Led Zeppelin: The Song Remains the Same [HD DVD]

 

 

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I cannot say enough good stuff about this movie! I know lots of people say these were not their best performances, but it's still amazing to watch. "Dazed and Confused" and "No Quarter" blew me away. The sound on this movie is great, you can hear pretty much everything quite clearly. I have yet to watch bonus features, I just keep rewatching the concert!
The weird little acting sequences add some variety and interest throught out the movie, because it could get a little dry at times.
I recomend this movie to anyone and everyone! It's amazing.

Led Zeppelin will remain the giants of Rock 'n' Roll for a long time to come. Although they've been criticized for "robbing" the blues greats, the truth as any student of the blues will know is that the tradition of the blues (and folk for that matter) is to take existing songs and then modify them with new variations and improvisations until eventually a new song emerges that's virtually indistinguishable from the original. Led Zeppelin have done this with some of the early songs, especially on the first album, but then developed their own unmistakable sound that has since been imitated but never duplicated. This concert is a document of the band at the peak of their powers, claiming their place as the undisputed biggest band in the world at the time, and for many years after.

"The Song Remains the Same" showcases the band during their 1973 USA tour promoting their Houses of the Holy album, with footage from their three nights at Madison Square Garden in New York. The great (now classic) songs from the first five albums are here, including "Dazed and Confused", "Rock and Roll", "Moby Dick", "Whole Lotta Love", and of course the anthemic "Stairway to Heaven". But this is more than simply a film of the concert, as it includes several "fantasy" sequences for each individual band member, making it into a mix of live concert footage and music video, during the days before music videos were widely available on MTV (and many places elsewhere within a few years). The fantasy sequences are intertwined with the concert film, giving each band member a chance to show his individual personality through imagery only made possible with film. The original film (disc one of the two disc version) also includes some news or documentary type footage of the concerts, including investigation of the disappearance of money that the band had deposited in the hotel's safe deposit box.

This new release of the original movie has added a second disc that contains some additional concert footage (not from New York), as well as an interview with manager Peter Grant and lead singer Robert Plant, originally shown on BBC's "The Old Grey Whistle Test" prior to release of the film in 1976. In total it may not be much in terms of "bonus material" or "extras" but for any Zeppelin fanatic - and I include myself here - it's really a "must have" addition to all of the other Zeppelin albums and videos that are bursting our shelves. Besides, at the price being offered, it's almost free in the sense that I can buy the new two disc version and trade the previous one disc version with a friend for something else.

All in all, I'd highly recommend this newer version, even to anyone who has the previous version already in their collection.

Finally what many Zep fans have hoped for, a remastered rerelease of The Song Remains The Same. I know i have and that is strange because i never thought that the performances are all that great. And over the years the band has come out and said that they too don't think they played well at those New York shows ( the bootlegs of the Los Angeles shows are far superior performances). But this is the only official document of that tour so we cling to it, we come back to it, even though the band's playing is sloppy and tired. But it still is fun to watch, just to see a young Led Zeppelin in their heyday. And that tiny stage. Here they were playing arenas and stadiums and they had a stage set that was right for a 2000 seat concert hall. There are a few good performances such as the extras Misty Mountain Hop and Celebration Day and the Ocean. There just isn't enough of them.

The package is nice, it comes with a set of lobby cards, some reproductions of movie premiere tickets and newspaper clippings. Most importantly the picture quality and sound quality are vastly improved, it really does sound and look beautiful. And if you don't already know, the film isn't completely live. When the band got back to England they weren't happy with what they filmed so they set up the stage in Shepperton studios and reshot many scenes and you can see some times that Jimmy's guitar playing isn't in synch with what we hear and see. Also the film was shot over 3 nights in N.Y and the band was told to wear the same clothes for all shows to make it look like one show, but John Paul Jones wears different clothes on each night and the editing reflects that. You see JPJ wearing 3 different outfits in one song. Sad really. One last thing i would like to add is why with todays technology, they didn't give us an option to watch the film with or without the fantasy pieces, which i always found boring. So there you have it, not a great film, but still a fun snapshot of the band when they ruled the land.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Great, because it's Led Zeppelin!
After sesing this movie in theater, i have bought the DVD and now the Blu-Ray. Simply because it was a great experience of watching this band on film when i was young, and i have... Read more

Published 8 months ago by Rock Yours

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely Awesome
This a classic cult film from the 70s. Be sure your television or viewing device is hooked up to a decent sound system and crank it up !

Published on Aug 9 2009 by Brian O. Sullivan

3.0 out of 5 stars The Song Remains The same
The title of this DVD more than explains the slight monotony of the content, which is cleverly disguised by the producer introducing all manner of unrelated scenes and events to... Read more

Published on July 26 2009 by Leigh Harris

4.0 out of 5 stars Better late than never
First the DVD: although not one of Zep's finest performance , it is amazing to hear them in glorious 5.1, 35 years after the Madison Square Garden show. Read more

Published on Feb 5 2008 by D. Belanger

5.0 out of 5 stars They Are Your Overlords
The previous DVD edition (1999) of The Song Remains the Same suffered from terrible sound. For instance, you could barely hear Jimmy Page's guitar in the opening track ("Rock and... Read more

Published on Nov 29 2007 by Wilhelm Emilsson

1.0 out of 5 stars Very weak reissue
First of all I like the movie but this collector's reissue is severely lacking and it is sad because this was a great opportunity to provide the fans with a piece of Zep folklore... Read more

Published on Nov 24 2007 by J. Bird

5.0 out of 5 stars The Song Indeed Remains
This movie, as wonderful as it is, is in my opinion for Zep- fans only. Those interested in good music(concert)DVD should go for the marvellous Led Zeppelin: DVD, as it offers... Read more

Published on Aug 19 2006 by Katrina Karell

3.0 out of 5 stars Great Movie Bad Sound
I realise that back in 99 when this was put on dvd maybe the sound mastering techonology wasn't quite up to the standards it's at today but someone should've remastered the sound... Read more

Published on July 15 2006 by Mr. Jody Rice

3.0 out of 5 stars Good for Zep fanatics. Loses its charm for others.
You know already whether you'll like this DVD -- if you're listening to Led Zeppelin right now, then by all means buy this DVD. Read more

Published on July 12 2004 by My Twin

5.0 out of 5 stars zeppelin freak
This movie was so awsome I LOVE zeppelin

Published on July 4 2004

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