L E D - Z E P P E L I N - DVD

Released on the year 2003, this double DVD set is the compilation of most known videos recorded by this unbelievable band during its decade of existence. The band which, after The Beatles, has been the most referenced band in contemporary popular music.

This DVD collection is even more fascinating, because they fought shy of the cameras throughout their entire career. Even though they have sold millions of albums worldwide and performed live in record-breaking tours, Led Zeppelin maintained an inaccessible relationship with the media. Few press photos, even fewer press interviews, and an almost allergic reaction to the idea or appearing on TV; they refused even to release singles in the UK. Until the year 2003, the only official document of the live Led Zeppelin experience was the 1976 movie “The Song Remains the Same”, which featured clips of the band performing in New York in 1973 but, as a film, not such a good piece of production.

This new DVD double set is the first Led Zeppelin visual material of any kind for over 25 years. It bequeathed something of real value to fans from that period, as well as allowed a whole new generation of people who weren’t there first time around to get a chance to see what Led Zeppelin was really all about. And. if they were Gods made musicians, this DVD is the Holy Bible of the hard rock.

With over five hours of live performance, it includes materials from concerts in the Royal Albert Hall in 1970, Madison Square Garden in 1973, Earls Court in 1975 and Knebworth in 1979. The extras include a Promo show, Danmarks Radio performance, the Supershow and the French “Tous en Scene” with young musicians of 1969, as well as a NYC Press Conference of 1970 and other interviews with the band musicians.

To see such scenes as the acoustic section of the show at Earls Court brought back to life with such vivid clarity is an astonishing experience; one made possible only recently with the arrival of modern digital technology. The Albert Hall footage, which was originally shot over 30 years ago using two 16mm film cameras, looks and sounds like it was recorded yesterday. It’s the same with all the material, with the cumulative effect that the close-up footage from Knebworth, for example, is almost too real.

Starting with 132 cans of film negatives, two sets of two-inch video tape from the Earls Court and Knebworth shows, a small amount of bootleg material, plus a few clips of some of their earliest TV appearances, the resulting footage has turned up some incredible hidden gems.

The Knebworth footage, for example, far exceeds what might have been possible had it ever been released as a straightforward concert film. Apart from the video recordings from the giant stage screen that appeared behind them on the Knebworth stage, there is also some great stuff shot on isolated cameras from the audience interwoven into the official footage.

The whole process took about a year to complete. Inevitable, there were some glitches along the way: there was only one version of “Achiles Last Stand” from Knebworth, for example. And the biting version of “Heartbreaker” from the Albert Hall was missing the final reel, which is why only a snatch of the audio version is used as a backdrop on one of the sidebars.

In order just to view the original two-inch video tapes from Earls Court and Knebworth, they first had to find a machine that could actually play them. Tow inch video tape is now an obsolete medium. Having finally located an old two inch video recorder that still played without chewing everything up after a search that would take them as far as Singapore and back, the 25 year old tapes were then put through a restoration process that included, bizarrely, baking them at 55 degrees for three weeks in a specially mad ‘oven’.

But the result was worth the investment. They stood as faithful to the original presentation as possible and nothing was done to try and make the actual performance look or sound better than they did back then. Led Zeppelin was the live band of excellence. In that context, this DVD is a historical document, that’s never been seen before.

= DVD 1 =

Live at the Royal Albert Hall (1970)

We’re Gonna Groove
I Can’t Quit You Baby
Dazed and Confused
White Summer
What Is And What Should Never Be
How Many More Times
Moby Dick
Whole Lotta Love
Communication Breakdown
C’mon Everybody
Something Else
Bring It On Home

The band was only one year old during this concert but with two albums and an incredible phenomenon in the stage. Led Zeppelin II, released three months before this concert, was number one in both Britain and America. This concert was originally shot on 16mm film for a BBC TV documentary and shows what differentiated Led Zeppelin from other bands: they were a live rock band; they performed on stage like nobody else could. Oh, yeah, you can also see here a 21 year old John Bonham (Bonzo) doing his famous drum solo “Moby Dick”.

