Let's not psycho analyze the quality and artistry of this Led Zeppelin DVD set. Led Zeppelin was such an innovative group that many of their efforts and attitudes resulted in a large void today.
When Zeppelin ruled the world (yes, they were bigger than the Beatles), their confidence allowed them NOT to bow to pressure to put out singles, name albums (their forth has no title), and most importantly, not allow recording or photographing of concert footage. Peter Grant (manager) was notorious in his violence towards bootleggers.
Here we are over 30 years later begging for something, ANYTHING that will allow us to remember the power and drive of Led Zeppelin in its prime.
This Led Zeppelin DVD does just that.
Yes, the quality is waning in some shots. But who cares? We take what we can get from the vaults of Jimmy Page.
Here are some of my thoughts:
I can not believe all the 'heavy lifting' Bonzo did in the performances. While Plant merely sang and JPJ kept it simple, often times Jimmy Page and Bonzo would face each other and hammer the rhythm and guitar together. Bonzo had to be thoroughly exhausted after each and every show.
The acoustic sets were unbelievable! Led Zeppelin was 'unplugged' 15 years before MTV knew the meaning of the word!
Watch Jimmy Page up close. You'll quickly see that Slash, Joe Perry, and even Eddie Van Halen (and his 'hammer-on') were wannabes at one time. The way they copied Jimmy Page is uncanny!
Songs of note: Trampled Under Foot is especially cool. A good 10 minute jam! All of the Royal Albert Hall performance is worth the price of the DVD alone. The acoustic ballads including Going To California and That's The Way were wonderful. They were of excellent quality as well! To here Achilles' Last Stand live in 1979 was absolutely riff bashing!
Any die hard Zep fan will be very pleased.
What is sad and profound about the DVD is Robert Plant's last words in Knebenworth 1979: 'Thank you for a wonderful 11 years'
It was as if he knew it was their swan song.
