For Led Zeppelin fans,is the "Song Remains the Same"live album worth buying?

Question

I have their two other live albums, the BBC sessions and How the West was Won but I'm not sure if I should get Song Remains the Same. Leave your thoughts.

Answer 1

Well, this is a bit of a tricky question. It is clearly not them at their best (live wise), but as a hardcore Zeppelin fan, it was an essential purchase for me.



Don't get me wrong I do like it, but there is just so much better out there on bootleg. As mentioned HTWWW is from a similar time period (72 as apose to 73) and I think is a far better concert performance by the band.



Saying that I'd take the 1st disc of BBC Sessions over them all, I love early raw Zeppelin sound, if you can get it, a great concert is the full Playhouse Theatre Concert (I taped it off UK BBC Radio years ago) from 27th June 1969 and it even has a nice little interview with Jimmy and Robert half way through the gig, while on stage.



I'd actually say if you were thinking of buying the TSRTS, go for the DVD, it is far more fun seeing them play the stuff live, inter cut with their rather silly little fantasies!

Answer 2

No. Unless you just want to complete your Zep collection. If you already own the BBC recordings and How the West Was Won, I don't think it's necessary. The live performances on Song weren't that great, in comparison to the two later live releases. Even the band thought so.

Answer 3

I like it a lot, but I'm a die-hard Zep fan. How the West Was Won is a lot better in terms of performance, but the versions of Whole Lotta Love, Misty Mountain Hop (from the remastered and expanded edition), and Rock and Roll on "The Song Remains the Same" are phenomenal.

Answer 4

How The West Was Won is by far my favorite. BQ - The version of "Stairway To Heaven" on How The West Was Won The version 0f Traveling Riverside Blues on BBC EDIT: I'm glad the question didn't close before I could add to my answer. I didn't have time to do it properly the first time. All of the Live albums are excellent in their own way. I chose "How The West Was Won" because of the editing and remastering Jimmy Page did to clean it up and for that version of Stairway. BBC would be my second choice because it had Bluesier versions of some of their classic songs plus a couple that aren't on any of their studio albums. I especially love "The Girl I love She Got Long Black Wavy Hair" - It was written by Bonham with help from his band mates and is a song that should have been on a studio release in my opinion. It is certainly better than anything on "In Through The Outdoor" except maybe "In The Evening" "The Song Remains The Same" is an excellent album but my CD is one of the old analog ones and it suffers from poor sound quality. I would like to hear this remastered. I just bought Celebration Day and to be fair I need a few more listens before I compare it to the others. So far I have found it to be possibly the best of the three. 'West" might still win on sheer bang for the buck and that "Stairway" version. BQ - Ok to finish my favorite live tracks . I already mentioned "Stairway" from How The west Was Won and "Traveling Riverside Blues" from BBC. Here are a few others. I will start with that song I mentioned a little earlier "The Girl I love She Got Long Black Wavy Hair" - BBC "Heartbreaker" - tough to pick from BBC and The West but I will go with the "How The West was Won" version "Rain Song" - The Song Remains The Same" - my favorite version of this either live or studio. "That's The Way" - BBC - a song you don't hear very much but nothing from Led Zeppelin III gets mentioned enough except for Immigrant Song. The medley of "Dazed and Confused/Walter's Walk/The Crunge" on "West". Dazed can stand on it's own as a true classic but it is cool to hear it mixed with the other two. Rock n Roll and Whole Lotta Love are the other two I really like from "West" the whole 3 CD set is awesome fro beginning to end though. "In My Time of Dying" - Celebration Day - great version of one of my favorite Zeppelin songs. "Ramble On" - Celebration Day - can't believe this wasn't on the other three (at least I don't think it is." - Great Great song and this version is excellent.

Answer 5

Have to admit,its the first Zep album I bought,way back when I was 13, over 30 years on,its still one of my favourite live albums

Answer 6

Unless You are a hardcore Zep fan like me, no.

Answer 7

It's Zeppelin, so yeah... If you want jaw-dropping riffs and legendary solos, go for it! Jimmy Page is the best guitarrist ever... Zeppelin ROCK!!

Answer 8

yes

Answer 9

NO