Led Zeppelin DVD - Prepare To Be Amazed!If you never saw Zep in concert, the next best thing is to catch the super group on the Led Zeppelin DVD. Was Page as cool a guitarist as you think? Could Plant really whip a crowd into a frenzy? How did John Bonham and John Paul Jones interact with each other and contribute to what Page and Plant were doing? Was this band truly greater than the sum of its individual parts as so many have told me? These questions and others are answered on this incredible DVD. Jimmy Page and Atlantic Records created it by compiling concert footage from the group’s guidepost performances in 1969, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1975 and 1979. It was released in May 2003. Putting The Boots to BootsThe beautifully mastered Led Zeppelin DVD is so much more than just an audio-visual archival document of the group’s live concert experience. It’s also a very interesting commentary on the state of today’s music industry. Bootlegging is an old problem that Atlantic Records and other labels never quite solved. Now it pales in comparison to file-sharing and digital music downloading. “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” seems to be their newly adopted approach. In discussing bootlegs, my interviewees provided fascinating insights. One observed that the only way musicians can make any money at their craft today is by touring. In effect, we’re reverted to the medieval days of wandering minstrels! Rather than lament the loss of royalties due to bootlegging, some labels – like Atlantic Records – have opted instead to leverage the seemingly insatiable demand for such material and supply it in a legitimate format from their own archives or others’.
A Picture’s Worth A Thousand NotesWhere did the footage come from for the Led Zeppelin DVD? There’s always been an abundance of audio recordings in the band’s official catalogue. But there’s been little to no video of Zeppelin in the recording studio or on stage. Why not? One reason is that Zeppelin didn’t like its sound on television. Unlike The Rolling Stones, The Beatles and other bands that frequently appeared on TV, they rarely did. So there’s precious little televised footage of the group. Led Zeppelin was very much “of the moment” and seldom followed the conventional path. That included filming itself in concert. It seems that freezing their stage act for posterity wasn’t a top priority then. Fortunately, it was for some fans! Unofficial fan films from both Madison Square Garden (July ‘73) and England’s Knebworth Park (August ’79) were included in the Page/Atlantic compilation DVD. Not even Zeppelin could experience its concerts from the audience’s perspective! This creates a stunningly accurate portrayal of what it was like to see Led Zeppelin perform live. How encouraging to see that Zeppelin and Atlantic Records gave so much weight to the historical relevance this bootlegged material had to offer. Forty Years Gone, But Not ForgottenIt’s timely to take another look at the Led Zeppelin DVD on the recent occasion of the band’s 40th anniversary (1968-2008). Perspectives change over time, but the audio and video concert footage on this DVD remains fresh and exciting. As an archival document, this DVD is priceless in capturing the raw energy and musicianship of Led Zeppelin live. Its production values are much higher than the audio/video typically offered by bootleggers yet the concert atmosphere and excitement remain intact. Just as this DVD is able to provide an unprecedented look at the live concert experience from the audience’s perspective, so do the first-hand accounts of my interviewees. Three of them were there at Gladsaxe for Zeppelin’s first-ever gig! Others relive concerts they attended throughout the 1960s. They’ll tell you about the light shows and venues. The acts sharing the bill. And so much more. Many books are about “what the band did when”. That’s great information, but you want to dig deeper. Learn the “why” and “how” Led Zeppelin changed popular music history in
Sonic Boom: The Impact of Led Zeppelin. Volume 1 – Break & Enter.
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