Led Zeppelin

Bill Hart

Well-Known Member
May 11, 2012
2,684
174
1,150
There is something special about that era to me- UK from say the mid-'60s to the early '70s- where the psych/rock/folk stuff merged. John Martyn, Fairport Convention. I listen on vinyl, so some of these records are now very expensive or not so easy to find in great condition as original early pressings. But the artists weren't as constrained in some ways by genre. Much got labelled after the fact as "prog" simply b/c it didn't fit neatly into one slot. I gather it was a relatively small community at the time too- a lot of these guys were not only influenced by each others' recordings, but knew each other. To me, this is one of the most exciting periods in modern "pop" music and though some of the keyboard based prog now sounds dated, e.g. first ELP album, it's still cool to listen to. Fairport's 'What We Did' is another record it took me time to appreciate- I knew Liege & Lief, which is always heralded as their 'best' b/c it is more UK-centric but "What We Did" which is regarded as more "American" is brilliant. The price of a minty orange bulls-eye pink label UK is now obscene, though. Have no idea how well it was rendered digitally, but it is also worth checking out. (And as you may know, Sandy Denny was one of the few to actually sing on a Zep recording).
 

Blizzard

Banned
Sep 30, 2015
3,049
3
0
There is something special about that era to me- UK from say the mid-'60s to the early '70s- where the psych/rock/folk stuff merged. John Martyn, Fairport Convention. I listen on vinyl, so some of these records are now very expensive or not so easy to find in great condition as original early pressings. But the artists weren't as constrained in some ways by genre. Much got labelled after the fact as "prog" simply b/c it didn't fit neatly into one slot. I gather it was a relatively small community at the time too- a lot of these guys were not only influenced by each others' recordings, but knew each other. To me, this is one of the most exciting periods in modern "pop" music and though some of the keyboard based prog now sounds dated, e.g. first ELP album, it's still cool to listen to. Fairport's 'What We Did' is another record it took me time to appreciate- I knew Liege & Lief, which is always heralded as their 'best' b/c it is more UK-centric but "What We Did" which is regarded as more "American" is brilliant. The price of a minty orange bulls-eye pink label UK is now obscene, though. Have no idea how well it was rendered digitally, but it is also worth checking out. (And as you may know, Sandy Denny was one of the few to actually sing on a Zep recording).


I agree with the UK tunes of that era. I'm also a massive Kinks fan. I can't get enough of this stuff.
 

Andre Marc

Member Sponsor
Mar 14, 2012
3,970
7
0
San Diego
www.avrev.com
There is something special about that era to me- UK from say the mid-'60s to the early '70s- where the psych/rock/folk stuff merged. John Martyn, Fairport Convention. I listen on vinyl, so some of these records are now very expensive or not so easy to find in great condition as original early pressings. But the artists weren't as constrained in some ways by genre. Much got labelled after the fact as "prog" simply b/c it didn't fit neatly into one slot. I gather it was a relatively small community at the time too- a lot of these guys were not only influenced by each others' recordings, but knew each other. To me, this is one of the most exciting periods in modern "pop" music and though some of the keyboard based prog now sounds dated, e.g. first ELP album, it's still cool to listen to. Fairport's 'What We Did' is another record it took me time to appreciate- I knew Liege & Lief, which is always heralded as their 'best' b/c it is more UK-centric but "What We Did" which is regarded as more "American" is brilliant. The price of a minty orange bulls-eye pink label UK is now obscene, though. Have no idea how well it was rendered digitally, but it is also worth checking out. (And as you may know, Sandy Denny was one of the few to actually sing on a Zep recording).

Bill you are speaking my language.That era is my religion. Of course I got into it a good 8 years or so after the fact as I was only born in 1968. But John Martyn, Nick Drake, Sandy Denny, Fairport (Liege & Lief is one of the cornerstones of my entire music library, and fyi, I am seeing Richard Thompson in ten days!), also Procol Harum, Soft Machine, Gentle Giant, Renaissance, Caravan...and on the US side of it I worship Tim Buckley, Tim Hardin, Riche Havens, Terry Caliier..I am leaving out SO Many....

All of these artists seemed to have been recorded very well too...Joe Boys a producer was a particularly important figure..I recommend his book.

