The film remains the same, but the sounds are vastly improved

The sound engineer behind the newest revisiting of Led Zeppelin’s film says next month’s re-release of The Song Remains the Same will look exactly the same as it did in 1976. What will be vastly different with this version is what you hear, says Kevin Shirley in an interview conducted over the weekend for Modern Guitars magazine.

As was the case with the DVD set released in 2003, the primary sonic output technology for this release is Dolby Digital 5.1 channel surround sound. What does that mean to a layperson? This is high-tech sound quality for the modern era.

“5.1 has made a huge difference in things. It’s like taking an 8-track and saying, ‘Does this work as modern DVD audio?’ It might have been state of the art back then, but it just doesn’t fly anymore,” explains Shirley in the interview conducted Saturday, Oct. 13, by Tom Watson, content director for Modern Guitars.

The film, whose theatrical debut was 31 years ago this month, captures the band at one height of its brilliant career. It concentrates mainly on a three-night tour-closing stand at New York’s Madison Square Garden in July 1973 and also embraces scenes of the band and its entourage at home, work and play.

The original project endured a change in directors a year into production. The end result is a hodgepodge of segments filmed either at those concerts or in the ensuing months. All of that footage will be included on the new release without any alteration. “It would have been a whole can of worms with directors, and legal hassles, and whatnot, if you started editing the movie,” Shirley explains.

So, the new project was essentially matching the 16-track audio recordings from each of the three Madison Square Garden concerts to fit the visuals included in the movie. “We started from scratch,” says Shirley. “Everything was reassembled from the ground up.”

Of course, this was done for the film’s original release, but some concert portions occasionally were not exactly synchronized to the audio. “If you look at the end of ‘Stairway to Heaven’ on the original movie, the visual’s from a completely different take than the audio,” Shirley notes.

Often, this was due to the original audio containing a “mistake” – assumedly things like a guitar note that is out of tune or a crack in Robert Plant’s voice. Such things would render a live recording unusable in the 1970s, but modern editing technology has made it possible for such occurrences to be manipulated and corrected. Given this technology, Shirley says, “I could fix the mistake and we could put the original audio back on there,” thus making the audio match the video.

The music that will be available on the CD soundtrack will closely match the audio presented on the DVD. Historically, the soundtrack has contained its own cuts unlike those in the movie. “What you hear on the new soundtrack CDs is what’s in the movie,” Shirley reveals. “They’re not two different things now.” One persisting difference is that the revisited soundtrack almost completely restores the original sets played in 1973 from start to finish. The movie, however, follows the running order of songs that was approved for theatrical release, and songs not included in the movie are presented separately as bonus features.

As Shirley is aware, the revisited soundtrack will surely be analyzed once it is released worldwide. For one example, “The Garden Tapes” is a site run by Eddie Edwards, an enthusiastic fan who has scrutinized every detail of the audio on every Led Zeppelin live release. (Edwards wrote me in September, saying, “Yes, I think I will be quite busy in a couple of months' time.”)

Shirley says he isn’t interested in that level of painstaking examination. To show this, he gave this sole interview to Modern Guitars magazine before heading off to Peru for a charity bicycle event. He’ll be biking for 11 days, and he doesn’t seem interested in any others at this time. Shirley says of the new releases:

"I hope people dig it, I really do. I'm not going to do a lot of interviews about it because these Internet days are very tough with some people analyzing things to death and obsessing over minute detail. It's really just for people to go and enjoy. The detailed analysis isn't really welcome - who cares if somebody says, 'You needed more cymbal in "Black Dog," or something like that. Enjoy the experience. Don't over analyze it. It's the world's greatest rock 'n' roll band playing a very good set of shows."

Music journalist Lisa Robinson, writing for Vanity Fair, has the following to say about Led Zeppelin’s new releases: “A great band is a great band. Frankly, it doesn't matter how many times these guys re-release this stuff; it always sounds better, still sounds modern, and still combines hard rock with blues, acoustic songs, and Eastern influences.”

Apparently, even Robert Plant had his doubts about the merits of the project going into it.

