"LED...ZEPPELIN...IS...BACK!" shouted the TV advertisements for this collection, distilled from 1990's four CD box set. Indeed, the 3CD "Remasters" (two music discs plus a third interview disc) provides near-perfect middle ground between the group's collected works box and 4CD box, and the inferior "Early Days" and "Latter Days" one-disc sets.

"Remasters" spends its first disc on Zeppelin's seismic first four albums, leaving out some essential "II" tracks ("What Is And What Should Never Be," "Living Loving Maid") but culminating where it should, with "Stairway To Heaven." The second disc concentrates on Zeppelin's most experimental work and could lead to greater appreciation of 1976's "Prescence." "Achilles Last Stand," with its understated (for him) Robert Plant vocal, and "Nobody's Fault But Mine" are represented; "Candy Store Rock" would've been a nice addition also.

The third disc features a 30-minute radio special (featuring a lo-fi, interwoven "Hey, Hey What Can I Do"), individual interviews with surviving band members, and some Jimmy Page's song intros ("Hello, this is Jimmy Page and this DJ is insane!" "Hello, I'm Jimmy Page. It's time to wake up and get the Led out!") This is all as essential music as any released since the Beatles' breakup, and should be owned (either here or on the original LPs) in some form.

THE BAND: Robert Plant (vocals), Jimmy Page (guitars), John Paul Jones (bass, keyboards), John Bonham (drums & percussion).

THE DISCS: (1990) 26 songs on 2 discs clocking in at approximately 144 total minutes (about 72 minutes per disc). Included with the discs is a 6-page booklet containing song titles/credits/times, several band photos, and thank you's. This 2-disc set is the (import) European "highlights" portion of the bigger 4-disc (54 total songs) set under the same name. This compilation follows the band from 1969-79. Digitally remastered sound. Produced by Jimmy Page. Label - Atlantic Records.

ALBUM REPRESENTATION: Debut "1" (4 songs), II (3), III (3), IV-Zoso (5), Houses Of The Holy (4), Physical Graffiti (3), Presence (2), In Through The Out Door (2).

COMMENTS: For a rock band as big as Led Zeppelin was, there simply aren't a whole lot of compilations to choose from. Personally, I think that's a good thing. For the true beginner, this mix is a great intro to the band. For the listener wanting a few studio albums - I'd recommend "II", "IV"... and then "Houses Of The Holy and "Physical Graffiti". All of Led Zeppelin's albums are essential in my book - some simply more so than others. Chronological order here is a bonus (the 4-disc set is surprisingly NOT in chronological order) and you can hear the band maturing through the years. Only thing that could have made this 2-disc set better is utilzing the whole disc(s). Both discs left approximately 8 minutes of blank space and why not put another song or two on each - plenty of omitted classic songs to choose from (i.e. "Over The Hills And Far Away", "The Ocean", "In My Time Of Dying", "Fool In The Rain", "Gallows Pole", "Going To California", "Thank You", "Living Loving Maid", "Moby Dick", or anything from "CODA"). The remastered sound is ultra crisp and the songs sound amazing. Looking for a great place to have many a classic Zeppelin song all in one place - look no further (5 stars).

This is the best double disc Led Zeppelin collection available. Early Days/Latter Days, the American collection, is missing Heartbreaker, Ramble On, D'yer Mak'er, Celebration Day, Misty Mountain Hop, and The Rain Song, all of which are on here. The only songs on that collection that are not on this one are What Is and What Should Never Be, When the Leveee Breaks, and Ten Years Gone. Overall, this is a much better purchase. I know diehard fans consider any retrospective collection an abomination and think that everyone should have at least the first four albums, but for those of us who just want a little bit of Led Zeppelin in our libraries, this is perfect.

All of Led Zep's albums (with the possible except of Led Zep IV and Physical Graffiti) have had some outstanding tracks, but some not so great ones. And here, in one handy package, are virtually all the outstanding ones. This is nearly as good quality as buying all 8 seperate albums, but much much cheaper (I got the British edition, which doesn't have the interview disc but has the two music discs, for [amt], which is about [amt]!) It has all the classics, from the opener 'Communication Breakdown' through 'Babe I'm Gonna Leave You', 'Whole Lotta Love', 'Since I've Been Loving You', 'Black Dog', 'Rock and Roll' and my favorite track of all time 'Stairway To Heaven', then onto the second disc which is concerned with Physical Graffiti (once described by British music magazine Q as the heavy alternative to Seargeant Pepper) and the other experimental albums, and contains more great numbers like 'The Rain Song', 'Houses of The Holy' (which, contary to logic, does not appear on the album of the same name but on Physical Graffiti), 'Kashmir' and closer 'In The Evening'. It is a great place to start for begginers to Led Zep, and despite some ommisions (where is When The Levee Breaks or What Is And What Should Never Be) it is a wonderful collection of music and a brilliant introduction to one of the most pioneering rock bands of the 20th century.

This double album has all the great songs that Led Zeppelin has ever released. Now if you buy this album you will not need to buy any other albums because the best songs are right here, everything from I to Pysical Graffiti and Houses of the Holy.

Stairway to Heaven (my favourite zeppelin song) is featured on the album too. Good art inside to. Most zeppelin albums don't ever have pictures in the booklet, this one dose.