LED ZEPPELIN II (2) UK Red/Plum 588198 near MINT Killing Floor credit

	£		65
	$		86

LED ZEPPELIN II

UK RED / PLUM 588198

VINYL IN Near MINT CONDITION

Please listen to the audio follow link below

About me & policies;

I am an enthusiast in vinyl and have been collecting since the early 70’s, it is one of my hobbies and not my living. I always try my hardest to get my description correct and always put on as many photos as I can, the good and bad bits so you can see everything in detail. I also try and put on any Biography’s I can as sometimes they can be very useful information. I always play through the entire album before I list it. Nearly all of the records I put onto eBay are at least excellent, but sometimes I will put ones that are a lower grade if they are rare or collectable. I use the Record Collectors Grading Guide to grade my vinyl. I always offer a refund if I have missed something you’re not happy with. I normally post on Monday’s and Wednesday’s so it could be posted next day or at the most 3 days from when I receive payment. As for payment I think that 4 to 5 days after you have won should be long enough, but if you need longer please contact me before you bid. I always post ‘To be signed for’ as this stops any confusion. I will always leave you 5 star feedback and hope that you will do the same, if for any reason you’re not happy then please contact me first.

PHOTO SCROL

Notes:

 This is a very rare opportunity to get an original Led Zeppelin II album in such great condition. I do believe that this record has barely been played, because to look at it you would think it was made yesterday. It is the third label design after the Livin Lovin Wreck and the Lemon Song were corrected to Livin Lovin Maid and Killing Floor. This vinyl has been well looked after, please note I also have the 1st press Led Zep 3 in the same condition please take a look.

Please CLICK HERE to listen to the entire album.

I have uploaded the sound files in 5 minute sections (nothing left out)

Description:

Vinyl:

 The vinyl is without doubt the best Led Zep II vinyl I have ever seen. It is the original heavy red/plum vinyl which has retained all of its original lustre and sheen; it lays perfectly level on the turntable and looks brilliant giving the best sound ever, much better than a cd. In daylight it looks totally flawless there are no marks at all, even when angled to a strong light it is very difficult to see any sleeve withdrawal wispy lines, and only when placed under intense illumination with my halogen lamp can you see a few very faint wispy hairlines.(these are harmless and not audible). It plays with a fantastic bass, and the sound separation is brilliant. It is virtually silent in the run offs. I have recorded the whole album for you to listen to CLICK HERE and you can judge for yourself. This will make a superb addition to any collection.

I have graded strictly to the Record Collectors Guide (’ The record itself is in brand new condition with no surface marks or deterioration in sound quality’)

This vinyl warrants a MINT- grade.

This fantastic Audio comes in at MINT-

Sleeve:

This is the early light brown EJ Day gatefold sleeve. These are not laminated and are notorious for wear and marking and probably one of the hardest to find in a collectable condition for a number of reasons. Primarily the sleeves were not laminated and this caused issues with the matte brown finish to rub away very easily, also the white area to the left of the band image which always gets marked, and on most copies will seriously let the sleeve down. This one however is not with only mild handling, and is still supremely white. This one is in a very good condition without any bad marks and only general wear to the edges and spine. The spine text is readable and still straight. The inside of the gatefold is also in a great condition without any marks, just general wear. There are many photos so you should be able to judge for yourself.

For a Led Zep 2 cover it is EXCELLENT

Inner sleeve;

The inner sleeve is in a remarkable  condition, unmarked and unspoilt. It has the ‘PLASTIC BAGS CAN BE DANGEROUS’ at the bottom.

 Inner sleeve is EXCELLENT+

Labels:

These are the splendid red/plum Atlantic label. Both base colours are rich and vibrant, and the white band is still white and not soiled at all. They are totally clean, NO spindle marks or any other marks showing that this superb vinyl has had the bare minimal play in the last 42 years.

The Labels are in MINT condition.

