More Zeppelin DVD info
04-21-03 | 11:51 AM
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More Led Zeppelin DVD info
From led zeppelin.com forum thread about ICE article:
When the Zeppelin vault was finally cracked, little usable footage was found outside if the shows that fans already knew existed. And it was a painstaking process to take primitively recorded tapes (by today's standards) and make them work in 5.1 surround sound. Engineer Kevin Shirley spent six months in the studio last year mixing the projects with guitarist/producer Page.
_ _ "In general the tapes were in great shape," Shirley tells ICE. "Jimmy had been storing them either at his house _in London, which has a big tower storeroom, or in a tape-storing facility." The tapes from the mid-'70s were Ampex masters known for their problems(they had "turned to jelly," Shirley says), and had to be _baked in convection ovens-some of them up to 60 hours to make them playable. "Jimmy was a little unhappy intially, but came to fully understand that it was necessary. The early batches would probably have been fine, but the late '70s batches, like Knebworth, were shedding like a rapid dog."
_ _The tapes were then transferred to Pro Tools HD at a 96khz sampling rate. "The resolution was fantastic," Shirley enthuses.
_ _ But the troubles weren't over. The 1970 Royal Albert Hall show was recorded on just 6 tracks-three of them dedicated to John Bonham's drums, Knebworth, on the other hand, was 24 tracks.
_ _ "The first song on Royal Albert Hall, "We're Gonna Groove,' was a nightmare, "Shirley says, adding preparation and recording didn't get underway until the band literally walked onto the stage. "They _were making changes all through the song; things fade in and out. I had to find ways to make it sound reasonable. [The aim was] to feel like you're sitting in the 3rd row of the Royal Albert Hall. _That's why it took six months to mix."
_ _ _
Knebworth '79 is considered by some fans to be nadir of live Zeppelin, but that's misleading. Video and audio of the August 11 show have circulated for years, but the lesser-circulated August 4 show was the one used for the DVD. Poor
soundboard and audience recordings have added to the bad reputation; songs such as "In the Evening" need a sophisticated mix to sound good, and the Knebworth performance is a revelation on the DVD.
_ _ _
Zep biographer"Dave Lewis tells ICE, "Page first mooted a chronological live album back in the mid-'70s when he had oneof the first computerized studio consoles installed at his home. He began to wade through their tapes, but the various setbacks and tragedies the band suffered put it constantly on ice. There was a plan to make the posthumous album Coda, issued in 1982, a live album, but I believe Robert [Plant] wasn't keen, so they went with the outtakes instead."
_ _ _
Restoration of the footage with co-producer Dick Carruthers was "painstakingly done in the best possible way,"
Lewis says. " I was lucky enough to see the extent of their video archive as far back as 1981, when I was allowed to view the Earls Court and Knebworth video masters at their Swan Song office. _So I knew what was there, but nothing could have prepared me for the astounding clarity of this footage when I saw the DVD preview. The Royal Albert Hall film has been around on bootlegs for years, but the power and the audio track... It's like viewing an old master painting that's been totally restored."
_ _
As for the 3-CD How the West was Won, fans are assuming it was compiled from the two Los Angeles-area shows because of tape problems, but that wasn't the case. "They are two great performances," Shirley says, "and the truthis, we mixed a lot from both shows. It's amazing how differently the band played from one show to the other. As Jimmy says, they played Long Beach a little quicker than the Form because it was a long drive back, and they needed to get some party time in! _But seriously, the band would be blistering on one track, and Robert may have been a little worn out, yet on the other night the band was not quite as steller and Robert would be in fantastic shape.
_ _ _
"So it was just choosing between tehm to create the ultimate show from two consecutive nights. Robert would sing differently as Jimmy would playdifferently each night...can you imagine my joy at listening to 10 different performances of "Since I've Been Loving You' and [isolating] any one of them at any time during the performance. An experience of a lifetime for me."
_ _
How the West was Won ships in a regular cd version on May 27, but "there's going to bea DVD-audio release of that coming out a bit later," Shirley reveals. "It is excellent, ****ing mind-blowing."
_ _
It's still unknown if How the West was Won will be the first of a series or not, but the potential is certainly there. For example, a Southhampton University show from January 22, 1973 was under consideration, Shirley says. "they played to about 12 people, so it was an entirely different show, with the band really turned down. Maybe that'll see the light of day, there's a 'Rain Song' on there that is unbelievable."
_ _
As stated herein articles past, remarkably, none of the 1977 or '80 Led Zeppelin shows were professionally recorded or filmed, Shirley confirms.
When the Zeppelin vault was finally cracked, little usable footage was found outside if the shows that fans already knew existed. And it was a painstaking process to take primitively recorded tapes (by today's standards) and make them work in 5.1 surround sound. Engineer Kevin Shirley spent six months in the studio last year mixing the projects with guitarist/producer Page.
