Directed by Jimmy Page, it took a year of intensive research to assemble this five-and-a-half-hour digital re-tooling of the Zeppelin legend. Previously, the only officially-sanctioned live footage was the 1976 film The Song Remains The Same. Here, a trawl of the band’s own unreleased archives combines with reclaimed bootleg material to tell the Zep story in chronological fashion, via 30 performances from four memorable concerts?the Albert Hall (1970), Madison Square Garden (1973), Earls Court (1975) and Knebworth (1979). And the ‘Hammer of the Gods’ sounds louder than ever as dodgy old footage is miraculously upgraded to modern requirements, creating what is an impressive new benchmark in rock archaeology. Among the highlights are the sonic storm created by Page’s bowed guitar on “Dazed And Confused”, Bonham’s exploding drums on “Whole Lotta Love” (both from 1970), a sparkling acoustic segment including “Going To California” and “That’s The Way” which sounds far superior in 5:1 surround sound than it ever did in the echoing cavern of Earls Court, an electrifying “In My Time Of Dying” from the same venue and a mighty “Kashmir”, which ignites the Knebworth performance. Fascinating, too, to track Plant’s rapid transformation from West Bromwich ing
Led Zeppelin
Directed by Jimmy Page, it took a year of intensive research to assemble this five-and-a-half-hour digital re-tooling of the Zeppelin legend. Previously, the only officially-sanctioned live footage was the 1976 film The Song Remains The Same. Here, a trawl of the band's own unreleased archives combines with reclaimed bootleg material to tell the Zep story in chronological fashion, via 30 performances from four memorable concerts—the Albert Hall (1970), Madison Square Garden (1973), Earls Court (1975) and Knebworth (1979).
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