Film Review: ‘Becoming Led Zeppelin’ Documentary – The Epic Origin Story

I’ve been enjoying some great rock n roll of late, not in the cozy confines of the B&V rock n roll lab surrounded by bourbon, vinyl and CDs, but in the most unlikely of places – my local cinema. A few weeks back I saw the superb A Complete Unknown, the new Dylan biopic featuring Timothee Chalamet. I didn’t review it but I’d say it’s definitely worth seeing. Then last night the Rock Chick was gracious enough to join me at the local cineplex to see the new documentary on the formation and early days of Led Zeppelin, aptly titled Becoming Led Zeppelin. If I’m being honest about the Rock Chick, she’s probably more of a solo Plant fan than a Zeppelin fan so I’m pleased she was willing to sign on. I do so rarely leave biosphere during the Winter Blues season.

Watching Becoming Led Zeppelin is as close as you’re ever going to get to seeing a rock concert in a movie theater. I occasionally wear those ear plugs where you can hear but they protect your ears when I go to a concert. Sadly I didn’t think to take them to the movie and it was loud. That’s not a bad thing, but be forewarned. The documentary features current day interviews with the members of the band who are still standing: Robert Plant (vocals), Jimmy Page (guitar), and John Paul Jones (bass/keyboards). They unearthed a 1980 interview that the press-shy John Bonham (drums) gave before his untimely demise. It was incredibly touching to watch Plant/Page/Jones react to hearing the recording of Bonham’s voice recounting things about the band and about the band members. I think those guys were a lot closer than any of us realized. Oddly, Zeppelin has been on my mind quite a bit lately as Physical Graffiti just turned 50 this year and we celebrated by posting about it.

I thought this documentary was just superbly done. The atmosphere in the theater was so charged it felt like I was back at the midnight movies waiting for The Song Remains The Same to come on. Although instead of smuggling in Jack Daniels in my winter coat, I merely smuggled in my own popcorn… oh how time changes everything… There was a guy in my row, who didn’t look much older than me and he sat on the edge of his seat for the whole show. Kudos stranger on your wonderful posture. The crowd was mostly folks older than I am, people that may have actually gotten to see Zeppelin in those heady early days when I was still in elementary school. I know my friend Karla’s first concert was Led Zeppelin in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She wins the “what was your first concert?” contest, hands down.

Besides the in-depth interviews, there is a ton of archival footage of the band playing live. I’d seen some of it but there was a bunch I hadn’t seen. I don’t know if any of the footage is “newly unearthed” but a lot of it was new to me. You really grasp the power and the glory of what Led Zeppelin was when you see those live shots. It gave me a real appreciation of John Paul Jones as a bass player. I mean, I already knew Jimmy Page was one of the greatest guitarists ever and John Bonham was a force of nature on drums and Plant’s banshee wail is the thing of legend, but Jones really shone through.

The movie tracks each of the individual band member’s early life and forays into music. I like that they give a shout out to Lonnie Donegan who must have turned on a whole generation of young Englishmen to the guitar. Jimmy was a virtuoso on guitar and appeared on TV in a skiffle group when he was just a kid. He became a sought after session player and played on records by the Who, Donovan and the Kinks. John Paul Jones came from a show biz family. He wanted to play the bass but his dad told him “You don’t want to play bass, you want to play the saxophone, you’ll always be able to find work.” He wasn’t exactly wrong but I think things turned out pretty well on bass. John Paul also became a sought after session player and eventually conned his way into being an arranger. I was surprised to learn that both Page and Jones played on Shirley Bassey’s Bond theme “Goldfinger” (later ably covered by Mike Campbell’s surf band side project, the Blue Stingrays).

Plant and Bonham both grew up in the Midlands. They knocked around in different bands. Bonham got married early and his wife used to warn him not to “work with that Plant-y, he’s a disaster.” Plant and Bonham were in a band together called the Band Of Joy and it looked like they played a ton of gigs and recorded a few songs but never hit it big. When Page stumbled across Plant he was basically homeless, which I had never known.

Eventually Jimmy joined the Yardbirds with Jeff Beck. When Beck left (or was sacked) and formed the Jeff Beck Group, Jimmy was left as the sole lead guitarist in the band. That was about the time all the other members quit. Jimmy approached Terry Reid to be his new lead singer but he’d just signed a contract for a solo deal. Terry pointed him towards Plant. Page and Plant hung out and it clicked. About that time John Paul Jones, at the urging of his wife, called Jimmy and told him he was available if Jimmy needed a bass player. Finally, they went down and recruited John Bonham. When Page heard Bonham it crystallized his vision of what he wanted the new band to be. They were working under the moniker the New Yardbirds when famously Keith Moon suggested Led Zeppelin. They kind of gloss over the story as I understood it in the movie, it only gets a mention. I’d always read that Moon said the new band was going to go over like a lead balloon… and hence the name.

From there they record the first album which is really a reflection of that late 60s blues rock sound prevalent at the time. Then they blitzkrieged across America. I was surprised to learn their debut album came out a few months earlier in the U.S. than the U.K. I think they did 7 tours of America in 6 months in 1969. The road was a debaucherous place with drugs, booze and women. All that crazy energy comes through on the the second album, which was recorded in America in between shows. That second record is all id. Led Zeppelin II is where Plant and Page started to develop a real skill and chemistry for songwriting.

From there, they conquered the world. I was delighted that the Rock Chick heard “Your Time Is Gonna Come” for the first time and loved it. Her taste in Zeppelin tunes runs toward the deep tracks. She also digs “Tangerine.” As I said, it’s fun to watch the members of the band watching vintage footage of themselves. About one festival performance, Page commented he’d never seen any footage from that show but he remembers the gig being fun. This was no maudlin, sentimental look back, this was a real celebration of the band’s formation and early days. It was like listening to old friends get together and talk about their glory days in college, only these guy’s actually were glorious. The documentary really puts meat on the bones of the legend that is Led Zeppelin.

I think any fan of rock, especially fans of hard rock or fans of Zeppelin will want to see this on the big screen. The performance of “Dazed And Confused” included is epic, as you would expect. I heard there was an IMax version of this documentary and I’d have love to see that! You gotta see this on the “big screen.” I urge everyone to hurry down to the local 14-theater complex or head to the mall, or wherever you see movies and check this out post haste before it leaves the theaters. My movie was pretty full so I hope this thing keeps selling out… I might go see it again. “And if I say to you tomorrow, take my hand child, come with me…”

Cheers!