THE SOUNDTRACK FROM THE FILM - THE SONG REMAINS THE SAME

An evening with Led Zeppelin was truly an event, an intimate experience shared by audience and band where spontineity within structure was really what things were all about. Sure many fans were there to hear favorite songs, but if all four members were on their game, those fans got a lot more than just Stairway to Heaven. One day over the phone on a radio call-in show, John Paul Jones told me their improvisational process onstage was open as to length and content, relying on subtle cues coming from one of the group. By 1973 these techniques had been honed and they had become a well-oiled if imperfect machine. 'The Song Remains the Same' is a relatively honest and highly revealing document of a set of shows at Madison Square Garden that year.

Touring 'Houses of the Holy' but including the music behind them, Zeppelin had continued to work their material, staying open to the possibilities of reinterpretation and new life they could breathe into old things when most of their peers were going by the numbers. And though not sonically comparable to their studio tracks, the band made up for it with passion, risk taking and a deep love of the music. After the obligatory and manic 'Rock and Roll', 'Celebration Day' rocks the house. The militant title cut is a thrill of rock dynamics as it transitions gracefully into the moving and delicate 'Rain Song' and Plant's recitative on life, love and the human condition. At twent-six minutes of rollercoaster changes and inspired playing, 'Dazed and Confused' speaks for itself. When you include the next number, the dark and morbid 'No Quarter' with its ancient fable of honor, sacrifice and deadly combat, John Bonham's clashing-armour drums and a very personal piano solo from John Paul Jones (expanded on their 1975 tour to a much longer piece on grand piano), we can see the evolution with our own eyes. On top of this we get a rollicking fun drum session with Bonzo, a version of Stairway far superior to the studio, and a thrilling 'Whole Lotta Love' that barely resembles the song we know.

This is the record that shows not only Zep's progressive aspect, but how much this band loved playing music together and gave to their audience. One of history's greatest rock albums. In concert and beyond.