TSRTS Soundtrack!

[dazedcat]

I finally got around to buying the soundtrack. I really don't have any interest in watching the DVD.......I was never a real fan of the movie in the first place.

Disc 1 will be played often, the band was tremendous...when they stayed focused. Disc 2 just reminds me of why Zeppelin always bothered me as a live band. The excess is staggering. They could have played Dazed and Confused for seven hours and they wouldn't have added anything special to it.......

......I realize I am in a minority of one. Sorry.

Regards;

[solar]

Soundtrack is painful to listen to - the cut in WLL seems drastic and obvious if you've ever heard the original release. I am glad they put together Heartbreaker/WLL because I think that's the finest anticipatory transition Zep ever played between those two songs....but I'm not sure I'll be listening to this as much as the original. Maybe I'm overly particular and maybe Page didn't realize how special a place that original release was to fans' hearts, but he should have after listening to Cameron Crowe's radio review from when it came out.

[kirchzep27]

I picked up a copy of the dvd today and basically i'm glad i had a week with the soundtrack cd first. On the movie, holy f-ing blast from the past... i was in high school watching this the first time and havent watched it much over the years. I started with the disc 2 w/the press things and the extra songs implemented that way, interesting stuff, but as far as anything of substance...not much except for surrounding the movie and the time, which is what this release is about anyway.

On the movie, its cool to see and hear it updated and being i havent watched it in awhile, particularly noticed the shot of lower manhattan w/the twin towers and brooklyn bridge before the -stairway to heaven segment, which i didnt remember at all. With the live shots, i think there are moments where it was what they were going for, but it could have been better as far as live shows are shot now a days, just an afterthought. On -peter grant's thoughts in the interview...if earl's court didnt work for him on a tv screen at the time... i think it would work on a tv screen these days ofcourse. For -tsrts, i will be playing the cd much more.

[MadScreamingGallery]

I picked up a copy of the dvd today and basically i'm glad i had a week with the soundtrack cd first. On the movie, holy f-ing blast from the past... i was in high school watching this the first time and havent watched it much over the years. I started with the disc 2 w/the press things and the extra songs implemented that way, interesting stuff, but as far as anything of substance...not much except for surrounding the movie and the time, which is what this release is about anyway.

On the movie, its cool to see and hear it updated and being i havent watched it in awhile, particularly noticed the shot of lower manhattan w/the twin towers and brooklyn bridge before the -stairway to heaven segment, which i didnt remember at all. With the live shots, i think there are moments where it was what they were going for, but it could have been better as far as live shows are shot now a days, just an afterthought. On -peter grant's thoughts in the interview...if earl's court didnt work for him on a tv screen at the time... i think it would work on a tv screen these days ofcourse. For -tsrts, i will be playing the cd much more.

Interesting. I've been living with the soundtrack CD but haven't bought the DVD. I was at those concerts and the CD has conjured up enough memories so I'm still not sure if I really want/need the DVD. From what you can remember, would you know if the DVD includes additional footage from behind the scenes? Aww, the Twin Towers, I grew up watching their construction. :'(

[JimmyPageZoSo56]

i need to buy it. i have the TSRTS collectors edition but it doesn't have the CD with it.

[kirchzep27]

Interesting. I've been living with the soundtrack CD but haven't bought the DVD. I was at those concerts and the CD has conjured up enough memories so I'm still not sure if I really want/need the DVD. From what you can remember, would you know if the DVD includes additional footage from behind the scenes? Aww, the Twin Towers, I grew up watching their construction. :'(

Very cool that you were at those shows! Unfortunately there is no other behind the scenes footage, other than the movie and the extra news footage about the robbery from the drake hotel. Yeah the scenes of the nyc skyline etc. are really part of the movie, from the intro and throughout the film and some nice shots too.

[MadScreamingGallery]

Very cool that you were at those shows! Unfortunately there is no other behind the scenes footage, other than the movie and the extra news footage about the robbery from the drake hotel. Yeah the scenes of the nyc skyline etc. are really part of the movie, from the intro and throughout the film and some nice shots too.

Thanks for the info. I may eventually break down and buy it for sentimental reasons. It would be cool to see those old scenes of the city, too.

