Becoming Led Zeppelin; Bernard MacMahon dir., 2025

 

Within the somewhat stealth promotional lead up to director Bernard MacMahon's Becoming Led Zeppelin, Disaster Amnesiac did not find much to be made to feel of interest. That is, until I read that it was going to be screening at IMAX theaters for a brief run. In that instance, the film just had to be viewed. Happy to have viewed it, too. 

For starters, and as was anticipated, the full tracks of primal Zep from the first two albums, as heard through the high quality IMAX speakers sounded fantastic. It must be assumed that Jimmy Page mixed these tracks for the format, and holy smokes he did a great job. Unheard nuances, particularly from the Bonham/Jones rhythm section bounced around the theater delightfully. Page at one point in Becoming Led Zeppelin mentions John's skill at drum tuning and it is borne out by the sound of his bass drum. Just magical, that right foot of his. Added to the great mix are lengthy passages during which Page describes the engineering of Led Zeppelin and Led Zeppelin II. His time spent on countless London music industry sessions served as a valuable apprenticeship; Jimmy Page's skills as an engineer were visionary. Disaster Amnesiac has pondered a feature film just sussing that side of Led Zeppelin's catalog! Along with these more technical details, the viewer is treated to a sweet Band Of Joy demo, and the ending credits are soundtrack'ed by a live Eddie Cochran medley, from the Roundhouse I think, that prove the band to have been a walloping Rock 'n Roll band of the most essential sort. The film is worth seeing for all these aspects alone. It had this listener rocking out in my seat. 

Visually, Becoming Led Zeppelin shows Jimmy Page as a suave and savvy dresser, from his frilly pink duds in London to an absolute Punk Rock leather jacket at the Fillmore in San Francisco. Along with the fashions, it illustrates the varied personalities of the band members quite well: John Paul and John all business, Robert a consummate lead singer/front man, and Jimmy with said style and performative dramatics. Disaster Amnesiac certainly wishes that I could have taken in a live Led Zeppelin show. Along with the visuals of Peter Grant's boys, there is great footage of the later period Yardbirds and Terry and the Pirates as well. A visual feast for fans of 1960's Rock 'n Roll to be sure.

Also of note is the group's remembrances of their non-stop two year tour cycle, one which John Paul Jones quite astutely describes the surreal logistics of and Robert Plant describes as his dreams come true. Touring bands work harder than the civilians know, and often within borderline ridiculous circumstances, and Led Zeppelin were obviously one of the main touring bands within that era. 

Upon leaving the theater after viewing Becoming Led Zeppelin, Disaster Amnesiac jumped right in to texting a few friends, advising them to get to their local IMAX theater and see it. Now, I am suggesting you do the same.