ABSTRACT
The sparse amount of academic writing about rock documentaries considers them more as “film” than as “music.” However, the most cursory glance at their production credits will suggest that most are produced by music companies rather than film companies. This chapter will investigate the relationship between the live concert film and the live concert album, both of which were prominent in the 1970s and were particularly fashionable among so-called “progressive rock” bands. Films under scrutiny here will include The Song Remains the Same (1975, featuring Led Zeppelin), Genesis on Stage (1975), Yessongs (1975), and Pink Floyd Live at Pompeii (1971), all of which might be better understood as “visualized live albums” than as films per se.
