Coda (album)
| Coda | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Led Zeppelin | ||||
| Released | 19 November 1982 | |||
| Recorded | 9 January 1970 – 21 November 1978, overdubs 1982 | |||
| Studio | Sol Studios, Cookham, Berkshire, England | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 33:04 | |||
| Label | Swan Song | |||
| Producer | Jimmy Page | |||
| Led Zeppelin chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Aggregate scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 78/100[1] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [2] |
| Robert Christgau | B+[3] |
| Classic Rock | 7/10[4] |
| Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal | 8/10[5] |
| The Daily Telegraph | [6] |
| MusicHound | 3/5[7] |
| Pitchfork | 7.3/10[8] |
| Q | [9] |
| Rolling Stone | [10] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [11] |
Coda is the ninth and final studio album[12] by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, released in 1982. The album is a collection of unused tracks from various sessions during Led Zeppelin's twelve-year career. It was released two years after the group had officially disbanded following the death of drummer John Bonham. The word coda, meaning a passage that ends a musical piece following the main body, was therefore chosen as the title.
Background
Guitarist Jimmy Page explained that part of the reasoning for the album's release related to the popularity of unofficial Led Zeppelin recordings which continued to be circulated by fans:
Coda was released, basically, because there was so much bootleg stuff out. We thought, "Well, if there's that much interest, then we may as well put the rest of our studio stuff out".
John Paul Jones recalled:
They were good tracks. A lot of it was recorded around the time punk was really happening... basically there wasn't a lot of Zeppelin tracks that didn't go out. We used everything.[13]
The fifth Swan Song Records album for the band, Coda was released to honour contractual commitments to Atlantic Records and also to cover tax demands on previous monies earned, cleared away close to all the leftover tracks from the various studio sessions of the 1960s and 1970s.[14] The album was a collection of eight tracks spanning the length of Zeppelin's twelve-year history.
"We're Gonna Groove" opens the album and, according to the album notes, was recorded at Morgan Studios in June 1969. It was later acknowledged to have come from a January 1970 concert at the Royal Albert Hall, with the guitar parts overdubbed and the original guitar part removed—this can be heard in the original Royal Albert Hall show on 9 January 1970. This song was used to open a number of concerts on their early 1970 tours and was originally intended to be recorded for inclusion in Led Zeppelin II. "I Can't Quit You Baby" is taken from the same concert as "We're Gonna Groove" but was listed as a rehearsal in the original liner notes. The recording was edited to remove the overall "live" feel: the crowd noise as well as the beginning and ending of the song were deleted. Crowd tracks were muted on the multitrack mixdown on this recording as with "We're Gonna Groove."
"Poor Tom" is from sessions for Led Zeppelin III, having been recorded at Olympic Studios in June 1970, and "Walter's Walk" is a leftover from the sessions for Houses of the Holy. Side two consists of three outtakes from the band's previous album, In Through the Out Door, and an unused Bonham drum piece, "Bonzo's Montreux", recorded in 1976.
The 1993 compact disc edition has four additional tracks from the box sets, Led Zeppelin Boxed Set (1990) and Led Zeppelin Boxed Set 2 (1993), the previously unreleased "Travelling Riverside Blues", "White Summer/Black Mountain Side" and the "Immigrant Song" b-side "Hey, Hey, What Can I Do" from the former and the previously unreleased "Baby Come On Home" from the latter.
The album cover was designed by Hipgnosis, the fifth album cover the design group designed for Led Zeppelin. It was also the last album cover Hipgnosis designed before disbanding in 1983. The main four letters CODA are from an alphabet typeface design called "Neon" designed by Bernard Allum in 1978.
2015 reissue
A remastered version of Coda, along with Presence and In Through the Out Door were reissued on 31 July 2015. The reissue comes in six formats: a standard CD edition, a deluxe three-CD edition, a standard LP version, a deluxe three-LP version, a super deluxe three-CD plus three-LP version with a hardback book, and as high resolution 96k/24-bit digital downloads. The deluxe and super deluxe editions feature bonus material containing alternative takes and previously unreleased songs, "If It Keeps On Raining", "Sugar Mama", "Four Hands", "St. Tristan's Sword", and "Desire". The reissue was released with a negative version of the original album's artwork as its bonus disc's cover.[15]
Track listing
Standard edition
All tracks produced by Jimmy Page, except for "Travelling Riverside Blues", produced by John Walters, and "White Summer/Black Mountain Side" produced by Jeff Griffin.
