPANY,

                                    SD 19127, ST-A-691671 SP (side A) / ST-A-691672 SP (side B) 

    - COVER: simple rough-surfaced cover,

                    SD19127

                    ATLANTIC RECORDING CORPORATION

                    75 ROCKEFELLER PLAZA, NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10019

                    A Time Warner Company

                    © 1990 Atlantic Recording Corporation for the

                    United States and WEA International Inc. for the

                    world outside of the United States. 

                    ... Printed in U.S.A. ...

                    spine: STEREO     ATLANTIC SD 19127     LED ZEPPELIN II

    - INNERSLEEVE: standard printed Atlantic paper innersleeve with rounded corners (the original innersleeve)

    - RELEASED: Reissue released in 1990 though based on the runouts this one is also a repress.

                          Originally released in 1969.

    - NOTE: The pressing quality is very good with some waviness on the vinyl surface but no major defects that affect playback. The cut sounds somewhat muffled, is on

                  slightly lower volume and slightly less distorted than the cut of the Presswell pressed edition above.         

                  For me it's pretty much a coinflip between the two editions, this one has slightly better cut but the Presswell edition has slightly better pressing quality. 

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Atlantic, KSD 19127, black vinyl, reissue, (repress?)

    - BARCODE: none

    - RUNOUTS: side A, full runouts: ST-A-71671-1B-2H,D,Z,B  [scratched over Q]  DMO [four dots and four very faint lines in shape of a square or roman numeral II]

                          side B, full runouts: ST-A-69-1672[three marks scratched over, FPR perhaps]-1B-2D:  DM [three dots and three faint lines in shape of a triangle or letter A]

                          side A, etched: ST-A-71671-1B-2H,D,Z,B  [scratched over Q]  DMO

                          side B, etched: ST-A-69-1672[three marks scratched over]-1B-2D:  DM

                          side A, stamped: [four dots and four very faint lines in shape of a square or roman numeral II]

                          side B, stamped: [three dots and three faint lines in shape of a triangle or letter A]

    - NUMBER OF SONGS: 9 (4/5)

    - VINYL: pressed by CBS Canada at their Don Mills plant in Canada

                   (the scratched over Q points towards Quality Records, which may also have pressed this from the same cut or just have made the side A pressing plate for CBS)

    - CENTER LABELS: standard green/red Atlantic labels,  

                                    MANUFACTURED AND DISTRIBUTED BY WEA MUSIC OF CANADA, LTD. A WARNER COMMUNICATIONS COMPANY [Warner W logo],

                                    C printed on both center labels (a Canadian pressing plant code for the CBS Don Mills plant),

                                    KSD 19127, (ST-A-69 1671PR) (side A) / (ST-A-69 1672PR) (side B) 

    - COVER: lightly textured and quite heavy gatefold cover,

                    MANUFACTURED AND DISTRIBUTED BY - WEA MUSIC OF CANADA, LTD. / FABRIQUE ET DISTRIBUE PAR - WEA MUSIQUE DU CANADA, LTEE. /

                    1810 BIRCHMOUNT RD., SCARBOROUGH, ONT.,

                    white maple leaf is printed on the top left corner of the back cover, 

                    spine: ATLANTIC KSD 19127

    - INNERSLEEVE: heavily yellowed plain white paper innersleeve with rounded corners, not die-cut to show the center labels (may be the original innersleeve)

    - RELEASED: Canadian reissue from 1977 and possibly also repress.

                          Originally released in 1969.

    - NOTE: Like normally for Canadian pressed vinyl the pressing quality is excellent but the cut sounds somewhat distant and muffled.

                  This one sounds more bassy, stuffy and less dynamic than all the early 70s US editions above but still quite enjoyable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Atlantic, 8122796640, black 180g heavyweight vinyl, remastered, reissue

    - BARCODE, as printed on the sticker on the front cover: 0 81227 96640 9

    - RUNOUTS:  side A, full runouts, etched: BD 16357-01 A1 A1 JD

                           side B, full runouts, etched: BD 16357-01 B1 JD

    - NUMBER OF SONGS: 9 (4/5)

    - VINYL: most likely cut by John Davis at Metropolis Mastering, London, UK, pressed by Optimal Media in Germany in 2013 based on the runouts 

    - CENTER LABELS: standard green/orange Atlantic labels,  

                                     © 1969 ATLANTIC RECORDING CORPORATION. ℗ 2013 ATLANTIC RECORDING CORPORATION. MANUFACTURED IN GERMANY.

    - COVER: gatefold cover

    - INNERSLEEVE: white polylined paper innersleeve (the original innersleeve)

    - RELEASED: Supposedly released on 2nd of June 2014.

                          Originally released in 1969.

    - OTHER: Originally released sealed with two stickers directly on the cover (blue infosticker on the front and a hologram sticker on the back).

    - NOTE: The pressing quality is excellent and the dynamics and bass of this record is exceptionally good especially for a modern day record but

                   otherwise the older editions, especially the early 70s US editions above, sound a lot better to my ears.

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