''The Song Remains the Same'' is a 1976
concert film
A concert film, or concert movie, is a film that showcases a live performance from the perspective of a concert goer, the subject of which is an extended live performance or concert by either a musician or a stand-up comedian.
Early history
The ...
featuring the English rock band
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...
. The filming took place during the summer of 1973, during three nights of concerts at
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...
in New York City, with additional footage shot at
Shepperton Studios
Shepperton Studios is a film studio located in Shepperton, Surrey, England, with a history dating back to 1931. It is now part of the Pinewood Studios Group. During its early existence, the studio was branded as Sound City (not to be confused w ...
. The film premiered three years later on 20 October 1976 at Cinema I in New York, on 21 October 1976 at Fox Wilshire in Beverly Hills, and at Warner West End Cinema in London two weeks later.
[Chris Welch (1994) ''Led Zeppelin'', London: Orion Books. , pp. 68-69, 83.] It was accompanied by
a soundtrack album of the same name. The DVD of the film was released on 31 December 1999.
Promotional materials stated that the film was "the band's special way of giving their millions of friends what they had been clamouring for – a personal and private tour of Led Zeppelin. For the first time the world has a front row seat on Led Zeppelin."
A reissue of the film, including previously unreleased footage as a bonus, was released on DVD, HD DVD, and Blu-ray Disc on 20 November 2007, by
Warner Home Video
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Inc. (formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the home video distribution division of Warner Bros.
It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Video ...
.
Background
Since late 1969, Led Zeppelin had been planning on filming one of their live performances for a projected movie documentary of the band. The group's manager,
Peter Grant, believed that they would be better served by the big screen than by television, because he regarded the sound quality of the latter as unsatisfactory. The first attempt was the filming (by Peter Whitehead and
Stanley Dorfman) of Led Zeppelin's
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...
performance on 9 January 1970, but the band thought they appeared dated when they viewed the edited footage several months later, and the film was shelved (this footage was later remastered and featured on the 2003 release ''
Led Zeppelin DVD
''Led Zeppelin DVD'' is a double DVD set by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, released in the United Kingdom on 26 May 2003, and the United States on 27 May 2003. It contains live concert footage of the band spanning the years 1969 to 1979. The D ...
'').
On the morning of 20 July 1973, during the band's concert tour of the US, Peter Grant made contact with American-born director
Joe Massot
Joe Massot (1933 – April 4, 2002) was an American writer and film director who was known for the film '' Wonderwall'' (1968) which featured a soundtrack by George Harrison, and the Led Zeppelin concert film '' The Song Remains The Same'' (197 ...
. Massot was already known to Grant as he and his wife had moved into a house in
Berkshire
Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...
in 1970, where they made friends with their neighbours, Led Zeppelin guitarist
Jimmy Page and his girlfriend Charlotte Martin.
[ Grant had previously turned down offers by Massot to make a film of the band, but with the huge success of the band's current tour, Grant changed his mind and offered him the job of director. As Grant recalled:
]It all started in the Sheraton Hotel, Boston. We'd talked about a film for years and Jimmy had known Joe Massot was interested – so we called them and over they came. It was all very quickly arranged.[Lewis, Dave and Pallett, Simon (1997) ''Led Zeppelin: The Concert File'', London: Omnibus Press. , p. 90.]
Massot hurriedly assembled a crew in time for Led Zeppelin's last leg of the tour starting on 23 July 1973, in Baltimore. He subsequently filmed the group's three concert performances at Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...
on the nights of 27, 28, and 29 July 1973. The film was entirely financed by the band and shot on 35mm with a 24-track quadraphonic sound recording. The live footage in the US alone cost $85,000.
Original filming
The plans to film the shows at Madison Square Garden were threatened when the local trades union tried to block the British film crew from working. After the band's attorneys negotiated with the union, the crew was allowed to film the concerts.[Welch, Chris (2002) ''Peter Grant: The Man Who Led Zeppelin'', London: Omnibus Press. , pp. 112-138.]
