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Rock and Roll Hall of Fame releases massive DVD set including all-star jams

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

In December 2007, Jimmy Page played on the stage of the O2 arena in London, leading a Led Zeppelin reunion. Almost two years later, Jeff Beck said Page was "too chicken" to join him onstage at the O2's smaller venue, the IndigO2.

Of course, Beck was kidding.

And he also called out Ron Wood. Both Page and Wood were attending Beck's IndigO2 gig, but they were up in the balcony. (Thanks to reporter Simon Hays for the above details.)

Page and Wood weren't too chicken this April when they jammed with Beck and others in Cleveland on the occasion of his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Their onstage collaboration on "Train Kept A-Rollin'," also with Joe Perry and members of Metallica, is a fine example of the caliber of jamming the Rock Hall draws year in and year out.

And now, finally, as if it's never been a good idea before, there's now a giant box set release courtesy of Time Life that compiles many of those induction ceremony jams. One edition of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame LIVE includes nine DVDs, and another includes 14 DVDs plus a booklet.

In either set, a disc called "Feelin' Alright" includes Beck and Page jamming on "Beck's Bolero" with an "Immigrant Song" interlude from this April, and a disc called "Whole Lotta Shakin'" includes the "Train Kept A-Rollin'" electric guitar blitz!

Beck's also included on another disc called "Come Together," where he jammed with Jonny Lang on Gene Vincen't "Be-Bop-a-Lula" in 1999, and also played the Curtis Mayfield track "People Get Ready" in 1994 as a tribute to Rod Stewart.

See, this archive really does go back a while! It also includes the Concert for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which took place in September 1995, upon the Cleveland museum's opening.

Alas, the DVD set does not include any of Led Zeppelin's reunited performances on the night of the induction in 1995, but that may be a matter of the performance being vetoed for release. That's why the Page-Plant-Jones performance at Live Aid in 1985 wasn't included on the official DVD release of those concerts either.

But what this new set does include is pretty amazing!

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Led Zeppelin Reunion


Photo courtesy of Simon Keeping

The surviving members of Led Zeppelin regrouped in 2007, with Jason Bonham on drums, to perform a year-end tribute to Ahmet Ertegun. Their widely praised concert was witnessed in person by fewer than 20,000 people. It is likely never to be repeated, and there are no announced plans to release the concert for home viewing. However, clicking the image above will bring up multi-cam footage of the entire Led Zeppelin performance as it happened on Dec. 10, 2007, at the O2 arena in London.

Many posts on LedZeppelinNews.com have centered on the possibility of a full-scale Led Zeppelin reunion, noting particularly the inaccuracies reported by the popular press.

Page


Jimmy Page stars with fellow guitarists Jack White and The Edge in this guitar documentary, directed by Davis Guggenheim ("An Inconvenient Truth"), which had widespread theatrical showings beginning in August.

LedZeppelinNews.com provided a review of "It Might Get Loud" at that time.

"It Might Get Loud" will be released on DVD and Blu-Ray on Dec. 22 in the United States. Click here to pre-order on DVD or Blu-Ray. Prior to this, "It Might Get Loud" will be available on iTunes for two weeks beginning Dec. 8.

- What else should I know about "It Might Get Loud"?

- What else is Jimmy Page up to?

Plant


Just prior to the Led Zeppelin reunion concert in 2007, Robert Plant released the album Raising Sand with Alison Krauss. Their partnership has been the subject of much critical and commercial success, including victories at the Grammy awards two years in a row.

A follow-up to that album has been in pre-production, but Krauss's current priorities are new recordings and eventual touring with her signature band, Union Station. Progress on the second Plant/Krauss album is anticipated following the completion of the Union Station tour.

More recently, Plant entered the studio with famed U2 producer Daniel Lanois for some recording sessions, the nature of which has not been disclosed.

Following the breakup of Led Zeppelin, Plant went on to a rewarding career as a solo artist. He released six albums of his own between 1982 and 1993, two collaborative albums with Jimmy Page between 1994 and 1998, and two more solo albums since that time. Yet until Raising Sand, his biggest commercial success came in releasing an EP of classic cover material under the name The Honeydrippers.

- What else is Robert Plant up to?

Jones


John Paul Jones is now in one of the hottest and hardest rock bands, Them Crooked Vultures. The frontman, handling lead guitar and vocals, is Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age. Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters is on drums. As for Jones, he offers not only bass and keyboard but also mandolin, keytar, lap steel and whatever else is needed.

One album was released in November, and another is forthcoming. A tour of North America completed in November, and the band now heads to Europe in December and Australia in January.

- What's the latest on Them Crooked Vultures, the group featuring John Paul Jones, Dave Grohl and Josh Homme?

- What else is John Paul Jones up to?

Jason Bonham


Jason Bonham, son of the late John "Bonzo" Bonham, does not take lightly the responsibility of carrying on his father's legacy. Having made a head start at drumming while he was a child, Jason is now passing on the same lessons to a third generation of Bonham drummers.

John Bonham's death in 1980 left such an impact on the surviving members of Led Zeppelin that they knew immediately they could not continue as they were. Yet Jason Bonham's familiarity with the band made him a shoe-in to join his father's bandmates on the few occasions reunion concerts have taken place.

This year marked the 20th anniversary of Bonham's most successful album release to date, the Platinum-certified disc The Disregard of Timekeeping released by his band, Bonham. To mark the milestone, he recently toured with a new band and played under the banner of "An Evening with Jason Bonham."

In the past, Bonham has also toured and/or recorded with Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, Foreigner, UFO, Paul Rodgers, Joe Bonamassa, Virginia Wolf, Airrace, Healing Sixes and Motherland. He also acted in the movie Rock Star and appeared on the reality TV show "SuperGroup."

- What's the latest on Jason Bonham?

Who Else

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