"What was very cool was Robert [Plant] would come to the studio and he's not a big fan of the original movie, I'd say he was probably a catalyst to the thing being re-done, and when he first came by he said, 'Oh my God, I don't want to hear this,' and he sat down and listened to it with his hands over his eyes. Then, he starts nodding his head and rocking with it and turns around with a big grin on his face and goes, 'It rocks, doesn't it?' Then he looks at the video and goes, 'We weren't half bad, were we.' It was great to experience that chrysalis, to see the butterfly coming out."

Plant ended up telling Cameron Crowe, who quotes him in the liner notes, that the project's end result captures "the warmth and the feel of the room and it sounded good." The room to which he is referring is Madison Square Garden. Watson asked Shirley where the audio point of view is for somebody watching the DVD in 5.1 Surround Sound. Shirley laughed as he answered, "You're sitting three rows back, in the center, just behind the gorgeous girl with blonde hair." Asked what the rear speakers will produce in the proper surround sound environment, Shirley answered:

"There are all sorts of things coming from the rear speakers. Audience, delays, and there are some elements coming back from the rears like in 'Dazed and Confused' - the violin bow thing goes all over the place when Jimmy's climbing up the mountain - some of the drum solos, and in the fantasy sequences the audio travels between the front and the back. So, you're sitting in the middle of this very interesting experience."

And it’s not just during the concert portions either. He continues:

"There are also the sound effects. There's the subway train that comes in the middle of the movie right before 'No Quarter' - the train comes from right behind you and through the middle of your head, which is pretty cool, actually. It's a surround experience, no doubt. It's not a concert with just some subtle rears."

The concerts depict Led Zeppelin at its best.

"They are explosive, they really are explosive. They're just so much on the edge the whole time, everyone's on the edge - Robert's performing, John Paul Jones is such a solid foundation, and Bonzo, John Bonham, what can you say? He's the rock. …

"Actually, there are a couple of things on the DVD menu, like where I've taken 30-second samples and they'll cycle around, and you could make a song just from those samples of them jamming. There's Soundgarden in there, and countless others. What makes Zeppelin so unique is that it wasn't just about one thing taken further, it was about so many things done in so many different ways."

November reunion, outlasting previous ones six times over, needs to be preserved

It appears some real advance planning has accompanied the announcement of this upcoming concert performance by the surviving members of Led Zeppelin, scheduled to take place two months into the future.

When I speak of advance planning, certainly I am not referring to the lack of foresight that meant the announcement of a ticket registration process was uprooted by excessive demand within minutes. (After all, who could have predicted so many people would want to go to a little Led Zeppelin show in 2007? What does the proverb say absence does? Hmmmm.)

The advance planning that is becoming clearer has to do with Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and Jason Bonham. For one thing, they told event promoter Harvey Goldsmith they were going to play for two hours, instead of the 30 minutes he asked for. There is no doubt in my mind that, unlike before the previous handful of reunion shows, they have been extensively talking over set list ideas and rehearsing material. By all accounts, this won't be another trouncing through 20 minutes' worth of songs with minimal prep time; instead, this is going to be something to do justice to the group.

A revelation in the Exeter Express & Echo lets slip that Led Zeppelin has had a "secret rehearsal venue in London." The article also quotes Hugh Manson, longtime manufacturer of electric basses for John Paul Jones and who is building new gear customized for the November reunion. "It is going to be absolutely fantastic," said Manson. "Rehearsals have been hard work but great fun. I have just finished making one new guitar for the concert and am now working on another, which will be a spare. It is a four-string bass which is extra long - at least that is the best way to describe it."

Manson -- who was my interview subject in the April 28, 2003, edition of "On This Day In Led Zeppelin History" -- proceeds to hint that some songs have already been determined, with rehearsals having dictated new keys and, therefore, new instruments. He tells the Express & Echo, "Some of the songs will be in a lower key than usual and, while you can tune a guitar to accommodate almost any note, the best way is to make an instrument to do the job - and that's what this is. In fact, all the basses used by the band in the concert will be ours."

Some fans have interpreted this quote to mean that Jones will not be the only member on bass. Specifically, they think Jimmy Page might play bass for a song like "When the Levee Breaks," allowing Jones to play the lead on his lap steel guitar as he has done in solo outings and other live ventures throughout this decade.

