Usually dismissed as Led Zep ordinaire, The Song Remains The Same was a live album of shrill-sounding 1973 Madison Square Garden recordings, released in ’76 alongside a rather bovine motion picture. Long, meandering improvs (“No Quarter”) documented Zep’s proggy/jazzy side, but the album was soon deemed inessential.

Now much has changed. The sound is vastly improved, as is the playing of the musicians (due to digital re-editing of the three MSG concerts, presumably). Not so much remastered as reconstructed, the 15 tracks (six previously unreleased) showboat, strut and snarl.

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Purists might quail at this Pro Tools jiggery-pokery, but can hardly deny the bloodthirstiness of “Rock And Roll”, “Heartbreaker” or “Whole Lotta Love”. “Dazed And Confused”, stunningly rebuilt, becomes a 29-minute odyssey of bass, Bonham and violin-bow illusionism. Palpable battle-and-theatre. And effectively a new album, not an upgrade, so don’t throw your old copy away.

DAVID CAVANAGH