Celebration Day

Having seen the mighty Hammer of the Gods at least a dozen times live in their heyday - and being one who would have literally paid tens of thousands to be at the O2 if I could have - it is needless to say that the arrival of this box set into my man cave many months ago was a heralded event. When it arrived - I disappeared for a weekend with enough food and alcohol to get me through the event numerous times. We waited many years for Jimmy and company to perfect this - and the fact that they were even doing it was kept well under wraps. Sure - I had most of the bootlegs of the O2 event. One had to wonder how they would fix the feedback issues plainly heard on all of the bootlegs. But once you sit down with this Blu-Ray - you understand why it took nearly 5 years to get it out after the show. It becomes readily apparent that this release is intended to be the exclamation point - and the period - to this bands legacy - and the level of intricate care in it's production is proof of that.I was able to enjoy this shortly after building the home theater system of my dreams - perfect timing. The DTS-HD audio is nearly perfect in every way. There is little trace of the feedback issues that plagued the live event - a testament to the amount of time spent mixing and correcting the live recording. The sound stage delivered is a perfect balance of directly recorded instruments with enough live feel for the arena - something many live recordings miss the mark on. This concert is the tightest I have ever seen them play - the amount of rehearsal and sober preparation was plainly evident. Speaking of rehearsals - the box set includes a great recording of their final dress rehearsal before the O2 event - recorded from a single unmanned camera at the rear of the room - with an awesome sound mix. And yes - they played some of the numbers better in that rehearsal (Dazed and Confused) than they did at the O2. It was fun to watch - made you feel like one of the "roadies" helping to prep for the event - the proverbial fly on the wall.I have been a professional video producer and live event production manager for thirty years. There has been some criticism of the video editing style - and I have to admit that my first few passes through the DVD left me feeling that the pace of the editing detracted from the show. But then - it grew on me - and the more I watched it - the more I realize that there was so much good material to work with, that eliminating those cuts would have robbed us all from seeing the true magic behind this show. Subtle glances between the band members - body language - audience reaction - mixed in with Super8mm film clips intentionally interspersed with sparkling HD footage. What?? - Super 8mm film clips - why? Because - it depicts Zeppelin - how they look now in sparkling HD - and how they were recorded in yesteryear - all mixed together - a little bit of the past with a blast from the present - PERFECT! Every time I watch it - I catch something new. Every time I watch it - I am transported back to the Long Beach Arena in June of 1972 - but it sounds WAY better than it did back then.I can Ramble On about this for hours - but it all pales when you get to Kashmir. This is the best performance of this epic song by Zeppelin ever to be captured. I must admit that I fell to my knees and nearly wept when I first heard it. For any Zeppelin fan - hearing this cut on this Blu-Ray is a must - and crank it up - to hell with the neighbors!Obviously - I can not recommend this highly enough. I am in some ways saddened to think that this may be the mighty Zeps swan song - but what a beautiful way to go. Buy two - you may want to be buried with one copy and leave the other in your will :-)

PLEASE NOTE that this is a review of "Celebration Day (Blu-ray Audio)," which features only audio and screen menus. There are many packagings of this title available -- almost to the point of absurdity, but hey, it's Led Zeppelin, right? At any rate, the version/disc I'm reviewing here is designed to be played only in Blu-ray players.Honestly, I wanted to hear the music before I committed to buying some version of the video that was shot at the O2 Arena that great night when the mighty Zep took finally took the stage again -- December 10, 2007. And now, after hearing the music, I'm not even sure I NEED any of the video. That's one point I want to emphasize here: No matter what version you buy, don't just get sucked into the visuals. Led Zeppelin was and is a band to be heard.Let's do the nerdy sound quality thing first. Blu-ray Audio, like DVD Audio and SACD, is capable of delivering multichannel sound, so if you have a system with multiple speakers fed by separate channels, you can hear performances in, say, 5.1 channels. The "5" are these speakers: left front, center, left right, surround right, sourround left. The "1" in 5.1 is your subwoofer. Basically, 5.1 or more channels take you beyond the old 2-channel stereo mix, putting you in the middle of the performance. Sometimes this works well, and sometimes not; it depends on many things including the quality of the source material and the skill of the engineers and mixers who re-mix the stuff for 5.1. For two good examples, pick up Pink Floyd's SACD version of "Dark Side of the Moon," and if you can find it because it's out of print, Roxy Music's SACD of "Avalon."So does "Celebration Day" work in 5.1 sound? Yes, phenomenally well, and the reason is that everyone involved in this effort apparently refused to get fancy and cute with it. You won't hear any instruments mixed prominently in the back channels here, although I've certainly heard that used to good effect on some mixes. You won't catch the engineer panning the sound this way and that. No, the reason for the 5.1 here is to re-create the feeling of being in that arena that night. So the band is basically up front, and the back channels are capturing the booming reverb of the O2. You know from the opening song that this is a concert recording. But the effect is kept in check, too; it's got JUST the right amount of thundering ambiance to enhance to performance of the group.There were a couple occasions during quiet songs, and between songs, where I could hear people murmuring or chattering a bit, as if they were standing a few feet to my left or right or behind. Trust me: It's kept to a minimum and it's not intrusive at all. Besides, if that kind of thing bothers you, why would you go to a rock concert anyway?Now to Led Zeppelin's performance: Of course it's impossible to make a perfect comparison to previous Zep shows, mostly because Zeppelin drummer John Bonham died in 1980. Here the drum chair is filled by none other than his son, Jason Bonham, who already has had quite a long career in his own right; his exploits include leading his own namesake band ("Bonham") in the 1980s and 1990s and starring as drummer "A.C." in the 2001 movie "Rock Star."I've always been a fan of his playing but confess that Jason at times has impressed me as being even more of a basher than this father. John Bonham's drumming was hugely powerful, but he also was capable of surprising restraint; he knew when to let up a little and let a song breathe. Well, perhaps Jason just needed seasoning. His playing on "Celebration Day" is nothing less than thrilling from start to finish. He especially seems to be enjoying the slower, burning blues numbers such as "Since I've Been Loving You" and "In My Time of Dying." And the way he interacts with guitarist Jimmy Page on "Dazed and Confused" does remind one of the near-telepathy Page and the elder Bonham used to conjure up on that song.Speaking of Page, before this recording, he hadn't sounded this good and this together in years, having floundered around with various musical projects that didn't seem to add up to much. Perhaps of all the members of the band, he was most attached to it, and left most lost when John Bonham died. Who knows? But on this night, the magic is back under his fingertips. I even ACTIVELY LISTENED to "Stairway to Heaven," which never was my favorite Zeppelin song, and which was played to death by 1970s FM radio programmers. His intro here is especially gentle; you can HEAR him savoring these notes, calling up their power even after having played this so many times in his life."There's a spirit I get when I look to the west," Plant sings as Page starts digging deeper into "Stairway," and it's a line directed not at six-guns and Stetsons but to Arthurian legend, or at least to "The Lord of the Rings." Plant, too, sounds thoroughly and completely in the moment, glad and happy to be revisiting a proud past.But the man who pushes "Celebration Day" from four-star rating to full five is bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones. His showcase back in the days was always "No Quarter," an eerie song whose misty, moonless-night atmosphere was due largely to Jones' haunting electric piano intro. That's an instrument that fell out of favor even in rock circles a long time ago, partly because it eventually became possible to reproduce the sound of an acoustic concert grand. Jones, though, wisely sticks to the relic here, and hearing it again is stepping into an aural time machine. Welcome back to 1973, ladies and gentlemen! Jones also shines on "Trampled Under Foot" and "Kashmir."Couple of final thoughts: First, you couldn't ask for a better set list; every single Zeppelin studio album is represented by at least one song here, with the exception of "In Through the Out Door" and the compilation/leftovers album "Coda," issued after John Bonham died. In fact, just listing the songs, they ring out, like anthems of time:"Ramble On" ... "Black Dog" ... "Dazed and Confused" ... "Whole Lotta Love" ... "Rock and Roll."This really is a fine, joyous album, truly living up to its title. Audiophiles will appreciate the incredible quality of the Blu-ray mix. And for those who want to hear how Zeppelin sounded live back in the 1960s-1980, I highly recommend "How the West Was Won." There's also the DVD that's just titled "Led Zeppelin." And while some defend it, I've always advised avoiding the live album "The Song Remains the Same," which presents one of their weaker, more self-indulgent performances.Led Zeppelin remains not only a cultural force, which is what people wrongly tend to focus on, but also one of the best bands to come out of the 1960s and find its full expression and potential in the 1970s. In short, this music stands up, decade after decade. Listen ... :)