The Song Remains the Same

I am a huge fan of Led Zepellin, but I found this concert film underwhelming. I would much rather listen to their second album than listen to this footage. I just don't believe the film does justice to the group's talents.

I know other will disagree, simply because it is Led Zep, but don't we have a right to expect better?

I mean that when I say it, but nevertheless, it was actually this movie that lit the Led Zeppelin spark within me and, thanks to my roommate and music sharing, I downloaded the whole anthology and the rest is history.

Back to my original comment. I am obsessed with this movie for the same reason I am obsessed with the music of Zeppelin in general, because after giving it time to grow on me and develop a taste for it, the movie became addicting to watch. I have now watched it so many times that I have learned to appreciate the purpose of the fantasy clips, the placement of the songs on the DVD, and why they all tie together the way they do.

I do agree with those who believe that skipping the shootout in the beginning is the right thing to do. The country life sequence, however, provides tremendous insight into each of the band members and completes the picture of the ordinary human side as well as the psychedelic band member side. Robert Plant shares a peaceful moment with his wife and skinny-dipping children. John Bonham plows his fields. John Paul Jones reads Jack and the Beanstalk to his children. And finally Jimmy Page sits quietly by a lake and plays a hurdy-gurdy.

Coming into the concert, one already has the vision of the four men as normal people in the back of their minds, not just eccentric, wild rockers, so the viewer is not alienated from the band as they launch into their classic tunes with barely time to catch a breath in between. Augmented by the music, the viewer dives deeper into the minds of the band members with an emotionally profound vigor.

The roller coaster ride extends from the "in-your-face" blues of Since I've Been Loving You to the dark edginess of No Quarter, from the whimsical strangeness of The Song Remains The Same to the beautiful stateliness of the Rain Song. Played in a different key, the Rain Song has the same amount of power and energy as its counterpart on the Houses of the Holy LP, but this live version delivers with a more triumphant, confident, and splendid statement than the reflective, oft melancholy LP take. As the song builds towards its rapturous (and victorious for Robert Plant) climax, the tone of the concert and DVD reaches it height. Then, in a stark contrast, the viewer then must sadly leave the sojourn in paradise and descend into the uneasy, convoluted maze of Dazed and Confused. Just when the viewer seems convinced that his descent has led him to hell as the song reaches the 26 minute mark, his reward for his own Zeppelin "endurance" is despite paradise being lost, finding heaven quite literally and being treated to the timeless Stairway to Heaven.

The fantasy scenes take the longest to grow on the viewer, but, with time, augment the music and vice versa. It is then that the film begins to resemble "Fantasia," only with Led Zeppelin music. This is particularly true of the bow solo in the middle of Dazed and Confused, because it eerily echos the equally long, convoluted, and edgy strains of Stravinsky's Rite of Spring, but punctuated visually with the youthening of Jimmy Page as opposed to the aging of the early planet Earth.

That is the kind of appreciation I have for this movie, and although Led Zeppelin is by no means perfect in this movie, the viewer can come to respect that because they have that picture of them as ordinary men already in their mind. I believe this movie is overall genius and the most accurate canvas painting of all aspects of the four musical geniuses known as Led Zeppelin we possess.

The film must not be judged with today's yardstick. We must appreciate that first of all The Song Remains The Same was probably never meant to be a film but a visual of what a Led Zeppelin concert was all about and even more probably meant for their musical fans and others interested in rock music. I've seen this film several times when I was still a young school boy. By then I was already familiar with the Music and the many variations of the main scores which Led Zeppelin were already renowned for.

I disagree with your correspondent who judged the band by virtue of this film and stated that Led Zeppelin is the most over rated band. There are many musicians I don't mind calling geniuses such as Mike Oldfield, Queen, Beatles, Pink Floyd etc. But certainly Led Zeppelin deserve to be at the top of the list with songs such as Kashmir, Heartbreaker, Black Dog, Stairway to Heaven, Dazed and Confused, In the Light, Whole Lotta Love, Battle of Evermore and my all time favourite Since I've been Loving You.

My advice - before seeing the film become familiar with the great songs.

"The Song Remains The Same" is essentially a film of a concert, yet thanks to the drug and ego-addled personalities of Led Zeppelin in the mid-1970s, the footage is fleshed out to include weird 'fantasy' sequences involving each of the four band members. While this section of the movie leaves a little to be desired, the concert footage is truly breathtaking, capturing the greatest hard rock band in history at their apogee.

The film opens with an odd gangster-style sequence, where faceless mobsters are mowed down by what would appear to be rival gangsters. Whatever meaning this scene is meant to represent is not clear, however it has been suggested that the faceless mobsters are the British press, who had vilified Led Zeppelin through their entire career. Who knows, but it certainly makes for an interesting start to the film.

From there the film takes an interesting turn. Each individual band member is introduced. We see drummer John Bonham ploughing his fields in a tractor, bassist John Paul Jones reading nursery rhymes to his children, singer Robert Plant playing with his wife and children in an English country lake (the scene resembles the cover of Led Zeppelin's 1973 album 'Houses of the Holy'), while guitarist Jimmy Page is introduced next to a riverside. They each receive a letter informing them that they are to tour the next day.

Once Led Zeppelin take the stage at New York's Madison Square Garden, the action really begins. The band run through some of their absolute classics, including 'Whole Lotta Love', 'Stairway to Heaven', 'Heartbreaker' and a massive version of 'Dazed and Confused'. The quality of musicianship is amazing. Page's guitar playing belies belief and John Bonham's twenty minute drum solo is awe inspiring. As the band plays there are more fantasy scenes, the best of which includes Robert Plant as some kind of Arthurian hero. The way in which Led Zeppelin embrace and play on the Tolkien-like world of mystical fantasy is truly refreshing in these over-stylised days, where musicians are more concerned with the amount of gel in their hair than the music they produce.

Watching the band at work you get a distinct feeling that the musicians of today really aren't as proficient as they were twenty or thirty years ago. Led Zeppelin it seems were better live than on record, which would be unheard of today.

As an audience we are able to see "The Song Remains The Same" for what it is: a timepiece. Post-1975, Led Zeppelin's work became gradually lower in quality and as Punk revolutionised the music scene, they became dinosaurs at the end of the decade. But in this time, their 1971-1975 period, Led Zeppelin were the biggest band in the world, and their power is captured with brilliant clarity on this film. Whatever happened after this time is a moot point; this is how Led Zeppelin should and will be remembered. A must for any serious music fan.

My subject is more of a commentary on the band, not the movie. I'm not really a "Led Head". I didn't discover them until the late 80's. I just wish I was born 10 years earlier so I could have experienced them (and other great 70's bands) first hand.

I was 6 when this movie was released and didn't get into the concert scene until rock was in "spin-off mode" (The Firm, Plant, Dio, Ozzy, etc.). But still... This movie is a PERFECT snap shot of the 70's concert scene... Jimmy (Page) with his cosmic pants and girls with neon blue eye shadow.

The movie isn't that great if you're looking at it as a technical piece (direction, cinematography, etc.). But it excels at helping us remember what that period was like. Again, a 14 year old Britany fan will NEVER understand it. It's for those of us who were a part of that dynasty. It's "Classic Rock Video". You watch it... and remember what it was like in the "good old days".

I'm still amazed at how these guys were gods in the music industry. Talk about leaving your mark. They defined a generation and changed the lives of millions, just as The Beatles did a decade before. This kind of fame will never happen again (in corporate America). Do InSync fan's think the same way as we thought about The Beatles and Led Zeppelin? :)

Again, this movie wasn't great (technically), but if you were even remotely a part of this era, it's a must see. I gave it a 7/10 just because I get chills thinking about how these guys were living legends and it seemed like they knew how to handle it.