The footage of the band arriving at the airport in their private jet airliner, ''The Starship
''The Starship'' was a former United Airlines Boeing 720 passenger jet, bought by Bobby Sherman and his manager, Ward Sylvester, and leased to touring musical artists in the mid-1970s.
History
''The Starship'', N7201U (S/N: 17907), was the fi ...
'', and travelling in the motorcade to the concert was filmed in Pittsburgh, before their show at Three Rivers Stadium
Three Rivers Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1970 to 2000. It was home to the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL).
Buil ...
on 24 July 1973.[
For the band's three New York performances, two band members, Robert Plant and ]John Bonham
John Henry Bonham (31 May 1948 – 25 September 1980) was an English musician, best known as the drummer for the rock band Led Zeppelin. Esteemed for his speed, power, fast single-footed kick drumming, distinctive sound, and feel for groove,J ...
, wore the same clothes to facilitate seamless editing of the film, but John Paul Jones
John Paul Jones (born John Paul; July 6, 1747 July 18, 1792) was a Scottish-American naval captain who was the United States' first well-known naval commander in the American Revolutionary War. He made many friends among U.S political elites ( ...
and Jimmy Page wore different sets of attire on some of the nights, which created continuity problems. Page is seen wearing a different dragon suit in "Rock and Roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...
" and the "Celebration Day
"Celebration Day" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin, and the third track from their 1970 album ''Led Zeppelin III''. The band's last concert film and album, released on 19 November 2012, took their name from this song.
Composition and ...
" remaster which was not an editing error; Jimmy wore a new outfit for those shows which came with a heavy jacket, and he took it off after 3 songs. In an interview from 1997, Jones said that the reason he didn't wear the same stage clothes was that he asked the crew if they would be filming on those nights and was told no. "I'd think 'not to worry, I'll save the shirt I wore the previous night for the next filming'. Then what would happen is that I'd get onstage and see the cameras ready to roll."
As Led Zeppelin's popularity soared throughout the 1970s, Peter Grant became increasingly notorious for being brutally protective of his band and their finances; ''The Song Remains the Same'' captures one such exchange between him and a concert promoter. When Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
approved the film they did so with the proviso that expletives would be 'bleeped
A bleep censor is the replacement of a profanity or classified information with a beep (sound), beep sound (usually a ) in television and radio. It is mainly used in the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong ...
' out. Clifton took the optical print and removed the words, and the film was given an appropriate rating. However, on every other print, the words were retained and were fully audible.[
In the scene where Peter Grant is driven to the police station to be questioned about the theft from the safe deposit box at the Drake Hotel, he has his arm outside the police car. According to an interview conducted in 1989, he explained the reason he wasn't handcuffed was that the policeman driving the car used to be a drummer in a semi-professional band which had supported ]the Yardbirds
The Yardbirds are an English rock band, formed in London in 1963. The band's core lineup featured vocalist and harmonica player Keith Relf, drummer Jim McCarty, rhythm guitarist and later bassist Chris Dreja and bassist/producer Paul Samwell ...
on one of its US college tours in the late-1960s. Grant had at the time been manager of the Yardbirds.[ The money stolen from the safe deposit box at the Drake Hotel was never recovered, and while no one has ever been charged, it is alleged that a staff member of the hotel quit their job and fled to Jamaica soon after the theft.][Liner notes by ]Cameron Crowe
Cameron Bruce Crowe (born July 13, 1957) is an American journalist, author, writer, producer, director, actor, lyricist, and playwright. Before moving into the film industry, Crowe was a contributing editor at '' Rolling Stone'' magazine, for w ...
for '' The Song Remains the Same'', reissued version, 2007. Scenes of young fans attempting to buy tickets, an unruly fan being ejected by security, and Grant berating the promoter for receiving kickbacks were all shot at the Baltimore Civic Center
CFG Bank Arena (originally the Baltimore Civic Center and formerly Royal Farms Arena, Baltimore Arena and 1st Mariner Arena) is a multipurpose arena in Baltimore, Maryland. This venue is located about one block away from the Baltimore Convention ...
on 23 July 1973. Grant purportedly recommended the "Dazed and Confused" sequence wherein the camera zooms into Page's eyes and cuts to the scene.[ Some unused backstage shots filmed at Baltimore and at Pittsburgh later found their way into the promotional video for "]Travelling Riverside Blues
"Travelling Riverside Blues" is a blues song written by the bluesman Robert Johnson. He recorded it on June 20, 1937, in Dallas, Texas, during his last recording session. The song was unreleased until its inclusion on the 1961 Johnson compilatio ...
