Led Zeppelin
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Movie Reviews of Led Zeppelin
Movie Review: Very, Very Good (but falls a bit short of the hype)
Summary: 5 Stars
As a long-time Led Zeppelin fan, I looked forward for months to the release of both _DVD_ and the new live 3-CD set, _How The West Was Won_. Accordingly I bought both on Tuesday when they hit local stores and watched the entire DVD immediately...Disc one starts off with 142 minutes from a performance at Royal Albert Hall on January 9,1970 during which a young Led Zeppelin (Plant and Bonham are only 21 years old), fresh off the remarkable success of their first two LPs, pound out the bulk of their early live repertoire with astounding raw energy, not to mention remarkable confidence and poise for their age, to an very enthusiastic young crowd. The set begins like a freight train with "We're Gonna Groove" and moves like a tour de force through most of the early Zep classics as follows:
I Can't Quit You Babe/Dazed and Confused/White Summer (so far, my favorite from this gig)/What Is and What Should Never Be/How Many More Times/Moby Dick (complete with long drum solo)/Whole Lotta Love/Communication Breakdown/C'mon Everybody/Something Else/Bring It On Home.
This actually the entire show less "Heartbreaker" which was omitted as some footage was missing. Originally filmed for a BBC documentary, this performance was pro-shot on two 16mm cameras and features rather good camera work overall.
Disc one concludes with the 1969 promo for "Communication Breakdown" and three 1969 TV performances. First is a Danish show called `TV-Byen' where the band performs solid renditions of "Communication Breakdown," "Dazed and Confused," "Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You" (all electric) and "How Many More Times" to a small studio audience of seemingly shell-shocked young Danes. This is followed by a strong performance of "Dazed and Confused" on the British variety show `Supershow'. Finally, we see the boys on the French variety show `Tous En Scene', again performing "Communication Breakdown" and "Dazed and Confused," but this time to a crowd of folks that seem mostly unable/unwilling to appreciate what they are seeing and hearing.
Disc two begins with a version of "Immigrant Song" that matches the audio from a 1972 performance in Long Beach, CA (this is the same version that starts out the new live CD) with a collage of video from the group's performance in Sydney, Australia earlier that year. The musical performance is strong (very high energy) and the edited Super-8 video is fine.
_DVD_ continues with four numbers (Black Dog/Misty Mountain Hop/Since I've Been Loving You/The Ocean) from the now infamous Madison Square Garden shows, originally filmed for the movie _The Song Remains The Same_, that took place July 27-29, 1973 at the conclusion of the `Houses of the Holy' tour. In this set, the standout is "Since I've Been Loving You" during which Page delivers a strong and passionate solo. (The film TSRTS contains parts of this tune and of "Black Dog," but here they are presented in their entirety.) As maligned as these performances have been by some over the years, to see four guys (essentially a power trio with vocals) command the Garden crowd of 20,000 at this level, especially under the circumstances, is truly awe inspiring. (Personally, seeing this quality of presentation of this material makes me wish someone would go back and redo TSRTS as a straight-up concert film, but that's likely a pipe dream.)
Next we are taken to Earls Court Arena, London, England for six numbers (Going To California/That's The Way/Bron Yr Aur Stomp/In My Time of Dying/Trampled Under Foot/Stairway To Heaven), shot with video, from Zep's historic 5-night, two weekend stand from May 17 through 25, 1975. All the performances are solid, as Led Zeppelin has by now clearly developed into a juggernaut live band, but particularly enjoyable are the three acoustic tunes. These are intimately shot and the band is clearly having lots of fun.
Finally and poignantly we are treated to seven tunes (Rock And Roll/Nobody's Fault But Mine/Sick Again/Achilles Last Stand/In The Evening/Kashmir/Whole Lotta Love) from the band's final U.K. appearances of August 4 and 11, 1979. These performances were pro-shot with video in front of crowds of approximately 200,000 each night! Again, all the numbers are strong, and are highlighted here by an evocative rendition of Kashmir and a powerhouse performance of Achilles Last Stand. Almost uncannily, Robert Plant's last words to the audience are "Thank you for eleven years."
Disc two extras are a Page/Plant NYC 1970 press conference, footage from 1972 of "Rock And Roll" and a "band" interview (with rare commentary from Bonzo (RIP)), another interview (just Plant), and finally two 1990 "Box Set" promos (Over The Hills And Far Away/Travelling Riverside Blues).
