Led Zeppelin

Gift Guide

Reissues

Led Zeppelin

The Song Remains the Same (Swan Song/Atlantic)

Reinstating four songs to the front end of Led Zeppelin's 1973 Madison Square Garden stand for '76's Spinal Tap documentary, The Song Remains the Same, infuses iron to the anemic soundtrack. Jimmy Page's flaming Albion guitar solo in the restored "Over the Hills and Far Away" burns down even the tune's white-hot take on 2003's 3-CD mauling How the West Was Won. "Since I've Been Loving You," edited back here, also compares favorably to its '72 U.S. tour cousin on How the West Was Won, the definitive, sanctioned Zeppelin live release. Spackling John Bonham's big-bottom bash back in with "The Ocean," another bonus. The rest remains more or less the same: an average performance marred by Robert Plant's worn-out screech. The second disc still opens with the half-hour void of "Dazed and Confused," another 25 minutes of sprawl uniting "Moby Dick" and closer "Whole Lotta Love." In between, "Stairway to Heaven" can barely contain its cynicism, though Page's solo extension still gooses, and new addition "Heartbreaker" burps at the show's shambling close. Digipaking and new liners by Cameron Crowe match the film's DVD rerollout, but posterity can't match How the West Was Won or its eponymous digital video companion.

**

A note to readers: Bold and uncensored, The Austin Chronicle has been Austin’s independent news source for over 40 years, expressing the community’s political and environmental concerns and supporting its active cultural scene. Now more than ever, we need your support to continue supplying Austin with independent, free press. If real news is important to you, please consider making a donation of $5, $10 or whatever you can afford, to help keep our journalism on stands.

Support the Chronicle  

READ MORE
More Music Reviews
Texas Platters
Sabbath Crow
Carrion Highway Weird Sun (Record Review)

Michael Toland, Aug. 16, 2019

Texas Platters
USA/Mexico
Matamoros (Record Review)

Rick Weaver, Aug. 16, 2019

More by Raoul Hernandez
Geto Gala, Two Step Inn, and a 420 Smokeout Headline Our Crucial Concerts
Geto Gala, Two Step Inn, and a 420 Smokeout Headline Our Crucial Concerts
From country to hip-hop to sludge metal, get some ideas for your week in live music

April 19, 2024

Mini Music Fests Abound in This Week's Crucial Concerts
Mini Music Fests Abound in This Week's Crucial Concerts
Country, hip-hop, pop, and more shows worth the cover

April 12, 2024

KEYWORDS FOR THIS STORY

Led Zeppelin

MORE IN THE ARCHIVES
One click gets you all the newsletters listed below

Breaking news, arts coverage, and daily events

Keep up with happenings around town

Kevin Curtin's bimonthly cannabis musings

Austin's queerest news and events

Eric Goodman's Austin FC column, other soccer news

Information is power. Support the free press, so we can support Austin.   Support the Chronicle