Critics hail Led Zeppelin comeback

To say the expectations for Led Zeppelin’s one-off gig were high would be an understatement.

Replicating the glory of their ’70s heyday was a big ask and the band members themselves admitted before the show to being nervous.

But they need not have worried because the critics today were unanimous in their praise for the group’s performance.

The consensus was that it was nothing short of a triumph and now talk of a world tour is sure to escalate.

Adrian Thrills, for the Daily Mail, said fans went home “deliriously happy” after the show at the O2 arena.

“They proved they could also live up to even the loftiest of expectations,” he wrote.

Delivering yet more praise, he added: “They reflected and at times even replicated the sound and fury of their 'Hammer of the Gods' heyday.”

In conclusion, Mr Thrills said: “As comeback shows go, this one was undoubtedly special.”

David Cheal, for the Telegraph, was “blown away” and said the “familiar old sinew and swagger were still there”.

During the track 'In My Time Of Dying', the band “locked into a sensational groove”, the critic wrote: “It scarcely seemed possible that a group could be this good.”

Quite simply, he said: “They were fantastic, better than I expected. It was a joy and a privilege to be there.”

Alexis Petridis, in the Guardian, wrote: “After a tentative, feedback-scarred opener of 'Good Times Bad Times', it’s difficult to believe this is a band who have barely played together for the best part of three decades.

“They sound awesomely tight.”

He also speculated on whether the band members were now leaner than during the ’70s when they dominated the charts.

“The kind of excesses that once sent Hornby scuttling off in search of a nearby solo-free hostelry have been trimmed out of necessity: as Page has pointed out, it’s almost physically impossible for men in their 60s to play three-and-a-half-hour sets,” he said.

“Depending on your perspective, that’s a pity or an unexpected bonus of old age. Either way, anyone nipping out last night would have missed something faintly remarkable.”

Pete Paphides, for the Times, described the performance as “transcendent”.

In one track, “Page dispensed powerchords like an aged Thor lobbing down thunderbolts for kicks”, the critic wrote.

He said: “Events that have so much resting on them rarely unfold with such an air of assurance” before adding “with a synergy like this going on, it would be an act of cosmic perversity to stop now”.

Clearly, the band have proved themselves capable of delivering – the issue now is whether they actually want to tour.

After last night’s tantalising glimpse of their former glory, that is now the question on everyone’s lips.