Zeppelin's Time Has Finally Come

Wed., Aug. 1, 2007 3:41 PM PDT by Sarah Hall

Led Zeppelin is feeling a whole lotta love for the Internet.

The surviving members of the legendary British rock band have finally decided to join the digital age and will release the compilation album Mothership on iTunes Nov. 13.

Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones personally selected the 24 tracks on the best-of album, including "Stairway to Heaven," "Dazed and Confused" and "Whole Lotta Love."

Following the release of Mothership, the band will put out a reissue of the soundtrack to This Song Remains the Same, featuring previously unreleased material, as well as a new DVD on Nov. 20.

Zeppelin's decision to make their music downloadable makes Radiohead and the Beatles the only remaining major holdouts.

With their music hitting the 'Net at last, rumors have been swirling that the aging rockers are also mulling a reunion tour.

Zeppelin broke up in 1980 following the untimely death of drummer John Bonham. The surviving band mates have only played together publicly on a few rare occasions since then, including Live Aid in 1985 and Atlantic Records' 40th anniversary concert in 1988.

Page and Plant also reunited for a hugely successful world tour in the mid-'90s, creating tension with Jones, who was reportedly upset that he was not consulted about the trek ahead of time.

When Zeppelin was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1995, Jones made it clear that there was a measure of internal discord within the band, saying, "Thank you, my friends, for finally remembering my phone number."

Now, however, it seems the band members may have worked through their differences—or so Zepp fans can hope. (And if the Police can do it, anything's possible.)

Though Plant has publicly denied any reunion is in the works, speculation continues to intensify that the rockers will launch a stadium tour of the U.S. and Europe sometime next year, with Bonham's son, Jason taking his father's place on drums.

Meanwhile, in other Zeppelin news, a man known as one of Europe's most notorious music pirates pleaded guilty in a Scottish court Wednesday to selling bootlegged recordings of the band's concerts.

Robert Langley, known in pirate circles as "Mr. Toad," was arrested in February 2005 after police raided his stall at a record fair and seized close to $25,000 of illicit Zeppelin material, as well as illegal recordings of other acts, including the Beatles.

He had previously maintained his innocence, but changed his plea after Page traveled to Glasgow to testify against him.

The legendary guitarist said he would never have authorized the sale of the recordings because they were of such poor quality.

Langley pleaded guilty to two copyright violations and three trademark violations. He was released on bail pending a sentencing hearing on Aug. 30.