One of the stand-out features is how amazing the sound is on the live clips and the separation of the instruments is superb. Bassist John Paul Jones’ low-end output floats in isolated space and drummer Bonham’s kit is fully revealed. It’s amazing how he got such a powerful low-frequency sound with only a single bass drum. Bonzo as he was affectionately known was such a powerhouse and the film fully reveals that.

Guitarist Jimmy Page goes deep into the creative process and lays out a cautionary tale about the importance of self-financing your own work to isolate yourself from the greed of that generation’s record companies. Unfortunately, not a lot has changed about the avarice of the part of the industry. Singer Robert Plant comes across as a bit of a hippy who knew he was on to a good thing.

The balance between the words of the talking heads and the live performances is spot on and it gives the film a satisfying flow. Knowing quite a bit about the mighty Zepp beforehand doesn’t prevent you from picking up a few bits of new information. Being put together with the full cooperation of the remaining band members leads to a very PG version of the story so those who want a more salacious version will have to rely on the plethora of books on the subject like Hammer of the Gods by Stephen Davis.

Becoming Led Zeppelin is screening now at Dendy Cinemas in a limited run.
Rob Hudson
www.dendy.com.au

For died in the wool fans there are still enough on-screen disclosure to get you through, including a rare visit to Page’s guitar dungeon (with its impressive number of vintage instruments), White’s country estate and cool car and The Edge’s guitar lair, which is the audio equivalent of Frankenstein’s laboratory.

They are set pieces, some of which are quite silly (like the one when the present age White meets himself as a youth for a lesion on guitar ethics), some interesting visits to real places (like the high school room where U2 first got together) and a few revelations. The scene when The Edge shows how little of his sound comes from his fingertips and how much comes from electronic effects is almost embarrassingly revelatory.

Most of the film however is in documentary form and to this end, it is a well meaning, if not safe production. This is not to say that there isn’t enough on offer to enjoy though, one scene alone makes the movie worth the price of admission. The scene when Jack and The Edge show Page the love when he plays the opening notes of the Led Zeppelin tune that launched a thousand guitar players’ interest, Whole Lotta Love. The look of admiration on their faces at that moment is like the look of children on Christmas morning.

Rob Hudson
www.facebook.com/SonyPicturesAUS