Extras:

Communication Breakdown (1969)
Danmarks Radio (1969)
Supershow (1969)
Tous En Scene (1969)

The DVD 1 also contains some extra material from the first years. Here you can see a very young Led Zeppelin filmed in black and white in 1969, but also some not so nice TV materials. Especially the “Tous En Scene”, filmed in Paris in 1969, where the band battles against an ailing monitor system. This French variety show was a bizarre setting for a group like Zeppelin, as evidenced by the straitlaced, middle-aged crowd. This show was one of the reasons why Led Zeppelin decided not to do any more TV after becoming disenchanted by the audio-video presentation that TV provided those days.

The March 1969 footage of the band performing live on Danish TV show “TV-Byen” is the exception that proves the rule, however: shot bristling four-song set in front of a small studio audience of mainly teenagers seated cross-legged on the floor; this is vintage stuff from a young band out to prove themselves.

Most of the extra material on this DVD demonstrates the difficulties inherent in trying to convey the live Zeppelin experience in the ill-equipped TV studios of the day, the fact that the band still managed to make such good fist of it makes fascinating viewing. After that though, it was decided: no more TV shows. From now on Led Zeppelin would only be seen performing together live on stage – or not at all.

= DVD 2 =

Immigrant Song (1972)

This is a digitized mash between two separate performances – the film footage taken from the band’s performance at the Sydney Showground in Australia, in February 1972, and the music from a Long Beach Arena show, in Los Angeles in the summer of 1972.

Madison Square Garden (1973)

Black Dog
Misty Mountain Hop
Since I’ve Been Loving You
The Ocean

The three shows Zeppelin performed there over the weekend of July 27-29 marked the end of an American tour that saw them drawing bigger crowds to their shows than anyone before, including the Beatles and the Stones. But the band is seen grown up managing the live performance with wonderful spontaneity and musicianship. They are so full of confidence now that the showmanship has started to come through and they are working together with almost telepathy between them.

Earls Court (1975)

Going To California
That’s The Way
Bron Yr Aur Stomp
In My Time of Dying
Trampled Underfoot
Stairway To Heaven

Filmed during May 17-18 and 23-25, they installed two 24x30 feet Eidophor video screens either side of the stage. Focusing initially on the acoustic segment where Robert, Jimmy and John Paul would all gather together on stools, it serves as a touchingly personal interlude after the hypnotic frenzy of New York. Here you can see a superior version of “Stairway To Heaven” one of the best rock songs ever and a symbol of the music of the 70’s.

Knebworth (1979)

Rock and Roll
Nobody’s Fault But Mine
Sick Again
Achilles Last Stand
In The Evening
Kashmir
Whole Lotta Love

Filmed during two shows on August 4 and 11 1979 for a combined audience of 400,000 people, this is the last appearance in Britain for the band. It features wonderful versions of “Achilles Last Stand”, “In the Evening” and “Kashmir”, this one, another of the most remarkable songs of the band. Far from appearing to be nearing the end of the road, the band actually sounds more defiantly in command of their music than ever.

Extras

NYC Press Conference (1970)
Down Under (1972)
The Old Grey Whistle Test
Promo 1 Over The Hills and Far Away (1990)
Promo 2 Travelling Riverside Blues (1990)

Product Details

Director: Jimmy Page

Encoding: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. This DVD will probably NOT be viewable in other countries)

Format: Color, Box set

Aspect Ratio(s): 1.33:1

Audio Encoding: DTS 5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1, PCM Stereo

Rated: NR
Studio: Wea Corp
DVD Release Date: May 27, 2003
Run Time: 314

DVD Features:
Available Audio Tracks: English (DTS), English (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (PCM Stereo)
2 DVD Box Set:

DVD 1:

Live at the Royal Albert Hall (1970)
1969 - 3 titles from Danish Television (31 min Stereo)
1969 - "Communication Breakdown" Promo - Paris (9 min Stereo)
1969 - "Dazed And Confused" - Supershow (7 min Stereo)

DVD 2:

1972 - Immigrant Song - Splodge Edit Live (4 min)
1973 - Madison Square Garden - New York (24mn) - 4 titles not included in the film "The Song Remains The Same"
1975 - Earl's Court - London 49 min - 6 titles
1979 - Knebworth - Angleterre 52 min - 7 titles
1970 - NBC interview with the band (mono)
1972 - Rock N' Roll + interviews from Australian Television (4 min Stereo)
1975 - Interview with Robert Plant - BBC Old Grey Whistle (4 min Stereo)
2 clips : "Over The Hills" and "Travelling Riverside Blues" (4 min)

Average Customer Review: 5 out of 5. Based on 509 reviews.

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