", released in 1990.
Subsequent filming and release
Dissatisfied with the progress of the film, Grant had Massot removed from the project and Australian director Peter Clifton
Peter Clifton (1941 – 31 May 2018), was an Australian film director. His most commercially successful work was the Led Zeppelin concert film '' The Song Remains the Same'' (1976).
Clifton was born in Sydney and had experience in music film ...
was hired in his place in early 1974. Massot was offered a few thousand pounds in compensation. Peter Grant later sent someone to Massot's house to collect the film. However, Massot had hidden the film elsewhere and so instead an expensive editing machine owned by Massot was taken as collateral. Massot served a writ, leading to a period of stalemate which was finally broken when Grant and Led Zeppelin's lawyer Steve Weiss agreed to pay Massot the money he was owed, after which he delivered the film to the band.[ Massot was not invited to attend the premiere of the film at New York but he attended anyway, buying a ticket from a scalper outside the theatre.][
Clifton, realising that there were crucial holes in the concert footage, suggested that the entire show be recreated at ]Shepperton Studios
Shepperton Studios is a film studio located in Shepperton, Surrey, England, with a history dating back to 1931. It is now part of the Pinewood Studios Group. During its early existence, the studio was branded as Sound City (not to be confused w ...
in August 1974, on a mock-up of the Madison Square Garden stage. Close-ups and distance footage of the band members could then be slipped into the live sequences, which made up the bulk of the concert footage seen in the film. When it was agreed that the band would meet at Shepperton Studios for filming, Jones had recently had his hair cut short, so he had to wear a wig.[Snow, Mat, "The Secret Life of a Superstar", '']Mojo magazine
''Mojo'' is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom, initially by Emap, and since January 2008 by Bauer. Following the success of the magazine '' Q'', publishers Emap were looking for a title that would cater for the bur ...
'', December 2007.
In the May 2008 issue of ''Uncut Magazine
''Uncut'' is a monthly magazine based in London. It is available across the English-speaking world, and focuses on music, but also includes film and books sections. A DVD magazine under the ''Uncut'' brand was published quarterly from 2005 to 2006 ...
'', Page recalled the events surrounding the shooting of additional footage at Shepperton Studios:
A plan to shoot additional footage on the band's Autumn 1975 U.S. tour was abandoned due to Plant's car crash in Rhodes
Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the So ...
, Greece.
In 1976 a midnight screening of the film was organised by Atlantic Records
Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...
before its release, at which label president Ahmet Ertegun
Ahmet Ertegun (, Turkish spelling: Ahmet Ertegün; ; – December 14, 2006) was a Turkish-American businessman, songwriter, record executive and philanthropist.
Ertegun was the co-founder and president of Atlantic Records. He discovered and ch ...
reportedly fell asleep.[
''The Song Remains the Same'' was finally completed by early 1976, 18 months behind schedule and over-budget. Peter Grant later quipped "It was the most expensive home movie ever made".] It grossed $200,000 in its first week at the box office.
Critical reaction and popularity
For its New York premiere, Cinema I was equipped with a quadrophonic sound system hired from Showco
Showco was a sound equipment provider of touring sound reinforcement equipment and services to the concert touring industry. It was based in Dallas, Texas, United States. In 2000, Showco was acquired by Clair Global.
