Bernard MacMahon’s attempt at uncovering the early days of the legendary Led Zeppelin is an immersive musical experience. It’s an honorable insight into a snippet of the band’s legacy. For fans of Led Zeppelin, the never-seen-before archival footage will be a treat, and for younger new fans, Becoming Led Zeppelin will offer an introductory window to one of the most defining music groups of our time.
The documentary started with a post-second World War contextual recap and disclosed each member’s early curiosity and passion for music and designated instruments. Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, and John Paul Jones gave an interview-style commentary with never-heard-before interview clips of the late John Bonham, who passed away in 1980 at only 32 years old. Upon hearing Bonham’s voice overlayed with his childhood images, an instant heaviness was in the air.
Robert, Jimmy, and John took us through their musical influences, artists, and bands, who stood out with genre-blending tendencies and shaped their sound. They recalled memories precisely and sincerely. At moments, the interviews felt like a long-awaited reminiscing session. However, there was a space where the audience could have loved all three of them reflecting together rather than separately.
Each band member shared anecdotes and stories from the 1960s, whether it was Robert’s struggles with not having a home or Jimmy’s and John’s work as session musicians; all had a sparkle in their eyes. Becoming Led Zeppelin unveiled archival footage in which their fans will see their favorite musicians as wide-eyed, dream-chasing boys who individually mastered their instruments.
Shot by shot, you’ll see the boys in their twenties coming together to form Led Zeppelin in 1968. All admiring each other’s immense talent, Page and the others were adamant about the magic created within the grouping. At the beginning of Led Zeppelin, there was a clear focus on taking over America, the colorful promised land, compared to “bland’ England. Everything came down to one show. As they felt the pressure before performing at San Fransisco’s Filmore, they conquered and never looked back.
The movie also documents the recording process, with Page seen as the group’s real-life conductor, orchestrating the band he had always envisioned, creating space to highlight each of their talents simultaneously. All of them gushed over, feeling the chemistry and symbiotic electric atmosphere. In between the interview scenes, Becoming Led Zeppelin stood out as a top-tier audio-visual experience with long live performances, during which fans will be blown away once again by the talent and virtuosity within each musician.
I was surprised by the disapproving critics reviewing the early days of Led Zeppelin. Still, I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about the band members as individuals, the name-dropping, studio hopping, and the utter focus on musicality at the documentary’s forefront. As much as Bernard MacMahon’s work paid homage to Led Zeppelin, I will not be alone in hoping for a similarly tell-all digestible multiple-part series.
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Words: Karolina Kramplova