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More From Eddie Kramer On Led Zep 2 40 Years On…

15 October 2009 4,024 views 2 Comments

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In an exclusive interview conducted by Dave Lewis, Eddie Kramer the director of engineering and mixing on Led Zeppelin 2 reflected on the making of the album 40 years on.

Talking about mixing What Is And What Should Never Be, Eddie had this to say:

‘’Id done a lot of that panning and phasing with Jimi Hendrix on Are You Experienced and Axis Bold As Love. I was a leading component of that, I loved doing it and still do. That track had all the phasing and panning which Jimmy also loved to do. It typifies the whole vibe of Led Zeppelin 2.

It was a marvellous record and so different from the first album. With the mixing process, it was an organic thing – we instinctively went for something different. Jimmy did some really interesting stuff with the sound and the way the songs were structured and thought out. It’s a very hard hitting record and its power when you listen to it today is still all there. It’s not a super loud record, but when you hear it on the radio you think ‘’Fuck me what’s that!’’. It still has that effect…’’

Watch this space for more of Eddie’s thoughts on Zep 2 soon…

Your Led Zeppelin 2 Feedback required:

Where did you first hear the Led Zeppelin 2 album?

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How does it shape up four decades on?

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We’d like to hear your views on any of the above topics as we celebrate the 40th anniversary of the release of Led Zeppelin 2.

Email davelewis.tbl1@ntlworld.com with your thoughts.

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2 Comments »

  • YrLic said:

    When “Whole Lotta Love” first hit radio, I was doing as Eddie said “WTF is that???”. Soon after, it was my birthday and my parents got me LZII. Christmas followed shortly after and I ended up with LZI and LZIII. I quickly bought Houses and within 2 months had all 5 of their lps which I listened to intensely and constantly. I was one of the first to get Physical Graffiti (where I lived) and I was so hooked on Zep it was numbing. I loved Presense, but lost interest with In through the Out Door.

    Still, “Whole Lotta Love” was my favorite song for 8 years.
    The flow of the album was fantastic, and I must have bought it 3 times as I wore them out. The artwork was cool and the sound was gripping.

    Heartbreaker, back then, had more reverb on it and the snap of the snare really had some depth. That seems to have faded off the master tape somehow, and the CD version(s) don’t have it any more.

    Bring It on Home… I used to play it at normal volumes in the first half of the song, and just as it approached the second half, I would twist the volume to the max just so I could hear my Dad scream from upstairs: “turn that crap down!!!”. Hysterical, but really the second half was phenomenal. I heard a boot of it which wasn’t too bad either.

    When CDs came into the market, I bought the box set, but the order was all revised. For me, it ruins it because the order you first heard it, as a kid, is part of the experience of the album and lessens the impact when it’s changed.

    .db.

  • lee litif said:

    i met eddie kramer not only at the led zeppelin convention in new jersey back in 1988 i also met him at the kramer archives exibition in 2006 and i thank him again for signing the led zeppelin 1975 photo i had of them plus the engineering he did on 2 house of the holy physical grafitti and the song remains the same are solid and clairvoyant i salute you eddie

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