The Soul-less Yardbird?

Well since I didn't score tickets for tonight's Led Zep London gig, I did the next best thing and watched the remastered DVD of the NYC concert "The Song Remains the Same."

Having recently just seen 2/3rds of the Yardbirds at the July '07 Chicago "Crossroads Guitar Festival" where Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck stole the show, I watched the Madison Square Garden 'Zep disc with those performances in mind. (BTW, I enjoyed Row 5 center floor seats for Zeppelin's July 7, 1973 gig in Chicago, just a couple weeks before the filmed 7/27-29 NYC dates.)

I have to say that Pagey has not aged well in comparison to his former Yardbirds comrades. In TSRTS concert, he is quite the technician, fast and agile and confident playing the limited repertoire of looping frantic riffs that he favors.

With the exception of "Since I've Been Loving You," Page seems disconnected from the blues roots that are still so richly evident when you listen to Beck and Clapton today.

Pagey's last major tour as a sideman with The Black Crowes should be a warning for any idealistic Zep reunion fans. It was not pretty. And Plant still regrets the silly travesty of the UnLedded joke.

I hope Robert will pass on the obscenely lucrative profiteering of a full-blown Zeppelin worldwide junket and just stay true to his muse by touring this Spring with Allison Krauss.

On his best night at his present age, Pagey no longer has the mojo to play like he once did, and nobody wants to see the legendary Zep magic defiled by a tragic charade.

The Songs Doesn't Remain The Same . . .

Some audio expresions from Robert Plant are missing on this dvd version
I notice that almost at the end of "The Song Remains The Same" track you don't hear a "come on, here we go" compared to the vhs, also at the middle of "Stairway to Heaven" there is another missing vocal bit when Robert repeats "wait a minute" for the second time...
Even at the end of the same track you can't find another line.
If you look for these discrepancies you will be amazed of how people dare to CHANGE MUSIC HISTORY during a remasterization process.
No one has the right to do that... I guess after all,
THE SONG DOESN'T REMAIN THE SAME.

Emabarassing remains the same unfortunately

Here's the format i would have shelled out money for: The whole concert footage, sans fantasy sequences, disc one; the fantasy sequences alone on side two just for period piece/comedy value. I can't believe the band even wants people to have to sit through this stuff any more. Even The Clash's terrible "Rude Boy" movie had an option on the DVD menu whereby you could just watch the great live scenes. Maybe they'll trot the fantasy-less version out next Christmas...!