Talk:Coda (Led Zeppelin album)

Article needs a lot of rewriting

I don't remember wiki being a place to review albums, do you? --Keith, evil dude 21:37, 25 September 2005 (UTC)

No, not at all, and I agree with what you're driving at. For a place that puts so much emphasis on citations, references, and avoiding POV, it seems like they can throw reviews in under "Reception" and get away with it, so what can you do? If I wanted to read what the critics thought, I could just as easily Google it myself. Cheers! FiggazWithAttitude (talk) 16:19, 22 March 2019 (UTC)

If you don't like citations to opinions-presented-as-opinions from professional journalists published by reputable publications, then you can stick to Google. Dan56 (talk) 21:32, 22 March 2019 (UTC)

Compilation?

i dont think this is a compilation because none of the tracks had been released before. and if we are to consider this a compilation,then we will have to call Physical Grafitti a compilation too,the same with Let It Be from The Beatles...you get my point here? Lord revan 21:08, 8 October 2006 (UTC)

It's not a compilation. That's like saying a live album is a compilation, just because they play the same songs. Just because Coda has a few (or 1?) live songs doesn't mean it's a compilation.

I think Jimmy Page released it as a compilation, because these songs were recorded a lot earlier, and it wasn't supposed to be released until Bonham's death.

How did they know when he was going to die? Cheers! FiggazWithAttitude (talk) 16:21, 22 March 2019 (UTC)

I've always thought of it as a studio album winding down Led Zeppelin with unreleased songs spanning their career. Also, Coda is a separate disc in the Complete Studio Recordings collection. Had it been a compilation album, the songs would have been bonus tracks on the each of the albums (For instance, "Hey Hey What Can I Do?" would have gone to Led Zeppelin III). The songs that were live are listed as studio sessions, which gives me the impression that Page considered it to be a studio album.--Ninjaryu 18:51, 22 September 2007 (UTC)

In addition to what I said earlier, the sticker that comes on the Complete Studio Recordings says something to the effect of, "all nine studio albums". I don't remember the exact wording, but I remember that it said nine, which includes Coda.--Ninjaryu (talk) 06:32, 1 January 2008 (UTC)

Firstly, Wikipedia articles should rely on independent/third-party sources, not parties associated with the subject of the article. Second, a compilation album is defined as a music release comprising songs not originally intended to be viewed as a singular work. ^{McDonald, Heather (April 30, 2018). "A Definition of, and Look at, Compilation Albums". The Balance Careers} Dan56 (talk) 15:46, 6 September 2018 (UTC)

It is a studio album, not a compilation album

Coda should be categorised as a studio album rather than a compilation album, as indicated by the following sources:

• Liner notes for the Led Zeppelin Box Set, Vol. 2, which states that Led Zeppelin released nine studio albums.
• Label attached to the Complete Studio Recordings boxed set, officially released by Atlantic Records, which states that the set includes "all nine of Led Zeppelin's studio albums"
• Global Bass magazine interview with John Paul Jones
• 1993 interview with Jimmy Page in Guitar World magazine
• Article in the Telegraph newspaper
• Article in the Mirror newspaper
• Led Zeppelin expert Dave Lewis, in his publication The Complete Guide to the Music of Led Zeppelin (London: Omnibus Press, 1994 ISBN 0-7119-3528-9) lists Coda as one of the ten Led Zeppelin albums released in its own right (TSRTS being the only live album of the ten). That is, he puts the album in the same bracket as the other nine albums which preceded it. All of these albums he distinguishes from later Led Zeppelin compilation albums, such as Led Zeppelin Remasters. Edelmand (talk) 14:40, 20 April 2008 (UTC)

Firstly, Wikipedia articles should rely on independent/third-party sources, not parties associated with the subject of the article. Second, a compilation album is defined as a music release comprising songs not originally intended to be viewed as a singular work. ^{McDonald, Heather (April 30, 2018). "A Definition of, and Look at, Compilation Albums". The Balance Careers} Third, does Lewis actually call this a "studio album"? If so, he would appear to be in the minority of independent sources covering this album. Dan56 (talk) 15:46, 6 September 2018 (UTC)

• Studio, not compilation.

They're studio tracks (although We're Gonna Groove is a little dubious, it has lost any 'live' identity it might have had).

All albums are "compiled". "Compilation album" though would imply a compilation of existing, and previously released, material. That's not what Coda is. Andy Dingley (talk) 10:44, 14 September 2018 (UTC)

That's a rather narrow-minded perspective; all albums are not compiled from a variety of recording sources several years between one another over a decade. I'll cite an actual source, again, rather than simply making something up: "A compilation album is a general term used to refer to a music release made of up of songs that [were] not intended to be viewed as a single work... collections of previously unreleased material from well-known artists. Or, it can be an album of unreleased work (for no apparent reason) or, it can be a combination of all of the above."^^{McDonald, Heather (April 30, 2018). "A Definition of, and Look at, Compilation Albums". The Balance Careers} That's what Coda appears to be. Dan56 (talk) 12:27, 14 September 2018 (UTC)

