Just last year, Led Zeppelin reissued their fourth album, which featured track of a darker rendition of "When the Levee Breaks." This time around, Led Zeppelin is giving a look inside the previously unreleased music, an upbeat "Rough Mix" of the same song.
Led Zeppelin Outtake Photo, Knebworth 1979. #WaybackWednesday #ledzep https://ledzeppelin.com
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"The fourth album was a commitment," Jimmy Page tells Rolling Stone.
The Led Zeppelin guitarist continued, "We were living in a house with a recording truck, eating and sleeping music together. We could push everything we were doing, to the point of total extremes like 'When the Levee Breaks.' It's so dense and dark - there isn't a color to describe it. It's not black, it's darker than that."
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Alternatively titled, "If It Keeps On Raining," the upbeat rendition of the song can also be heard on Led Zeppelin's "deluxe reissue" of "Coda."
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Talking about the previously unreleased song, Jimmy Page tells "Louder Than War": "When we got to [recording studio] Headley Grange, the drum kit was set up in the hallway, even though we weren't recording in the hallway - we were recording the equivalent of the main sitting room - and the minute I heard the drums, I said, 'This is it! Let's do this other number! Let's go back to 'If It Keeps On Raining' because I could just hear it in that room."
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"Most bands would've left it as it was but all the time we were always thinking about the music and not wasting time. The sound of 'When the Levee Breaks' is such a character sound; it's just iconic," Jimmy Page added.
The rough mix of "If It Keeps On Raining (When the Levee Breaks)" was actually recorded back in November 1970 at Island Studios in London. It spans three minutes shorter of the official (slash original) version.
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But this isn't the only unheard track that will be featured on "Coda." Fans can expect version of "Friends," "Four Hands" and an unheard instrumental "St. Tristan's Sword" will also be appearing on the remastered album.
The renditions of "Friends" and "Four Hands" were recorded by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant along with the Bombay Orchestra, back in 1972.
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The reissued "Coda" - alongside "Presence" from 1976 and "In Through the Out Door" from 1979 -- album is out on July 31. It follows the death of John Bonham, Led Zeppelin drummer.
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Fans can listen to Led Zeppelin's "If It Keeps On Raining (When the Levee Breaks) - Rough Mix" below.
