Led Zeppelin Long Tall Sally: Royal Albert Hall 1970 DVD (January 1970)

From collectorsmusicreviews.com

Live at the Royal Albert Hall, London, UK, January 9, 1970

(The Alternate Cut) 1. Intro 2. We’re Gonna Groove 3. I Can’t Quit You Baby 4.White Summer 5. Whole Lotta Love 6. Communication Breakdown 7. C’Mon Everyboy 8. Long Tall Sally

(Single Camera Footage (fragments)) 1. Intro 2. We’re Gonna Groove 3. I Can’t Quit You Baby 4. Communication Breakdown 5. C’Mon Everyboy 6. Something Else 7. Bring It On Home 8. Long Tall Sally

(Official Cut Analysis (multi-angle comparison)) 1. Intro 2. We’re Gonna Groove 3. I Can’t Quit You Baby 4. White Summer 5. Whole Lotta Love 6. Communication Breakdown 7. C’Mon Everyboy 8. Something Else 9. Bring It On Home 10. Long Tall Sally

In 2003, Led Zeppelin finally released some live material that was worth waiting for. How The West Was Won came from 2 unforgettable shows in California in the summer of 1972. But it was the DVD that opened fans’ eyes wider to what Led Zeppelin was really all about.

For this reviewer, it was disc 1 of the DVD in particular that made (and makes) that release an all-time favorite concert film. The setting was the Royal Albert Hall on January 9, 1970, and it is now legend how Jimmy Page and others collaborated to produce that concert film for the masses.

As with all things Zeppelin, however, the official release did not contain all of the material from the Royal Albert Hall concert. “Heartbreaker” and “Long Tall Sally” are two examples of songs that were played that night, but not included on the offical release. Thankfully, subsequent bootleg releases have enabled us to hear those songs in brilliant sound quality, essentially completing the concert from an audio perspective.

Anyone viewing the Royal Albert Hall concert will notice that it was based on multiple different camera angles. Because of this and Zeppelin’s penchance for withholding material, one may wonder if there was footage not included on the DVD, and, if so, where the heck is it?! This common question amongst Zep collectors has now been addressed, to some degree, by the anonymous no label’s release of the Long Tall Sally DVD containing some of that missing concert footage in largely beautiful quality.

The single disc is divided into three chapters: (1) “the alternate cut”, (2) “single camera footage (fragments)”, and (3) “official cut analysis (multi-angle comparison)”. While there may be something alternate about the first chapter, it’s in the second chapter that we are really treated to something new and breathtaking.

Beginning from the introduction immediately preceding the concert, which then captured Bonzo from his right side as he did a thunderous stretching-out around his kit before catapulting the band into “We’re Gonna Groove”, we’re locked into the “single camera” that stayed with – and focused on – John Bonham.

Moving behind Bonham’s gong, the camera perfectly captured his aggression and subtleties from almost his back pocket (incredible!), and then from his left side while he was head-banging along with the driving patterns he was laying down. Unfortunately, this is not presented for the entire song, which may be why it’s called “fragments.”

Nevertheless, this single camera footage presents never-before-seen action on stage, synched perfectly with the flawless audio, to make this portion of the DVD worth the price of admission alone. It even offers us a glimpse at the “Zeppelin” chant by Gino and Robert’s follow-up to that just before the encore.

The third chapter of the disc provides an “official cut analysis,” which is an interesting on-screen display of the various camera angles capturing the same moment in the concert. This is, again, all synched wonderfully to the perfect audio.

Simply stunning and, for Led Zeppelin fans and collectors, an essential addition to the library.