And yet that same source states, "However, they can sometimes feature a single artist, but this is not the norm. A single artist release includes soundtracks, label samples, and theme albums." which tends to go against Coda being a compilation. More tellingly, it's silent on the real question here: does a 'compilation' imply previously available of not? That's the key question, as it applies to Coda. Andy Dingley (talk) 13:56, 14 September 2018 (UTC)

You're making this more complicated than needs be, possibly because of what I've noticed--in forums and the previously unsourced article on compilation album--a misconception about its definition, leading people to simply have impressions on what it actually is. It doesn't have to imply anything about previously availability; that is merely a possible theme for a single-artist compilation, like a rarities compilation: The theme of Coda is previously unreleased outtakes/rarities, according to Martin Popoff (Led Zeppelin: All the Albums, All the Songs, Expanded Edition). Dan56 (talk) 14:27, 14 September 2018 (UTC)

I understand your point about studio albums--or was it someone else's point on this talk page?--and that they may contain some songs not originally from the sessions for a particular album; as Popoff notes, Physical Graffiti had "pilfered" seven of its 15 songs from earlier recording sources. But the band conceived that release as a singular work, going into the studio with an album in mind to record. Simply put, there were no recording sessions in the studio specifically for Coda; it was all pilfered from the shelves, as Popoff would put it. Now, while we may split hairs about technicalities and subtleties and epistemological ideas about what these descriptors mean, the majority of third-party sources appear to all view this as a compilation album, and they should be a key determinant. Dan56 (talk) 20:33, 14 September 2018 (UTC)

Another detail from Popoff: "There's conjecture that Jimmy [Page] called 'We're Gonna Groove' a studio track and 'I Can't Quit You Baby' a rehearsal track because Swan Song owed Atlantic one more studio album specifically." I will note this in the article. Dan56 (talk) 20:33, 14 September 2018 (UTC)

but is it really a studio album?

I can see this has already been discussed, but overall should this really be considered a studio album? Sure somepeople call it a studio album, but really? These were not recorded in the same session but rather spread over 1970-1978 sessions. It's like saying a 'Lost tracks' album is a studio album. Admitelly, Lost Songs 95-98 by David Gray IS a studio album, as all of the tracks were recorded in the same sessions. But should this really be considered a studio album? really? Is a B-Sides album a studio album?--77.99.231.37 (talk) 18:08, 6 July 2010 (UTC)

---

I think it's "outtakes compilation" album. Not really a "compilation" like a "best of" or something but still not a studio album. After all, if it was either "studio" or "compilation" than im for the studio! Just my opinion. -Matt (85.132.159.230 (talk) 15:02, 28 August 2010 (UTC))

Well, last time i checked the article for Michael Jacksons' album Michael which is also a bunch of outtakes from various album sessions is called a compilation, and the same applies to his other album Farewell My Summer Love. So, logically, shouldn't Coda be consdiered the same?--92.237.88.53 (talk) 22:08, 17 July 2011 (UTC)

It would be logical but perhaps they've got it wrong. Jimp 10:49, 8 April 2014 (UTC)

Firstly, Wikipedia articles should rely on independent/third-party sources, not parties associated with the subject of the article. Second, a compilation album is defined as a music release comprising songs not originally intended to be viewed as a singular work. ^{McDonald, Heather (April 30, 2018). "A Definition of, and Look at, Compilation Albums". The Balance Careers} Dan56 (talk) 15:46, 6 September 2018 (UTC)

Jack Royerton?

Did Jack Royerton really mix this album? The statement about Royerton was added by an anonymous IP (possibly Royerton himself) who has a history of tagging articles with unsourced claims relating to him (see this thread at COIN for more info). Might be wise to check the original album (I would, but I don't own it) to see if Royerton is actually mentioned in it or if the claim that he mixed the album is a hoax. LonelyBoy2012 (talk) 03:48, 27 December 2012 (UTC)

He did not mix this album. His name does not show up on the official credits. FistfulOfMetal (talk) 09:16, 29 May 2013 (UTC)

Otis Rush cover should be a footnote

In the track listing, I think the note that "I Can't Quit You Baby" is an Otis Rush cover (meaning, I gather, a performance of the song written by Willie Dixon using the arrangement that Otis Rush used in his 1966 recording) should be removed from its present position and added as a footnote by Dixon's name under the Writer(s) column. I'd make this change myself but I don't know how to make a footnote. --Dyspeptic skeptic (talk) 12:01, 7 November 2016 (UTC)

Yes this is a STUDIO album.

This has been discussed here a great deal, but this should correctly be listed as Zeppelin's final studio record. The band owed one more studio album to Atlantic, and this was released. It's not just a compilation of unused tracks, as some overdubs where done to the material. If just being leftover tracks means it doesn't qualify as a studio album, then Tattoo You by The Rolling Stones is in the same boat. Why is this so hard to accept? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2605:a000:cb03:8d00:996b:2879:2f15:79ac (talk)

Please see Talk:Led_Zeppelin_discography#RfC:_Should_Coda_be_categorized_as_a_compilation_album_in_this_discography.3F. isento (talk) 23:27, 3 December 2019 (UTC)

More Coda compilation vs studio

Two different RfCs have reached opposite conclusions; see Talk:Led Zeppelin#More Coda compilation vs studio. —Ojorojo (talk) 14:48, 26 January 2020 (UTC)