Alerted by photographer Jonathan Stewart that the documentary about the rise of Led Zeppelin was on release in theatres, I drove to Barnes this afternoon to watch the film in the very surroundings where the band recorded their debut album in 1968.
I had not visited Olympic before, although I had driven past the site on many an occasion. The studios in fact began their legendary story in 1966 and the Rolling Stones were among its first clients, recording six consecutive albums between 1966 and 1972. The Beatles worked at the studio to record the original tracks of All You Need Is Love and Baby, You’re A Rich Man. While The Who recorded their classic albums Who’s Next and Who Are You there in the 1970s.
Queen used the studio for A Night At The Opera and the studio saw the production of many other landmark albums and singles by artists such as The Small Faces, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, and Procol Harum who recorded A Whiter Shade Of Pale on site.
The studio also recorded and produced film music for many major productions, including The Italian Job (1969) and the film version of Jesus Christ Superstar (1973). Over the next thirty years, other artists who recorded at Olympic included B.B. King, David Bowie, The Jam, Pink Floyd, Duran Duran, Oasis, Barbra Streisand, Nick Cave, Madonna and Prince.
The studios have recently been converted into first class cinema facilities and I took my seat in Studio 2. I hugely enjoyed the first half an hour of ‘Becoming Led Zeppelin’ as the narrative followed the foursome through their early lives and into the 1960s. This led to a particular focus on the session careers of Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones. The film also introduced a previously unheard interview with drummer John Bonham.
The middle section of the film contained more performances and accompanying soundtrack of their initial material. It was interesting to learn that the band first played together in a basement in Gerrard Street, Soho. However, there was no mention of how the band’s name was possibly the result of a quip by Keith Moon during the session for ‘Beck’s Bolero’, which featured both Jimmy and John Paul. There was also no reference to the Jeff Beck Group who had shown the possibilities for a heavy rock act in the USA.
Plus, whilst Page is a king of rock riffs, I am not a fan of his soloing and so found the version of Dazed and Confused self-indulgent and overly long. I appreciate this was a major number for the band in their early days and would have been typical of rock bands at the time. (In addition, I noted the ‘inspired by’ credit to Jake Holmes).
The final third of the film contained mostly further live footage. I wish to congratulate the production team on the sound quality, especially the opportunity to hear the supreme bass playing of John Paul Jones. What a musician. The band also massively benefitted from his range of skills on a variety of instruments.
So, a little mixed response, but the opening sections of the film made attending very worthwhile. I hope it secures sufficient publicity to justify the theatre distribution. I should add that I looked out for my name in the final ‘thanks to’ credits at the end as several years ago, when I was at MU HQ, I had helped the producers with sourcing the pre-Led Zep work of Page and Jones. However, there were so many names listed, it was hard to take them all in. I will need to watch the film again!
