Bootlegs of this band's legendary concert performances were, strange as it may seem, a staple in my record collection for years. I used to own over 13 and a half hours of Led Zeppelin bootlegs. Yeah, they were recorded in dubious ways with suspect equipment, but the strength of the material always made up for the inadequacies of the sonics. In fact, the bootlegs introduced me or, better put, re-acquainted me to an entire half of this band's music . . . it made me fall in love with Zeppelin's acoustic side. As Jimmy Page used to put it, "the light (part of the light) and shade." Both the 3-disc CD and the 2-disc DVD capture this part of the band's essence.
DVD First:
When I madly purchased both of these items the day they were released, I was tempted to skip ahead to the gems from the second half of their career that I'd been waiting to see since my first glimpse of the "Houses of the Holy" era live footage in "The Song Remains The Same," but I resisted and watched from disc one track one all the way through. While the first disc, featuring performances from 1970 at Earl's Court, was well played and shows the band revelling in their tight but loose confidence, it's not well lit and doesn't capture the majesty they were known for. The 5.1 surround mix, however, really does the band justice. While it doesn't swirl around the room like some psychedelic trip during "Whole Lotta Love" or "Dazed and Confused," it sure does magnify the thundering drums of the late John Bonham.
The bonus footage is rare archive footage from early television appearances, much of it in black and white. Much can be said of this footage, but it could best be summarized as "much coveted and prized collector's material for the fan," and nothing more than a historical snapshot.
Disc two starts off with a live rendition of "The Immigrant Song," filmed outside in a stadium, and thus shines a well lit ambience on the band that I'd been craving. Then it was '73 footage from Madison Square Garden that didn't make the full cut in the "Song..." movie (some tunes, like "Since I've Been Loving You" were cut away from for those darn fantasy sequences). Perfectly lit and filmed. "Misty Mountain Hop" is here, along with the energetic "The Ocean."
Then it goes to '75 footage from Earl's Court, featuring the endearing acoustic set, where all four members sat on stools at stage's edge. Then it's wonderful stomping blues footage of the "Physical Graffiti" tune "In My Time of Dying." This is what I'm talking about! Extended jamming with the band rolling on "feel" rather than playing to a click track or samples. It's a great adaptation of some great early Gospel Blues. They romp through "Trampled Underfoot" and oooh/ahhhh - it sounds so good! Even a tired song like "Stairway to Heaven" looks and feels great here. It's great seeing that onstage interaction the band members had with each other. I'd always seen it reflected in photographs, but here it was captured in motion.
The Knebworth Festival footage that finishes out the performance footage (the stuff I've been itching to skip forward to) is a real gem. The lighting and visuals are picture perfect and the material is on top of the world. I mean, unless you saw them on the '77 US tour or perform in 1979 on foreign soil, you've never been able to see songs like "Nobody's Fault But Mine," "Sick Again" (a great sarcastic and moral treatise on groupies), "Kashmir," "Achilles' Last Stand" and the lone song from their last studio output - "In The Evening" (from the "In Through The Out Door" album). It's all right here in brilliant color. And this Knebworth show was the band's very last. Quite historic footage, and I can actually say it's here and available to enjoy. I almost need to pinch myself.
Now, overall, the audio here certainly doesn't represent the greatest live album of all time (nor is the 3-disc How the West Was Won compact disc, which was entirely recorded in 1972 material). Jimmy Page and co. didn't go into a studio and "fix" any of the parts (unlike most of the great "Live" albums of the past, which were massively doctored later in the studio). What was played these nights was captured as is. The sound isn't spectacular, but it's strong, it's powerful, and it makes up for all the weak spots and entire frequencies missing from all those bootlegs I used to listen to. Again, this is not even one of the top 5 live albums in rock and roll history, but, like the U2 Elevation 2001 Tour DVD, it is nevertheless one of the greatest moments/products/monuments in rock and roll history.
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