Fan Review of New Led Zeppelin DVD

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by GuyDon, May 1, 2003.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. GuyDon

    GuyDon Senior Member Thread Starter

    The following is from the Tight But Loose website:

    Here is a review of selections from the official DVD, shown on the 16 March 2003 in New York to a select audience.

    Review by Billy McCue, moderator of Billy's Zep Phreaks Club, an elitist group of Led Zeppelin fans. E-mail to [email protected].


    "Today is a great day for those who never saw the band in concert and a great opportunity for their legion of fans around the world to relive the experience."

    With those closing remarks, Ahmet Ertegun raised the level of anticipation a notch higher inside the theater screening room of HBO's corporate headquarters on Sixth Avenue in New York City. On March 16, Ertegun and Atlantic Records presented a special one-hour and 45-minute sneak preview of the upcoming live Led Zeppelin DVD to the mainstream music press; over two months in advance of the official release scheduled for May 27. Inside the theater -- outfitted with a state-of-the-art audio system and a full-sized screen ready to make viewers feel like an audience at a Led Zep show -- Ertegun concluded his opening remarks, moved from behind the podium and the lights went down…

    The video opened with footage of Zep about to take the stage at Royal Albert Hall in 1970. The first song to come blasting out at the audience in 5.1 surround sound was We're Gonna Groove. The sound is incredible -- remarkably clear and powerful - especially to ears used to the sub-standard bootleg recordings of this famous gig in Zep's history. One can hear every single note and the whole thing just, well, surrounds you. The volume was just right - kudos to the production people at HBO. It reminded this viewer of seeing the band's The Song Remains the Same concert film during its premier week in NYC all those years ago. Initial visual impression is that Zep look like four groovy cats decked out in the hairstyles and sartorial sense of the times. Long hair, mutton chops, blue jeans. Robert Plant is singing into two mics and Jimmy Page is playing his trademark Les Paul Sunburst. Setting aside the long hair and groovy sideburns, Led Zep doesn't really look like prototypical rock stars. In fact, when compared to the other performances that were shown later during the sneak preview, visually the band's stage presence and charisma pales in comparison to the highly confident outfit on display during the Madison Square Garden footage from 1973, Earls Court 1975 and Knebworth 1979. The exception, however, is John Henry Bonham. During the Royal Albert Hall footage, Bonzo's crossing hands, twirling sticks, and playing with open-mouthed intensity. And while it's true that John Paul Jones moved about the stage a bit more, overall, at least at this stage of the game, Zep is a band that mainly just stands there and plays. And boy do they play. During this performance everyone in the band is on top of their game.

    The band moves on to a great version of I Can't Quit You, Baby. As most Zeppelin fans know, the Coda track was taken from the sound check earlier in the day. Most of the video during this song is from a straight on shot, or from over Bonham's left shoulder. There's also a bit of still footage and blurred shots of the band - I'm guessing this was done to fill in gaps. Once again, Jimmy plays his Les Paul brilliantly and Bonham is just incredible. During Dazed and Confused we hear a few gong crashes, but no sign of Bonzo doing the actual bashing. Possible overdub? An edited version of this epic is shown tonight. The video footage is a little grainy here. There are a few snickers from the audience in the theater when Page breaks out the bow, but also a nice spontaneous burst of applause when the song ends. WIAWSNB features opening shots focusing on John Paul Jones playing that melodic bass line. During the song there are also many close ups on JPJ and JP's fingers. There's also lots of groovy camera work including quick cuts and slo-mo footage. An edited version of Moby Dick follows with shots of Bonzo crossing his hands and twirling his sticks while he plays his famous solo spot. During this gig Bonzo is bashing away on a cream-colored Ludwig kit with congas mounted on his left hand side. Look out for great shots of him looking over his left shoulder to wink and smile at someone off-stage. Great stuff. During the infamous opening riff of Whole Lotta Love, Plant and Page face off in front of Bonzo. There are quite a few crowd shots during this song. Unfortunately, there is no footage of Page doing his famous magic act with the theramin. During the middle section freak out, the camera mainly focuses on Plant and Bonham, including some great shots of Bonzo playing the congas with his sticks. Regrettably there are no close ups of Page during the famous guitar solo. There are, however, some very nice shots of an extremely attractive chick hanging out behind the stage and enjoying the proceedings.

    Communication Breakdown features priceless shots of Page and Jones smiling at each other as they muscle out that classic riff. This one also features many crowd shots of the front row in a headbanging frenzy. There are also many stills and freeze frame footage used during the ad-lib section towards the end. More extreme close-ups of Robert singing and playing harp during the opening section of Bring It On Home. We also Page playing his "Black Beauty." The video footage is clear enough to show that Jimmy is wearing Levi jeans and his fly is slightly down. This number is a real powerhouse and quite possibly the highlight of the Royal Albert Hall footage feature great shots of the "call and response" between Page and Bonham. That's it for the video from Royal Albert Hall 1970. Overall comments are that the audio is extremely powerful, but visually the band is slightly boring. Most of the footage is remarkably clear given its age, but there are some grainy parts. Liberal but tasteful use of still footage and blurred images are used well to break things up a bit and fill in gaps. From a strictly visual perspective Zep comes across as four groovy cats with long hair. For evidence, look out for Robert's medallion and Jones' velvet trousers and Page's button-up sweater vest.

    The Royal Albert Hall footage ends and we are treated to a view from the back seat of a Mercedes Benz as it drives into an open-air stadium with the drone from the '72 shows as the soundtrack. This is the start of video of live footage from Australia 1972 - a stadium show. The huge crowd is going bonkers. There's no attempt made at carefully syncing the video to the Immigrant Song audio from the How the West Was Won CD-set, but it looks like Zep was probably playing IS in the silent Aussie '72 footage, but it's not possible to be 100 percent sure without checking with Jimmy Page. The sound is nothing short of spectacular. Based on what this viewer heard, music fans - fantastic and casual Zep fans alike - are going to freak when HTWWW is released. Led Zeppelin will be seen and heard in a whole new light - particularly those who are only familiar with TSRTS soundtrack and crap bootlegs. The word that keeps coming to mind is "powerful." This video footage from Australia 1972 features great shots of the band in all their 1972 era glory. Included are a few shots of Peter Grant on Jimmy's side of the stage taking photos of the band.

    It's a safe bet that this release will drive sales in home theater systems, Led Zep's back catalog, DVD players. Led Zeppelin may alter the economy after the release of both the CD and DVD sets. Suffice it to say, it is going to be the Summer of Led Zeppelin. Let's just hope it's not the soundtrack to a prolonged war, too. The Immigrant Song footage ends and we are taken straight to Madison Square Garden in July of 1973. First up is Black Dog. No subway shots this time, we get the complete performance. At first glance it appears that some of the shots of the band are taken from the soundstage footage used to fill the gaps in The Song Remains the Same. For the first time we also see some amateur/bootleg video mixed in with the pro-shot material. Amateur footage is shot from the back of the orchestra. It's weaved in nicely with the pro-shot footage. We see Page and Plant in all their rock star glory. And yet again, it's a treat watching Bonzo play the drums - this song features great shots of him. What a shame this footage was edited in TSRTS movie. It's fantastic to finally see the complete performance. Misty Mountain Hop is one of the best versions this viewer has ever heard. Very powerful (there I go again...) and funky. Love it! Lots of smiles on stage, too - you can tell the band love playing this one. JPJ is continually looking over at Bonzo from behind the keyboards. Great shot of Robert holding a bouquet of flowers over his head while singing the line "Crowds of people sitting on the grass with flowers in their head said..." The key word during this performance is "fun." The band is smiling and cracking up the whole time. Very cool. The Ocean - A roadie pushes a mic stand over so Bonzo can do the intro and then pulls it back. Once again you can see Peter Grant hanging out at the side of the stage. The video is just crystal clear at times. Amazing. Nice shot of Robert holding a rose. Carmen is of course "four years old" at this point. Great shot of the roadie pushing the mic over again so Bonzo can join in with the "Nah, nah..." part. You can hear him clearly, too. His voice sounds very good! Perfectly in tune and in the right pitch. The mic is pulled away and they blast back into the main riff. Wow - people are going to love this one. At the end the four of them come to the front of the stage for a bow. Overall the MSG stuff is fantastic. Very sharp video and spirited performances from the band".

    After the Madison Square Garden 1973 footage, the preview continued with the Earls Court section from 1975. We saw three songs. First up was Going to California - the opening moments are breathtaking. The video quality is just immaculate. Crystal clear. Simply put, Page and Plant look like rock gods, especially Page in his dragon suit. There are some visual effects used during the song - blurred images, etc. I also believe some amateur video is interspersed with the pro-shot material in order to provide crowd shots. What can I say about the performance. It's awesome. The way Jimmy and JOHN PAUL JONES play off each other is just incredible. No sign of John Bonham, of course, but the other three are continually making eye contact and trading winks and smiles. And what a treat to hear this beautiful song in such high fidelity. It's absolutely stunning. This will be a real crowd favorite - Zep fan and music fan alike. Plant's vocal is really really good and Page did a great job of layering on the reverb and echo during the "Seemed that the wrath of the gods..." section to smooth it out. At one point Jimmy misses a note and looks over at Robert and smiles. It's a priceless moment. One among many before the night is over. Next is In My Time of Dying. The song starts with lots of close ups on Robert's face. John Bonham is playing effortlessly. It seems he like never raises his hands about his shoulders throughout the entire song. You can tell he's totally locked in and there are lots of cool shots of his feet working the high hats and bass drum pedals. I've only seen the Earls Court video once - a first gen of Jimmy's copy - but I'm 99 percent sure we're getting extra camera angles in this footage. The stuff shot from behind the drums is so cool. It looks and sounds like JOHN PAUL JONES is playing a fretless bass during this one, but I can't tell by looking at the screen. Amateur footage is used during the "Oh my Jesus..." section. A real powerhouse. Great shots of Page on the Danelectro with the slide, lots of gestures to the audience ("shapes"). Last but not least from the Earls Court footage is Stairway to Heaven. The song opens with many shots of Page playing the trademark doubleneck in dark light. There are lots of split screen shots - Plant on the left, Page on the right. Some great overhead shots of Jimmy during his solo. Christ, he looks so unbelievably cool with the dragon suit and doubleneck! Vintage Jimmy Page. His solo is spectacular - comes across really well. He breaks a string towards the end. The vocal during the final section is pulled back in the mix to cover up the rough spots. Nice job, Jimmy! Robert's voice is low, but it sounds great. No one will be disappointed - nothing even remotely cringe-inducing. (Note: a fair amount of the press left when the opening notes of STH rang out).

    All I can say is buckle up for the Knebworth portion of this DVD. It will leave folks shaking their heads in amazement. Simply put, it is some of the most powerful concert footage I've ever seen. Because of the atrocious bootleg audio and video that has circulated over the past 24 years, Led Zeppelin fans won't believe it until they see it for themselves, but I defy anyone to disagree with my assessment afterwards. Rock and Roll - Buckle up! The boys really tear into this one. Very up tempo and fierce. Lots of amateur video shot from the crowd - mostly concentrating on the screen behind the band. Some great camera angles on the band - evenly distributed between the four. Crystal clear video and the sound is just amazing. The sound of JPJ's Alembic bass is deep and punchy. He must have been using brand new strings - the sound is so sharp you can hear them squeak a bit when he changes frets or slides a note. Page's guitar sound is just HUGE. (Note: Zep fans around the world should build a massive bonfire with all the crappy bootlegs of this gig that have circulated over the years. They will never listen to them again after this footage is released). Nobody's Fault But Mine - I'm now resigned to the fact that no one is going to believe that this song sounds good. And they're right - it's not good. It's incredible. The band sounds tight as a drum and even Jimmy's guitar work sounds nearly flawless. Here's that word again - powerful. I don't have too many notes for this one because I got totally wrapped up in watching the performance. It is simply amazing. A total revelation. It sounds enormous.

    Kashmir - Many more camera angles than what we've seen on the boot video or what's shown on VH-1. This is a great performance of a classic song. Lots of amateur video used during this one. Very cool to watch a roadie behind John Bonham making sure a beer doesn't spill over. Don't ever remember seeing that before. Love the audience shots of the big screen. Can't say enough about the director's attention to detail and use of pro-shot and amateur video. This was done with great care. And what a treat to see everything in crystal clear video after all those years of crap bootlegs. Great stuff. The performance of this one drags a bit at the end, but overall is very compelling. WLL - I'm pretty sure this one is a mix and match from the 4th and 11th. Page starts off with a cigarette in his mouth, but it mysteriously disappears shortly after and is never seen again. In my notes I wrote "They sound like the baddest ass band on the planet." This one, like NFBM, is simply going to knock people's socks off. The mid section improv stuff is out of this world. You can tell it was starting to get cold as the night wore on - you can clearly see Percy's breath while he's singing. Lots of moths flying about, too. Love the contrast between this Zeppelin doing WLL and the 1970 RAH Zeppelin doing it. This one absolutely ROCKS! I loved it and can't wait to see it again.
    At the end of this one, the band steps up to the front of the stage for waves and bows. Robert says, "Thanks for 11 years." Jimmy's waving to the crowd, they're all smiling. It's really heartwarming. We hear "You'll Never Walk Alone" as the credits rolled. Gotta admit that I nearly got a little choked up! So there you have it. Watching this sneak preview was a great experience. In case you can't tell by now, I loved it. I truly did. It totally exceeded my expectations. I am blown away and can't wait for the official release.

    Biggest surprise - the Knebworth 1979 footage.
    Slight disappointment - The Royal Albert Hall video. Not enough footage of Jimmy, but that's a minor quibble. The overall performance compensates for any shortcomings from a visual perspective.
    Favorite song - Very tough call. I'd say either the Knebworth Whole Lotta Love or the Earls Court Going to California. Honorable mentions to the Misty Mountain Hop and The Ocean from MSG '73 and NFBM from Knebworth. Star of the show - John Henry Bonham.
    Audio - Flawless.
    Video - Super. Not perfect, but extremely good. Great job by the directors and editors. They did the best they could with what they had to work with.
    Final thought - Buckle up, world. Hear me, O Non-Believers! This will be the summer of Led Zeppelin. This DVD - and the simultaneous release of the How the West Was Won CD package - will cement their reputation as one of the greatest rock and roll band of all time.

    I understand from my sources inside the Zeppelin camp that there are no plans to release the preview to theaters or TV. This is a BIG mistake. People would go absolutely bonkers if they had a chance to see this for themselves - preferably before the DVD set is released. It would drive sales up into the stratosphere. I'm sure it will sell like hot cakes anyway, but this really is a missed opportunity. A release for theaters would single handedly bring back the "Midnight Movie" phenomenon.
     
  2. KBanya

    KBanya Active Member

    Location:
    CT
    This is going to be spectacular. I absolutely cannot wait. Felt a few tingles just reading about it.
     
  3. KBanya

    KBanya Active Member

    Location:
    CT
    I wanted to include this as well for those that may not have seen it...
     

    Attached Files:

  4. Chris M

    Chris M Senior Member In Memoriam

    I can't wait! The old boot from the LA Forum show reveals that it was an incredible show. Much better than Song Remains the Same. During Dazed and Confused they weave in and out of The Crunge, Walters Walk and Hots on for Nowhere!

    Chris
     
  5. bartels76

    bartels76 Forum Hall Of Fame

    Location:
    CT
    :cheers:

    I can't wait!!!
     
  6. GuyDon

    GuyDon Senior Member Thread Starter

    Although I know it is a "fan" review, I am still very excited about these releases. I am anxious to see (and believe) how good the Knebworth performances really are on this dvd as I have never been impressed by the audio bootlegs.
     
  7. Chris M

    Chris M Senior Member In Memoriam

    I don't think the fan review mentioned it but the DVD also has all of the '69 TV appearances, some Australia '72 footage, and a brief clip of Iceland '70 footage.

    Chris
     
  8. floyd

    floyd Senior Member

    Location:
    Spring Green, WI
    Now there's a cover much better than the new proposed cd. I can't wait for this one either. Some of those boots are just unlistenable. I do like Destroyer though, a great set IMO
     
  9. Tyler

    Tyler Senior Member

    Location:
    Hawaii
    I can't wait for this DVD to be released! I do like the cover, much better than the "How the west was won". I'm just wondering why they couldn't think up a better title than "DVD".
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine