DVD Review: The Song Remains The Same (2007) - Led Zeppelin

by Tom Watson.

Tuesday, November 20, 2007, marks the release date of The Song Remains The Same 2-disc DVD package from Warner Home Video, an upgraded and updated version of the the 1976 Led Zeppelin movie centered on Zeppelin concerts at Madison Square Garden on July 27, 28 and 29, 1973. While the movie itself (Disc One) has not been visually re-edited due to legal restrictions, the 2007 re-release offers several never before seen or heard features: a superbly re-mixed and re-mastered soundtrack (including Dolby 5.1) and (Disc Two) four songs missing from the movie that round out the complete Led Zeppelin 1973 Madison Square Garden set: "Over The Hills And Far Away" (previously unreleased); "Celebration Day" (cutting copy - previously unreleased); "Misty Mountain Hop"; and "The Ocean."

Disc Two also includes news venue footage and the band's Tampa, Florida, airport arrival for the 1973 concert at Tampa Stadium; a vintage BBC interview with Robert Plant and Peter Grant (Led Zeppelin's manager, the movie's Executive Producer, and an actor in the movie); a vintage interview with Peter Grant regarding the robbery that took place during Led Zeppelin's stay at the Drake Hotel in NYC in 1973 in which almost $200,000 of the group's touring pay went missing from the hotel's safe - a still unsolved mystery; the original theatrical trailer; and a 1976 radio profile spotlight by Cameron Crowe (who also penned the package's liner notes). At a current street price from online retailers such as Amazon.com of only $13.99 for the Special Edition package, recommending this reissue is hardly risky business.

The unusual nature of The Song Remains The Same

Due to the seemingly quirky fantasy sequences that open the film and are intercut throughout, the movie might seem strange to those expecting a simple Led Zeppelin concert feature film. Though originally planned as a straight-up, live concert experience, an early screening (probably in late '73 or early '74) of the performance footage left producers thinking additional material was needed to bring the movie up to feature-length status. In 1974, Peter Clifton was brought in as co-director (Joe Massot directed the MSG performance filming) and oversaw the shooting of the "fantasy sequences" - separate mini-story-like segments featuring Peter Grant and each of the four band members. Also, some of the filmed songs from the Madison Square Garden shows were deemed incomplete, so the band assembled (also in 1974) at Shepperton Studios (now part of the Pinewood-Shepperton-Teddington studio group) to re-create the show on a soundstage to capture additional footage.

Though the fantasy sequences added the desired run-time minutes, their inclusion is often panned by fans and critics as unnecessary and silly distractions from the concert footage, and, of course, if what you want is undiluted live concert rockumentary, little can be said in their defense. They are, however, entertaining and not as non sequitur as they might seem on first viewing. The sequences tell, in a usually playful, fantasy-based, tongue-in-cheek way, their own story of life as Led Zeppelin on tour and simply, life as a member of Led Zeppelin.

For example, remember the opening sequence in which Peter Grant takes the role of a 1920s gangster with Tommy gun in hand when, later in the film, you see him catch concessionaires at Madison Square Garden selling pirated Led Zep posters. Several of the other fantasy sequences capture the group's interest in what at that time was a new and growing sub-culture - the fascination with swords and sorcery in the vein of Tolkien and Dungeons and Dragons (which was first published in 1974).

But, above all, bear in mind the fantasy sequences represent Grant and Led Zeppelin having fun; and, yes, even Led Zeppelin had to shoot on a budget. According to Cameron Crowe's liner notes: "The 'dream sequences' had been an enjoyable endeavor for the band. Page particularly notes Bonham's delight. 'You can tell in the film John Bonham had a whale of a time doing this, says Page." The band has played such a larger-than-life role in the history of popular music, it's easy to overlook (or not want to see) the lighter side of LZ. As Crowe and Plant recall (also from the liner notes): "All the elements are present, and most of all...the joy. 'The humor is the ingredient that I remember,' says Plant. 'The moment where you look at each other and just laugh.'"

Thirty-one years after its theatrical release (1976), The Song Remains The Same, reads more like an epic music video than it does a feature-length concert-based commercial Hollywood movie and that sort of mindset makes for more enjoyable viewing. After all, shouldn't the word epic be closely associated with Led Zeppelin?

