Led Zeppelin releases unheard tracks to tease album reissues

Influential rock group Led Zeppelin has released two previously unheard recordings, whetting the appetite of a still-intense fan base for its upcoming album reissues.

Altogether, the band is set to re-release all its studio albums in chronological order, each remastered by guitarist Jimmy Page.

For the past few years, Page has pored through the fiercely protective band's carefully catalogued archive of tracks and recordings to create the deluxe reissues.

The group has now released a pair of tracks an early version of its iconic Whole Lotta Love and a 1970 recording of blues track Key to the Highway in advance of the June 3 debut of the first three reissued albums.

Each album will be coupled with a bonus, companion disc of previously unheard material, including works-in-progress, "rough mixes, backing tracks, alternate versions and new material recorded at the time," Page said in a statement.

Though founding members Page, Robert Plant and John Paul Jones teamed with Jason Bonham, son of late drummer John Bonham, to give a concert in London in 2007 (as a musical tribute following the death of Atlantic Records executive Ahmet Ertegun), the rock legends have repeatedly turned down the prospect of another reunion despite intense, worldwide interest from fans and the music community at large.

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Reissues of past releases, rare concerts and similar performances by musical icons sometimes accompanied by previously unheard archival material or newly mixed tracks are becoming increasingly common. Artists (or the estates of artists) such as The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash and Michael Jackson are among those who have delved into the musicians' respective archives in recent years.