Classic rock fans—or at least those with a lot of money—will have the chance to own a pretty excellent piece of rock history this weekend. RR Auctions will be offering a number of rarities as part of its Marvels of Modern Music auction, including a collection of rough mixes from Led Zeppelin's Physical Graffiti sessions.
The highlight of said session, to both Zeppelin fanatics and those who just know the greatest hits, has to be "Kashmir." RR claims that many of the arrangements on the tapes differ from the famous versions we all know and love, and "Kashmir" is no exception. The track, at the time titled "Driving to Kashmir," feature no vocals and an unusual lineup. Drummer John Bonham had jumped to bass due to John Paul Jones being late, and audio engineer Ron Nevison jumped behind the drum kit. Nevison experimented by recording the cymbals through a phaser, a detail Jimmy Page opted to keep for the album.
The tapes are a relative bargain, with bids starting at $300 (a bargain compared to the prices on everything bearing 'The Beatles' name). What can you do with the tapes? Not much, unless you're a qualified audio engineer. Otherwise, you risk destroying the antiquity and making us angry. But it's still cool to own.
Nevison has a couple of other sweet pieces on sale from his collection, including: the rough mixes of Bad Company's debut album Bad Company (which features the song "Bad Company"), a few tracks from Eric Clapton's Rainbow Concert and a master copy of Elton John's version of "Pinball Wizard" from the movie Tommy.