Showco was established in 19 ...
in Dallas. For the West Coast premieres, no such audio boosting was employed. These premieres, along with the London premiere, were attended by the members of the band.[
The film performed well at the box office, grossing an estimated $10 million by 1977.][ Despite this, the film was reviewed negatively by critics for its perceived amateurish production and self-indulgent content, with the fantasy sequences in particular coming in for some of the harshest criticism.] The film was particularly unsuccessful in the UK, where the band had not performed live for over two years as a result of being in tax exile
A tax exile is a person who leaves a country to avoid the payment of income tax or other taxes. The term refers to an individual who already owes money to the tax authorities or wishes to avoid being liable in the future for taxation at what they ...
. The band were thus unable to promote themselves at home, leaving them out of the public spotlight.
However, amongst fans the film has retained its popularity. Until the release of ''Led Zeppelin DVD
''Led Zeppelin DVD'' is a double DVD set by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, released in the United Kingdom on 26 May 2003, and the United States on 27 May 2003. It contains live concert footage of the band spanning the years 1969 to 1979. The D ...
'' in 2003, ''The Song Remains the Same'' was the only official live visual document that was accessible to followers of the band. It became a cult favourite at late-night movie houses, and its subsequent release on video and then DVD has ensured a growing base of fans.
Some members of the band regard the performances filmed at Madison Square Garden as merely average for the time, coming as they did at the end of a long and exhausting tour, but nonetheless representative of the generally high standard of the band's live performances during this era. In an interview he gave with ''New Musical Express
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'' in November 1976, Page stated:
Page made good on his promise. When reviewing material for ''Led Zeppelin DVD'' in 2003, he decided to include footage from this same series of concerts.
However, other members of the band were less charitable, with Jones later admitting that the film was "a massive compromise" and Plant denouncing it as "a load of bollocks."[Blake, Mark, "The Keeper of the Flame", '']Mojo magazine
''Mojo'' is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom, initially by Emap, and since January 2008 by Bauer. Following the success of the magazine '' Q'', publishers Emap were looking for a title that would cater for the bur ...
'', December 2007.
For all of its technical faults, many today view the film as an interesting historical document that captured the band at a particular point in time when its popularity was at around its peak, and, on a more general level, as an accurate representation of the excesses of the music and show-business industries in the 1970s.[Tom & Sara Pendergast, (1999). '']St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture
The ''St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture'' is a cross-curriculum English-language resource that publishes scholarly articles and features on a range of popular culture topics such as television, film, theater, radio, music, print media, spo ...
'', Volume 3. St. James Press. (set) (v.3) In a review published in ''Mojo
Mojo may refer to:
* Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in voodoo
Arts, entertainment and media Film and television
* MOJO HD, an American television network
* ''Mojo'' (play), by Jez Butterworth, made into a 1997 film
* ' ...
'' magazine following the film's 2007 reissue, James McNair gave the film four out of five stars and wrote:
DVD scene listing
# Mob Rubout
# Mob Town Credits
# Country Life ("Autumn Lake")
# "Bron-Yr-Aur
Bron-Yr-Aur (Welsh for "breast of the gold", or by extension, "hill of the gold" or "golden hill"; ) is a privately owned 18th-century cottage, on the outskirts of Machynlleth, in Montgomeryshire, mid-Wales, best known for its association with ...
"
# "Rock and Roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...
"
# " Black Dog"
# "Since I've Been Loving You
"Since I've Been Loving You" is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, released in 1970 on the album ''Led Zeppelin III''.
Overview
"Since I've Been Loving You" was one of the first songs prepared for the ''Led Zeppelin III'' album. The s ...
"
# "No Quarter
The phrase no quarter was generally used during military conflict to imply combatants would not be taken prisoner, but killed.
According to some modern American dictionaries, a person who is given no quarter is "not treated kindly" or "treated ...
"
# Who's Responsible?
# " The Song Remains the Same"
# "The Rain Song
"The Rain Song" is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin. It was released in March 1973 as the second track on their fifth album, ''Houses of the Holy''.
Recording
"The Rain Song" is a ballad of over seven minutes in length. Guitarist J ...
