In November of 2007, Warner re-releases the classic rock concert Led Zeppelin's The Song Remains the Same. While we had been expecting this, at the same time Warner, who seemed to be having trouble mastering their Blu-ray titles postponed the release of the Blu-ray and the HD-DVD formats of this title for another month. It was later, that Warner made another announcement cancelling indefinitely.

Warner released a 2-disc Special Edition in conjunction with a boxed set Limited Edition. Both of these are still somewhat available, but even these have been put on hold. There are many stories and rumors floating about concerning Warners decision. Some have speculated it was due to audio drop-outs during play back, other state it was legalalities concerning some of the content which Led Zeppelin did not authorize.

I inquired to our knowledgeable friendly neighbors at MMM who seem to have a closer contact to Warner than I do, and this is what they stated:

We were never able to get a "straight forward" response from the Warner Brothers rep.  The HD-DVD release was "yanked" sometime around the first of the year.  There are "questions" about the Blu-ray release as well (but WB is not talking)....  and no one appears to have any stock....

Both the Limited Collector's Edition and the Deluxe Edition have plenty of copies in warehouses and vendors. 

The official Warner Brothers Press Release concerning this title reads:

On November 20 2007, Warner Home Video released a new DVD edition of The
Song Remains The Same for the first time with all fifteen songs from the
original Madison Square Garden concerts. This coincided with the reissue of
the accompanying soundtrack to the film, available on CD. The DVD features
newly remixed and remastered sound, 5.1 Dolby Digital surround sound, and
includes more than 40 minutes of added bonus material, including
never-before-released performance footage of "Over the Hills and Far Away"
and "Celebration Day", plus performances of "Misty Mountain Hop" and "The
Ocean", a rare 1976 BBC interview with Robert Plant and Peter Grant, vintage
TV footage from the Drake Hotel robbery during the New York concert stand,
and a Cameron Crowe radio show.

Due to legal complications, the band decided not to change the video portion
of the original movie for the rerelease. Instead, sound engineer Kevin
Shirley created an entirely new mix of the three 1973 Madison Square Garden
concerts so that the audio portion of the film would better match the
on-screen visuals. The audio on the new CD release is nearly identical to
the soundtrack of the new DVD release. One difference is that the songs
included on the CDs that were not featured in the original movie are
included as bonus tracks on the DVD. 

  Currently Amazon has none in stock for any version. This does not mean these are impossible to find. There seems to be a fairly large amount shipped, however, they have dried up fairly quickly. 

As I research various websites, I am seeing the HD-DVD version is out of stock, and MMM states it as discontinued. With Warner's recent announcement of their exclusivity to Blu-Ray, it would make sense that you will not see this return to HD-DVD. So the copies are made are the only ones available. As written above, the Blu-ray version may see another return, but nothing certain. According to some websites, they are touting the return of the Special Edition on Feburary 19th of this year, like you will see on Deep Discount, and TLA . Yet, Amazon still states it as a set release of 2010. So nothing, at this point, is certain.

The Limited Edition, perhaps most readily available, has had the misfortune of cheap packaging. The exterior box is a flimsy box that appears that its not really meant to be saved, but discarded after you open it. Its easily creased or crushed as the durability is about as strong as a t-shirt box from a department store. The contents in the box are questionable in terms of worthwhile to pay for the extra bits. 

The Special Edition, a 2-disc set, can be found as well, but more difficult to get. It is drying up more and more on eBay, however, it is still possible to grab one. The Blu-ray version can be found, but your best bet is somewhere on the internet than hoping to score one at Borders (although its possible). The original release in the snap case shows minimal interest as fans are interested in some of the new features. Currently, almost all versions can be found on eBay.

While it is more than likely we will see a re-release of this feature, it is questionable as to when it will come back and whether the content will be altered in any way. 

Comments and opinions are welcome to be posted in our forum here.