Led Zeppelin
Celebration Day
*****
Sublime live collection.
Here’s something for the Christmas stocking: a double CD and DVD of legendary rockers Led Zeppelin’s Celebration Day.
It was recorded in 2007, when the legendary rockers reunited to pay tribute to Atlantic Records boss Ahmet Ertegun at a benefit concert staged at London’s O2 arena.
If you’re a Zeppelin fan, then this one’s a must. Jimmy Page remains one of the most sublime guitarists of the century, while Robert Plant’s vocal cords sound like they have been maturing in a vat of whisky for four decades (which they might just have). John Paul Jones is back on bass, with young Jason Bonham in on drums for his dad John, after the latter heroically drank himself to death – and collapsed the band – in 1980.
They sound better than ever before, with the incomparable Stairway to Heaven an absolute treat, alongside Black Dog, Dazed and Confused and The Song Remains the Same.
As for Whole Lotta Love, the track that inspired generations of air-guitarists, drunken or otherwise, in lounges and pubs across the world? Brilliant.
Zeppelin were the real thing, cutting-edge rock and metal, but heavily infused by blues, something that becomes apparent in this selection and after the passage of many years. This is a collection to cherish. – Kevin Ritchie