P.S. There are some young artists who are crate diving into that era and making some very special music..Ryley Walker and Michael Kiwanuka come to mind.
 

Blizzard

Banned
Sep 30, 2015
3,049
3
0
I forgot to mention the Stormcock redbook download sounds excellent.
 

Bill Hart

Well-Known Member
May 11, 2012
2,684
174
1,150
Bill you are speaking my language.That era is my religion. Of course I got into it a good 8 years or so after the fact as I was only born in 1968. But John Martyn, Nick Drake, Sandy Denny, Fairport (Liege & Lief is one of the cornerstones of my entire music library, and fyi, I am seeing Richard Thompson in ten days!), also Procol Harum, Soft Machine, Gentle Giant, Renaissance, Caravan...and on the US side of it I worship Tim Buckley, Tim Hardin, Riche Havens, Terry Caliier..I am leaving out SO Many....

All of these artists seemed to have been recorded very well too...Joe Boys a producer was a particularly important figure..I recommend his book.

P.S. There are some young artists who are crate diving into that era and making some very special music..Ryley Walker and Michael Kiwanuka come to mind.

Yep. Joe Boyd is an amazing guy. I did a retrospective on Island pink label and Joe gave me some good stuff about Fairport and Nick Drake. He's kind of a legendary guy, from literally plugging in Dylan at Newport, to running the UFO club (with Pink Floyd and Soft Machine as the house bands) to managing and producing a lot of great talent. In some ways, the world was a much smaller place then. London would have been loads of fun at that time! Agree re his book, White Bicycles.
 

Andre Marc

Member Sponsor
Mar 14, 2012
3,970
7
0
San Diego
www.avrev.com
Yep. Joe Boyd is an amazing guy. I did a retrospective on Island pink label and Joe gave me some good stuff about Fairport and Nick Drake. He's kind of a legendary guy, from literally plugging in Dylan at Newport, to running the UFO club (with Pink Floyd and Soft Machine as the house bands) to managing and producing a lot of great talent. In some ways, the world was a much smaller place then. London would have been loads of fun at that time! Agree re his book, White Bicycles.

Exactly! Beautiful summation of his influence and accomplishments excuse the typo on his name..I must have seen it a thousand times while reading liner notes on those Hannibal and Island reissues...almost the Zelig of British folk rock..an an American too boot!

Joe recently did a podcast about discovering, recording, and hanging out with Drake. Absolutely fascinating. He told the story of wanting to
hire a professional arranger to write the string parts for Nick, and Nick insisted his friend, 19 year old Robert Kirby do them..Boyd was
very skeptical, as he did not want to blow the sessions, he had promised a lot to the record company..when he heard the arrangements he
was utterly floored..he vowed never to second guess Nick's instincts, which were sublime. I love Boyd's no nonsense personality.
 

Andre Marc

Member Sponsor
Mar 14, 2012
3,970
7
0
San Diego
www.avrev.com
The other real genius from the era (and beyond) is Chris Blackwell....

well...ha..that goes without saying...!!! Genius may be an understatement. If he had ONLY signed Traffic he would have been a god..but Marley, u2? Martyn? Third World?..fogeddaboudit!
 

Blizzard

Banned
Sep 30, 2015
3,049
3
0
What, you didn't get the Quad DSD version???:p

Would be great if I could find a copy! Bruce B needs to get a hold of the master tapes! It does suffer from a bit of digititus, however I find HQplayer SDM/SRC to DSD 128/256 works well with it.
 

About us

  • What’s Best Forum is THE forum for high end audio, product reviews, advice and sharing experiences on the best of everything else. This is THE place where audiophiles and audio companies discuss vintage, contemporary and new audio products, music servers, music streamers, computer audio, digital-to-analog converters, turntables, phono stages, cartridges, reel-to-reel tape machines, speakers, headphones and tube and solid-state amplification. Founded in 2010 What’s Best Forum invites intelligent and courteous people of all interests and backgrounds to describe and discuss the best of everything. From beginners to life-long hobbyists to industry professionals, we enjoy learning about new things and meeting new people, and participating in spirited debates.

Quick Navigation

User Menu

Steve Williams
Site Founder | Site Owner | Administrator
Ron Resnick
Site Co-Owner | Administrator
Julian (The Fixer)
Website Build | Marketing Managersing