Sit down, kidlings. When I was very young, right around your age now, I was invited to a birthday party hosted by a classmate from school. Given that the invitation came at the last minute and take into account my laziness/self-centredness at the time, I didn't bother to get the wee girl a gift. A quick burst of desperation had me grabbing a pile of prized Chu-Bops (miniature bubblegum records in 3'x3' replica album sleeves that were around in the 1980s) and throwing them in a bag to bring as a prezzie. The birthday party ended prematurely with me getting upset at our hostess for making fun of one of my friends. After sulking off home, my dad scolded me for giving away those little sugar albums and told me I would regret it someday. Turns out he was right; I REALLY wish I had those tiny sleeves now. The gum, not so much.
Anyway, why the palliative stroll down memory lane, you ask? Well, this childhood recollection remained deeply buried in my subconscious until I saw this cute lil' trigger. On November 4, Rhino will release a Japanese import Led Zeppelin Definite Collection Mini LP Replica CD box set to further celebrate the band's 40th anniversary. Yes, they are only exact CD versions of the original albums, but it sparked a recollection within me of a time dominated by smaller, weirder, chewable albums. You got a problem with that?
For all the tales of excess and monster sales numbers, there is always a nagging disparaging of Led Zep's work, which is fucking ludicrous if you think about it. The band's catalogue screams class, even when not ripping off forgotten blues standards. Everyone needs [Led Zeppelin-http://www.stars-portraits.com/images/portraits/stars/l/led-zeppelin/led-zeppelin-by-hoffman.jpg] in their lives at some point, and if you have the means, this (rather pricey) box might be a good option of getting the band's complete collection in one shot. It doesn't hurt that the set looks immaculate with details at a premium. All of Zeppellin's sleeve art is replicated for this collection, including: the original and second pressing artwork for their debut album (basically different colors for band and label logos), III's gatefold, rotational laminated card disc, Physical Graffiti's interchangable window illustrations (four covers of two inners, a middle insert and an outer cover), In Through the Out Door's six cover variations, and Coda's ultra-boring sleeve art.
The tracklistings remain the same to those released on these original albums: Led Zeppelin (1969), Led Zeppelin II (1969), Led Zeppelin III (1970), Led Zeppelin IV (1971), Houses of the Holy (1973), Physical Graffiti (1975), Presence (1976), The Song Remains the Same (1976), In Through the Out Door (1979), and Coda (1980).
