Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page is marking the end of his year-long reissue of Zeppelin's studio catalog, in deluxe editions with previously unreleased material, with a rare, extended look back at "the most difficult album I had to approach”,  Coda, a half-hour of outtakes compiled by Page and released in 1982, two years after he, singer Robert Plant and bassist John Paul Jones quietly disbanded following the death of drummer John Bonham.

"It was put to me that there was another album due," Page recalls for RollingStone.com. "It was contractual. I was like, 'Oh my God, no.'"

The weight of obligation showed on the original LP; three of the eight tracks were left-behind songs from Zeppelin's last, least compelling studio album, 1979's In Through The Out Door. But that was then. Reissued on July 31st along with new editions of In Through the Out Door and 1976's Presence, the deluxe Coda is now essential Zeppelin, a three-disc, 23-track account of the band's studio life in illuminating rarities, including the 1970 B-side "Hey, Hey What Can I Do"; "Sugar Mama," a bluesy grenade from the 1968 sessions for Led Zeppelin; two exotic jewels from Page and Plant's 1972 evening in a Bombay studio with members of an Indian orchestra; and a revelatory test run of "When the Levee Breaks" from Led Zeppelin IV.

The '82 Coda was, Page now admits, "an attempt to make something out of very little – or nothing." The reboot, in turn, "has all of the quirkiness, the totally unexpected aspect of things" that characterized Zeppelin's ascent on record throughout the Seventies. In a story in the current issue of Rolling Stone, Page also speaks about his immediate plans as a solo artist – "To pick up the guitar, and I won't stop from that point on" – and remembers the crushing helplessness he felt after Bonham's death: "I didn't want to play the guitar . . . It was going to bring up too much."

Additional excerpts from that conversation can be found at RollingStone.com.

Deluxe editions of Led Zeppelin’s final three studio albums: Presence, In Through The Out Door, and Coda were released on July 31st. Take a glimpse at the Super Deluxe Edition of Coda with the video below:

As with the previous deluxe editions, Presence, In Through The Out Door, and Coda have been newly remastered by guitarist and producer Jimmy Page and are accompanied by companion audio comprised of previously unreleased music related to the original release selected and compiled by Page.

An unboxing video for the forthcoming Super Deluxe Edition of Coda can be seen below:

Check out the contents of the Super Deluxe Edition of In Through The Out Door below:

Contents of the Super Deluxe Edition of Presence can be seen below:

Included as part of the Presence bonus disc, there's a "reference mix" of the track "Hots On For Nowhere”. The song by Robert Plant and Jimmy Page grew out of the sessions for 1975′s Physical Graffiti.

Presence, In Through The Out Door, and Coda were released on July 31st from Atlantic/Swan Song in the following formats:

* Single CD – Remastered original album. Presence and Coda will be packaged in a gatefold card wallet. All CD and LP versions of In Through The Out Door will be wrapped in a brown paper page replicating its initial release.

* Deluxe Edition (2CD and 3CD) – Remastered album, plus a second disc of unreleased companion audio. Coda will feature two companion audio discs.

* Single LP – Remastered album on 180-gram vinyl, packaged in a sleeve that replicates the LP’s first pressing in exacting detail. All vinyl versions of In Through The Out Door will also include the water-sensitive insert that replicates the inner sleeve from the album’s initial release.  

* Deluxe Edition Vinyl – Remastered album and unreleased companion audio on 180-gram vinyl. Coda will feature two companion LPs.

* Digital Download – Remastered album and companion audio will both be available.

* Super Deluxe Boxed Set – This collection includes:        

- Remastered album on CD in vinyl replica sleeve.
- Companion audio on CD in card wallet.
- Remastered album on 180-gram vinyl in a sleeve replicating first pressing.
- Companion audio on 180-gram vinyl.
- High-def audio download card of all content at 96kHz/24 bit.
- Hard bound, 72+ page book filled with rare and previously unseen photos and memorabilia.
- High quality print of the original album cover, the first 30,000 of which will be individually numbered.

Originally released in 1976, Presence was recorded during a whirlwind 18-day session at Musicland Studios in Munich, Germany. The album—which peaked at #1 in both the U.S. and UK and was certified triple platinum—crackles with energy on Zeppelin classics like “Nobody’s Fault But Mine” and  “Achilles Last Stand” and delivers powerful jolts of the group at its visceral best.

The companion audio disc that accompanies Presence has five unreleased reference mixes from the sessions, which reveal works in progress. Along with alternate incarnations of “For Your Life” “Achilles Last Stand” and “Royal Orleans,” there is also the previously unheard instrumental curiously titled “10 Ribs & All/Carrot Pod Pod (Pod).”

On its release in the summer of 1979, In Through The Out Door topped the U.S. and UK album charts and has since been certified six-times platinum. Sadly, it would be the last album that Led Zeppelin recorded prior to drummer John Bonham’s passing the following year. Among the seven album tracks are “Fool In The Rain” and “All My Love,” two songs that remain rock radio staples to this day.  