| Side one | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
| 1. | "We're Gonna Groove" (Live on 9 January 1970 at the Royal Albert Hall, London, England) (Edit; remix with guitar overdubs and live audience eliminated) |
| 2:37 |
| 2. | "Poor Tom" (Led Zeppelin III outtake, 1970) | 3:02 | |
| 3. | "I Can't Quit You Baby" (Live on 9 January 1970 at the Royal Albert Hall, London, England; edited version) | Willie Dixon | 4:18 |
| 4. | "Walter's Walk" (Houses of the Holy outtake, possibly with later overdubs, 1972) |
| 4:31 |
| Side two | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
| 5. | "Ozone Baby" (In Through the Out Door outtake, 1978) |
| 3:36 |
| 6. | "Darlene" (In Through the Out Door outtake, 1978) |
| 5:06 |
| 7. | "Bonzo's Montreux" (Recorded in 1976) | Bonham | 4:22 |
| 8. | "Wearing and Tearing" (In Through the Out Door outtake, 1978) |
| 5:27 |
1993/2008 compact disc editions – bonus tracks
Four bonus tracks were added to the remastered compact disc edition included in the career-spanning boxed set Complete Studio Recordings (disc ten), and the subsequent Led Zeppelin Definitive Collection (disc twelve).
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9. | "Baby Come On Home" (Led Zeppelin outtake, 1968; also appeared on Boxed Set 2, 1993) |
| 4:30 |
| 10. | "Travelling Riverside Blues" (Recorded live on 24 June 1969 in London, England, also appeared on Led Zeppelin Boxed Set, 1990) |
| 5:08 |
| 11. | "White Summer/Black Mountain Side" (Recorded live on 27 June 1969 in London, England, also appeared on Led Zeppelin Boxed Set) | Page | 8:01 |
| 12. | "Hey, Hey, What Can I Do" (B-side of the "Immigrant Song" single, 1970) |
| 3:52 |
Deluxe edition – bonus discs
| Disc two | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
| 1. | "We're Gonna Groove" (Alternate mix) |
| 2:40 |
| 2. | "If It Keeps On Raining" ("When the Levee Breaks") (Rough mix) |
| 4:11 |
| 3. | "Bonzo's Montreux" (Mix construction in progress) | Bonham | 4:57 |
| 4. | "Baby Come On Home" |
| 4:30 |
| 5. | "Sugar Mama" (mix) (Led Zeppelin outtake) |
| 2:50 |
| 6. | "Poor Tom" (Instrumental mix) |
| 2:16 |
| 7. | "Travelling Riverside Blues" (BBC Session) |
| 5:08 |
| 8. | "Hey, Hey, What Can I Do" |
| 3:52 |
| Disc three | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
| 1. | "Four Hands" ("Four Sticks") (Bombay Orchestra) |
| 4:43 |
| 2. | "Friends" (Bombay Orchestra) |
| 4:25 |
| 3. | "St. Tristan's Sword" (Rough mix) (Led Zeppelin III outtake) | Page | 5:40 |
| 4. | "Desire" ("The Wanton Song") (Rough mix) |
| 4:08 |
| 5. | "Bring It On Home" (Rough mix) | Dixon | 2:32 |
| 6. | "Walter's Walk" (Rough mix) |
| 3:18 |
| 7. | "Everybody Makes It Through" ("In the Light") (Rough mix) |
| 8:31 |
| Total length: | 1:04:02 | ||
The CD edition of the album incorrectly lists the running time of "Bring It On Home" (Rough Mix) as 4:19, which is actually the exact time of the finished version listed on Led Zeppelin II.
Personnel
- John Bonham – drums, percussion
- John Paul Jones – bass guitar, piano, keyboards
- Jimmy Page – acoustic and electric guitars, electronic treatments, production
- Robert Plant – lead vocals, harmonica
- Barry Diament – mastering (original 1988 Compact Disc release)
- Stuart Epps, Andy Johns, Eddie Kramer, Vic Maile, Leif Masses, and John Timperley – engineering
- Peter Grant – executive production
- George Marino – remastering (compact disc)
Charts
- Album
| Chart (1982–83) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart | 9 |
| Canadian RPM Top 100 Albums Chart[16] | 3 |
| French Albums Chart[17] | 18 |
| Japanese Albums Chart[18] | 16 |
| New Zealand Top 50 Albums Chart[19] | 7 |
| Norwegian Albums Chart[20] | 18 |
| UK Albums Chart[21] | 4 |
| US Billboard 200 Albums Chart[22] | 6 |
| West German Albums Chart[23] | 43 |
| Chart (2015) | Peak position |
| Swiss Albums Chart[24] | 12 |
- Singles
No commercial or promotional singles were issued, although three tracks received independent radio airplay. These songs were Led Zeppelin's debut on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, as the chart did not exist prior to 21 March 1981.
