Celebration day

[Lawrence]

So I went (with much anticipation) to the Led Zep film last night.

first up...I am hoping that the weird and awful compression on the left and right channels was the cinema system not coping...which it should have cos they played it pretty quiet. Ive googled to see if anyone is criticisinfg the sound quality elswhere...no comments found yet. So, the wrong cinema...Id love to hear this at the Embassy!!

now the band. Ive seen quite a few reformed or latter day lineups of various bands, and they often seem like tribute bands...the magic sometimes disappears. Not so this time!

Jason Bonham not only nailed his father's style, he lifted it to the heavens...fantastic. When I get the DVD Ill be running the sub louder than the cinema did tho - the kik was a bit thin.
John Paul Jones was the ultimate professional that he has always been. Nice to hear better tones than the "West DVD"..technology has helped bass players in the last 40 years!
Plant....I defend his performance strongly. Those who criticise him for moving a couple of notes to lower harmonies or in a few rare cases an octave down...get over it- he was 65 for gods sake! He seemed able to do his swaggering schitck and make it seem appropriate!

now the one that matters for us guitar nerds..Pagey!
Page was loose and sloppy with a thin tone ......................................................................in a fantastic way that defines what it means to be Jimmy Page!
If I wanted to hear the precision of say, Steve Morse, Id go and see his tribute band,,,(sorry I mean Deep Purple who are still fantastic...just maybe not Purple without Jon Lord).
Page has always played to his own rules and this show was no exception. A small nod to modern tech showed up in the use of a whammy pedal, but otherwise this could have been a 1973 performance on a good night!. 3 or 4 Les Pauls, the doubleneck and a Gibson thinline single cut whos model I cant remember, through crunchy amps....

The only criticism I have tone wise was the amount of crunch on the opening to Stairway...but I guess its his song so who am I to say.

Now I wait for the DVD....and hope the sound quality is up to par...which Im sure it will be. Still, sound issues aside it was good to see this on a big screen.
highly recommended.

[Slowy]

If it ain't thin tone and smeared notes, it ain't Page. Looking forward to this.

Listened to the Plant & Krauss 'Raising Sand' album last week. Really listened for the first time. The guitar playing is incredible. Still, if you put T Bone Burnett, Marc Ribot and Norman Blake together in a studio, you're going to get a masterclass.

[Scooter13]

Sweet. I've read a few favourable reviews now. Missus is has bought me the deluxe blu-ray package for my birthday. It has the rehearsal stuff on it which could be interesting.

[badmotor]

Ash did a pretty excitable review on the FB.

[druz15]

The only criticism I have tone wise was the amount of crunch on the opening to Stairway...but I guess its his song so who am I to say.

I think this was often the case live anyway, a compromise he has to make with the double neck, as it's acoustic on the recording

oh did they play achilles last stand? Love that song
edit: google-fu sasy no, only one song off presence

[bender]

first up...I am hoping that the weird and awful compression on the left and right channels was the cinema system not coping...which it should have cos they played it pretty quiet. Ive googled to see if anyone is criticisinfg the sound quality elswhere...no comments found yet. So, the wrong cinema...Id love to hear this at the Embassy!!

That's odd. Which cinema? That reeks of incorrect Dolby processing to me. Your description matches the playback problems I heard at a few of the Festival films I saw up here- they were played back off HDCAM and the audio was supposed to be LtRt recoded to surround but the result was massively centre heavy, almost no sub and gnarly phase/compression issues on the L, R, Ls and Rs channels. The cinema in question refused to acknowledge a problem and wouldn't let us check their setup.

[Lawrence]

first up...I am hoping that the weird and awful compression on the left and right channels was the cinema system not coping...which it should have cos they played it pretty quiet. Ive googled to see if anyone is criticisinfg the sound quality elswhere...no comments found yet. So, the wrong cinema...Id love to hear this at the Embassy!!

That's odd. Which cinema? That reeks of incorrect Dolby processing to me. Your description matches the playback problems I heard at a few of the Festival films I saw up here- they were played back off HDCAM and the audio was supposed to be LtRt recoded to surround but the result was massively centre heavy, almost no sub and gnarly phase/compression issues on the L, R, Ls and Rs channels. The cinema in question refused to acknowledge a problem and wouldn't let us check their setup.

Paramount

yes you may be right. When ever Plant spoke, or a song started quietly it appeared to be in the centre channel. Once the band kicked in it moved to L &R and got quieter! There was audience in the rear L&R . Id have preferred a straight stereo mix.....

[Cdog]

Cool. Can't wait to to see this

[Vince]

That's odd. Which cinema? That reeks of incorrect Dolby processing to me. Your description matches the playback problems I heard at a few of the Festival films I saw up here- they were played back off HDCAM and the audio was supposed to be LtRt recoded to surround but the result was massively centre heavy, almost no sub and gnarly phase/compression issues on the L, R, Ls and Rs channels. The cinema in question refused to acknowledge a problem and wouldn't let us check their setup.

Wow, I had no idea so much went into it. Stands to reason, I guess.

Do they set up cinema sound systems every time a new movie comes in?

[sizzlingbadger]

Another review

http://forum.orangeamps.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=48794

[Some Bozo]

JPJ's keyboard bass pedal sounds massive. Jaysus!

[Pastasauce]

If it ain't thin tone and smeared notes, it ain't Page. Looking forward to this.

Listened to the Plant & Krauss 'Raising Sand' album last week. Really listened for the first time. The guitar playing is incredible. Still, if you put T Bone Burnett, Marc Ribot and Norman Blake together in a studio, you're going to get a masterclass.

Raising Sand is - IMHO - one of the most beautiful sounding records ever. Especially with good headphones.

[Some Bozo]

Page actually had some pretty good tones, and came close to sounding like what a great LP plugged into a great Marshall should sound like. There's a first time for everything
I enjoyed his lead playing more than I usually do. He kept on the right side of the line between 'loose' and 'incompetent' and was never boring. A good night for Jimmy, and Jason proved his worth too. Plant's voice was holding up as well as could be expected, and he made good use of what he has left, a really engaging performance. JPJ was flawless, but we knew that already

[bender]

That's odd. Which cinema? That reeks of incorrect Dolby processing to me. Your description matches the playback problems I heard at a few of the Festival films I saw up here- they were played back off HDCAM and the audio was supposed to be LtRt recoded to surround but the result was massively centre heavy, almost no sub and gnarly phase/compression issues on the L, R, Ls and Rs channels. The cinema in question refused to acknowledge a problem and wouldn't let us check their setup.

Wow, I had no idea so much went into it. Stands to reason, I guess.

Do they set up cinema sound systems every time a new movie comes in?

No. Cinemas are calibrated to Dolby specifications in order to be Dolby certified. All films that come through standard distribution channels are mixed to Dolby specifications and should play back in a calibrated cinema with no adjustment. The reality is that the movie studios often push for loud mixes and most cinemas adjust the master level on their Dolby equipment even though they're supposed to leave it set to 7. Festivals are usually different in that they use HDCAM, HDSR, Bluray and sometimes even DVD for playback and have no. Most commercial cinemas are not set up well to do that though. IME QC in NZ cinemas is uniformly crap too.

[Some Bozo]

I see on the credits that "Dazed and Confused" is now credited as by "Jimmy Page, inspired by Jake Holmes". Wouldn't be a zep project without someone getting busted for "borrowing" something