One as-yet unconfirmed rumor suggests that Page has been readying himself since April to play a live version of "Dazed and Confused," complete with a violin bow solo. He sped through a violin bow solo during a live performance of the song on Feb. 9, 2002 – one of only two times he attempted "Dazed" in the past 10 years. The alleged reading of the song this November might be more like the old days when Page thoughtfully prepared for his moment in the spotlight, center-stage.

In fact, prior to Led Zeppelin's shows at Knebworth in 1979 where Page played a violin bow solo to introduce "Achilles Last Stand," the guitarist jotted down stage notes on how he wanted the laser lights and smoke behind him to function during that moment. Those visual and musical cues for effects to be triggered by crew and by fiberoptic cable attached to his violin bow demonstrate how interested and involved Page has been in defining his own image.

Certainly, he has been the primary gatekeeper when it comes to controlling the group's image, given his direct involvement in the behind-the-scenes work of preserving Led Zeppelin. He has coordinated posthumous releases from 1982's Coda on through this November's reissue of The Song Remains the Same, with remastered CDs and box sets as well as live discs and BBC performances. During the band's existence, he labored at length to have great input in the Led Zeppelin film and several studio albums.

This leads me to another point: the documentation of this seemingly well-planned reunion concert. As of now, no plans have been announced to film this sole representation of live Led Zeppelin in the 21st century. If it comes off as well as is hoped, and indeed especially if this one-off show is all that is being considered, then it would be a horrible shame if the unique spectacle can be viewed only by the 18,000 ticketholders and special guests and is not captured on video.

Think of the possibilities: It could result in a massive television extravaganza. Proceeds from sales of a commercial release could be earmarked to benefit the Ahmet Ertegün Education Fund, the charity sowing the benefits of the concert ticket themselves. All this is achievable just by allowing the event to be shared with the millions of fans all around the world.

This is the subject of an online petition now circulating. If you feel the same way, you are urged to sign the letter. The wonderful and historically unique occasion of Led Zeppelin's November 2007 reunion must somehow make it to the masses, and fans must not sit back quietly while such an oversight takes place. Led Zeppelin is a band for the ages, and this should be a reunion for the ages -- not just for two hours on Nov. 26.

That all being said, it is possible that recording the show could be accomplished even as an afterthought. Those who learn from history know that this is how the last three nights of Led Zeppelin's North American tour of 1973 was filmed and came to be included in both The Song Remains the Same and the 2003 DVD. It's also how the last two nights of a 1999 mini-tour of Jimmy Page and the Black Crowes ended up being recorded and subsequently released via computer downloads and on a live album.

The latter circumstance is detailed on the Web site of Kevin Shirley's Cameman Productions; Shirley was the sound engineer for Led Zeppelin's DVD, and he produced, engineered and mixed Live at the Greek for Page and the Black Crowes. Page, who said their performance at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles was "one of those nights where everything just gelled beautifully -- one of those magical nights, so it was just tremendous," was reminded backstage after the show that Shirley had recorded it. "Yeah, that's right, we did record it," Page is quoted as saying. "Thank goodness."

Some history is meant to be repeated.

'The Song Remains the Same' destined for reissue in November

This news originally appeared in an edition of the newsletter "On This Day In Led Zeppelin History."

Fourteen songs from Led Zeppelin's three nights at Madison Square Garden in July 1973 have been remixed and remastered in 2007 for release this November on new DVD and CD sets.

"We have revisited The Song Remains The Same and can now offer the complete set as played at Madison Square Garden," Page said in a statement issued on July 27, 2007, the 34th anniversary of the first of those New York concerts. "When it comes to The Song Remains The Same, the expansion of the DVD and soundtrack are as good as it gets on the Led Zeppelin wish list."

The reissued packaging of The Song Remains the Same, set for release on Nov. 20 from Warner Home Video, is to include liner notes from Cameron Crowe, whose film Almost Famous closely resembled his own journey to near-stardom when he traveled with Led Zeppelin and struggled to land an interview with Page.

The limitations of the LP format in 1976 prevented the double-album soundtrack from containing all 14 songs. In fact, six were missing from it: "Black Dog," "Over The Hills And Far Away," "Misty Mountain Hop," "Since I've Been Loving You," "The Ocean" and "Heartbreaker." These tunes will be included on the CD soundtrack for the first time this year.