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | "Darlene" | Billboard Mainstream Rock | 4[2] |
| 1982 | "Ozone Baby" | Billboard Mainstream Rock | 14[2] |
| 1982 | "Poor Tom" | Billboard Mainstream Rock | 18[2] |
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/Sales |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (BPI)[25] | Silver | 60,000^ |
| United States (RIAA)[26] | Platinum | 1,000,000^ |
|
^shipments figures based on certification alone | ||
References
- ↑ "Coda [Remastered] - Led Zeppelin". Metacritic. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
- 1 2 3 4 Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Coda – Led Zeppelin at AllMusic. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
- ↑ Christgau, Robert (15 June 1972). "Led Zeppelin". Consumer Guide. robertchristgau.com. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
- ↑ Batcup, Tim (August 2015). "Led Zeppelin Presence / In Through The Out Door / Coda". Classic Rock. pp. 102–03.
- ↑ Popoff, Martin (November 1, 2005). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 2: The Eighties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 195. ISBN 978-1-894959-31-5.
- ↑ McCormick, Neil (23 April 2014). "Led Zeppelin's albums ranked from worst to best". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
- ↑ Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel (eds) (1999). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Farmington Hills, MI: Visible Ink Press. p. 662. ISBN 1-57859-061-2.
- ↑ Richardson, Mark (28 July 2015). "Led Zeppelin: Presence / In Through the Out Door / Coda". Pitchfork. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
- ↑ Aizlewood, John (September 2015). "Led Zeppelin Reissues". Q. p. 121.
- ↑ Loder, Kurt (20 January 1983). "Coda". Album Reviews. Rolling Stone. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
- ↑ "Led Zeppelin". rollingstone.com. Archived from the original on 14 January 2011.
- ↑ While some external sources categorise Coda as a compilation album, Led Zeppelin's official album label, Atlantic Records, categorises it as a studio album. See for example the liner notes for Led Zeppelin Boxed Set 2 and the label attached to The Complete Studio Recordings boxed set.
- ↑ Liner notes for the Led Zeppelin Boxed Set.
- ↑ Lewis, Dave (2012). Led Zeppelin: From a Whisper to a Scream; The Complete Guide to the Music of Led Zeppelin. Omnibus Press. p. 96. ISBN 978-1-78038-547-1.
- ↑ Grow, Kory (3 June 2015). "Led Zeppelin Announce Final Three Deluxe Reissues". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
- ↑ "RPM Albums Chart – 25 December 1982". RPM. Retrieved 19 January 2009.
- ↑ "Top 100 Albums – 1 January 1983". infodisc.fr. Archived from the original on 9 February 2012. Retrieved 19 January 2009.
- ↑ "Top 100 Albums – 18 December 1982". Oricon. Retrieved 19 January 2009.
- ↑ Scapolo, Dean (2007). "Top 50 Albums – December 1982". The Complete New Zealand Music Charts (1st ed.). Wellington: Transpress. ISBN 978-1-877443-00-8.
- ↑ "Top 20 Albums – 28 November 1982". norwegiancharts.com. Archived from the original on 24 October 2012. Retrieved 19 January 2009.
- ↑ "Top 100 Albums – 4 December 1982". chartstats.com. Retrieved 19 January 2009.
- ↑ "The Billboard 200 – 15 January 1983". Billboard. Retrieved 19 January 2009.
- ↑ "Top 100 Albums – December 1982". charts-surfer.de. Archived from the original on 8 January 2009. Retrieved 19 January 2009.
- ↑ "Led Zeppelin - Coda". hitparade.ch. Archived from the original on 16 October 2015. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
- ↑ "British album certifications – Led Zeppelin – Coda". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Coda in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Silver in the field By Award. Click Search
- ↑ "American album certifications – Led Zeppelin – Coda". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
External links
- Coda at MusicBrainz (list of releases)