On the overall the audio quality is good (I listened to the DTS mix), though I honestly think some of the mixing could have been better. While the video, particularly Earls Court, has some glitches (always the result of the source material), it is clear that the digital restoration and transfer for this project were done painstakingly. The material from the Garden shows looks spectacular in its matted widescreen presentation. All the other material is 4:3 full-screen. Compared to the film elements, the video is a bit grainy, but not bad. Where the software is concerned the stereo mix is the default audio track, which is a bit annoying and you can't do things like play all the extras at once, but like my comments on the audio mix, this is just nit-picking. When one considers the vast undertaking this project must have been, it is really a testament to modern technology that Led Zeppelin fans can time travel through some of the highlights of the decade that the band dominated in the comfort of their own living room.
Years ago Jimmy Page often talked about a comprehensive chronological live album. _DVD_ is at least a partial realization of this vision, but with added dimensions that no Zep enthusiast could have dreamed of 25 years ago. If you are a Zep fan and you own a DVD player, What are you waiting for?
Movie Review: 5 Hours of Led Zeppelin Live! What at DVD!
Summary: 5 Stars
Led Zeppelin (2003.), the Led Zeppelin double DVD live release
Led Zeppelin, after the Beatles, are the biggest selling album band of all time, clocking in at well over 200 million sales over the last 35 years since the release of their self titled debut album. However, on the flipside, Led Zeppelin were a very, very camera shy band, who disliked giving interviews, appearing commercially or letting their concerts be filmed. As a direct result, very few live documents exist of Led Zeppelin concerts and for many years, give or take the 1976 'The Song Remains The Same' release, legions of fans just had the studio albums available to them. However, this all changed in 2003 with the release of the 'How The West Was Won' 3 CD live set and this awesome double DVD 'Led Zeppelin' live offering.
This DVD, after numerous reviews since its release 2 years ago is not averaging 5 stars on amazon.com for nothing. This is what Led Zep fans have waited for, and this double DVD is a seriously great experience. What makes the DVD even better is that it captures the band live throughout its career. Therefore, we get a capture of the early years, when the revolutionary hard-rock blues band were taking the world by storm, on the first DVD. Then, there is the second DVD which has live offerings from concerts through the 1970's, right up until 1979, the year before the tragic death of John Bonham, which ultimately split the band. Basically you see everything, including Plant's earlier to later stirring performances on the vocals and Jimmy Page's whirlwind, perfected guitar playing. The sound quality is amazing throughout and the production (overseen by non other than Jimmy Page himself) is excellent. The live concerts make up the real weight of time on the DVD but there is a good handful of bonuses too which make great DVD extras. So, what about the concerts themeselves on the DVD:
LIVE AT THE ALBERT HALL (1970): This is the only full concert footage on the DVD and it is an absolutely killer capture of the band playing amazing bluesy hard rock from their first two albums. At over an hour and a half in length, the band gave the crowd timeless value for money. Its a great document to show how revolutionary Led Zeppelin were at that time, the crowd seem totally startled by the music and as a result are not as vocal as later crowds to the concerts. You can completely understand this, I myself was more than speechless when I watched it! There's some stellar moments, including the opening hard rocker 'Were Gonna Groove', a track which eventually got a feature on the 'Coda' outtake album. Jimmy Page's guitar work on White Summer/ Black Mountain Side is phenominal to say the least, as is his playing on Dazed and Confused where he plays his guitar with a violin bow! All in all, this concert, on DVD 1, is priceless!
MADISON SQUARE GARDEN (1973): The first concert capture on DVD 2 is only of 4 songs but all of them really bring the house down. You can see by this stage how the band's concerts had become much more grander and explosive occasions. The band's performance 'Black Dog' is hair-raising to say the least and you see the crowd really getting into the music and participating in parts. Jimmy Page's guitar work (i'll say it again!) is amazing, especially at the end of 'Black Dog' and at the beginning of 'Since I've Bin Loving You'. Don't fail to notice John Paul Jones' Keyboard work on 'Misty Mountain Hop' either. The band close with 'The Ocean' in great style.
EARL'S COURT (1975): This is one of Led Zep's most famous concerts and the 50 or so minute offering of this one shows why. Here we are treated to an acoustic set to start, with 'Going To California', 'That's The Way' and then 'Bron Yr Aur Stomp', which really gets the crowd into the groove. Then we have some stuff from Physical Graffiti, with 'Trampled Underfoot' and the American South themed 'In My Time Of Dying'. The real highlight comes at the end with, yes you guessed, 'Stairway To Heaven'. You see Page's playing on his legendary double-neck guitar and another stirring vocal performance from Plant. This song has become an anthem over the years and it is just amazing to see it played by the band themselves on screen.
