Were this any other band, it would be easy to scoff at the prospect: Three old dudes and a replacement for the now-apparently requisite missing dude, but this was Led Zeppelin – and nothing about Led Zeppelin has ever been remotely “requisite.”
Just the fact that they managed to resist a real reunion until 2007 should put aside any notions that Celebration Day was a cash-in of any kind.
Sure, they played a few short sets since breaking up, but nothing that could truly be said to be a true Led Zeppelin concert, and certainly nothing worth thinking much about beyond the fact that these guys got together again. Both times they met up in the ’80s, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant described the shows as pretty ghastly.
Led Zeppelin instead wisely held off properly reuniting until it truly felt like a celebration to the band and not just the fans – and that’s exactly what made Celebration Day so exhilarating.
They may not have sounded so young anymore, so a few songs were taken at slower paces than they used to be. Plant’s voice was noticeably less capable than before, and he phrases some songs in new ways to keep from needing to hit high notes – such as on “Black Dog” and “Whole Lotta Love.”
Still, there was a palpable sense of joy running through the entire concert at the O2 Arena in London, which finally saw wide release on Oct. 17, 2012.
[SOMETHING ELSE! REWIND: Even all these years later, we still can’t decide how to rank Led Zeppelin’s ‘Houses of the Holy,’ the often-overlooked successor to ‘Led Zeppelin IV.’]
Jimmy Page reeled off those riffs we all know so well, sometimes with an added dash of panache or a new twist here and there, and John Paul Jones loomed larger than ever during this show. His bass groaned and rumbled, his keyboard work sparkled, all brilliantly. It mades me wonder why so much of this was buried on the studio albums.
Jason Bonham didn’t so much fill his dad’s boots as honor his memory. We’ve all heard a million Led Zeppelin covers and the drummers always want to out-do John Bonham by being bigger and louder in some way, completely missing his incredible essence. Jason clearly aimed to simply do right by his dad here, and while there’s no mistaking him for his dad, he deftly handled the role.
There were transcendent moments, taking you back to your very first experiences with the band. Remember when “Stairway to Heaven” was fresh to you? That’s how it felt on Celebration Day. The performance was so sincere, stately and heartfelt that decades of radio-wear were washed away to let it shine anew.
Led Zeppelin even dared play “For Your Life,” a song they’d never attempted live before, and it came off spectacularly. This new version was every bit the massive stomper it was on 1976’s Presence – and, really, because of Jones’ huge sound, maybe more so.
As Celebration Day arrived in a multitude of various combinations – digital, CD, DVD, Blu-ray, pick one or pick a combination – some may have perhaps felt that this was, indeed, a cash-in. But once heard, or seen, it felt very pure. Celebration Day wasn’t rushed to market immediately after the show, and there wasn’t a huge tour to follow. Five years later, it seemed as if every bit of Celebration Day was carefully considered, including not doing anything with the material, ever.
Were we lucky to get this? Probably not – it may simply have been an inevitability. The title was fitting, though. This music was a celebration, the event was a celebration. It would have been almost criminal to keep something like this under wraps.
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