Photo

TRACK LISTING

A1 Whole Lotta Love

Written-By – Page*, Bonham*, Jones*, Plant*

A2 What Is And What Should Never Be

Written-By – Page*, Plant*         

A3 The Lemon Song

Written-By – Page*, Bonham*, Jones*, Plant*

A4 Thank You

Written-By – Page*, Plant*

B1 Heartbreaker

Written-By – Page*, Bonham*, Jones*, Plant*

B2 Livin' Lovin' Maid (She's A Woman)

Written-By – Page*, Plant*         

B3 Ramble On

Written-By – Page*, Plant*         

B4 Moby Dick

Written-By – Page*, Bonham*, Jones*   

B5 Bring It On Home

Written-By – Page*, Plant*

Inscribed in the dead wax:

Matrix Number

Side 1: 588198 A//6

Side 2: 588198 B//4

Mother Stamp

Side 1: 1 1  2 2

Side 2: 1 4 ##### 1 5

POSTAGE DETAILS

The cost of postage is set out below, however if you require any further information please email me. Some countries are cheaper than others so it could be less than below, so if you are outside the UK please wait for an invoice from me as this could save you money.

The cost below is for a single album weighing 600grams.

The price for ‘value over £46’ includes insurance of anything between £47 and £500.

WITHIN THE UK

Value up to £46

Value over £46

Royal Mail 1st Class Recorded

£4.00

Special Delivery

£7.00

Europe

Value up to £46

Value over £46

International Signed For

£10.00

International Signed For

£12.50

Rest Of World

Value up to £46

Value over £46

International Signed For

£13.00

International Signed For

£16.00

HOW IT WILL BE SENT

I always send out records very secure. The vinyl is taken out of the sleeve and then the cover and vinyl are placed in a plastic sleeve. It is then wrapped in bubble wrap and placed in a strong album mailer (DEFENDA MUSIC MAX) plus an extra cardboard stiffener. It will be secured with parcel and fragile tape.

Photo of box

Biography

 Led Zeppelin II is the second studio album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, released in October 1969 on Atlantic Records. Recording sessions for the album took place at several locations in the United Kingdom and North America from January to August 1969. Production was entirely credited to lead guitarist and songwriter Jimmy Page, while it also served as Led Zeppelin's first album to utilise the recording techniques of engineer Eddie Kramer.

 Led Zeppelin II furthered the lyrical themes established on their debut album, creating a work that became more widely acclaimed and influential than its predecessor. With elements of blues and folk music, it also exhibits the band's evolving musical style of blues-derived material and their guitar and riff-based sound. It is considered the band's heaviest album.

 Upon release, Led Zeppelin II earned a considerable amount of sales and was Led Zeppelin's first album to reach No. 1 in the UK and the US. In 1970, art director David Juniper was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Recording Package for the album. On 15 November 1999, it was certified 12x Platinum by the RIAA for sales in excess of 12 million copies. Following its initial reception, it has been recognised by writers and music critics as one of the greatest and most influential rock albums ever recorded.

Background

 Led Zeppelin II was conceived during a hectic and much-travelled period of Led Zeppelin's career from January through August 1969, when they completed four European and three American concert tours. Each song was separately recorded, mixed and produced at various studios in the UK and North America. The album was written on tour, during periods of a couple of hours in between concerts, a studio was booked and the recording process begun, resulting in a sound with spontaneity and urgency through necessity. Bassist John Paul Jones recalled that "We were touring a lot. Jimmy Page's riffs were coming fast and furious. A lot of them came from onstage especially during the long improvised section of 'Dazed and Confused'. We'd remember the good stuff and dart into a studio along the way."

 Some of the recording studios used by the band were not the most advanced. One studio in Vancouver, credited as "a hut", had an 8-track set up that did not even have proper headphone facilities. The group's lead singer Robert Plant later discussed the writing and recording process, stating "It was crazy really. We were writing the numbers in hotel rooms and then we'd do a rhythm track in London, add the vocal in New York, overdub the harmonica in Vancouver and then come back to finish mixing at New York."

 "Thank You", "The Lemon Song" and "Moby Dick" were overdubbed during the tour, while the mixing of "Whole Lotta Love" and "Heartbreaker" was also done on tour. Page later stated "In other words, some of the material came out of rehearsing for the next tour and getting new material together."

