How the West Was Won (Live) [Remastered]

It means something when a rock and roll band is described with such passionately divisive rhetoric as Led Zeppelin. The band was a big, dumb example of every opulent shark-story rock cliché of the 1970s: They were heavy-handed, irresponsible purveyors of the "blues"; they were fake hippies and fake mystics who managed to strip even the grandest statements in rock of their power via mind-numbing drum solos and bowed-guitar expositions; they were the original Spinal Tap, replete with whole songs about Greek myths, ancient Celtic rituals, completely inappropriate bits of Bach spliced into Page's "Heartbreaker" solo, and a manager who was at once imposing, apologetic and the butt of Bob Dylan's jokes. One more thing: They were the greatest rock band to ever set foot on a stage, so what they fuck are you talking about?

As they often do, things started small for this band of castaways and unknowns: Session guitarist Jimmy Page found himself thrown under the bus, holding the shitbag when The Yardbirds called it quits smack in the middle of a 1968 American tour. He was forced to piece together whatever ensemble he could to continue the tour, finding bassist and fellow session man John Paul Jones through a newspaper ad. Teen vocalist Robert Plant and his mate John Bonham were in Birmingham, discovered by Page on a talent-hunting expedition. The band were a rag-tag bunch, who were, if anything, most certainly not The Yardbirds. Nevertheless, after a few successful shows in the UK, they went to America, billed as "Supporting Act" in a another Spinal Tap twist of fate. By the end of their tour, they were headlining, and the rest is history. Right?

Well, it's tricky. Led Zeppelin, authors of the most-played-song-in-radio-history and so many hallowed riffs and sexual double-entendres involving fruit, are so played-out at this point that they've managed to become taken for granted. Nobody blinks an eye when "Rock and Roll" shows up in a car commercial, because the band's music has long since become a pop-culture building block. Most of their big tunes are recognizable to the point of losing their emotional impact-- think, haven't you heard enough of "Whole Lotta Love", "Black Dog" and "Kashmir"? And I might give a month off the end of my life to be spared from ever crossing paths with "Stairway to Heaven" again. Sure, Zep is great, but their classic-rock staples have been burnt into our minds-- each song exactly the same every time we hear it-- as unchanging musical patterns, and made predictable by force of infinite repetition. By now I'd think I'd have gleaned about as much pleasure from their music as I possibly could.

Still, one thing that always strikes me about all of their music-- particularly their first five or six records-- is how effortless they made it all seem. Classic riffs seem like grade school basics now, but Page actually had to come up with all that stuff. And if you listen really close, those guys were doing more than just banging out the blues-- they brought out the best of a British take on rock, via funky, surprisingly accomplished arrangements and song forms, and a very potent eclecticism rarely found in bands that cracked the mainstream (much less reigned over it). And yet, none of those credentials really make me want to hear "The Battle of Evermore" again. So what's next?

Jimmy Page found the two 1972 Los Angeles shows featured on the triple disc How the West Was Won while poring over his archives for what was to be a straight DVD release. And just like that, new magic is cast, new legends are born. One of the interesting things about Zep (and if you believe the rockists, this holds true for any truly "great" band) is that they made their most definitive statements in concert. The shows on this set document a band who were able to wring squeals, clangs and beats out of material that had been well considered and digested a million times over by performers and audience alike. Yes, they stretch out, often to near excruciatingly immense duration, but they also emphasize their greatest talents. Chiefly, How the West Was Won serves up the band's muscle, sweaty heart and golden grandeur in an exhaustingly persuasive light. That, and a hundred of the best riffs you've ever heard.

Disc 1 keeps the exploratory blues odysseys to a minimum, though hardly at the expense of the epic saga that was their live power. In fact, from the furious, breakneck take of "Immigrant Song" to the almost otherworldly, ethereal "Going to California", it's one of the best sets of live music I've ever heard on CD. The band rips through most of the harder numbers a few notches faster than the album versions, and in the process, staves off most of the over-familiarity prone to live records. "Black Dog" gets a speed metal intro. "Over the Hills and Far Away" is transformed from its classic boogie-rock into an altogether rougher, funky jab. "That's the Way" (possibly the only Zep tune still underrated) and "Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp" form an acoustic mini-set with "Going to California" that yet again shows these guys were a lot more than barrelhouse blues riffs and high-heeled groupies in the hallway. And then there's "Stairway". It would take a lot to make this one fresh again, but I'll say that their slightly thrashy run-through at the end (with Jones on... piano?) and a few new guitar tricks during the intro do small wonders.

Things take a turn for the far-out on Disc 2, beginning with the in-out-back-in-again-hold-up-we're-out-now version of "Dazed and Confused". The band takes its time easing into the tune, with a spooky bass- and drum-led funeral procession intro, but soon enough finds the jam. The song's infamous mid-section freakout gets everything it could have possibly had coming to it, including unexpected lapses into "The Crunge" and "Walter's Walk", in addition to giving Page his solo space and then some. 25 (!!) minutes later, they find the road again, somehow all ending up in the same place. Perhaps to recover, they follow with brisk versions of "What Is and What Should Never Be" (sounding now like a brutal piece of blue funk rather than its more famous loungy rock version) and the then-unreleased "Dancing Days". And then, the monster: almost 20 minutes of pounding, snapping and crashing on "Moby Dick", courtesy of the rock-solid, gorilla-footed Bonzo, probably fresh from having a Roadster delivered to his hotel that morning. Truth be told, if you had to take a snack break about ten minutes in, I wouldn't blame you.

"Whole Lotta Love" gets the epic expansion on Disc 3, including a medley of no less than four complete versions of old rock and roll tunes inserted smack in the middle. But before that happens, they pull out all the spacy effects available to the super-wealthy in 1972, and don't forget to liven them up with a little skank-beat (who knew Zep could play ska?). Despite the detour, "Rock and Roll" doesn't sound tired for it-- and it shouldn't, as Page took the best performances from two shows to concoct the three-disc "concert." And finally, the set ends in authentic 70s roots style with a cover of Willie Dixon's "Bring It on Home", beginning with an understated harmonica-led intro before ramming it all back down with the sick-ass beats and engulfing bass rumble that had defined the previous couple of hours. Is this really the blues? Is this Blues Hammer? Nothing like it, I'm afraid-- it's Led Zeppelin, and for better (yay) or worse (nay), they only knew how to hit their own thing.

I'm not one for reminiscing the classics, and in fact, I'm pretty sick of hearing about how great everything was supposed to be all those years ago (whatever years you happen to be talking about). That said, Page and company have done a nice job making me believe I've missed out on something special even when I thought I knew all this stuff backwards and forwards. Far from just a fan relic, much of How the West Was Won seems definitive, and maybe that explains why it happens to be the biggest selling record in the country at the time of this writing. Maybe there are bands tearing shit up like this now, I can't really be sure, but of this I am: Zep ruled, check it.