KNEBWORTH (1979): This is my favourite part of the DVD. The 50 minute capture of part of 1 of the two concerts Led Zeppelin gave at Knebworth in August 1979 is truly amazing. Attended by 1000's, this sadly, would be the last time the band would play in the UK, but what a fitting last time it was! Crashing performances of 'Rock n' Roll', 'Sick Again' and a finishing 'Whole Lotta Love' medley are timeless. 'Achilles Last Stand' transmits masterfully live, as does 'In The Evening', with Bonham's mystic drumming at the start in tune with loads of strobe lighting. Robert Plant gives his most mature vocal performance here and Bonham drums in phenominal fashion.
EXTRAS: Theres a number of extras on either DVD. On DVD 1 there are a number of live performances of 'Communication Breakdown' and 'Dazed And Confused'. On DVD 2, there are a couple of excellent promos of 'Over The Hills And Far Away' and 'Travelling Riverside Blues'. Also there is an interview of Robert Plant where he gives some information on what was the up and coming 'Physical Graffiti' album on the Old Grey Whistle Test. There is also a New York Press Conference where the interviewer asks Plant and Page some really stupid questions - its not surprising how the band ultimately withdrew from doing many interviews!
The 'Led Zeppelin' DVD, to put it simply, is awesome. It is a classic 5 hour live take of one of my favourite bands and I have not regretted buying it in the slightest. If you want to see how true hard rock was done by the best, then look no further than this DVD. A must for any fan of the band, you can't be without this DVD!
Movie Review: The Definitive Led Zeppelin
Summary: 5 Stars
Led Zeppelin fans rejoice! After decades of murky bootleg concert footage, the occasional Page/Plant reunion, the sub-par The Song Remains The Same concert film, Zeppelin fans finally have what they've only read in tacky tell-all books or heard tales of yore about from people old enough to have seen them, Led Zeppelin live and in thier prime.
Since Zeppelin's heyday were in the seventies, before MTV, the only video footage available of them wsa the truly God-awful The Song Remains The Same,which, even by thier own admission, was a shoddy, piss-poor collection of material, culled from a series of Madison Square Garden concerts in 1973 hurriedly slapped together and released years later while the band was on hiatus and needed something, anything, out on the market to satisfy rabid fans.
At first your jaw drops at the sheer depth of material Jimmy Page has included on these two discs. Every era is well represented. From the bluesy pan-psychedelia of the late sixties to the booze and drug fueled hard rock stomp of the seventies to the masterful executions of the early eighties. Over the years hard-core Zeppelin fans like me were relegated to paying big bucks to shady characters for crappy VHS tapes of dubious quality to catch just a slight glimpse of the greatest rock band of all time in concert. Now, the bootleggers must be weeping. With the release of over five hours of material Jimmy Page has exacted sweet revenge by making them, in every sense of the word, irrelevant.
For Page and produccer Dick Caruthers assembling all of this tape must have been a labor of love. Try to imagine how frustrating, tedious, and painstaking the work probably felt, since it surely took them months, maybe years, to sort through thousands of hours of concert footage, old black and white television appearances, 8 milimeter home movies, interviews, deciding what to use and discard, then crossing their fingers and praying the footage didn't melt or shred during the re-mastering process. You have no choice but to marvel at thier technical wizardry.
As for the music, every one of thier best songs are here, sprawling and majestic, and as they were meant to be heard, live. Zeppelin were a band that sounded best in concert. Many musicians make that claim but only a rare few have the skill and acumen to pull it off convincingly. Listen to these versions of 'Achilles Last Stand' or 'Black Dog' and then compare them to the albulm recordings. The live versions posess a depth and complexity, well, more like ferocity, that render the studio tracks sounding like poorly concieved demos.
For me personally disc 2 is my favorite. It features Zep in their prime, 73 to 80 with the Knebworth Festival performance thier finest hour. At this point in thier careers they were being attacked by punks and critics as self indulgent dinosaurs. They responded by stripping down thier arrangements of pretension or artifice and played just straight forward kick-ass hard rock. Robert Plant has said in interviews that Knebworth was Zeppelins greatest moment and he isn't exaggerating, they never sounded more in command of all the elements that rose them above thier contemporaries and transformed them into legends than they did those on those two nights. But the Knebworth footage clocks in at a mere 50 minutes. I wish Page would have included a bit more, like 'Ten Years Gone' or the shimmering 'No Quarter' I have on bootleg, both include instrumental passages you ususally don't get from Rock musicians, but geniuses like Coltrane or Hendrix. I suppose Page has good reasons for these omissions, like time contraints. But these are only minor quibbles. Maybe he can include them in future releases.