  Recording

 Recording sessions for the album took place at Olympic and Morgan Studios in London, England; A&M, Quantum, Sunset, Mirror Sound and Mystic Studios in Los Angeles, California; Ardent Studios in Memphis, Tennessee; A&R, Juggy Sound, Groove and Mayfair Studios in New York City; and the "hut" in Vancouver. Production was entirely credited to Jimmy Page, while it also served as Led Zeppelin's first album to utilise the skills and recording techniques of engineer Eddie Kramer, whose prior work with Jimi Hendrix had impressed the band's members, especially Page. Led Zeppelin expert Dave Lewis wrote of the album's production, stating "That the album turned out to be such a triumph, in particular for a production quality that still sounds fresh today, was in no small way due to the successful alliance with Page and Kramer in the control room.” This partnership was particularly exhibited in the central section of the track "Whole Lotta Love". Kramer later said, "The famous Whole Lotta Love mix, where everything is going bananas, is a combination of Jimmy and myself just flying around on a small console twiddling every knob known to man."

 In another interview, Kramer later gave great credit to Page for the sound that was achieved, despite the inconsistent conditions in which it was recorded: "We did that album piece-meal. We cut some of the tracks in some of the most bizarre studios you can imagine, little holes in the wall. Cheap studios. But in the end it sounded bloody marvellous. There was a unification of sound on [Led] Zeppelin II because there was one guy in charge and that was Mr Page." Page and Kramer spent two days mixing the album at A&R Studios.

Composition

The finished tracks reflect the raw, evolving sound of the band and their ability as live performers. The album has been noted for featuring a further development of the lyrical themes established by Robert Plant on Led Zeppelin's debut album, creating a work which would become more widely acclaimed and arguably more influential. "Whole Lotta Love" and "The Lemon Song" both feature sexual themes, as the latter contains a metaphor, which, according to one music writer, implores "unnamed ladies to squeeze his lemon 'til the juice runs down my leg.'" As was later observed by Plant himself:

 Led Zep II was very virile. That was the album that was going to dictate whether or not we had the staying power and the capacity to stimulate. It was still blues-based but it was a much more carnal approach to the music and quite flamboyant. It was created on the run between hotel rooms and the GTOs, and that was quite something.

 Led Zeppelin II also features experimentation with other musical styles and approaches, as on the alternately soft-and-loud "What Is and What Should Never Be" and "Ramble On" (which featured Page's acoustic guitar), or the pop-influenced ballad "Thank You". With its mysterious atmospherics, "Ramble On" helped develop hard rock's association with fantasy themes, which had been partly derived from the psychedelic rock genre of two to three years before, but also from Plant's personal interest in the writings of J. R. R. Tolkien. This musical direction would later culminate on Led Zeppelin IV (and countless subsequent groups would later carry the influence to further extremes). Conversely, the instrumental "Moby Dick" features an extended drum solo by John Bonham, which would be extended further during Led Zeppelin concert performances sometimes for as long as half an hour.

 Page's contribution to this album was significant, as his electric guitar solo on the song "Heartbreaker" was emulated by many younger rock guitarists, and exemplifies the group's intense musical attack. Led Zeppelin II is the band's first album to feature Page playing a 1959 Gibson Les Paul, the electric guitar he helped popularise. His innovative recording and drum miking effects on tracks such as "Ramble On" and "Whole Lotta Love" also demonstrated his considerable skill, resourcefulness and originality as a producer. Rolling Stone magazine later called Page's guitar riff for the latter song "one of the most exhilarating guitar riffs in rock & roll." John Paul Jones later discussed Page's contributions:

Jimmy started coming into his own as a producer around "Whole Lotta Love". The backwards echo stuff. A lot of the microphone techniques were just inspired. Everybody thinks he goes into the studio with huge walls of amps, but he doesn't. He uses a really small amp and he just mic's it up really well, so it fits into a sonic picture.

 The album's material also marked a certain honing of Plant's vocal approach, and signalled his emergence as a serious songwriter. Plant's name had previously been absent from the songwriting credits of the band's first album due to the previous contractual commitments that resulted from his earlier association with CBS Records as a solo artist. His influence on tracks such as "What Is and What Should Never Be" and "Ramble On" were pointers to the band's musical future. Plant has commented that it was only during the sessions for Led Zeppelin II that he started to feel at home as a vocalist in the studio with Led Zeppelin. In a 2008 interview for Uncut, he stated "During Led Zep I (1969) as far as I was concerned, I thought that I was going to [leave the band] anyway. I didn't feel that comfortable because there were a lot of demands on me vocally—which there were all the way through the Zeppelin thing. And I was quite nervous and didn't really get into enjoying it until II."

