First of all, The Song Remains the Same was out of date - the film was shot well before the release of the band's monumental Physical Graffiti album and, obviously, contained none of that album's material. Secondly, the band members themselves lament to this very day that this was their only live performance officially captured for posterity. They were at the end of an extensive American tour at the time and were understandably exhausted.

Circumstances prevented Zeppelin from ever producing the definitive live recording that they so desperately desired. Such a project was slated for the band's '80-'81 tour, but was obviously scrapped by the death of John Bonham.

It's best to think of The Song Remains the Same more as a historical peice than as the definitive live Led Zeppelin, which it is not. It captures a moment in time. An inside-glimpse at the larger-than-life Led Zeppelin, complete with their flaws (even Zep was not perfect). And in that way, The Song Remains the Same is actually more intriguing and has more of an enduring charm than some pristine, studio-exact live excercise.

But don't be deceived into thinking that this album is slop. There are certainly moments of grandeur here that other bands would kill for on their best day. Page's guitar blitz on "Celebration Day" obliterates the studio version. That breathtaking final solo provides fresh open-mouthed astonishment every time. Of course, any time Zeppelin straps it on for "Dazed and Confused", it's an adventure - although the running time here of nearly 27 minutes is shockingly self-indulgent for a live album, especially considering the wealth of material they had to draw from (believe it or not, they were known to go even LONGER in their early days). And who could fail to mention the most famous improvised line ever in a live recording, Robert Plant's, "Does anybody remember laughter?" during "Stairway..." - so well known in fact, that many people think it's part of the studio version.

Taking the good with the bad, The Song Remains the Same soundtrack is an essential momento for any Zep fan, while it should perhaps be left until later for Zep novices (at the very least, get 2 or 3 of the first 6 studio albums before you jump into this).


A Note To Consider   September 4, 2003
22 out of 26 found this review helpful

First of all the 5 stars is for Zep
& the great music but collectors of
mini lp replicas take note:

All the Zep albums(Bar BBC) have been
released on mini lp paper sleeve versions
BOTH from Japan AND Europe.

The europe & Jap versions are sonically identical,
all are taken from the Jimmy Page George Marino
remasters,a fact also printed on the stickers(Europe
releases)& insert sheet (Japan releases).

The packaging is also identical,the europe releases
actually use the Jap outer cardboard sleeves(the catalog
numbers on the europe spines are identical to their
Japanese counterparts but the numbers are different
on the actual discs (europe) themselves.

The Japan versions DO have an extra foldout lyric
insert in Japanese,the discs are housed in see through thin plastic sleeves
(the europe versions are enclosed in glossy
card inner sleeves,much nicer).

Most importantly the EAU versions are MUCH cheaper,
if you must have the paper insert
and the obi strip,be prepared to pay heavily.

All in its great to have these available but in a nutshell
the European versions are almost identical
bar the paper insert at a much lower price(amazon.co.uk)