Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame releases massive DVD set including all-star jams

In December 2007, Jimmy Page played on the stage of the O2 arena in London, leading a Led Zeppelin reunion. Almost two years later, Jeff Beck said Page was "too chicken" to join him onstage at the O2's smaller venue, the IndigO2.

Of course, Beck was kidding.

And he also called out Ron Wood. Both Page and Wood were attending Beck's IndigO2 gig, but they were up in the balcony. (Thanks to reporter Simon Hays for the above details.)

Page and Wood weren't too chicken this April when they jammed with Beck and others in Cleveland on the occasion of his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Their onstage collaboration on "Train Kept A-Rollin'," also with Joe Perry and members of Metallica, is a fine example of the caliber of jamming the Rock Hall draws year in and year out.

And now, finally, as if it's never been a good idea before, there's now a giant box set release courtesy of Time Life that compiles many of those induction ceremony jams. One edition of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame LIVE includes nine DVDs, and another includes 14 DVDs plus a booklet.

In either set, a disc called "Feelin' Alright" includes Beck and Page jamming on "Beck's Bolero" with an "Immigrant Song" interlude from this April, and a disc called "Whole Lotta Shakin'" includes the "Train Kept A-Rollin'" electric guitar blitz!

Beck's also included on another disc called "Come Together," where he jammed with Jonny Lang on Gene Vincen't "Be-Bop-a-Lula" in 1999, and also played the Curtis Mayfield track "People Get Ready" in 1994 as a tribute to Rod Stewart.

See, this archive really does go back a while! It also includes the Concert for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which took place in September 1995, upon the Cleveland museum's opening.

Alas, the DVD set does not include any of Led Zeppelin's reunited performances on the night of the induction in 1995, but that may be a matter of the performance being vetoed for release. That's why the Page-Plant-Jones performance at Live Aid in 1985 wasn't included on the official DVD release of those concerts either.

But what this new set does include is pretty amazing!

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