[kirchzep27]

Thanks for the info. I may eventually break down and buy it for sentimental reasons. It would be cool to see those old scenes of the city, too.

Yeah for sentimental reasons its good...there are some footage of record attendance breaking crowds in florida and an interview with -plant and peter grant about the movie. It's interesting, definately a time capsule.

[Old Quad Guy]

If this is the way Led Zep wanted this release presented in 2007 so be it. In life one is more likely to be happy with what one has, than what one does not have. Nevertheless...

I'm totally disappointed that we did not get that original Quadraphonic mix that I saw in the theater in 1976 and what Robert Plant mentioned in the boat interview on Disc 2. It was killer, the music popped out in a very lifelike way and was very trippy, fitting the 1970's, which is what this movie is all about. It was a very aggressive surround mix, one that all Led Zeppelin fans would want as a "Must Have" recording and is one of the missing "Holy Grail" Quadraphonic mixes of the 1970's. It could have been included as an audio option and should be there.

This new surround mix is regretfully quite crappy sounding IMHO, muddy in places, edits flown in, more like a stereo mix with a little reverb in the rear channels with a few exceptions. Picture quality is not so great either, they could have cleaned up the negative some, we'll have to see what the HD versions look like. I own every version of this release, including the Hi-Fi Betamax version. Those of us who saw this with the original multi-channel mix in the theater in 1976, perhaps someday we might get the ultimate version with the original mix restored. This new disc is not so bad, but it makes the band look less powerful, not more than what the original 1976 gave us. And like classical music I appreciated every note of that 1976 mix, every bit of music and how it sounded, including a few flubs here and there which also gave it the "Live" feel and raw power at the same time.

Many of us would also like to see a box set in Hi-Rez Stereo / Multi-channel regardless of the mix. We already own all the CD quality box sets in all it's many forms. A combo CD / DVD-Audio like The Doors box set would be really great and is needed now. The new MP3 releases are a step down in terms of sound quality, but may expose the music to a new audience.

A really great surround mix treats each speaker equally and each speaker supports each other as a whole as well as still being independent from each other. Pink Floyd's 1970's Quadraphonic mix's of "Dark Side Of The Moon" and "Wish You We're Here" are great examples of what can be done with rock music including Led Zeppelin's 1976 Quadraphonic mix of "The Song Remains The Same."

[ddot]

this quadrophonic business is quite cool. I will have to look into that more. when I saw rush in the 80s they had some cool multichannel output going down live. I can't wait anymore I'll start with the dvd tomarro I told the lady at the record store That I would be coming in for the collectors editionbut I'm a week behind schedual. the reviews are very interesting to say the least. it is difficult for me to have a negative opinion of anything Zep does so my review of the mastering will be biased. maybe Page has intended for us to go back to the old versions to get more sublteness if wanted for instance the rain song and No quarter from the old vinyl. This release just makes all the other versions more valueble. It makes complete sense to me that they wanted to beef up the DVD and go Hi def. In the proscess release a new louder edit of the concert. Revisiting doesent mean remakeing the movie. I think personally INMHO that in this modern era the material needs to be updated to new formats. and why not have the highest possible amplitude.

seriously looking forward to listening

[Tadpole in a Jar]

I own every version of this release, including the Hi-Fi Betamax version.

On your Betamax and VHS versions do you notice the strange phasing that I hear on the original DVD release? I asked about this in another thread. Getting around that two minutes of phasing is the only thing tempting me towards buying this new version.

[Old Quad Guy]

On your Betamax and VHS versions do you notice the strange phasing that I hear on the original DVD release? I asked about this in another thread. Getting around that two minutes of phasing is the only thing tempting me towards buying this new version.

I'll have to dig deep for my Tape versions to see if it's on there as well. But since the old DVD version did not even have a DVD menu and other factors, I'm guessing it came from the Tape versions and was not a "new" mix. This new DVD release only cost me about $12 at Circuit City. But I'm starting to like the old versions more because they are true to the 1976 theatrical version, with the exception of lack of original Quad mix.

