Led Zeppelin unearths new view of 'Heaven'

What's all this bustle in the hedgerows about an unheard take of rock epic Stairway to Heaven? Will air guitarists have to learn new parts? Will the lyrics finally make sense?

Don't be alarmed now. In the latest phase of Led Zeppelin's re-release campaign of its nine studio albums (1969 to 1982), re-mastered versions of the untitled fourth album and Houses of the Holy arrive Monday. And just like the deluxe packages of Led Zeppelin, II and III released in June — all three hit the top 10 on Billboard's album chart — these next two albums contain companion discs filled with unreleased material.

That means that several of classic rock's most-played songs, including Stairway, Rock and Rolland Black Dog,all from what's now called Led Zeppelin IV, have been resurrected in slightly different forms, via alternate soundboard mixes, backing tracks and alternate takes.

But are any of these nuggets particularly noteworthy to casual fans?

The slightness of the variations has fueled online criticism that the reissue program is simply an attempt to wring more dollars out of familiar material. But guitarist Jimmy Page, who produced the albums and heads up the project, says the unreleased mixes are "interesting enough and have a different perspective on the instruments to make a good companion to the original.''

Most of the attention will be focused on IV, which was released in November 1971 and is among the best-selling albums of all-time (certified 23-times platinum). Its centerpiece is Stairway (currently the target of a copyright infringement lawsuit, about which Page refuses to comment). Despite clocking in at just over eight minutes, it became one of the most-requested songs on FM radio in the 1970s, though it was never released as a single in the USA.

"I'm not tired of it, I'm just tired of talking about it,'' says Page, 70, who contributed one of rock's most famous solos. "It's one of those milestones in Led Zeppelin's history, and all of the works are very different to each other. All of it is a tableaux.''

The Sunset Sound mix of the song on the deluxe IV is a "preliminary, interim mix'' of the components that were recorded in London in December 1970. The assembling was done by the late engineer Andy Johns, with Page assisting, at Sunset Sound studios in Hollywood, chosen in part for its "natural echo chamber and ambiance'' that provided "a sense of drama,'' says Page. That version was shelved in favor of the familiar final mix, done at Island Studios in London.

"You do trial mixes on things, and sometimes they're acceptable and sometimes they're not,'' he says.

So what Heaven-ly revelations await in the Sunset version?

Very few, given that the vocals and key instrumental passages remain the same and the sonic differences are subtle ones of texture and shading. But careful listening reveals a few highlights:

• The acoustic intro section is quieter than the final version, and Page's guitar and John Paul Jones' recorder sound more distant.

• Robert Plant's vocals in the "wind on down the road'' section don't appear to be double-layered, as they are in the familiar version.

• Page's underlying guitar riffs begin earlier in the "to be a rock and not to roll'' section.

Since the two versions are so similar, it raises the question: If the Sunset mix had been the official release, would Stairway still have become a massive hit?

"I don't know, I don't deal in hypotheticals,'' says Page. But "I think Stairway would have had an impact, no matter what the studio.''