Packaging

The album sleeve design was from a poster by David Juniper, who was simply told by the band to come up with an idea that was "interesting". His design was based on a photograph of the Jasta 11 Division of the German Air Force during WWI, the famed Flying Circus led by Manfred von Richthofen, the Red Baron. After the picture was tinted, the faces of the four members of the band were airbrushed on from a 1969 publicity photograph, as well as the faces of band manager Peter Grant and tour manager Richard Cole. The woman in the picture is Glynis Johns, the mother from Mary Poppins. Her presence in the photo is an obvious play on the name of recording engineer Glyn Johns. Contrary to popular belief, the guitarist Blind Willie Johnson is not featured on the album cover. There is only one known photo of Johnson in existence, and it is not the same face as the one shown on the album cover.[citation needed] The cover also pictured the outline of a Zeppelin on a brown background, which gave the album its nickname "Brown Bomber".

Release and reception

The album was released on 22 October 1969 on Atlantic Records, with advance orders of 400,000 copies. The advertising campaign was built around the slogan 'Led Zeppelin II Now Flying'. Commercially, Led Zeppelin II was the band's first album to hit No. 1 in the US, knocking The Beatles' Abbey Road (1969) twice from the top spot, where it remained for seven weeks. By April 1970 it had registered three million American sales, whilst in Britain it enjoyed a 138 week residence on the LP chart, climbing to the top spot in February 1970.

 The album also yielded Led Zeppelin's biggest hit with the track "Whole Lotta Love". This song reached No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 1970, after Atlantic went against the group's wishes by releasing a shorter version on 45. The single's B-side, "Living Loving Maid (She's Just a Woman)", also hit the Billboard chart, peaking at No. 65 in April 1970. The album helped establish Led Zeppelin as an international concert attraction, as for the next year, the group continued to tour relentlessly, initially performing in clubs and ballrooms, then in larger auditoriums and eventually stadiums as their popularity grew.

 In 1970 art director David Juniper was nominated for a Grammy Award in the category of best album package for Led Zeppelin II. On 10 November 1969, the album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America and in 1990 it was certified 5x platinum reflecting shipping of five million copies. By 14 November 1999, Led Zeppelin II had shipped twelve million copies and was certified 12x platinum by the RIAA.

RETURNS

If I have missed something or the description is wrong in anyway and you’re not happy with your purchase please contact me first (before you leave feedback) I WILL sort it out and I WILL of course make a REFUND. I do try my best to be as accurate as possible and would never miss-lead you in anyway. In the unlikely event the record is far removed from the description I put, then I will give a refund, but I will expect it back within 10 days from you receiving it and in the same condition as I sent it.

  (Please read all of my description) I will not make any refunds if you simply just changed your mind, I will always be fair and honest.

EXCELLENT 100% POSITIVE FEEDBACK

BID WITH CONFIDENCE!!!

ALWAYS FEEL FREE TO ASK QUESTIONS

FEEDBACK

 I will always leave 5 star feedback; for items I sell I will leave your feedback when you have paid, and for items I buy I will wait until I have received the item. I will never leave negative feedback, if there is a problem I will contact you first and I hope that you will do the same for me.

ALL WINNING BIDDERS TO PAY WITHIN 4 DAYS OF THE AUCTION ENDING. (if you require more time please contact me before bidding. THANKS)

All my records are graded using the

Record Collector Magazine's Grading Guide Below

MINT:
The record itself is in brand new condition with no surface marks
or deterioration in sound quality.
The cover and any extra items are in perfect condition.
Records advertised as sealed or un-played should be mint.

EXCELLENT:
The record shows some signs of having been played,
but there is very little lessening in sound quality.
The cover and packaging might have slight wear and/or creasing.

VERY GOOD:
The record has obviously been played many times,
but displays no major deterioration in sound quality,
despite noticeable surface marks and the occasional light scratch.
Normal wear and tear on the cover or extra items,
without any major defects, is acceptable.

GOOD:
The record has been played so much
that the sound quality has noticeably deteriorated,
perhaps with some distortion and mild scratches.
The cover and contents suffer from folding,
scuffing of edges, spine splits, discoloration, etc.

FAIR:
The record is still just playable but it has not been cared for properly 
and displays considerable surface noise; it may even jump. 
The cover and contents will be torn, stained and/or defaced.