Led Zeppelin The Song Remains The Same 1973

The Song Remains The Same was the first Led Zeppelin live album issued from 1973 concerts at the Madison Square Garden, New York which promoted the House Of The Holy studio album.

It was released in 1976 as the soundtrack to the concert film of the same name.

Led Zeppelin are known for their great live performances and they’ve become one of the most heavily bootlegged artists in the world.

It was re-issued in 2007 with a much better sound and with extra songs included. This makes it much more comparable with the other big Zeppelin live album, How The West Was Won.

Led Zeppelin The Song Remains The Same

Led Zeppelin The Song Remains The Same

Set List

The 2007 remastered version added six extra songs (Over the Hills and Far Away, Misty Mountain Hop, Since I’ve Been Loving You, The Ocean and Heartbreaker)  which has helped to improve the balance of the live album.

Disc one

  1. Rock and Roll – 3:56 (originally on Led Zeppelin IV)
  2. Celebration Day – 3:37 (Led Zeppelin III)
  3. Black Dog – 3:46 (bonus) (Led Zeppelin IV)
  4. Over the Hills and Far Away – 6:11 (bonus) (Houses Of The Holy)
  5. Misty Mountain Hop – 4:43 (bonus) (Led Zeppelin IV)
  6. Since I’ve Been Loving You – 8:23 (bonus) (Led Zeppelin III)
  7. No Quarter – 10:38 (Houses Of The Holy)
  8. The Song Remains the Same – 5:39 (Houses Of The Holy)
  9. The Rain Song – 8:20 (Houses Of The Holy)
  10. The Ocean – 5:13 (bonus) (Houses Of The Holy)

Disc two

  1. Dazed and Confused – 29:18 (Led Zeppelin)
  2. Stairway to Heaven – 10:53 (Led Zeppelin IV)
  3. Moby Dick – 11:02 (Led Zeppelin II)
  4. Heartbreaker – 6:19 (bonus) (Led Zeppelin II)
  5. Whole Lotta Love – 13:51 (Led Zeppelin II)

Five tracks from Houses Of The Holy, four from Led Zeppelin IV and representatives from the earlier albums. As far as I’m concerned, Houses of The Holy is one of their weakest studio albums.

The bonus tracks certainly help to improve the set list but I think they could have done better in 1973 and I’d certainly like to see a live album from 1975 or 76 to showcase the Physical Graffiti songs.

Performance

I remember being very disappointed when this album came out in 1976. My friends at school loved it but I thought it was bloated.

29 minutes for Dazed and Confused because Jimmy Page is whipping his guitar with a violin bow… you’ve got to be kidding. I never play it.

A drum solo that sounds as if it goes on for even longer – it’s actually ONLY 12 minutes. I haven’t even bothered putting this on to my iPod. I hate long drum solos.

The latest recording sounds much livelier than the original and you get much more of a feel for what it was like to be at a Zeppelin concert. Originally, How The West was Won was much the better album but now that we have this remastered version, it’s harder to make the choice.

Here are some videos of Led Zeppelin live in concert in 1973.

Rock’n’Roll

Whole Lotta Love

Atmosphere and Authenticity

Again the remastered version is an improvement because it better represents the original 1973 concerts at the Madison Square Garden.

Overall Rating

I’m not rushing to judgement on this updated album.

I’ve always loved live albums and I regarded the original version of The Song Remains The same as a huge wasted opportunity. It’s hard to shake that assessment from my mind, even though I know this is a much improved version.

I also have the nagging theme in my mind that I prefer the 1971 concert captured in the BBC Sessions album.

What Other People Say About The Song Remains The Same

Critical reaction when the album first came out was very negative. Critics agreed that Led Zeppelin were a great live band but the feeling was that The Song Remains The Same didn’t do them justice.

The 2007 reissue has been more positively reviewed but it’s still not seen as the critical Zeppelin album.

In the best live albums ever lists, How The West Was Won receives more recommendations but these ranked The Song Remains The Same.

NME – 12th best
Planet Rock – 17th
Classic Rock – 29th
DigitalDreamDoor.com – 98th

Over at Amazon, there are more five star reviews than anything else but there are people who feel that the first Led Zeppelin live album could and should have been much better.

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Buying The Song Remains The Same
To help you to find the album quickly and easily, I’ve given you the following links::

What Do You Think About The Song Remains The Same?

What do you think about this live album by Led Zeppelin?

Is it better or worse than How The West Was Won?

Please let me know what you think by leaving a comment.

It would also be great if you could vote in my polls to find

The Best Led Zeppelin Live Album

What Are The TWO Best Live Led Zeppelin Albums? (Click on the links to go to the reviews)

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What Are The Best Live Albums Of All Time?

The Greatest Heavy Metal Live Albums Ever

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If you don’t see your favourite hard and heavy rock albums in that poll, they may be in the second division poll.

Led Zeppelin are also seen as a pioneer of blues rock.

The Best Blues Rock Live Albums

You can also see the results of how other readers have voted in these live album polls.

What Are The FIVE Best Blues Rock Live Albums? (Click on the links to go to the reviews)

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If You Like This…

If you like Led Zeppelin, I think you’ll also like Deep Purple, Jimi Hendrix, Cream, AC/DC, Aerosmith

One thought on “Led Zeppelin The Song Remains The Same 1973”

  1. Not as good as How The West Was Won. Zeppelin really cook on that album.

    I agree with you that a Zeppelin live album with Kashmir, In My Time Of Dying etc would be great.

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