Led Zeppelin - Compete BBC Sessions box set

The Guardian 100

(Rhino)

With nine more tracks than the original 1997 release, this remastered collection of Zeppelin’s recordings for the BBC captures their glorious ascent between 1969 and 1971, before superstardom and unfettered hedonism started to affect their musicianship and edge. With Robert Plant at his wailing, libidinous best and Jimmy Page wreaking all manner of noise and havoc with his guitar, the various live and session takes of material from their stellar first four albums document a steamrollering trajectory from ferocious hard rock to pastoral beauty and back. Completists will be fascinated by the three tracks from a lost 1969 session for Alexis Korner – including the otherwise unrecorded blues boogie, Sunshine Woman – and other curiosities include a romp through Eddie Cochran’s Something Else and a live version of Whole Lotta Love that turns into an extended medley of covers. But it’s most fascinating to hear the partly improvised, ever-changing evolution of classic tracks such as Communication Breakdown and Dazed and Confused as the band hurtle towards their dizzying peak.