Bad Wizard pulls together any video snipets of Jimmy Page's solo appearances or project it can find, the results of which are what you would expect.
The DVD kicks off with a direct copy of the officially released "5 From The Firm" video which samples selections from both of The Firm's LPs and serves them as a kind of singular, themed piece. Also from the period is MTV's "The Firm Live At Hammersmith Odeon", broadcast back in 1985 as the band was winding up it's first European Tour. This one taken from an excellent VHS source. We wrap up the first chapter of the Jimmy Page solo story with an MTV interview of Jimmy Page and Paul Rodgers as well as Chris Slade and Tony Franklin talking about the project. Next up is the well documented appearance at 1990's Knebworth Festival where Jimmy jumped onstage with Robert Plant's band to indulge in an enthusiastic version of "Misty Mountain Hop" and the only public airing of the rollicking "Wearing And Tearing" in front of several hundred thousand people (one of my favorite video clips too, an incredible performance). "Rock And Roll" kind of slights the two previous numbers as it is a really tired rendition but you can't really blame anyone as "Wearing And Tearing" was such a high and triumph.
The rest of the DVD features a mostly lame late-80's documentation of the Coverdale-Page period which makes me want to vomit, and the whole Outrider Tour and LP chapter which we can view as a mixed effort. The whole 80's approach, no matter what artist or event you are speaking of comes off awkward and embarrassing. The Old Grey Whistle Test piece on Roy Harper and Jimmy Page is rather strange and pointless but still of interest to Zeppelin fans. Even stranger is the Roy Harper video for "Live In Living Room" that is a montage of live footage from a festival outing in which Jimmy appeared with Roy Harper - and video of what appears to be Roy Harper and another couple in a severely drugged out state inside a recording studio booth. An interesting inclusion for sheer curiosity's sake is Jimmy's 1985 appearance with The Beach Boys at the 4th Of July Celebration at The Washington Monument Mall as the band stumbles through "Barbara Ann" and "Surfin' USA". Noticeably missing is any of Jimmy's ARMS Tour performances from 1983 which would have made this much more comprehensive.
All the clips here are in excellent quality except for the really poor, high generation video for the otherwise nice "These Arms Of Mine" from Willie And The Poor Boys who are: Bill Wyman, Charlie Watts, Ron Wood, Jimmy Page and Paul Rodgers...can anyone identify the guy playing keyboards on this one? Anyway, not necessarily a must-have but a great place to get a bunch of this stuff in one release. It's a bit of a rollercoaster ride and doesn't quite flow all that well in one shot.