_ _ "In general the tapes were in great shape," Shirley tells ICE. "Jimmy had been storing them either at his house _in London, which has a big tower storeroom, or in a tape-storing facility." The tapes from the mid-'70s were Ampex masters known for their problems(they had "turned to jelly," Shirley says), and had to be _baked in convection ovens-some of them up to 60 hours to make them playable. "Jimmy was a little unhappy intially, but came to fully understand that it was necessary. The early batches would probably have been fine, but the late '70s batches, like Knebworth, were shedding like a rapid dog."
_ _The tapes were then transferred to Pro Tools HD at a 96khz sampling rate. "The resolution was fantastic," Shirley enthuses.
_ _ But the troubles weren't over. The 1970 Royal Albert Hall show was recorded on just 6 tracks-three of them dedicated to John Bonham's drums, Knebworth, on the other hand, was 24 tracks.
_ _ "The first song on Royal Albert Hall, "We're Gonna Groove,' was a nightmare, "Shirley says, adding preparation and recording didn't get underway until the band literally walked onto the stage. "They _were making changes all through the song; things fade in and out. I had to find ways to make it sound reasonable. [The aim was] to feel like you're sitting in the 3rd row of the Royal Albert Hall. _That's why it took six months to mix."
_ _ _
Knebworth '79 is considered by some fans to be nadir of live Zeppelin, but that's misleading. Video and audio of the August 11 show have circulated for years, but the lesser-circulated August 4 show was the one used for the DVD. Poor
soundboard and audience recordings have added to the bad reputation; songs such as "In the Evening" need a sophisticated mix to sound good, and the Knebworth performance is a revelation on the DVD.
_ _ _
Zep biographer"Dave Lewis tells ICE, "Page first mooted a chronological live album back in the mid-'70s when he had oneof the first computerized studio consoles installed at his home. He began to wade through their tapes, but the various setbacks and tragedies the band suffered put it constantly on ice. There was a plan to make the posthumous album Coda, issued in 1982, a live album, but I believe Robert [Plant] wasn't keen, so they went with the outtakes instead."
_ _ _
Restoration of the footage with co-producer Dick Carruthers was "painstakingly done in the best possible way,"
Lewis says. " I was lucky enough to see the extent of their video archive as far back as 1981, when I was allowed to view the Earls Court and Knebworth video masters at their Swan Song office. _So I knew what was there, but nothing could have prepared me for the astounding clarity of this footage when I saw the DVD preview. The Royal Albert Hall film has been around on bootlegs for years, but the power and the audio track... It's like viewing an old master painting that's been totally restored."
_ _
As for the 3-CD How the West was Won, fans are assuming it was compiled from the two Los Angeles-area shows because of tape problems, but that wasn't the case. "They are two great performances," Shirley says, "and the truthis, we mixed a lot from both shows. It's amazing how differently the band played from one show to the other. As Jimmy says, they played Long Beach a little quicker than the Form because it was a long drive back, and they needed to get some party time in! _But seriously, the band would be blistering on one track, and Robert may have been a little worn out, yet on the other night the band was not quite as steller and Robert would be in fantastic shape.
_ _ _
"So it was just choosing between tehm to create the ultimate show from two consecutive nights. Robert would sing differently as Jimmy would playdifferently each night...can you imagine my joy at listening to 10 different performances of "Since I've Been Loving You' and [isolating] any one of them at any time during the performance. An experience of a lifetime for me."
_ _
How the West was Won ships in a regular cd version on May 27, but "there's going to bea DVD-audio release of that coming out a bit later," Shirley reveals. "It is excellent, ****ing mind-blowing."
_ _
It's still unknown if How the West was Won will be the first of a series or not, but the potential is certainly there. For example, a Southhampton University show from January 22, 1973 was under consideration, Shirley says. "they played to about 12 people, so it was an entirely different show, with the band really turned down. Maybe that'll see the light of day, there's a 'Rain Song' on there that is unbelievable."
_ _
As stated herein articles past, remarkably, none of the 1977 or '80 Led Zeppelin shows were professionally recorded or filmed, Shirley confirms.
Last edited by eddiekirk; 04-22-03 at 07:16 AM.
04-21-03 | 12:17 PM
#3
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Exactly what roozilla said 
04-30-03 | 12:28 AM
#6
DVD Talk Special Edition
Man, as a Zeppelin fan of the last 15 years, this is incredible. Looks like my vault of bootlegs(VHS, CD and Vinyl) are happily becoming obsolete on the crest of hopefully a wave of official soundboard releases. Bring it on boys!!!
05-22-03 | 03:48 AM
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From: Brooklyn, Ohio
Originally posted by shanester
where are the freakin' reviews??..
where are the freakin' reviews??..
http://www.linwood.demon.co.uk/dvdpreview.html
