Led Zeppelin II - Red/Plum - First press -  The Lemon Song - RARE Matrix

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Start Date: March 18, 2018
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LED ZEPPELIN II  RED/PLUM 1st PRESS - LEMON SONG - RARE MATRIX


Found some info out on the web about the matrix which said: Was pressed by the UK Pye pressing plant (due to the depression in the label area) and maybe issued for export purpose only...
There are some that say this is the real first UK press because it has no number after A and B on matrices
First press usually A2B2 for this LP. the letters "KT" etched in the deadwax was said to be a  UK sales tax code used from July 1st 1963 to November 22nd 1968, which is strange as this album came out in October 1969. a little strange really.
Produced by Jimmy Page

VERY RARE Matrix Number JUST A/B:
588198 A  KT
588198 B  KT H
crossed out 8 on side B
TO ME THE VINYL IS IN VG to VG+ Condition. (BOTH SIDES PLAY THROUGH WITH NO PROBLEMS)

LEMON SONG VERY EARLY PRESS.

1ST PRESS
RED / PLUM ATLANTIC 588198 - LEMON SONG CREDIT ON LABEL


This is the original 1st PRESS of LED ZEPPELIN'S 'Led Zeppelin II' in ORIGINAL GATEFOLD COVER



The album yielded Led Zeppelin's biggest hit with the track "Whole Lotta Love". This song reached #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 #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.[5] 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.

Led Zeppelin II has been cited by music writers as a blueprint for heavy metal bands that followed it. Blues-derived songs like "Whole Lotta Love", "Heartbreaker", "The Lemon Song", "Moby Dick", and
"Bring It On Home" have been seen as representing standards of the genre, where the guitar-based riff (rather than vocal chorus or verses) defines the song and provides the key hook. Such arrangements and
emphasis were at the time atypical in popular music.Page's guitar solo in "Heartbreaker" featuring rapid-fire runs of notes tapped only by the left hand, was a major inspiration to the later work of metal soloists
and "shredders" such as Eddie Van Halen and Steve Vai.As such, the album is generally considered to be very influential on the development of rock music, being an early forerunner of heavy metal, and inspiring
a host of other rock bands including Aerosmith, Van Halen and Guns N' Roses.

Since its initial critical reception, Led Zeppelin II has been acknowledged by many critics and music writers as one of the most influential albums of rock music, and has earned several accolades from music
 publications, frequently placed at or near the top of "best album" lists. In 1989, Spin magazine ranked the album #5 on its list of The 25 Greatest Albums of All Time. In 2000, Q magazine placed Led Zeppelin II
 at number 37 in its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever. In 2003, the album was ranked number 75 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

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