At
last a true document of the greatest band
that ever trod the boards in the name
of Rock 'n' Roll. Twenty-four years after
their last concert together, and twenty-three
years since the tragic death of powerhouse
drummer John Bonham, we get the proof
that Led Zeppelin were the Lords of Rock
'n' Roll. They were then and they still
are today. If you had to put a 4-piece
band together from any era at the peak
of their powers, these are the four young
men you would pick.
John Bonham was the most powerful drummer
ever to sit behind a drum kit and was
the engine room for Led Zeppelin, battering
both his drum kit and his audience into
submission. Of course, He could also have
a very gentle touch if the occasion so
desired, as is shown here on the acoustic
set from Earls Court in 1975, or could
hold an audience enthralled on his own,
which is well documented here with a version
of 'Moby Dick' from the Albert Hall in
1969, when John Bonham had every eye and
ear at attention during his 15-minute
drum solo number. This is made even more
incredible by the fact that John Bonham
was only twenty-one years old at the time
of this recording, and Led Zeppelin had
only been together for just over a year,
but such is the confidence of the man
and the band in his abilities that he
is given full reign to show off his skills.
Bass players often have a lot more talent
than at first is obvious to the casual
glance. This is always enhanced by the
fact that most of the attention on stage
is taken up by the guitarist and the vocalist.
John Paul Jones was a pioneer of the bass
guitar, felt of finger and heavy on the
riff, leading the way for other such talented
bass players, who played as if they were
a lead instrument not just part of the
rhythm section. Without John Paul Jones
there would of been no Roger Glover of
Deep Purple, or Chris Squires of Yes.
John Paul Jones was a useful chap to have
along as well as he could also turn his
hand to composing, playing the keyboards,
or switching to mandolin during the acoustic
set. Please note that Led Zeppelin used
to do an acoustic set during their live
performances way before the 'Unplugged'
scene came along. And a very brave move
it was, too, as most kids went to a Led
Zeppelin concert just to see them blazing
away. But then again, in a 3-hour set
you must have light and dark.
Out the front for Led Zeppelin was a
certain Robert 'Percy' Plant (Robert Plant
was called Percy after BBC television’s
Percy Tower, who presented the gardening
program - there were other reasons for
this nick name, but space prohibits me
telling more), who was to become the template
for all lead vocalists following in Zeppelin’s
wake. Robert Plant never misses a note
in this entire collection of songs.
Founding member of Led Zeppelin was the
brilliant Jimmy Page, who had already
a flourishing career as a session guitarist
starting to work professionally at the
age of sixteen. It was Jimmy Page who
laid down the guitar introduction to The
Kinks 'You Really Got Me', which was the
riff that gave us heavy metal music in
the first place. Jimmy Page then had a
spell in the Yardbirds, but when they
crashed all around him, Jimmy Page built
Led Zeppelin from the ruins of his former
band. Jimmy Page’s guitar work with
Led Zeppelin has often been imitated,
but never come close to being bettered.
His ninety miles a second soloing, bombastic
riffs, and groundbreaking techniques are
all shown off to magnificent effect here.
Spread
over two discs you get four and a half
hours of music running chronologically
from 1969 to 1979, which has almost been
set out as one long concert. The way it
has all been edited together is a credit
to Jimmy Page and his sidekick Dick Carruthers,
who painstakingly spent months going through
any footage they could find of the band
and carefully brought them back to life.
One of the most fascinating aspects of
this DVD collection is that it captures,
intimately for the first time, a band
that famously fought shy of cameras throughout
its career. Despite the record-breaking
tours and millions of albums sold, Led
Zeppelin at their height maintained an
inaccessible relationship with the media,
orchestrated by man mountain manager Peter
Grant. Few press interviews were granted;
they had an almost allergic reaction to
the idea of appearing on T.V. They refused
to release singles in the U.K., however,
even Led Zeppelin was not big enough to
dictate to the American record executives.
So it is even more wondrous that this
much high quality live work has been restored.
Included for your amusement and edification
is an hour’s worth of promo clips,
interviews, and such forth, all lovingly
put together in such a way that nothing
interferes with the music. The only other
visual clips of Led Zeppelin that were
available before this one was from the
movie 'The Song Remains the Same', where
the enjoyment was spoiled by all those
ridiculous fantasy moments. That makes
the results here even more worthy, adding
up to over five and a half hours of scintillating
viewing. The DVD comes with two, not one,
full color booklets packed with lots of
never before published photographs and
interesting stories and facts, written
by one of England's most respected rock
journalists Mick Wall. Are there any high
points? No. There would have to be low
moments to have highlights. It's all good.
As you watch the delights of Led Zeppelin
unfold, the most fascinating aspect is
that although the whole band starts off
at warp factor nine at the Royal Albert
Hall in 1969, as they play through the
years arriving at Knebworth in 1979, they
still managed somehow to improve. The
only song that is featured live twice
over the four and a half hour journey
is 'Whole Lotta Love'. Although the playing
on both is simply stunning, the difference
ten years make leaves your jaw on the
floor.
A companion audio only 3 C.D. collection
of a completely different recording, compiling
an entire Led Zeppelin concert from 1975,
has been released simultaneously under
the title 'How The West Was Won'. So you
get one set to watch at home and one to
listen to in the car. The release of these
two volumes surely represents the long
searched for Holy Grail of Rock 'n' Roll.
Music that will surely be the mainstay
of Tahitian Queen's Rock 'n' Roll Friday
happy hour from here to eternity.
Pawed by Mott The Dog
Remastered by Ella Crew
E-mail: review@mott-the-dog.com
