Led Zeppelin II RL US original first press Bob Ludwig. Rare. Spectacular sound

$

71

Wow!!!   This is the legendary pressing of Led Zeppelin II Atlantic SD 8236 that blows all others out of the water.   Robert Ludwig's initials RL in the deadwax confirm the authenticity of this rare first pressing.   I have listened to them all - later US versions, the Classic remastering, the MOFI, the Japanese, the Page authorized recent remastering.   None of them come even close, especially when cranked.   Demo quality sound on this copy on the louder numbers where you don't hear surface noise. The softer numbers definitely have noise present, as this album has seen ample use prior to my possession.  This was my starter copy, which I am now willing to part with because I was lucky enough to stumble on a NM version.   Please see my individual song gradings below.   The album has numerous surface marks on it.  I would not normally list an album that was visually graded as VG, but this one is so rare and so impactful that it is worth passing it on to another LZ II lover.  While many of the marks are superficial, some clearly result in noise.  Songs that are louder do much better than mellower numbers like Thank You.  Moby Dick has an obtrusive defect during playback.  In between songs you will here some crackle.  During the solo guitar breaks in Whole Lotta Love and Heartbreaker you could swear Page was in your room with his amplifier!  This is a good starter copy to have while you continue the quest for one in EXC or NM condition.    Here are my individual notes on songs.   
VISUAL GRADING = VG

PLAY-GRADING INDIVIDUAL SONG NOTES.  CRACKLES WILL BE HEARD IN BETWEEN SONGS, BUT BELOW IS THE WIDE VARIANCE Side One 1. Whole Lotta Love - EXC 2. What is and What Should Never Be - VG+ 3. Lemon Song - VG+-EXC  4. Thank You - VG minus - VG+  Side Two 1. Heartbreaker - EXC 2  Living Loving Maid - EXC 3. Ramble On - VG (crackle noise is present throughout) 4. Moby Dick - G- While it doesn't have a repetitive skip, the tonearm/needle does slide forward about 1 minute in on this song resulting in missing about 10 seconds of the song). This song suffers the most as a result. 5. Bring it On Home - VG (crackle noise on quieter parts)