Rock 'n' Roll becomes Rock 'n' Heroics

March, 1973, as a backdrop to the Madison Square Garden concerts, saw the release of the fifth Led Zeppelin album, Houses Of The Holy (a phrase often used by Led Zeppelin fans to refer to the venues where the band played), which includes the track "The Song Remains The Same." While "The Song Remains The Same" is about the universal nature of music ("California sunlight, sweet Calcutta rain, Honolulu star bright, the song remains the same"), the essential Led Zeppelin experience was, and "remains," an important response to a fundamental human need: the affirmation and celebration of more.

1969 was a strange year; a year of extremes. January saw both the last public performance of the Beatles and the release of Led Zepplin's debut album, Led Zeppelin. Though July of that year brought the Apollo mission's first man on the moon and the first withdrawal of United States troops from Vietnam (25,000), and the following month would witness Woodstock, the potential of hope from these events was nevertheless counter-balanced by an underlying sense of Weltschmerz and existential ennui. How else do you account for the popularity of this 1969 pop chart hit by Peggy Lee:

"Is That All There Is?"

Spoken: And when I was 12 years old, my father took me to a circus, the greatest show on earth. There were clowns and elephants and dancing bears. And a beautiful lady in pink tights flew high above our heads. And so I sat there watching the marvelous spectacle. I had the feeling that something was missing. I don't know what, but when it was over, I said to myself, "Is that all there is to a circus?"

Sung: Is that all there is, is that all there is? If that's all there is my friends, then let's keep dancing. Let's break out the booze and have a ball if that's all there is.

The musical answer, for millions, to the stifling worship of post-World War II Ozzie and Harriet status quo materialism, resignation and Bubblegum pop, was Led Zeppelin. While the band's albums quickly became virtually religious doctrine to legions of loyal fans, many felt the true LZ magic was their live performances, at which the recorded work served not as an album-marketing set list but as a starting point for the particular concert's impromptu quasi-religious (to fans) musical experience. As Jimmy Page says in Crowe's liner notes, "Every show we did was different. You never knew when you went onstage what you might do by the end of it. Once a song was recorded, and it went into the set, it began to mutate. The whole improvisational aspect, the riffs coming out of the ether...it was a magical vehicle collectively soaring into the stratosphere."

A Led Zeppelin concert could be a collective magical vehicle that through the union of power, passion, boldness and musical prowess, resulted not in a logical argument for, but a flesh and blood demonstration that there is something more to life than the ordinary. Besides ringing ears and pumping heart, you left a Led Zeppelin concert assured that no, that's not "all there is." You left a Led Zeppelin concert ready to challenge the assumption that what you see is what you get, convinced that what you get is what you're willing to create and fight for. Led Zeppelin concerts are important moments of musical heroics.

Do the three nights at Madison Square Garden in 1973 represent the best of Led Zeppelin's live performances? Subjectively, there can be no definitive answer. Although there isn't that much live footage legally available, other performances (such as 1970 Royal Albert Hall, 1975 Earls Court and 1979 Knebworth - all also enhanced to Dolby 5.1) can be seen on the 2003 DVD, Led Zeppelin (which also contains four tracks from the 1973 MSG shows), and fans will argue the merits according to taste. But, we can take a clue from Robert Plant (via the liner notes) as to the mood of the July, 1973 shows: "The kind of speed we were moving at, the creative juices in the air, the whole thing was just an absolute mixture of adrenaline, chemical, euphoria ... and there were no brakes. We couldn't stop what was happening. We had no idea what it even was. But we just kept trying, pushing forward, every show ... because at the speed we were moving, it was almost unholy."

The more relevant question is, why a 2007 DVD reissue of The Song Remains The Same? After all, it was released in DVD format in 1999.

The contributions of Kevin Shirley

What truly justifies this 2007 DVD reissue of The Song Remains The Same is the mixing artistry of sound engineer Kevin Shirley. An engaging passage of Jimmy Page guitar gets a slight left-speaker bias and then, as the final chord lingers, the echo fades a bit to the right and a sonic impression gently floats from ear to ear giving the passage a tangible feel of movement. Such nuance is Shirley's calling card.

Multi-channel mixing is tricky business. The mixer is faced with an infinite number of both static and moving (panning) sound placement choices: left, right, front, back, when, how fast, and how much (side-to-side panning, for example, is rarely 100%). How does a competent mixer make those decisions? By what he or she feels will most appropriately support and strengthen the music. It becomes an art form when this is done "just right" - neither too little nor too much - and so perfectly fits the music we can no longer imagine hearing it any other way. Mixing at the level of an art form is what Kevin Shirley brings to both the 2007 The Song Remains The Same DVDs and the sold-separately 2-disc soundtrack CDs.

