LED ZEPPELIN Untitled (A once in a lifetime opportunity to
acquire Peter Grant's very own personal Test
Pressing of Led Zeppelin's classic fourth 8-track LP,
complete with a handwritten letter of authenticity from its one
previous owner. Here we have an historic one-off US test
pressing courtesy of Presswell Records. The studio labels are
historically annotated in pencil with the artist, sides &
customer name - in this instance, none other than the band's
record executive &Rock history's most ruthless music
manager, Peter Grant. This record is invaluable. Led
Zeppelin's untitled fourth LP has always been among their
most popular, containing nothing but fan favourites & their
most signature tune, Stairway To Heaven. An irreplaceable
piece of Rock history complete with the reference sleeve that
has handwritten notes from the engineer with the proposed
Atlantic catalogue/matrix detail & an invaluable '8/23/71'
review date. History states the master tapes for the album
were mixed at Sunset Sound, LA with further mixing
undertaken in London in July 1971, all this whilst the band
began their SEVENTH US tour the following month in August
[which explains why this test disc is US]. You can imagine,
inbetween booking arena tours worldwide & scheduling the
release date for Led Zep's fourth masterpiece, Peter Grant
was a busy man to say the least. On close inspection of the
disc, you can see the vinyl shows light evidence of handling &
play by Peter, all part of the history of making sure this
classic album had the impact it did on release. The vinyl has a
deep sheen with no scratches & grades Excellent both sides.
In the run-outs, the Presswell 'PR' etching is clearly visible
along with the matrices & George Peckham's famous
'Porky'/'Pecko Duck' markings, the most accomplished record
engineer in the business at that point no less. Obtained from
its one fastidious owner, this precious item comes with a
handwritten letter of authenticity on A4 paper penned by its
previous holder. In the letter, a certain Roger Hughes
explains how he acquired the record for his son, a keen
Zeppelin fan at fourteen. Roger was a neighbour & mutual
friend of Peter Grant's, his wife & children, who lived in the
Rose Walk in Purley, Surrey, & his son gained access to
concerts & memorabilia. With just a little mild surface
detectable inbetween the loudest parts of the songs, what you
have is one of the punchiest sounding versions of the album
you will ever hear. Professionally cleaned both sides, this is
essentially the earliest pressing of the album anywhere in the
world. An irreplaceable artefact of Rock history & one of the
greatest albums ever made in any genre at that...)
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