I love live
music, and by extension I love live albums.
The spontaneity coupled with the fact that you will rarely hear any of
the album filler usually make for an enjoyable experience. Plus, guitar solos! That being said, a live album review is not
something that I would generally do just because it is not really “new” music
and if I was going to review “old” music I would just go back to the original
albums that they were contained on.
However,
this is Led Zeppelin that we are talking about.
One of the greatest bands in the history of the genre and one of my
all-time favorites. This is obviously a
concert of hits, but the fact that it is a recent concert, one that had over a
million people sign up for the “Zeppelin lottery” in order to get tickets, as
well as the only full-concert appearance of the band (with Jason Bonham filling
in for his deceased father obviously) in decades merits a bit more attention
than just a random concert put on disc.
Celebration Day is just that. This is a celebration of music, great music,
as no moment is wasted during the concert.
Led Zeppelin has a huge catalog of hits to select from for any live
endeavor that they undertake, and there will always be at least one or two
songs that are left off for the sake of not playing all night long. However a two hour concert by a band that has
mastered their craft is something that should be appreciated by all, regardless
of the fact that your favorite song got left on the cutting room floor.
I will
admit, I first put in the disc, and the opening vocals of Good Times, Bad Times, did sound like they were recorded in a tin
can, but somehow everything evened out mere moments into the song, and by the
time Black Dog rolled around I was
fully committed to the idea that this may be one of the best live albums I have
heard in quite some time. It had all of
the classics of Zeppelin, but added the heaviness that the modern technology
could provide.
Robert Plant has surprisingly lost very
little off his voice in his later years and continues to command the stage as
well as he did in his youth. Jimmy Page
is still a guitar master who never ceases to amaze with how precise and just
downright incredible his skill is. John
Paul Jones is an expert at his craft on both the bass guitar and keyboard and
readily showcases both skills for the audience during the set. While Jason Bonham is no Bonzo, he is
incredibly capable at filling his father’s shoes and you can tell that he is as
happy and excited to see the three titans of music that is the remaining members
of Led Zeppelin on stage as we are.
Regardless of whether you are a fan
of early Led Zeppelin (I-IV) or the
later release like Physical Graffiti
or Houses of the Holy, there is
something here for everyone and it is all performed as if through a time
machine. This could easily have been a
concert in the late seventies/early eighties and it does a masterful job of
transporting the listener to that time, for at least a few hours. It makes me a little sad that I could not see
Led Zeppelin at their apex, but further brings to light the importance of
seeing aging bands before they hang it up for good.
A quick side-note about the
included DVD (or Blue-Ray depending on your preference), this is the complete
concert and is a masterwork to behold. I
would highly suggest this for anyone that wants to see the band as they are now
but wants to hear the music as it was in their heyday. Seriously, put this on the big screen, crank
up the surround sound and lose yourself for two hours, you’ll be glad you
did.
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