The primary impetus for the DVD reissue was enhancing the movie to Dolby 5.1, unlike the 1999 DVD version. "We wanted it to sound as it did, as strong as it was, a bit cocky and precocious," Robert Plant says in the liner notes. "With 5.1 [sound], we knew we had a chance. We trolled through, dug into it, and there it was. Finally, there was the warmth and the feel of the room (Madison Square Garden), and it sounded good. It's of its time, so confident. It was of the '70s ... it was 'Let's have a go at this!'"

In a recent interview with Modern Guitars, Kevin Shirley recalls this about Plant's reaction to the mix: "Robert would come to the studio and he's not a big fan of the original movie, I'd say he was probably a catalyst to the thing being re-done, and when he first came by he said, 'Oh my God, I don't want to hear this,' and he sat down and listened to it with his hands over his eyes. Then, he starts nodding his head and rocking with it and turns around with a big grin on his face and goes, 'It rocks, doesn't it?' Then he looks at the video and goes, 'We weren't half bad, were we.' It was great to experience that chrysalis, to see the butterfly coming out."

The 2007 edition of The Song Remains The Same is much more than a simple upgrading of the 1999 DVD release to Dolby 5.1. Kevin Shirley re-mixed the movie audio from scratch - drawing on the original 16-track on-site recordings of 1973, so that whether you watch with Dolby 5.1 or two-channel stereo headphones, the sonic experience is greatly enhanced. "We have revisited [emphasis added] The Song Remains The Same," says Jimmy Page, "and can now offer the complete set as played at Madison Square Garden. This differs substantially from the original soundtrack released in 1976, and highlights the technical prowess of Kevin Shirley, who worked with us on How The West Was Won [and 2003's Led Zeppelin live performance DVD]. When it comes to The Song Remains The Same, the expansion of the DVD and soundtrack are as good as it gets on the Led Zeppelin wish list."

2007 The Song Remains The Same coming in four configurations

Deluxe Edition DVD - also referred to as the Special Edition package ($19.97 SRP); 2-disc DVD in Dolby 5.1 (and other sound formats) plus liner notes; release date: November 20, 2007

Limited Collector's Edition DVD - 2-disc set that includes collectible vintage T-shirt with original album artwork design, lobby cards, reproductions of original premiere invites, tour schedule, and more ($44.98 SRP); release date: November 20, 2007

Deluxe Edition HD DVD - High Definition version of the Deluxe/Special Edition package ($28.99 SRP); release date: December 11, 2007

Deluxe Edition Blu-ray DVD - for those with Blu-ray players, the Blu-ray version of the Deluxe/Special Edition package ($28.99 SRP); release date: December 11, 2007

The Song Remains The Same, 2007 Edition

Disc One: The Song Remains The Same Theatrical Release featuring:

Bron-Yr-Aur
Rock and Roll
Black Dog
Since I've Been Loving You
No Quarter
The Song Remains The Same
The Rain Song
Dazed and Confused
Stairway To Heaven
Moby Dick
Heartbreaker
Whole Lotta Love

Disc Two: Extras

Tampa News Report (Pulse) (venue and airport arrival news footage connected to the 1973 Tampa Stadium concert in Tampa, Florida)
"Over The Hills And Far Away"
Boating Down The Thames - BBC interview with Robert Plant and Peter Grant
"Celebration Day"
The Robbery - interview with Peter Grant
"Misty Mountain Hop"
Original film trailer
"The Ocean"
Radio Profile Spotlight by Cameron Crowe (1976)

Related Links
Review of Led Zeppelin at London's O2, December 10, 2007
Kevin Shirley Talks about Revisiting Led Zeppelin's The Song Remains The Same
Mothership, a New 2-CD Compilation from Led Zeppelin
Message from Jimmy Page about Led Zeppelin Reunion Concert
Guitarist Jimmy Page Fractures Finger, Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert with Led Zeppelin Postponed
Led Zeppelin Will Play Concert on November 26 at London's O2 in Tribute to Ahmet Ertegun
1977 Jimmy Page Interview (Audio/Text)
Led Zeppelin's official website

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