Led Zep Return with New Live Set. Cause for Celebration?

Celebration Day

Led Zeppelin

2012

On September 25, 1980 Led Zeppelin drummer, John “Bonzo” Bonham, died in his sleep after throwing back the equivalent of 40 shots of vodka inside a 24-hour period.  The band was in the midst of rehearsals for a U.S. tour at the time.   Ironically, a homebody at heart, Bonham’s binge drinking that night has often been attributed to depression over the prospect of leaving his family for an extended tour.  As it turned out, he left them for much longer than expected.

And that was it.  Without warning, the band that defined heavy metal, with their unholy alchemy of rock, blues, funk, progressive and folk influences, suddenly imploded and were no more.  Since their decision to disband, Led Zeppelin’s remaining members have continued to work.  Page, Plant and Jones all released solo records, a few records together, and a variety of records with other artists and bands.   But with the exception of their under rehearsed,train wreck performances at Live Aid, in 1985, and at the Atlantic Records 40^th Anniversary show in 1988, they never worked as Led Zeppelin again.  So their decision to reunite in 2007 for a single concert, with Jason Bonham (Bonzo’s son) on drums was a surprise to say the least.  The concert was played in tribute to the man who signed them and made them stars,  Atlantic Records founder, Ahmet Ertegun.

Aware perhaps that this was their last shot at redemption as a live act after those two regrettable reunions in the 80s, the band was well-rehearsed this time.  The 2007 show, which holds the Guinness World Record for the highest demand for tickets to a single concert (20 million online requests), was universally praised by critics and fans.  Quotes from the band at the time suggest even they were surprised by the fire that seemed to erupt on stage when after hours of closed rehearsals, a live audience was introduced to the mix.  Until recently, if you weren’t there, you had no way of knowing.

Going in for a first listen of the Celebration Day CD/DVD/Blue Ray package released last year, I had a few reservations.  Did they give a shit? Could Plant still hit the high notes?  Did Page lose his chops?  Could Jason Bonham fill his daddy’s enormous shoes over the course of a full concert?   As for eternal unsung hero, bassist and keyboard player, John Paul Jones, well, you never did have to worry about him.

As it turns out, my trepidation was thankfully off base.  The performance is superlative.  It might be my favorite Led Zeppelin live recording, which is incredible given their age and the long layoff.   Listening to the audio CD, the biggest surprise is Jason Bonham’s spot on performance of his father’s drum parts.   Bonzo played like no one before or since.  He was essentially irreplaceable.  He was gifted with stone-heavy hands and an uncanny ability to play slightly ahead or behind the beat, but almost never completely in the pocket and almost never in straight 4/4 time..  He would drift in and out of rolls, stop and start at will and somehow always found his way home.   But what really set him apart was the thundering power of his beats.  Playing the same see-through vistalite drums his father favored, Jason accomplishes all of that and manages to add a few tricks of his own.   Jason remains faithful to the original recordings, but somehow manages to inject fresh ideas, licks and personality into the performances, subtly updating these well-worn songs.  His father would be proud.

The individual performances are so consistently compelling, it’s often hard to decide who to listen to.  Robert Plant seems completely at home with the songs, rarely avoiding the high notes.  Given his reluctance to perform as Led Zeppelin, I assumed Plant simply couldn’t do these songs justice anymore, and expected him to strain at times, but it never happens.  It’s like he never stopped singing these songs.

John Paul Jones is flawless throughout the night.  Playing a fretless bass, his technique has only gained power and clarity over the years.   His muscular lines pull everything together so effortlessly that you might not even notice that he plays more notes than any other rock bassist I’ve heard with the possible exception of the Who’s John Entwistle.

In the studio, Page had a gift for creating, densely layered, multi-tracked guitar parts using a wide variety of guitars, effects and amplifiers.   This approach was great for the studio recordngs, but always presented a challenge for Jimmy when it came time to translate his work for the stage.  On Celebration Day, Page keeps things relatively simple, settling into a rich, modern distortion tone at the start and running with it for most of the night.  Sometimes during solos Page conjures up note clusters so dense it’s hard to discern exactly what he is playing.  That’s intentional. That’s Jimmy’s way of whispering, of asking you to listen more closely. And his playing, while not perfect, is rarely anything less than raw, powerful and imaginative.

This is an honest recording.  There are no supporting players and no backing tracks.  What you see is what you get.  Four players, working together to create a sound much larger than sum of their parts.  All the war horses are present and accounted for, including Dazed and Confused, Whole Lotta Love and the most majestic version of Kashmir I’ve heard them do. But there are some surprises. Ramble On and For Your Life are played in their entirety for the first time ever in a live setting.  Trampled Under Foot is given a scorching workout with a startling new guitar solo.  Jimmy throws some interesting new chords into Nobody’s Fault but Mine.  And then there is Stairway to Heaven, a song Plant has refused to sing for years.  Afterwords, he says, “Hey Ahmet, we did it,” tipping his cap to the band’s beloved benefactor.

So here it is, Celebration Day.  A gift from Valhalla.   A new Led Zeppelin record.   And a whole lotta damn good rock and roll.  If you never liked Led Zep, this record won’t change your mind.  But for fans, it’s probably better than you think.  It’s better than anybody had reason to expect.  It’s better than The Song Remains the Same.  Who could have predicted that in 2012, without Bonzo, Led Zeppelin would release their defining live document?  Hell yeah, that’s cause for celebration! So go grab a copy, sit down between two big speakers, and listen.

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Resources: Album image from www.freeweekly.com