Becoming Led Zeppelin

I did chuckle to myself watching this when the band talk about the bad reviews they received from the music press but how the fans ignored it anyway and through word of mouth the band became bigger and bigger with much adulation. Seeing the media reviews of this film against the fan reviews it seems nothing has changed in over 50 years.

But here's the thing. This is clearly made by a fan, for the fans. It's not for casual rock fans. It's almost 2 and a half hours covering only two years of the band (with the birth of the band covering the first hour or so) and it's power is in the build up, the interviews (only with the band and not the usual snippets from the cleaner and famous fans we've hardly heard of, which is the usual fare for these type of documentaries), the wonderful Bonzo audio and the phenomenal performances, some of which the band hadn't even seen. I can't wait for the inevitable (I hope) follow up. It's all I could of wished for when I first heard they were doing this, and more.

I grew up in an home where folk music reigned, and a bit like with those folks at the Newport Folk Festival who recoiled in disgust at Bob Dylan's shift from acoustic to electric, my parents wouldn't give this band house room in their collection. Therefore, save for the odd rendition of "Whole Lotta Love" or "Stairway to Heaven" I knew precious little about this band when I watched this documentary. It starts by introducing us to each of the members, and rather poignantly uses an interview with the late John Bonham as all four take us through their own musical influences before they met and make musical history. There's some serious archive research gone into this film providing an astonishing array of material from not just those who inspired these men but of some of their own early appearances. There's an especially enjoyable scene from London's Roundhouse theatre where, already having had success in the USA, they perform to a bemused collection of Londoners - some with their fingers in their ears! I didn't love all of their music, and as one journalists quoted here declared - they can be a bit self indulgent. So what, though? That old adage about serving others best when you serve yourself springs to mind. If you can't enjoy making music your own way, you can't expect others to enjoy listening to it - and that search for a musical style that resonates with an audience is clearly important to these blokes. Interestingly, after fifty-odd years, they still appear to respect each other and look back fondly not just on their days touring and making music, but also display a touching affection for their lamented drummer who's comments elicit a genuine emotion from Messrs Plant, Page and Jones. It features very little by way of noises-off comments, instead focussing on the band's own insightful narration as well as plenty of actuality material - including some long form performances from their gigs up until the release of "Led Zeppelin II" where our history rather abruptly concludes. These are three erudite and engaging men who who have clearly lived life's ups and downs fully and energetically, and emerged remarkably sanely out the other side of a music industry that they refused to be consumed by. There music won't be to everyone's taste, but as a history of an industry, a band and a genre-busting style of rock this is an easy film to absorb for two hours.

Jimmy page has always been something of a (rightful) control freak when it comes to his 'baby', Led Zeppelin; and while their 12 year output is largely untarnished, there have been a few missteps following the death of drummer John Bonham in 1980, like the ill-fated Live Aid reunion in 1985, so it's no surprise he, along with Plant and Jones, were initially a little tentative about a proposed 'official' documentary.

On one hand, 'Becoming Led Zeppelin' does live up to its title. This is not a band chronology, but the how and why of it all coming together, from their post-war childhoods to becoming infatuated with American blues, r&b, jazz, and rock music as teenagers. While it doesn't touch on every single influence, there is enough of an overview to get the cultural picture. All three surviving members provide an adequate narrative through new interviews. Although it's Page who is the most lucid and engaged, Plant and Jones are also informative, witty and affable.

Of course, the music does speak for itself, and is given plenty of screen time to do that, presenting live clips of complete songs with original audio. It would be easy to complain that most of these clips were released in 2003 on the 'Led Zeppelin Live' DVD, but they definitely benefit from the Imax treatment. One nice surprise, though, was the inclusion of unreleased footage from the Fillmore West, San Francisco in 1969, among others.

It all seems to add up to an engaging cohesive story, that is, until the director gets a case of montage fever and decides to recycle clips and songs we've already seen, in a ham-fisted way more than a few times, which just comes off as filler, and really cheapens the overall tone of the film.

So, does this film actually do justice to the mighty Zeppelin? It does accomplish its objective in cohesively covering the early years, and keeps us engaged with interviews, unseen clips and photos, but somehow manages to stray without a satisfactory conclusion. Still, I'm glad it exists, but could use a re-edit.

Thoroughly enjoyed Becoming Led Zeppelin. Keep in mind this is about how the band rose to fame quickly, the old-fashioned way by touring relentlessly. No Internet, just word-of-mouth, kind DJs and radio play. What they achieved the old-fashioned way in less than 15 months was simply amazing. The film reveals how four people who virtually never played together discovered a magic within themselves and the vision Jimmy page had for their future. Never before seen footage and audio clips were awesome. Keep in mind this documentaries about the bands rise to store them early in their Career. Try to see in an IMAX theater or equivalent.

2025 has been the year of musical biopics so far, though this film about the early years of Led Zeppelin is a documentary / concert film, unlike any of those.

Looking to break away from his comfortable life as a session guitarist, Jimmy Page established his own band, bringing in fellow session player John Paul Jones as well as two prodigious talents from the West Midlands in Robert Plant and John Bonham. Their chemistry is immediate and they head to American to tour on preexisting contracts for Page's former band The Yardbirds. Their first album is a commercial success, though not well reviewed. They resolve to come again with everything they have for their second album.

The documentary has the full co-operation from the three surviving members of the band who all appear in talking head style interviews, explaining their story themselves. This is intercut with footage from various different sources showing the band performing, or home videos. There is also inserts from an Interview with John Bonham, that never aired anywhere previously, but cover his early life, and time spent with Plant before the band came together. It's quite emotional when they play the interview to the rest of the band, particularly a section when he talks about how he feels about his bandmates. It's a very well researched documentary, though does only get the bands opinions on what's going on, with none of the supporting characters offering any thoughts.

It's a criticism that you see in all the reviews, but it is valid. Ending where they do, with the release of Zeppelin 2, does mean that they can avoid all of the contentious topics that a full documentary would cover. So, there's no spiralling into heroin use, no talk of what they may have gotten up to with groupies and there's no actual discussion of Bonham's death, even how they feel about it. Maybe with the trust that Bernard MacMahon has established with them, they could come back and do a follow up "The End of Led Zeppelin".

If you don't have any interest in the band it's perhaps unlikely to change your opinion, but I enjoyed it.