"This differs substantially from the original soundtrack released in 1976," said Page, "and highlights the technical prowess of Kevin Shirley, who worked with us on How the West Was Won." That album, capturing live performances from two dates in June 1972, was released in May 2003 alongside the visually spectacular career-spanning live set simply called Led Zeppelin DVD.

As with that release, the new "The Song Remains the Same" DVD will benefit from 5.1 Dolby Digital surround sound. One deluxe edition will be in high-definition DVD. Another edition will be in the Blu-ray format. All will contain complete versions of songs featured only partially in the film's original theatrical release, as well as clips from television interviews and a radio show involving Crowe.

November will also see a repackaging of Led Zeppelin's greatest hits with newly prepared liner notes by Rolling Stone's David Fricke in the two-disc Mothership. This new collection is to be released Nov. 13 from Atlantic Records and Rhino Entertainment.

Word of Led Zeppelin DVD project release expected soon

This news originally appeared in an edition of the newsletter "On This Day In Led Zeppelin History."

Last year's project to revisit and celebrate the live work of Led Zeppelin was undertaken with Jimmy Page at the helm. His leadership in this monumental task was no surprise. It's been known for years that the Led Zeppelin guitarist has possessed a vault containing hours of unreleased footage of the group in action. Aside from this, Page has numerous times expressed his hopes for a chronological live album. He's made such comments repeatedly over a quarter of a century.

The DVD set resulting from his efforts in 2002 of wading through live tapes and editing footage may be just what he considers Led Zeppelin's ultimate collection.

Word has leaked, apparently from the inside, about the visual contents of the set, expected to run on two or three DVDs. Footage from some of Led Zeppelin's best known concerts will be featured, alongside previously unseen interview footage. The discs' audio will be enhanced with Dolby Digital 5.1 channel surround sound. Concert material under consideration for the set includes Led Zeppelin's March 1969 set filmed for Danish television; the concert at London's Royal Albert Hall on Jan. 9, 1970; previously unreleased footage from the New York 1973 concerts included with the film The Song Remains the Same; excerpts from the Earl's Court appearances on May 24-25, 1975; and excerpts from the two dates at the Knebworth festival in August 1979.

Other clips listed for possible inclusion are shots from backstage and offstage, interviews and press conferences. Also prepared for inclusion is a tribute to late drummer John Bonham, in the form of a full rendition of the drum solo "Moby Dick," from the aforementioned London concert in 1970.

Despite security at the London security that has been likened to that of Fort Knox, some leaks about progress on the DVD set have resulted courtesy of Kevin Shirley, a studio engineer who was involved in the mixing process for the DVD set last year. In journal entries at his production company's CavemanProductions.com Web site throughout October, Shirley revealed some of the only known information about the DVD project.

He declared the project "a wrap" on Oct. 24, 2002, only a few days after commenting on the live footage he'd seen of Led Zeppelin: "I've always been a huge fan, but after this, I'm convinced of the geniuses involved and believe there was never a band with such a chemistry in rock. Miles and Coltrane in jazz maybe, Barenboim and Du Pre in classical, but in rock it must be the all four of them!"

Robert Plant said he had a VHS copy of some proposed footage with him when he chatted in 2002 via telephone with reporter Mark Brown for Ice magazine. "It's looking good," Plant said in Ice's December issue. "Some great footage, very exciting visuals."

John Paul Jones said in 2002 after seeing the footage, "I am still reminded what an incredible band it was -- excuse the modesty." In a message posted around Dec. 20 to his Web site, www.johnpauljones.com, the former Led Zeppelin keyboardist and bassist hinted, "It all looks and sounds very exciting and should be coming out soon."

Still, no official word is available on the DVD set's expected release date. The date will be set by marketing heads at Atlantic Records. A Feb. 2 news posting at Led Zeppelin Club Italia, translated into English, states that the date could be in late March or in April.

In addition, the club's Web site, www.ledzeppelinclub.it, mentioned that a double-CD live set compiling two Led Zeppelin concerts from the summer of 1972 has also been prepared for release with the DVD set.

Reunion tour?

