What do you think of when you hear the name “Led Zeppelin”? You might classify them as the heaviest of rock bands, the godfathers of mystical metal, with lyrics about castles, Middle Earth, wizards, and, of course, sex. And let’s not forget their NSFW activities after the show, shenanigans that would have gotten the band and entourage cancelled today.
Buy Led-Zeppelin – Mothership CDBut how did Zeppelin turn into this rock behemoth? The documentary Becoming Led Zeppelin answers that question. After a limited theatrical run, the film is now available on VPOD (Premium Video on Demand), on Amazon Prime, and other streaming services.
Director Bernard MacMahon’s documentary concentrates on the band‘s germination and their late ’60s output – the self-titled debut album and Led Zeppelin II, along with the accompanying tours. The film combines present-day interviews with Page, Plant, and Jones with vintage clips. It features newly unearthed footage from early concerts and several short behind-the-scenes clips from backstage, airports, etc. The most important rediscovered media, though, is an undated audio interview with John Bonham. We see Page, Plant, and Jones smile as they hear Bonham describe each of them fondly.
During introductory clips similar to those in other classic-rock documentaries, remind us that the members of Led Zeppelin, like other great rock stars of the late 20th century, were raised shortly after World War II. Page, Jones, and Bonham had families supportive of their early interest in music, but Plant’s family wanted him to became an accountant(!!)
The band’s disparate influences shaped their unique sound. Skiffle pioneer Lonnie Donegan’s music inspired Page to form his first band as a teen. Early American rock and blues fascinated Plant, especially Little Richard and Sonny Boy Williamson. Gene Krupa’s drumming inspired Bonham, and Jones’s parents were both performers. “Led Zeppelin was the area in the middle between us,” says Jones.
John Paul Jones and Jimmy Page honed their skill as studio musicians. Jones and Page played on “Goldfinger.” Page played on many hits and -even on some Muzak (elevator music) – in the mid-’60s, and famously provided the guitar solo on Donovan’s “Sunshine Superman”. Bonham and Plant took the usual rock ‘n’ roll route and jumped from band-to-band. They first worked together in Plant’s Band of Joy.
Page finally left studio work and joined the Yardbirds, but once Jeff Beck left to go solo, Page took over as leader – for a second anyway, til Zeppelin came together almost overnight. The were the New Yardbirds at their first gig in Sweden, but soon Keith Moon said they would go over like a lead balloon. The band liked the name, but tweaked it to the catchier Led Zeppelin.
Page is usually portrayed as an iconic, but mysterious figure, with his bow guitar and affinity for Aleister Crowley, but Becoming Led Zeppelin explores his role as the musical mastermind of the band. Due to Zeppelin’s musicianship and work ethic, there were no rookie mistakes. They were fully grounded from the get-go. Making an album’s worth of material on your own in 1968 was quite a task, but Zeppelin did it. They got a record contract with Atlantic – and thanks to Page’s foresight, the band owned the album. The record company couldn’t pull any corporate trickery on them.
The band toured non-stop for Zeppelin I and II, slowly but surely gaining momentum. Watching the audience in the vintage clips is a hoot. The young women in the audience (unsurprisingly) seem enthralled with Plant. Youngest fans plug their fingers in their ears and the oldest folks sit still, perplexed (or more likely shocked) by the blitz of strange sounds.
At two hours, the documentary seems a bit long to focus just on the first two albums. Clips of the band onstage take precedence in the last half-hour or so. Some fans may be disappointed in the absence of spicy revelations, but reread Hammer of the Gods for that. That’s not the purpose of this film. For those of us who prize the music more than the mythology, Becoming Led Zeppelin places the emphasis on the band’s musical origins.
