Led Zeppelin Vinyl: The Essential Collection book

I bought mine, on here, as a 2nd copy. That way, I can rummage through one & keep the other in decent shape, or... keep both in decent shape... Ross Halfin, who many x's is Jimmy's official photographer, put this together as a record of what he considers an essential collection of Led Zeppelin issued on vinyl, officially, or unofficially. He doesn't claim it to be definitive, nor everyone else's essential collection, which it is not. Is it a good collection & presentation? I think so, for the most part. Sure, there's always something that could have been done better, but, for the most part, as far as imaging & layout, this is the best collection I have seen. Could the images been labeled & attributed a little better throughout, sure, but, for many people interested in this sort of thing, the images are easy enough to figure out. Some of the criticisms of the chronology not being adhered to are valid. The overall quality of the publisher is done well, as the images are good, full color images. I have seen other collector guides, more comprehensive (& chronologically laid out), but, are typically done in a low quality trade sheet quality magazine. They are great, for what they are, & IMO, this should not be confused for trying to fill that purpose, but moreso to be an illustrated coffee table book. Ross notes that, he is himself a fan & collector, & that many, if not all, of these are from his personal collection. If you take it for what it is, it's a nice illustration that touches on the vast amount of Led Zeppelin pressings on vinyl, including unofficial live recordings, etc. It's nice to look through.

Yep! Unseen, I didn't think twice about this one! The guy who authored and provided every domestic, import, and bootleg photographs is self-admittedly obsessed with Zep! There's more in this book than just high quality photos and blurbs. You'll just have to discover for yourself. For once, not just another coffee table book bio or autobiography...just a major nearly complete collection of pure Zep LP and singles covers (and an occasional acetate), you've probably never seen...the author admits there's surely more to be had, but his girlfriend encouraged him to stop..."what do you plan to do with all of these albums," she asked. "The kids, maybe?" Fat chance! This compendium is *our* gain with this outstanding book protected by a semi- clear, polystyrene cover. I received this book and a coffee table Pink Floyd book within three days! That meant a lot to me. The last book I ordered from Amazon took almost three weeks! The author of this Zep collector's book has a lot of promo and "regular" pressings from all over the world, but for some reason, he doesn't appear to have a copy of Led Zeppelin III, PROMO in very rare MONO! It came to me in a small collection. I wonder if he'd be willing to make a deal...I guess I doubt he'll ever part with anything he owns, but who knows what he might do? I don't set out to collect Zeppelin, but I know what Zep LP I *do* want! Awesome full-circle publication! This is the best book on Zep I've ever laid my eyes on or read. The bios pretty much say the same thing, many facts already known. This book is one-of-a-kind and unless someone else steps up with a crazy amount of LP's from another Super Group, preferably rock from the 1970's. I've got a few I'd love to own, but I'm not holding my breath...another five*****seller, too...great price, sealed and fast! P.S. Ross Halfin, if you just happen to have read this, for now, because of your book, "The Essential Collection" published by REEL ART PRESS (shameless plug for you guys), I am 60 years old and your biggest fan! At least, the biggest fan of your book! The ONLY asset that would have made it better would have been your personalized autograph! Seriously, we all have our obsessions! Ciao...

I bought this book for the art work, exactly what I was looking for. Just beautiful, full of awesome pictures and images, and for a great price. Totally worth it.

One of the best books on album covers. Beautifully designed with tons of covers that I had never seen before.

And that is exactly why it got 4 stars. It didn't provide too little, but rather too much for a group that has already established itself as the greatest rock band in history (well, at least in my mind). But seriously the amount of material was beyond what it needed to be. There were bootleg covers that no one will ever see (other than in this book) and several one-offs that the creators would likely hope you never see (or hear). What I'm saying is the covers and micro-explanations are there for all the commercially produced albums and a lot of stuff that simply doesn't add to the content. Perhaps if more time was given to the explanations of the covers, it would interest the Led Zeppelin aficionado more. This was designed for the "I have everything about Led Zeppelin including a Jimmy Page autographed kitchen sink" kind of person. Yeah, it's 4 stars.

Great!

Nice book - VERY POOR PACKING by AMAZON - Book arrived with dented Corner -

The books itself is well designed with a clear plastic jacket for this Hardcover book. What it lacks is the fact that the ALBUMS pictured are not in any sort of chronical order, and the dates that Ross put on each cover (what are they the year the LP was released or the date of the concert?) not sure, but Ross seems to clear up the confusion at the back of the book with the final chapter CATALOGUE DETAIL at least somewhat . What I was hoping for was the holly grail of the BOOTLEG SERIES of LED ZEPPELIN the INCREDIBLY HUGE Box set to be pictured the FINAL OPTION that came in a BLACK PLACTIC BOX with over 70 LP's in (which I had the opportunity to purchase back in the late 70's early 80's at a record show back in my home city of TORONTO but didn't have the close to $800 to purchase) to but there were 2 of the FINAL OPTION that came in a MIRROR CASE which I've never seen pictures of. Also it came with a disclaimer inserted into the back cover stating the following "584 309 LED ZEPPELIN Whole Lotta Love......We regret that it has become necessary to withdraw the above single. The title, however, remains available on LED ZEPPELIN II 588 198 Physically as a book well put together just could have been so much better organized considering how many times the release date was put back. PS: The description of how many pages the book is that AMAZON.COM has in incorrect it ts 216 pages not 180

Als Fan der Gruppe ``Led Zeppelin`` brauch ich genau das Buch ! All die diese vielen FOTOS der LP Cover`s Klasse !

Una bellissima raccolta di Cover di Bootleg della più grande Rock band esistita !

ページをめくると懐かしいブートの数々 アールズコート、デストロイヤー、TMOQのイラストなどなど 西新宿キニーの店頭で手に取って悩んだ頃を思い出す 堅牢な造本装丁が素晴らしいです

Absolutely amazing treasure trove of graphic design work related to Led Zeppelin records both legit and otherwise. Ross Halfin has done a magnificent job recording all of these artefacts from his own collection. Well designed book, appropriate 12” x 12” page size, great value for money, great print quality and binding.

I love this book. I have dozens of volumes that focus on album cover art; this is a welcome addition. The real gems here are the bootleg covers, although that’s also where I have to level a few small criticisms. I know that decisions had to be made because a full accounting of all the bootleg covers would run several volumes this size. I would have liked to have seen some high resolution pictures of “The Final Option” set (as it’s 70 LPs and is, by far, the most amazing set in bootleg history) and at least a few examples of the Box Top titles that had glossy photograph covers. What is included, however, is absolutely spectacular. Ever wonder what the Turkish Led Zeppelin II looks like in mint condition? It’s in here. As are pretty much all the promos and other interesting international pressings. There are also some examples of graphic printed labels and vinyl colour variants. The discography listing at the end is nice, but superfluous. All of that information is available on Discogs and is updated frequently as new information comes to light. That being said, this is an amazing book and is an absolute must for any fan of Zeppelin, any vinyl collectors and any graphic design enthusiasts. This is a bargain at twice the price. Buy it!