Led Zeppelin: Celebration Day

As a die-hard Led Zeppelin fan, this was a bona fide treat to watch, especially since I wasn't able to be at the O2 Arena concert in 2007. The band redeemed themselves from their three largely forgettable reunion concerts they've done in '85, '88, and '95. Dick Carruthers did an absolutely fantastic job with this film. If this is the final ever Led Zeppelin concert, I'm content with it.

My brother and I had a bet when the show was announced.....If I won, I would take him. If he won, he would take me..... HE WON! Although the film is excellent.... nothing could compare to the energy in the O2 that night.... I know now why Dicky, ( The Director, Editor and One of the Producers) took five years to complete the film. He truly captured the magic of the evening. The way the whole evening was conducted, (Bill Wyman did an excellent job as MC), all of the other "Super Groups", that Ahmet had signed, (Yes... Emmerson, Lake and Palmer...), were there, and the night flowed perfectly... The audience was literally a who's who of the music biz. We stood at mix position, and we could see Sir Paul, Dave Grhol....etc. all within a few feet. Truly an amazing night. Once in a lifetime.

This is one of my favorite concert videos that I have ever seen. The performance of Kashmir gives me goosebumps every time I watch it. Jason Bonham, while not as skilled as his father, certainly holds his own with three legends. If you aren't a Zep fan, this concert just might make you one.

Plenty of highlights, and like most of their output, has a way of growing on you to an almost uncomfortable degree taking you on a miniature journey. As a rock audience, we've practically seen it all: multiple camera angles, audience noise, high-speed editing, close-ups, cameras in clear plastic balls, helicopter shots from above, giant video screens, wide angle shots, 3-D effects, and even fan-held cameras on the loose. After so many years of technological leaps and bounds finding their way to the big screen, it's downright hard to bring anything new or innovative to this medium.

In this concert film we see what we need to see – the concert. And probably all the things that I wanted to see were up close and personal. This includes close-ups of Jimmy Page playing his classic sunburst Les Paul at just the right times, John Paul Jones' fretless bass and Page's skillful slide guitar playing during "In My Time of Dying," Jones' use of the rare 12-string bass during "Trampled Under Foot" and Page's use of the Transperformance guitar during "Whole Lotta Love." Awesome percussion by Jason Bonham throughout and Robert Plant's vocals hold up well. And those were just the technical/musical close-ups of real value. Add in the human emotion of Jones, Page and drummer Jason Bonham looking at each other, nodding and smiling when they were locked in to a tight groove. Not a dull moment, completely engrossing all the way through.

This is definitely a film that is a must see.

Just returned from seeing Led Zepplin's celebration day at Hammersmith Odeon. The film is simply phenomenal, the sound out of this world. Thank you to all involved for blowing the mind of a man who thought he'd seen and heard it all. Thank you to Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones for showing up to introduce the film. Will definitely be going again and again to see this one. Visually the camera work and editing leaves nothing to be desired although I wouldn't have used those square CGI's; they were an unnecessary distraction. The film is emotionally charged right out the gate and caused my eyes to well up through the first two songs. Throughout the film I sat with my hands together as if in prayer, my body occasionally moving in time.

The sound mix is near perfect, I wouldn't change a thing although there was one song I would revisit where the guitar was noticeably lowered to accommodate Robert, this could be more subtle. (I'd have to see it again to be sure though) Actually the mix is perfect. It is brilliantly thought through with incredible attention paid to the emotional value of Led Zeppelin. My hat is off to all involved, you should all be tremendously proud of creating a master piece which will, for all time, set in celluloid the legend of Led Zeppelin.