Why couldn't they simply have given us the original mix, with the original movie cut from 1976? It would have been so simple. Looks like it's gone for good. I've waited more than 30 years for it, bummer... Guess I'll have to reincarnate myself as a teenager again in the 1970's in order to hear it again (I was 17 when I saw the film in 1976) .

[fabrice]

...But since the old DVD version did not even have a DVD menu and other factors, I'm guessing it came from the Tape versions and was not a "new" mix.

My old DVD has a DVD menu (chapter selection only).

[petehnek]

I agree with you 100 Percent. The sonic improvement is stunning. I am glad to own both the new cd and dvd versions. I am not a purist,Page and Shriley can edit it how they see fit,I trust their music sensiblilities

BTW this maybe the last we hear from Zeppelin ever as far as official releases go so enjoy

If this is the best they can do, then please, no more releases. This new edited/over tweaked version is utter crap. Why cut out the 1st minute and a half of the brilliant NQ solo and that awesome funk section in WLL, add in that dumb edit before San Francisco from the movie, and throw in the junk version of BD when you have the whole version on 2003 DVD? What happened to the "ahhhhhhh dig it dig" it in TSRTS? Why try to make the CD match the DVD, especially when CD Rain Song isn't the same as in the DVD? And what happened to that awesome solo at the end of CD? The new one is interesting as a document, but doesn't hold a candle to the old one. And does anybody notice how mismatched the guitar tones are at the various edits throughout the thing? What a shame and a missed opportunity. All they needed to do was tweak the old one, add in the new songs, and add that crazy build in D&C that's in the movie, right before the camera stars spinning around. If they couldn't figure out where the edits were, they could have consulted the Garden Tapes.

Who cares how loud or "improved" the sound is when they've taken a hacksaw to the songs? Maybe Pagey and Shirley should go back now and "fix" the solo to Heartbreaker on LZ II or have Jason B redo the drum tack on SIBLY to get rid of the squeaky drum pedal.

And why couldn't they just take their time and work out the various legalities over the DVD so they could put the songs in the correct order, get rid of the awful edits, and add in more film footage during the fantasy sequences? They let the tail wag the dog here, very un-Zeppelin like of them. It's shambolic and I'm far from dead chuffed.

[Old Quad Guy]

If this is the best they can do, then please, no more releases. This new edited/over tweaked version is utter crap. Why cut out the 1st minute and a half of the brilliant NQ solo and that awesome funk section in WLL, add in that dumb edit before San Francisco from the movie, and throw in the junk version of BD when you have the whole version on 2003 DVD? What happened to the "ahhhhhhh dig it dig" it in TSRTS? Why try to make the CD match the DVD, especially when CD Rain Song isn't the same as in the DVD? And what happened to that awesome solo at the end of CD? The new one is interesting as a document, but doesn't hold a candle to the old one. And does anybody notice how mismatched the guitar tones are at the various edits throughout the thing? What a shame and a missed opportunity. All they needed to do was tweak the old one, add in the new songs, and add that crazy build in D&C that's in the movie, right before the camera stars spinning around. If they couldn't figure out where the edits were, they could have consulted the Garden Tapes.

Who cares how loud or "improved" the sound is when they've taken a hacksaw to the songs? Maybe Pagey and Shirley should go back now and "fix" the solo to Heartbreaker on LZ II or have Jason B redo the drum tack on SIBLY to get rid of the squeaky drum pedal.

And why couldn't they just take their time and work out the various legalities over the DVD so they could put the songs in the correct order, get rid of the awful edits, and add in more film footage during the fantasy sequences? They let the tail wag the dog here, very un-Zeppelin like of them. It's shambolic and I'm far from dead chuffed.

I just sat down to give it a proper listen all the way through last night I have to agree it is terrible how this film was butchered. Especially the musical parts that we're flown in that don't match the film now. You wouldn't do this to "Citizen Kane," and it should not have been done here to "improve" the movie. The film is what it is, leave it as is with the original cut of the film and the original Quadraphonic sound. That should have been Disc one.