Both discs contain hidden nuggets and surprises, none of which I'll reveal here, so you won't be robbed of that moment when, after some searching, you will find them and exclaim "Awww Coool!"
Page has also placed four versions of 'Dazed and Confused', three versions of 'Communication Breakdown', and two versions of 'Whole Lotta Love' in chronological order beginning early in thier live repertoire, minimalist, stripped down, sounding much like they did on the albulms, then we hear them beginning to grow, to flourish, one member hearing a piece of music another played then improving on it, the four exchanging ideas, pushing one another. They treated songs as just a starting point, a launching pad. The spectacle of Zeppelin, like all the greats, was listening to the risks they took, to the heights they could reach.
And I have a feeling these two discs, over the years, will surpass all of their previous releases and stand alone as the definitive Led Zeppelin recording.
Movie Review: Led Zep DVD ... Zep DEFINES SHOWMANSHIP & PROFESSIONALISM
Summary: 5 Stars
Picture, if you will, the extra-human, godly ability to wave a magic wand, flash back in time, and fly back to 1969, 1970, 1973, 1975, and 1979. Then, imagine, IF you could, having the MONEY and ability to spend thousands of dollars or pounds, to take the jets overseas, buy hugely expensive AND impossible-to- get front-row-seats, (and the ability to wander the stage during the shows), and watch a fine sampling of some of time's most mysterious concerts. Royal Albert Hall, home of Mozart, Brahms, et.al. Earl's Court, London, Madison Square Garden, and more. THESE ARE STOPS ON THIS TOUR!WELL, readers, THAT is EXACTLY what Atlantic and Warner Brothers have done for EACH OF YOU!! I saw 5 of Zep's live shows, and, regardless of how many times I saw them, I wanted MORE. Every show was different, every show had it's own stars, its own personality. I never saw enough of them.. Always wanted more: Well, HERE IT IS!!
While this is not a visual record of the very best audio performances, it does quantify EXACTLY the other important side of Zep: The Fabulous visual stage show you got, whenever Jimmy Page, and Robert Plant got into their psychic hotline dual riffs. Or whenever Pagey and John Bonham, rock's finest percussionist, got into THEIR telepathic rock-beat connection, and hooked onto an extemporaneous, innovative jam. It's all here. Jimmy Page does some fine (not his best, but mighty fine) work here. Robert's voice, as usual, is stratospheric, although the echoplex that marked many of the live shows, is often missing.
These are the tunes, the shows, that cost me a load of A's, turning them into low B's or C's, when I spent whole nights driving 200-400-590 miles back to college, and showing up late for pop quizes I was not exactly up to scratch for...
The 1st DVD, even though dated, through the end of DVD 2, spans the entire career of the ZEP, from the first month (Danish Radio Show) to the nearly last show, Zep's fine job at the 1979 Knebworth Concert for reading disabled kids. In between is a ton of just plain magic moments. For those of you who weren't around, then, I suggest you dig up tapes of the OTHER contemporary groups' live material (in 1969/70) at that time. Most other (even major groups) live shows were loud, out of tune, raucous garbage. NOT SO, HERE! While not letter perfect, this is some amazing, timeless stuff; WAAAYY ahead of its time...
As we said about the How the West Was Won CD's, their best AUDIO material is THERE. However, for those of you wanting to SEE a fabulous VISUAL ROCK SHOW, complete with Page doing his amazing leads while spending 97% of his time step dancing, Irish river dancing, moonwalking, jumping (yes, jumping), playing guitar on a knee, behind his back, or playing guitar leads over his head, and doing anything but watching the neck of his guitar! With Robert Plant showing off his tight jeans, and swagger, Bonham showing everyone how drums are REALLY played; or John Paul Jones, playing a row of synth winds with one hand, strings with his other hand, and bass on his footpedals; THIS is your ticket to a real, real fun time, and top notch musicians/showmen!!
Plenty for all to see and hear. Rock and Roll. Metal; Page's Violin Bow seques, other-worldy theremin, exemplary guitar solo work (As in the amazing White Summer/Black Mountainside); kick ...rock, as In My Time of Dying, and an unbeleivably tight Trampled Under Foot, made all the more incredible, because one of Jimmy's E strings breaks 2/3 of the way into the song. Can You Tell? NOPE... These back to back rockers stomp that rock beast into the dust. These guys DEFINE professionalism...