"
# Fire and Sword
# Capturing the Castle
# Not Quite Backstage Pass
# " Dazed and Confused"
# Strung Out
# Magic in the Night
# Gate Crasher
# No Comment
# " Stairway to Heaven"
# "Moby Dick
''Moby-Dick; or, The Whale'' is an 1851 novel by American writer Herman Melville. The book is the sailor Ishmael's narrative of the obsessive quest of Ahab, captain of the whaling ship ''Pequod'', for revenge against Moby Dick, the giant whit ...
"
# Country Squire Bonham
# "Heartbreaker
Heartbreaker(s) or The Heart Breaker(s) may refer to:
Film and television
*''The Heart Breakers'', a 1916 film starring Andrew Arbuckle
*''The Heart Breaker'', a 1925 film directed by Benjamin Stoloff
* ''Heartbreaker'' (1983 film), an American f ...
"
# Grand Theft
# "Whole Lotta Love
"Whole Lotta Love" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin. It is the opening track on the band's second album, '' Led Zeppelin II'', and was released as a single in 1969 in several countries; as with other Led Zeppelin songs, no single was ...
"
# End Credits (w/ "Stairway to Heaven")
Chart positions
DVD
Cast
* John Bonham
John Henry Bonham (31 May 1948 – 25 September 1980) was an English musician, best known as the drummer for the rock band Led Zeppelin. Esteemed for his speed, power, fast single-footed kick drumming, distinctive sound, and feel for groove,J ...
* Richard Cole
Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stron ...
* Peter Grant
* Roy Harper
* John Paul Jones
John Paul Jones (born John Paul; July 6, 1747 July 18, 1792) was a Scottish-American naval captain who was the United States' first well-known naval commander in the American Revolutionary War. He made many friends among U.S political elites ( ...
* Jimmy Page
* Robert Plant
* Colin Rigdon
* Derek Skilton
Personnel
Led Zeppelin
* John Bonham
John Henry Bonham (31 May 1948 – 25 September 1980) was an English musician, best known as the drummer for the rock band Led Zeppelin. Esteemed for his speed, power, fast single-footed kick drumming, distinctive sound, and feel for groove,J ...
– drums, percussion
* John Paul Jones
John Paul Jones (born John Paul; July 6, 1747 July 18, 1792) was a Scottish-American naval captain who was the United States' first well-known naval commander in the American Revolutionary War. He made many friends among U.S political elites ( ...
– bass guitar, keyboards
* Jimmy Page – guitars, theremin, backing vocals, production, sound editing, mixing
* Robert Plant – vocals, tambourine
Additional personnel
2007 reissue
On 20 November 2007, Warner Home Video released a new DVD edition of ''The Song Remains The Same'' for the first time with all fifteen songs from the original Madison Square Garden concerts.
This coincided with the reissue of the accompanying soundtrack to the film, available on CD. The DVD features newly remixed and fully remastered sound, 5.1 Dolby Digital and DTS surround sound from original master tracks, and includes more than 40 minutes of added bonus material, including never-before-released performance footage of " Over the Hills and Far Away" and "Celebration Day
"Celebration Day" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin, and the third track from their 1970 album ''Led Zeppelin III''. The band's last concert film and album, released on 19 November 2012, took their name from this song.
Composition and ...
", plus performances of "Misty Mountain Hop
"Misty Mountain Hop" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin, released in 1971 by Atlantic Records. The song appears on the band's untitled fourth album, and was released as the B-side to the single " Black Dog" and performed in most of the ...
" and " The Ocean", a rare 1976 BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
radio show. This version was released on standard DVDs as well as
.
A Collector's Edition box set including a T-shirt with the original album cover, placards from the New York shows, and several glossy photographs was released as well.
Due to legal complications, the band decided not to change the video portion of the original movie for the rerelease.
created an entirely new mix of the three 1973 Madison Square Garden concerts so that the audio portion of the film would better match the on-screen visuals. The audio on the new CD release is nearly identical to the soundtrack of the new DVD release. One difference is that the songs included on the CDs that were not featured in the original movie are included as bonus tracks on the DVD.
- a study of sources of the live material and the edits for release on this film.
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Song Remains the Same, The