The other Disc could have had the edits - if need be - with the new remixed sound and all the footage of the songs put in the same order as the concerts with the complete "Heartbreaker" - That Many Fans Thought Was Going To Be There - leaving the fantasy parts cut out. That could have been Disc 2. Disc 3 could have the extra's including more found T. V. footage from that era about the band. That stuff is great.

I still think the fantasy sequences still hold up on their own after all these years and adds much to the film as it did in 1976. Even after all these years despite at least 3 different era's of punk and the Spinal Tap movie. These part's we're done by the band to express something personal. But the fans did expect something different, like the missing songs added to the film itself and not put on Disc 2.

This is a great movie IMO, as a "movie" on it's own. It's more than just a concert show. Just give us what we saw and heard in 1976. And for the other fans give them what they expected, all the songs complete in the proper order. But please don't wait another 10 years, we're all not getting any younger here....

[gperkins151]

Can someone please outline for me all of the differences between the original CD release of TSRTS and the new Remastered CD version? I am referring to things like all of the cuts, and the songs added, removed and/or replaced in the new one.

Thanks.

[gperkins151]

I just sat down to give it a proper listen all the way through last night I have to agree it is terrible how this film was butchered.

Please see my above post.

[LZ77]

I bought the CD a few days ago and am excited that they added the other songs and did the remaster but after listening to the original a million times, I just have to agree with the others that 'No Quarter' and 'TSRTS' just do not remain the same.

It was very strange to NOT hear the same lyrics and the same performance in those two songs that I've been used to for the past 20 years!

although, 'The Rain Song' is simply stunning and has now replaced 'No Quarter' (due to the cut) as the jewel in the crown.

looking forward to seeing the visual now.....

BRAVO on the new and improved site too!

[petehnek]

Can someone please outline for me all of the differences between the original CD release of TSRTS and the new Remastered CD version? I am referring to things like all of the cuts, and the songs added, removed and/or replaced in the new one.

Thanks.

Off the top of my head:

Different solo at end of CD, replaced the majestic masterpiece with an inferior but decent version.

1:30 of guitar in NQ, groove through the signature guitar lick.

Funk section in WLL, "I'm just looking for the bridge". That's gone, replaced by clumsy edit.

"ahhh dig it dig it" gone from TSRTS

BD is the 3 minute version from film, not the full version from 2003 DVD

The build in D&C that's on film but not CD at around 23:00 is added, which is great. The addition of the sloppy edit before San Francisco isn't.

There's a lot more. You'll get a full rundown eventually in The Garden Tapes site, which if you're not familiar with, you should be.

[Tadpole in a Jar]

I'm glad everyone, or at least most people, aren't lying down and being sheep with this. I haven't bought the remasters but it sounds like everything got tampered with in the entirely wrong way. Here's how I think it should have been:

DISC ONE: A new version of the movie with the four extra songs added in their correct running order. I like the fantasy sequences, but maybe to satisfy those many fans who don't like them the fantasy sequences could have been removed from this version. A secondary track of commentary from the band would have been nice, or that could have gone on...

DISC TWO: The original movie with the fantasy sequences included. The bonus boat interview and Drake Hotel report would have fit on this disc, or a flip side.

TO GET AROUND THE LEGALITIES: Since disc one would be all the songs in the correct order, it's not really The Song Remains the Same anymore. Legally it's a new thing...Madison Square Garden 1973. Only disc two would be The Song Remains the Same, and it would be there as it was.

Who would buy my version of this?

[ddot]

I'll stick with Led Zeppelin's version but thanks for your input you guys are making a big deal out of a few oohs and ahs so jimi dosen't say do it on the pick up note right before the jam out. I looking forward to the sonic umph

[fk134]

Why cut out the 1st minute and a half of the brilliant NQ solo and that awesome funk section in WLL, add in that dumb edit before San Francisco from the movie, and throw in the junk version of BD when you have the whole version on 2003 DVD? What happened to the "ahhhhhhh dig it dig" it in TSRTS? Why try to make the CD match the DVD, especially when CD Rain Song isn't the same as in the DVD? And what happened to that awesome solo at the end of CD? The new one is interesting as a document, but doesn't hold a candle to the old one. And does anybody notice how mismatched the guitar tones are at the various edits throughout the thing? What a shame and a missed opportunity. All they needed to do was tweak the old one, add in the new songs, and add that crazy build in D&C that's in the movie, right before the camera stars spinning around. If they couldn't figure out where the edits were, they could have consulted the Garden Tapes.