Do the imminent release of Led Zeppelin's live anthology and the cooperation among the band's surviving members shed any more credibility toward the rumors circulating that a summer tour has been planned for former bandmates Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and John Paul Jones? You be the judge of that. Management and the artists themselves when approached have denied everything thus far.

In the past, "On This Day In Led Zeppelin History" has been very vocal in presenting the history of reunion rumors, none of which came to fruition. Review the Aug. 28 and Oct. 14 editions in 2002 for examples. However, it is some kind of a logical fallacy to suggest that just because something has never happened before, it will never happen in the future.

Kevin Shirley suggested last year that Led Zeppelin fans should be prepared with "a DVD player and a real 5.1 system." Perhaps the same fans should also start saving up some extra money just in case any official announcements regarding a summer 2003 reunion tour are made anytime soon.

Jason Bonham says mother would proudly approve if Led Zeppelin reunion included him

Jason Bonham was gracious enough to grant an interview to Lemon Squeezings on Oct. 17 after a concert with his current band, Healing Sixes, at the Thunder Dome in Baltimore. Behind a drum set, this thirtysomething musician sounds tight. But leaning against a bar and sipping from a can of Diet Coke, Jason shows his loose, easygoing demeanor.

Healing Sixes played a great set of material from its new CD, Enormosound, and three Led Zeppelin covers ended the concert on a high note for the energetic crowd. Luckily enough, that's just when things were beginning for myself and the son of the late Led Zeppelin drummer. Off to the side of the stage, he made himself available to sign autographs for new fans and to answer questions regarding bootlegs, cars and his take on the possibility of a Led Zeppelin reunion in 2003.

"I'd be a fool not to ask you if you have any plans for next year, with all the rumors circulating," I coyly phrased the question. Apparently, the London Times was more straightforward when the newspaper recently posed the question to him by telephone.

According to Jason, an interviewer for the Times said that Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and John Paul Jones had met on a certain day. Jason, knowing about the work being done on a Led Zeppelin DVD through a common contact, said they were probably meeting to discuss the DVD project.

But the Times insisted that they had also discussed reuniting. Jason said that he had not been contacted by anyone from Led Zeppelin or their management. "So, I phoned Jimmy to see whether he really did want me," Jason told me. "I left a message for him asking to call me and let me know. Well, I haven't heard back."

Jason said he would be comfortable drumming for a reunion and that his mother, Pat Bonham, would proudly approve. "My mom has said that she will give full support to the tour if I'm on the drums but not if anyone else is on drums," Jason said.

Although he hasn't heard from Page about the reunion, he has heard from the engineer on the Led Zeppelin DVD project. Jason said that the man helping Page on the project is Kevin Shirley, who also worked on the Healing Sixes CD as well as Live at the Greek, the double live album by Jimmy Page and the Black Crowes. Although Jason was not able to name any specific footage that would appear on the upcoming Led Zeppelin DVD, he said he's heard it's all excellent footage.

While fans prepare for the first official live release by Led Zeppelin since 1997's BBC Sessions, Led Zeppelin bootleg collectors have been enjoying a highly productive round of newly released soundboard recordings, video releases, and more. Trying to ascertain the sources of these newly discovered recordings, some fans assume that it must be coming from someone near the band.

Since Jason's name has been mentioned in the past in conjunction with such guesses, I asked him whether he knew where such recordings were coming from. He did not claim responsibility for any leaks. However, he hinted that he has been in possession of some recordings that are not available in trading circles, including at least one with a concert date previously unknown to Led Zeppelin historians. Lemon Squeezings will certainly follow up on this issue!

In the meantime, Healing Sixes is scheduled for the following appearances in the eastern United States and Canada:

• Oct. 21: Philadelphia (Venue TBA)
• Oct. 22: B.B. King's, New York
• Oct. 24: Hard Rock Cafe, Toronto
• Oct. 25: Double D's, Morristown, N.J.
• Oct. 26: Palace, Lansford, Pa.
• Oct. 29: Stone Pony, Asbury Park, N.J.
• Oct. 30: Crocodile Rocks, Allentown, Pa.
• Nov. 1: Town House, Williamstown, N.Y.
• Nov. 2: Jarrod's, Attleboro, N.Y.
• Nov. 6: Zanies Too, Indianapolis

And coming soon, dates on the West Coast!