Review- LED ZEPPELIN/ CELEBRATION DAY

Led Zeppelin/ Celebration Day (Swan Song/ Atlantic/ Warner Bros., 2012)

Okay, this really pisses me off. Led Zeppelin performed their first full concert since 1980 on December 10, 2007 at London's 02 Arena. That show is what comprises this 2 disc set. What pisses me off is how great the band sounds. They were offered a billion dollars in 2008 to do one year's worth of shows. One year. A billion dollars. Everyone in the world would want to see that show, and we are denied. I have spent the bulk of my life wishing and hoping for a Led Zeppelin reunion. I did see Page and Plant in 1998 when they were in full Rock mode (no Indian orchestra for that tour), and it was godlike. It was nearly all Zeppelin songs, but it wasn't Led Zeppelin.

Good Times Bad Times sounds massive here. Millennials state how overrated this band is, when the truth of the matter is that they are underrated. Their contributions to this thing called Rock and Roll are incalculable. Trampled Under Foot sounds fabulous, and the version of No Quarter found here is better than any of the other live versions that I've heard. This album is so good that it pisses me off. It pisses me off that we could have had Led Zeppelin all of this time, and it pisses me off that we could have had a tour. Why couldn't these guys be as financially irresponsible as their peers and forced to do endless reunion tours? Why??

Since I've Been Loving You was done in a slightly altered arrangement. Zeppelin often stretched songs out to agonizing lengths live, as that is was what stoned hippies seem to enjoy at concerts. I myself likes the Rock in a live setting. The Song Remains The Same sounds flat and lifeless compared to the studio version, but Kashmir sounds so flippin' awesome that it balances the scale back to godlike. I am not one of those folks who proclaims Stairway To Heaven to be the greatest song ever written. I love the studio version, but this live version is pretty flat. The 1973 version found on 1976's The Song Remains The Same sounds worlds better. Oh well, at least we get to hear Plant sing the song again.

This release serves no purpose other than to remind everyone how incredible Led Zeppelin was, and how incredible they would still be if they wanted to. That is the truly maddening part of this live album. We live in a world of Justin Bieber when we could instead be living in a world of Led Zeppelin. Weep for the children.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4.5 out of 5.

P.S. Does anyone remember jewel cases? I think that there's only been one or two new releases this year that were released in jewel cases. In 2024, they will be retro, and everyone will be reissuing their catalog on CD in jewel cases.