Beautiful acoustic sets, with Zep III and IV's best folk work adorn DVD 2. Then, after aforesaid InMyTime.. and Trampled, a triumphant romp through the years, and the hits at Knebworth '79, to top it all off. If you're not a Zep fan, don't bother. There isn't much here that will change your mind. But for those of you who LIKE Led Zeppelin, you will LOVE THESE SHOWS.
All in all, an incredible, amazing experience, I will enjoy this DVD set for the rest of my life. And remember times, and events, in clarity, with some of the greatest songs of all times, to go along with them. This is one DVD set every fan of rock and roll needs in the collection. Preferably at the front. Thanks, Atlantic, and Warner, and Jimmy, John, John Paul, and Robert!! Thanks for such great tunes & great memories!!
Movie Review: Why we became musicians...
Summary: 5 Stars
Before purchasing this DVD set, you must ask yourself this simple question: "Am I a true Led Zeppelin fan or do I just like a few songs I hear on the radio?"If you are just a casual fan who likes the cuts they hear on the radio and may own an album or two, this DVD is definitely not for you. This DVD is for the hardest of hardcore Led Zeppelin fans. For those of us who weren't fortunate enough to be around during Zeppelin's heyday, then this DVD is a dream come true.
For years I had heard all the stories about how amazing Led Zeppelin's live shows were. Of course I've seen "The Song Remains the Same" countless times and have a few bootlegs that are just good enough to tease. After completing just half of the first DVD, I felt that I had finally found the Zeppelin Holy Grail.
The performances on this DVD don't completely live up to the hype, but they sure do come close. While the performances themselves are amazing, it's the little things that really turned me on. Watching how the band communicates through their improv sessions, the fact that John Bonham sung backup on Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp, seeing John Paul Jones playing the mandolin parts that I always thought were Jimmy's, and countless other little bits that make it all worth the watch.
I'm not going to state that all the performances are perfect, because they certainly are not. The reason Led Zeppelin's live shows were so legendary was because of how much improvisation they emphasize in the performances. It's extremely rare to see that in a Rock and Roll band outside of the Dead. I believe the band maintained the ethic that sure it may not be perfect, and sometimes downright messy, but when they get into a groove, it's truly lightning in a bottle. These improvised jams tend to be something that only musicians with jazz or blues backgrounds tend to understand. That's exactly why Led Zeppelin was in a class all their own.
I personally tend to disagree with those that make Led Zeppelin out to be the fathers of heavy metal. True, they were a major influence then and now, but it's got too much of a base in blues and jazz to be compared to Metal. I think we're better off leaving that title to the likes of Black Sabbath. After seeing and hearing some of the material on this DVD it just re-emphasized this thought. The concert at Royal Albert Hall is just one blues jam after another with hints of their songs thrown in to give it a sense of cohesion.
For all of those musicians out there who idolized Jimmy Page as I did, you will not be disappointed in the slightest. To see how he communicates with the rest of the band as he goes through his wild improvisations is simply amazing. While it is true that Jimmy tends to be a very sloppy guitarist, it doesn't change the fact that when he's on, he's REALLY on. To me the term "sloppy" is kind of silly. No he's not precise like your Joe Satriani's or Eddie Van Halen's, he is however extremely musical. To be as improvisation oriented as he is takes a lot of talent, knowledge, and well...balls. Something that many of today's guitarists simply don't have.
While I love going to rock concerts to listen to my favorite bands, I always feel a bit ripped off because what is being performed is almost identical to what you were just listening to on the radio coming to the show. This can never be said about Led Zeppelin's live performances. Every night is its own experience.
That is captured, for the most part, throughout this DVD. As I have repeatedly stated, these performances are more jams than just song after song. If you watch this DVD over and over again, sure you will find tons of musical mistakes. However, if you take it for what it is, a single moment in time, then you can't deny its power. Led Zeppelin was one of the gutsiest, energetic, and awe inspiring live bands in the history of music.
If you are a musician and don't find this to be a major educational and emotional experience, then in my humble opinion, it's time to re-evaluate what music is to you. To me music was always a way to convey an emotional state through your performance. If you limit yourself to a pre-existing structure, then you've just taken away the essence of what the music was meant to be.
Essence. That is what this DVD is. The essence of the music, culture, and time that was all Led Zeppelin's.