The album’s companion audio disc features an unreleased rough mix of every track from the original album, including early versions with working titles such as “The Hook” (“All My Love”),  “The Epic” (“Carouselambra”), and “Blot” (“I’m Gonna Crawl”).

The appropriately titled Coda was Led Zeppelin’s final album of studio recordings. Released in 1982, it was comprised of eight unreleased tracks recorded between 1970 and 1978. It peaked at #6 on the album charts and has been certified platinum in the U.S.  

The reissue campaign ends with a double-barrel blast of Led. Coda will be the only Led Zeppelin deluxe edition to include two companion discs, featuring 15 tracks recorded between 1968 and 1974. “Baby Come On Home” from the same session is also included in the set. Also included is the previously unreleased “St. Tristan’s Sword,” a rollicking instrumental recorded during the Led Zeppelin III sessions in 1970.

In 1972, Robert Plant and Jimmy Page took a fabled trip to India to perform with the Bombay Orchestra and now, for the first time, recordings from these sessions will be officially released with dynamic takes on “Friends” and “Four Hands” (“Four Sticks” from Led Zeppelin IV). Among the many other highlights featured here is an early version of “When The Levee Breaks” from 1970 titled “If It Keeps On Raining”; rough mixes of “The Wanton Song” and “In The Light,” from the Physical Graffiti sessions at Headley Grange, the latter a different alternate version than the one included in the Physical Graffiti deluxe edition; and an instrumental mix of “Poor Tom” from 1970.

In 1968, Jimmy Page formed Led Zeppelin, one of the most influential, innovative and successful groups in modern music, having sold more than 300 million albums worldwide. The band rose from the ashes of The Yardbirds, when Page brought in Robert Plant, John Bonham and John Paul Jones. In 1969, Led Zeppelin released its self-titled debut. It marked the beginning of a 12-year reign, during which the group was widely considered to be the biggest and most innovative rock band in the world.

Led Zeppelin continues to be honored for its pivotal role in music history. The band was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1995, received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005, and a year later was awarded with the Polar Music Prize in Stockholm. Founding members Page, Plant, and Jones, and along with Jason Bonham, the son of John Bonham – took the stage at London’s O2 Arena in 2007 to headline a tribute concert for Ahmet Ertegun, a dear friend and Atlantic Records’ founder. The band was honored for its lifetime contribution to American culture at the Kennedy Center Honors in 2012. In January of 2014, the band won their first ever Grammy award as Celebration Day, which captured their live performance at the Ertegun tribute concert, was named Best Rock Album.

Presence tracklisting:

“Achilles Last Stand”
“For Your Life”
“Royal Orleans”
“Nobody’s Fault But Mine”
“Candy Store Rock”
“Hots On For Nowhere”
“Tea For One”

Companion Audio:
“Two Ones Are Won”  (Achilles Last Stand – Reference Mix)
“For Your Life”  (Reference Mix)
“10 Ribs & All/Carrot Pod Pod (Pod)” (Reference Mix)
“Royal Orleans” (Reference Mix)
“Hots On For Nowhere” (Reference Mix)

In Through The Out Door tracklisting:

“In The Evening”
“South Bound Saurez”
“Fool In The Rain”
“Hot Dog”
“Carouselambra”
“All My Love”
“I’m Gonna Crawl”

Companion Audio:

“In The Evening” (Rough Mix)
“Southbound Piano” (South Bound Saurez - Rough Mix)
“Fool In The Rain” (Rough Mix)
“Hot Dog” (Rough Mix)
“The Epic” (Carouselambra - Rough Mix)
“The Hook” (All My Love - Rough Mix)
“Blot”  (I’m Gonna Crawl - Rough Mix)

Coda tracklisting:

“We’re Gonna Groove”
“Poor Tom”
“I Can’t Quit You Baby”
“Walter’s Walk”
“Ozone Baby”
“Darlene”
“Bonzo’s Montreux”
“Wearing And Tearing”

Companion Audio:

Disc One
“We’re Gonna Groove”  (Alternate Mix)
“If It Keeps On Raining” (When The Levee  Breaks - Rough Mix)     
“Bonzo’s Montreux” (Mix Construction In Progress)
“Baby Come On Home”
“Sugar Mama” ( Mix)
“Poor Tom” (Instrumental Mix)
“Travelling Riverside Blues” (BBC Session)
“Hey, Hey, What Can I Do”

Disc Two
“Four Hands“ (Four Sticks - Bombay Orchestra)
“Friends” (Bombay Orchestra)
“St. Tristan’s Sword” (Rough Mix)
“Desire” (The Wanton Song - Rough Mix)
“Bring It On Home” (Rough Mix)
“Walter’s Walk” (Rough Mix)
“Everybody Makes It Through” (In The Light - Rough Mix)

The oldest song in the collection is perhaps the most interesting. The frenetic blues jam “Sugar Mama” was recorded in 1968 at Olympic Studios during sessions for the band’s eponymous debut. The song was completed but never officially released. Check it out below: