Led Zeppelin: The Song Remains the Same
By: Kevin Filipski |
Thursday December 13, 2007 |
 |
Two-disc DVD set (Warner Home Video) - Two-CD release (Rhino/Swan Song) |
| In 1976, when "The Song Remains the Same" was released in theaters and record stores, Led Zeppelin was the biggest rock band in the world, a quartet set apart from the rest of the pack by its powerful blend of heavy metal, blues and mysticism. The movie, however, almost caved in from its bloated excess: hard-driving sequences from a trio of sold-out Madison Square Garden concerts on its 1973 world tour for the "Houses of the Holy" album are interspersed with ridiculously straight-faced fantasy segments starring each of the band's members–singer Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham.
While it's true that the self-importance and smugness that permeates the film–like Plant acting out a Celtic myth–is cringe-inducing and most likely helped contribute to the backlash against the film, there's an underlying (and unfair) assertion that superstar rock bands have no right to make themselves even larger than they usually are by appearing on the big screen. (U2 ran into the same criticism when it released its movie "Rattle and Hum" in 1988.) Still–and the new Warner DVD of the movie and Rhino/Swan Song CD of the soundtrack confirm this–at least the music holds up three decades later, and is the primary reason why any Zeppelin fan worth his salt would want to pick up new versions of discs he already has. There's been a lot of carping over the years that the concert captured for the film is not up to snuff, and there are a few moments–notably during the opening "Rock'n'Roll" and closing "Whole Lotta Love"–that it seems like the band is going through the motions. But even on auto-pilot, Zeppelin was a monstrous, hard-hitting rock'n'roll machine, and the concert's best songs–"No Quarter," "The Rain Song," a marathon "Dazed and Confused" (including Page's lengthy guitar solo)–hold their own against the group's best live material. Of course, the DVD's audio has been remixed from the original master tracks into a pummeling and teeth-rattling DTS 5.1 Surround Sound, which makes the audio for the "Song Remains" DVD on par with the 2003 DVD release, "Led Zeppelin." The other extras on the two-disc DVD set are also worthwhile, especially the never-before-seen performances of "Celebration Day" and "Over the Hills and Far Away." Also included are a few TV reports from that era, including a short interview with Plant, and a radio profile by then-journalist Cameron Crowe. The new CD set is expanded from the original nine-song release to include the other six songs, all remixed by Page: the standouts are a killer "The Ocean" and a stunning "Over the Hills and Far Away." But the whole CD sounds terrific, with the dynamic range wider than ever before, and Bonham's drums mixed far better than they were in the original release. Of course, nitpickers will continue to complain about this supposedly inferior concert, but those of us not able to make it to London for the recent reunion show are happy that Page, Plant, and company have not allowed "The Song" to remain the same old, same old on DVD and CD. |
