Led Zeppelin DVD
Led Zeppelin DVD is a double DVD set by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, released in the United Kingdom on 26 May 2003, and the United States on 27 May 2003. It contains live concert footage of the band spanning the years 1969 to 1979. The DVD includes performances from the Royal Albert Hall in 1970, Madison Square Garden in 1973, Earls Court in 1975, and Knebworth in 1979, plus other footage. Bootleg footage from some of the concerts is interspersed with the professionally shot material.
Led Zeppelin DVD | ||||
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Video by | ||||
Released | 26 May 2003 | |||
Recorded | 1969–1979 | |||
Genre | Hard rock, heavy metal, blues rock, folk rock | |||
Length | 320:00 | |||
Label | Atlantic | |||
Director | Dick Carruthers | |||
Producer | Jimmy Page Dick Carruthers | |||
Compiler | Jimmy Page | |||
Led Zeppelin chronology | ||||
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The DVD cover features West and East Mitten Buttes, photographed from the visitor centre at the Navajo Tribal Park located at Monument Valley, Arizona.
Background and production
Led Zeppelin guitarist and producer of the DVD, Jimmy Page, commenced work on the project in the early 2000s. While fans had been trading poor quality versions of Led Zeppelin video material for years, this was the first official archival video release to contain any footage of the band playing live.[1] In an interview he gave after the release of the DVD, Page explained the impetus behind the project:
The reason for [the DVD] was that there was no visual material [of the band] that was out there really. The studio albums had been put out in many different shapes and forms, but this was something that was sorely missing because [Led] Zeppelin built its material on live performances. So that had to be done.[2]
The idea for a live chronology had, however, dated back some time before this, according to singer Robert Plant in 2003:
The idea of creating a Led Zeppelin collage has been in the works for ... fifteen years. We just didn't really have the time to put it together as a project because there was so much concentrated work that was required. So, as we all finished our individual projects, Jimmy Page took the helm along with some technical guys and this is what we've got.[2]
For the DVD, Page collaborated with music producer Kevin Shirley, with whom Page worked when he was performing with The Black Crowes. Shirley recalled:
I produced the Black Crowes, and Jimmy joined them for a run of live dates in 1999. I saw the show in New York, and then I went to California and recorded the shows, took the tapes away, and fixed them up a little and mixed them. I did Live at the Greek without any input from anyone, as it wasn't originally going to be an official release. But I think everyone was impressed with it; certainly Jimmy said he was. Then, when Jimmy decided to do a new [Led Zeppelin] DVD, he started looking for someone familiar with the modern applications necessary for surround sound mixing. If you listen to the Royal Albert Hall [concert] opening in 5.1, you can see Jimmy had this audio concept really early on of giving people a sense of the band going onstage and the audience swells around you. We had a meeting to discuss the requirements needed for the DVD project audio, and afterward, he asked if I would be interested in ‘helping’ him.[3]
Page, with Shirley and the producer and creative director Dick Carruthers, worked for the best part of a year to research, compile, load, mix and present the material.[2] Much of the footage which was included on the DVD was painstakingly restored for several months, before being mixed at Sarm West Studios in London. In all, 132 cans of film and two sets of two-inch video tape were examined for the project. In order to view material on the two-inch Quadruplex videotapes, a suitable playback machine had to be located. A working Quadruplex machine was finally found in Singapore.[4]
Some of the video tapes suffered from a common fault called sticky-shed syndrome where the bonding agent holding the magnetic particles to the tape backing decomposes to the point where the oxide is scraped off during playback. The tapes consequently had to be restored by baking them in ovens at 55 °C (131 °F) for three weeks in order for them to be played back.[4] The audio portions were digitally remixed for stereo and 5.1 surround mixes.
Critical reception
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Uncut | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Rolling Stone | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Upon its release the DVD received positive reviews. Michael Azerrad of Rolling Stone magazine gave the DVD four (out of four) stars, describing it as the "Holy Grail of heavy metal" and "one of the best rock documentaries ever made."[7]
Commercial performance
The RIAA certified Led Zeppelin DVD at 13 times multi-platinum (1,300,000 copies sold in the United States).[8] According to the BBC, the DVD broke all sales records for a music video, nearly three times as many in the first week of sales as the previous record holder.[9] It was, for three years, the highest selling music DVD in America.