I agree totally. I was quite happy with the improvements to the sound, but listening to all the edits was very jarring. So many nice little passages that I've been listening to for over 30 years are suddenly chopped. And to copy that horrible edit from the old film in Dazed and Confused (just before the San Francisco segment) into the new CD is plain stupid. The quality control (and good sense) seems to have slipped on this release.

[Evster2012]

First of all, Stu, you don't know what you're talking about. No one ever even hinted from the Zep camp or Kevin Shirley that this would be the old soundtrack revamped. Shall I re-post the original press release or the interview with Mr. Shirley? It is the soundtrack to the film. Hello? That's what soundtrack means. If anything, the original soundtack was the dupe as it wasn't true to the film. As for cuts, the original soundtrack had hundreds of them. You're just used to hearing it a certain way. I have boots of all three nights. Everything ever officially issued has been a massive edit fest from all three nights. I hear this bitching about the beginning of the NQ solo being cut, yet I don't hear any whining about the original soundtack have the last minute of the very same solo cut. Do your homework before crying "scamming" "fucking retards". If you don't like the result, you're entitled to your feelings, but accusing Page and Shirley of pulling a bait-and-switch is bullshit, plain and simple. The bottom line is that they worked to make the music better fit the edits in the film, which they couldn't alter for legal reasons, improve the sound (which they have) and release an accompanying soundtrack cd, which they have. Delivered as promised. Any misleading impressions as to content were based on your hopes, not what was described in the press release.

BTW, the original press release said the Limited Edition would contain 3 discs. The dvds of film and the bonus materials, and the cd soundtrack. This was an error on behalf of the publicist department that Page and Shirley immediately had corrected. Shit happens. Maybe not to you, but for the rest of us, even the mighty Led Zeppelin, sometimes it's unavoidable.

If you want the original soundtrack, buy it. Frankly I still love my vinyl, but that's just me. If you feel ripped off, return your cd and make an audio rip of your dvd, and move on. There's talk of a complete 5.1 remaster of the catalog for the 40th anni. Maybe he'll accomodate the fans of the original soundtrack cuts. Regardless, name calling and cries of ripoff are again unwarranted and unjustified.

[gperkins151]

Off the top of my head:

Different solo at end of CD, replaced the majestic masterpiece with an inferior but decent version.

1:30 of guitar in NQ, groove through the signature guitar lick.

Funk section in WLL, "I'm just looking for the bridge". That's gone, replaced by clumsy edit.

"ahhh dig it dig it" gone from TSRTS

BD is the 3 minute version from film, not the full version from 2003 DVD

The build in D&C that's on film but not CD at around 23:00 is added, which is great. The addition of the sloppy edit before San Francisco isn't.

There's a lot more. You'll get a full rundown eventually in The Garden Tapes site, which if you're not familiar with, you should be.

Thanks a lot for that. I will look for the Garden Tapes website.

So I if I understand correctly, the new remaster has the same songs as before (except Black Dog) with the edits indicated above, plus the new songs that didn't come in the first release of the soundtrack?

[Nathan]

Okay, you guys have pretty much convinced me this CD/DVD package isn't worth it. I've already got the original issues, and just to have more treble and bass, or to have a pop in Robert's voice cut out? The extra songs don't add up to a whole lot, either, when I've already got multiple versions of those tunes. Perhaps we're looking at Jimmy's first-ever fumble? He should reissue this in 2008.

Not worth-it?

Okay. There are some glaring cuts. But the sound is the better, the extra songs are nice, and there are some great special features. Get the Limited Edition or the Collector's Edition (like I did). I promise you... it's worth-it.

Evster... I got the Collector's Edition from Borders, but I'm going to pick it up tomorrow. However, a neighbor has the Collector's Edition, and we watched it tonight. The Collector's Edition does include the audio soundtrack.

ETA:

Oh... wait... you're talking about the limited edition...

Never mind...