Audio CD review:
Led Zeppelin - The Song Remains The Same (Remastered / Expanded) (2CD)

Led Zeppelin - The Song Remains The Same (Remastered / Expanded) (2CD)

Band: Led Zeppelin Title: The Song Remains The Same (Remastered / Expanded) (2CD) Rating: Release Date: 20 November, 2007 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: Rock And Roll 2: Celebration Day 3: Black Dog (including Bring It On Home)* 4: Over The Hills* 5: Misty Mountain Hop* 6: Since I've Been Loving You* 7: No Quarter 8: The Song Remains The Same 9: Rain Song 10: The Ocean* 11: Dazed and Confused 12: Stairway To Heaven 13: Moby Dick 14: Heartbreaker* 15: Whole Lotta Love (*Not on original soundtrack release)

Customer Reviews Edits and studio trickery sink this release There is no excuse to put a dvd soundtrack (with edits made for video) on cd. The edits are simply TERRIBLE. The bonus tracks are nice, but why is Black Dog incomplete? Why is there a chunk missing from Whole Lotta Love? The answer is: because these songs were not complete in the movie due to a lack of film footage. How idiotic! The songs on the original album release were edited with the MUSIC in mind. They were more complete and better presented. For example, the improvisation section in No Quarter is beautiful and flows perfectly, but not on THIS release! My final gripe is the fact that the producer has added studio effects to the music presumably to make it more modern sounding. The most ghastly of these is the addition of a "chorus" effect on the guitar in Stairway to Heaven. This effect did not exist in 1973! The only time I can remember Jimmy Page using a chorus effect on Stairway to Heaven was at Live Aid in 1985! 'Nuff said! I can't believe that Jimmy Page was involved with this release. If he had been, I am sure we would all be celebrating a 5 star release!. What could have stupendous turns out to be butchered soundtrack! In particular, No Quarter and Whole Lot of Love and Black Dog. I'm being overly critical here but as someone who has long loved Led Zeppelin and long loved this 1976 release, I cannot STAND the edits made to many of the tunes by Jimmy Page and Kevin Shirley. There are painful edits here and yes I say, PAINFUL because you know there was more music the band played during their performance of these tunes and Page, the most anal-retentive musician of the bunch, can't help but chop out any bit he doesn't like and you're left with nothing but fragments of greatness. This release EASILY would have garnered 5 stars from me if Page had NOT committed these crimes against his own band's music. So, yes, the remastering job is stellar and the sound quality is excellent but the edits made by Page are particularly noticeable and painful and frankly take away from the jamming that this band was known for. If you are a hard-core Zep fan you will be disappointed and feel let down by Page even though he did include some new songs that weren't part of the original 1976 release. If this is your first time purchasing this soundtrack you will like it and you might not notice the edits. All in all, a good release but those edits cost it from being a great release. Jimmy Page is just too anal and it hurts the releases of the band's live music. . Buy "How the West Was Won" instead. They did much great music, from the beggining through "Houses of the Holy," but this live album is cacaphonous and lacks energy. Unlike the others here, I am not a Led Zeppelin fanatic. But "How the West Was Won" is excellent and much better than this. . You can see a complete list of all Led Zeppelin discography, or go back to the Led Zeppelin tabs