Track listing
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Opening" | 0:27 |
2. | "We're Gonna Groove" (James Bethea, Ben E. King) | 3:13 |
3. | "I Can't Quit You Baby" (Willie Dixon) | 6:56 |
4. | "Dazed and Confused" (Jimmy Page; inspired by Jake Holmes) | 15:33 |
5. | "White Summer" (Page) | 12:23 |
6. | "What Is and What Should Never Be" (Page and Robert Plant) | 4:39 |
7. | "How Many More Times" (John Bonham, John Paul Jones, Page) | 20:17 |
8. | "Moby Dick" (Bonham, Jones, Page) | 15:21 |
9. | "Whole Lotta Love" (Bonham, Dixon, Jones, Page, Plant) | 6:24 |
10. | "Communication Breakdown" (Bonham, Jones, Page) | 4:16 |
11. | "C'mon Everybody" (Jerry Capehart, Eddie Cochran) | 2:31 |
12. | "Somethin' Else" (Bobby Cochran, Sharon Sheeley) | 2:10 |
13. | "Bring It On Home/Bring It On Back" (Bonham, Dixon, Jones, Page, Plant) | 7:44 |
14. | "Credits" | 0:21 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Communication Breakdown (music video)" | 2:24 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Opening" | 0:10 |
2. | "Communication Breakdown" | 2:46 |
3. | "Dazed and Confused" | 9:09 |
4. | "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" (Anne Bredon, Page, and Plant) | 6:46 |
5. | "How Many More Times" | 12:20 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Dazed and Confused" | 7:33 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Opening" | 0:25 |
2. | "Communication Breakdown" | 2:51 |
3. | "Dazed and Confused (edited)" | 5:36 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Immigrant Song" (Page and Plant) | 4:03 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Black Dog" (Jones, Page, Plant) | 5:30 |
2. | "Misty Mountain Hop" (Jones, Page, Plant) | 4:50 |
3. | "Since I've Been Loving You" (Jones, Page, Plant) | 8:03 |
4. | "The Ocean" (Bonham, Jones, Page, Plant) | 4:16 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Going to California" (Page, Plant) | 4:41 |
2. | "That's the Way" (Page, Plant) | 6:04 |
3. | "Bron-Y-Aur Stomp" (Jones, Page, Plant) | 5:31 |
4. | "In My Time of Dying" (Bonham, Jones, Page, Plant) | 11:14 |
5. | "Trampled Under Foot" (Jones, Page, Plant) | 8:14 |
6. | "Stairway to Heaven" (Page, Plant) | 10:32 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Rock and Roll" (Bonham, Jones, Page, Plant) | 3:47 |
2. | "Nobody's Fault but Mine" (Page, Plant) | 5:45 |
3. | "Sick Again" (Page, Plant) | 5:08 |
4. | "Achilles Last Stand" (Page, Plant) | 9:03 |
5. | "In the Evening" (Jones, Page, Plant) | 7:56 |
6. | "Kashmir" (Bonham, Page, Plant) | 8:50 |
7. | "Whole Lotta Love" | 7:06 |
8. | "You'll Never Walk Alone" | 1:21 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Heartbreaker (Beginning part)" | 2:05 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Press Conference" | 3:26 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Rock and Roll" | 3:06 |
2. | "Black Dog (Studio version excerpt)" | 1:48 |
3. | "John Bonham and John Paul Jones after concert interviews with Jeune Pritchard" |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Robert Plant interview at the Vorst Nationaal in Brussels with Bob Harris" | 3:47 |
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "Over the Hills and Far Away" (Page, Plant) | 4:49 |
2. | "Travelling Riverside Blues" (Robert Johnson, Page, Plant) | 4:09 |
Menu clips
Royal Albert Hall, 9 January 1970
- Dressing room (pre-concert) – 0:27
- "Thank You" (Page/Plant) (organ outro excerpt) – 0:34
- "Heartbreaker" (guitar solo) – 0:36 (collage)
Reykjavik Airport, 22 June 1970
- "Moby Dick" (Bonham/Jones/Page) (drum solo excerpt) – 0:56 (collage)
Laugardalshöll, 22 June 1970
- "Dazed and Confused" (Page; inspired by Jake Holmes) (guitar bowing solo)
Sydney Showground, 27 February 1972
- "Black Dog" (Page/Plant/Jones) – 0:36
Madison Square Garden, 27 July 1973
- "Since I've Been Loving You" (Jones/Page/Plant) – 0:49
Madison Square Garden, 28 July 1973 (Knebworth campsite on 4 August 1979, video clip)
- "Over the Hills and Far Away" (Page/Plant) – 2:23
Seattle Center Coliseum, 21 March 1975
- "Whole Lotta Love (medley)" (Page/Bonham/Plant/Jones) (theremin solo and "The Crunge" excerpt from Earls Court, 25 May 1975) – 0:48
Earls Court, 24 May 1975 (streets of Belfast on 5 March 1971, clip)
- "Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp" (Page/Plant/Jones) – 0:49
Earls Court, 25 May 1975
- "Stairway to Heaven" (Page/Plant) (guitar intro) – 0:54 (collage edit)
LA Forum, 21 June 1977 (8 mm video clips from various 1977 performances)
- "The Song Remains the Same" (Page/Plant) – 5:37
Charts
Chart (2003) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australian DVDs Chart[10] | 1 |
Austrian Music DVDs Chart[11] | 1 |
Danish Music DVDs Chart[12] | 5 |
Dutch Music DVDs Chart[13] | 2 |
German Albums Chart[14] | 18 |
Irish Music DVDs Chart[15] | 1 |
Japanese DVDs Chart[16] | 1 |
Norwegian Music DVDs Chart[17] | 1 |
Swedish Music DVDs Chart[18] | 1 |
UK Official Video Chart[19] | 3 |
US Music Videos Chart[20] | 1 |
Chart (2005) | Peak position |
---|---|
Greek DVDs Chart[21] | 8 |
Hungarian DVDs Chart[22] | 8 |
Chart (2007) | Peak position |
---|---|
New Zealand Music DVDs Chart[23] | 3 |
Chart (2012) | Peak position |
---|---|
Finnish Music DVDs Chart[24] | 1 |
Certifications
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Argentina (CAPIF)[25] | Platinum | 8,000^ |
Australia (ARIA)[26] | 7× Platinum | 105,000^ |
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[27] | Diamond | 100,000* |
Canada (Music Canada)[28] | 2× Diamond | 200,000^ |
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[29] | Platinum | 10,006[29] |
France (SNEP)[30] | 3× Platinum | 60,000* |
Japan (RIAJ)[31] | Gold | 100,000^ |
New Zealand (RMNZ)[23] | 2× Platinum | 10,000^ |
United States (RIAA)[8] | 13× Platinum | 650,000^ |
*sales figures based on certification alone |
Personnel
Led Zeppelin
- John Bonham – drums, percussion
- John Paul Jones – bass guitar, keyboards, Mellotron, mandolin
- Robert Plant – vocals, harmonica
- Jimmy Page – electric and acoustic guitars, production, creative director
Technical
- Dick Carruthers – production, creative director
- Kevin Shirley – sound engineering
Technical notes
LPCM stereo (1536 kbit/s), Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound, DTS 5.1 surround sound. Menu: Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo, Extras: Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo
References
- Lindsay Planer, "Review of Led Zeppelin [DVD Box set]", Allmusic.
- Led Zeppelin and the Giants of Rock, DVD released by Classic Rock magazine, 2008.
- Candace Horgan, "Led Zeppelin Archived 2011-01-06 at the Wayback Machine", Mix, 1 October 2003.
- Harry Guerin, "Led Zeppelin DVD", RTÉ Entertainment.
- Allmusic Review
- James McNair, "Living in the past", Uncut, June 2003, p. 26.
- Michael Azerrad, "Led Zeppelin - DVD", Rolling Stone 20 May 2003.
- "American certifications – Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
- Led Zeppelin - the Albums, BBC.
- "ARIA Top 40 DVD" (PDF). The ARIA Report (693): 20. 2 June 2003. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
- "Austria Top 40 – Musik-DVDs Top 10 03.08.2003". austriancharts.at (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
- "Musik DVD Top 10". hitlisterne.dk (in Danish). IFPI Denmark. Archived from the original on 2013-02-12. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
- "Dutch Charts Portal". dutchcharts.nl (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
- "Album – Led Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin [DVD]". charts.de (in German). Media Control. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
- "Irish Charts – Singles, Albums & Compilations". irma.ie. Archived from the original on 23 June 2003. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
- "レッド・ツェッペリンのDVDランキング、レッド・ツェッペリンのプロフィールならオリコン芸能人事典-ORICON STYLE". oricon.co.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 28 November 2012.
- "SØK I VG-LISTA OG HIT40". ifpi.no (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 27 November 2012. Type Led Zeppelin under Søk på artist i alle listene and click SØK.
- "Sveriges Officiella Topplista". sverigetopplistan.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 27 November 2012. Search for Led Zeppelin and click Sök.
- "Official Video Chart Top 100 (1 June 2003 - 7 June 2003)". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
- "Top Music Charts – Hot 100 – Billboard 200 – Music Genre Sales". billboard.com. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on 13 February 2009.
- "Ελληνικό Chart". ifpi.gr (in Greek). Archived from the original on 14 October 2005. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
- "Kereső – előadó/cím szerint – Archívum". slagerlistak.hu (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Archived from the original on 15 November 2014. Retrieved 27 November 2012. Search for Led Zeppelin under Előadó/cím: and press Keresés.
- "Top 10 Music DVDs". rianz.org.nz. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
- "Musiikkituottajat – Tilastot – Suomen virallinen lista – Musiikki DVD:t". ifpi.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 27 November 2012.
- "Representando a la Industria Argentina de la Música". capif.org.ar (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 31 May 2011.
- "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2008 DVDs". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on 10 August 2020. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
- "Brazilian video certifications – Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
- "Canadian video certifications – Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin DVD". Music Canada. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
- "Led Zeppelin" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
- "French video certifications – Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin DVD" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
- "Recording Industry Association of Japan | Related Data". riaj.or.jp. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
External links
- Led Zeppelin DVD at IMDb
- The Garden Tapes – in-depth analysis of the track edits on the DVD
- In-depth discussion of the making of the soundtrack with mixer Kevin Shirley, by Paul Tingen published in Sound on Sound magazine, November 2003.