Entertainment For Lively Minds
Robert Plant "its a pain in the pisser to be honest" (ie Led Zep)
and so said Percy in a recent interview with R Stone, which seems to have created all sorts of fan commentary in the blogosphere.
Now where do I stand on all this? Well, I didn't see the Zep show at the O2. However, I've watched a reasonable bootleg DVD and it wasnt a bad effort at all though I still detected some unease in Plant's body language and in his phrasing of the songs. And when I was watching it I reached my own conclusion, which the man has since confirmed to R Stone. Zep is his wonderful legacy to the world but he has moved on and he simply doesn't want to stand up in tight jeans shaking his lion's mane and squealing "squeeze my lemon and let the juice run down my leg" to people like me. And to be honest, he's dead right. Good luck Robert for putting all this nonsense to bed once and for all and setting the record straight.
But what do the Massive think?
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i can see his point.
i prefer 'Big Log' to any Led Zep song i've heard. you know, just saying.
how come he did the O2 gig though?
It was a tribute to Ahmet Ertegun
who presumably he admired sufficiently.
I wish Mick or Keef had come to the same conclusion...
Nice to hear about a 'rock-star' who is a proper grown-up.
Tribute band
He/they should audition some musicians and put together an Officially Sanctioned Tribute Band(s) to tour and play all the old numbers or even recreate The Song Remains The Same. I'm sure they could squeeze a few bob out of it.
I like that idea.
It adds a note of authenticity to it knowing that The Big Men have given this act The Nod.
Didn't Jimmy Page already give his seal of approval to one
of the tribute bands?
tribute bands
I think Plant spoke favourably about one called Letz Zep. They used his quote in their publicity; it was something like "they are better than we were". The band were on Newsnight around the time of the 02 show. But the best one on the circuit is Boot Led Zeppelin whom I've seen twice at Shepherds Bush. They were on a BBC Jonathan Ross hosted thing about the greatest rock musicians of all time a year or so ago. Entertaining.
Full of admiration for him.
Love the recent stuff he's been doing. He's obviously more interested in music than easy cash or the comfort of nostalgia. Presumably a big part of him still misses his mate the drummer and perhaps it's a bigger tribute to Bonham to not play on without him.
But....
Jimmy Page (who made him a star) gets crucified every time it is mentioned that he might go on the road with some other singer playing those songs, yet Plant is quite happy to perform Zep material when it pleases him (and gets no grief).
Just seems rather sad that the main force behind the band is not able to perform this classic material without being given grief yet Plant is now considered untouchable for some reason.
And can we be really honest and say that Band Of Joy was the most over-rated album of last year.
Band of Joy
was a great album although to my ears not as good as Raising Sand. If and when Led Zep ever play any new gigs it wont be anything more than a tribute to their past as it is unlikely they will perform any new stuff. In that respect what is the point?
Does there need...
to be a point? How much new material does McCartney play? probably 50% of bands touring right now are playing only old material, if there's no point there wouldn't be many gigs left to go to.
Not really sure why Zep get crap over the idea of reforming yet someone like Fairport are celebrated.
Sorry I didnt get my point across fully
Clearly there doesn't need to be a point for so many bands and that is fair enough. However if Plant is suggesting (and I think he is) that he has a choice between reliving his Led Zep past or moving on and doing something that gives him far greater pleasure then I can understand his stance. The fact that his recent stuff has been so successful reinforces this position. I am sure if Raising Sand or Band of Joy had disappeared without trace that he might have re-considered his position on touring Led Zep. Were that the case I am sure we would have got some pretty half hearted performances after the initial rush. I just saw a re-formed Squeeze. It was a pretty good show but it was quite obvious Tilbrook was loving it and Difford was not.
Squeeze.
Don't know much about them - but I believe that Difford has suffered a form of 'stage fright' over the years and isn't a natural performer.
I saw him 'solo' with Boo Hewerdine a couple of years ago, and while it was a good gig, there was a distinct lack of warmth coming from the stage. When I mentioned this to a mate - a long time Squeeze fan - he wasn't surprised as Difford has had this problem for many years. That might explain why he didn't look comfortable.
I am prepared to be corrected / enlightened by a knowledgeable soul. (Which I'm sure you are Steve... :))
You are more likely to be on the money
with that assessment. I wasn't aware of the 'stage fright'. I saw Difford solo about a year ago but it was in a very small cafe type venue with probably around 75-100 people there. He was obviously quite shy at that gig too. I just thought he looked uncomfortable and obviously reached the wrong conclusion.
Remember that the second Page/Plant album did only so-so
business.
Is it...
about sales though? I doubt McCartney's most recent efforts have sold that well and certainly the Stone's offerings are embarrassingly low in units shifted. It's the live experience that a whole new generation (or 2) are crying out for.
I was talkig about the tour that accompanied it as well.
Once the punters realised it wasn't a LZ reunion and they were playing a lot of 'new' ticket sales dropped off.
As long as
Plant, Page and John Paul Jones are still with us there will always be fans hoping for another reunion of some kind. The same with the Stones, the same with the Smiths, the Jam etc. It's human nature. Short of dropping off his perch, there's nothing old Percy can do about it.
I have said this before...
... but Robert Plant, to me, is the absolute epitome of dignified older rock star. He has enough money that he doesn't need to slog, but chooses to perform music he plainly loves for the love of it. And folky, country, worldy stuff completely suits a man of his vintage.
Imagine a man in his sixties singing lines like "Valhalla! I am coming?" Honestly, it doesn't bear thinking. If Paul McCartney stopped dying his hair I'd think the same about him.
Sad thing about Sir Paul
is that he'd no doubt look tip-top and tres cool sans hairdye. Can't believe nobody's ever told him.
In the 80s
his hair was a bit salt and pepper and he looked fine. God knows why he feels he has to dye it.
Speaking of Zep and hair dye
Page looks utterly cool with his hair white. Good thing he went natural.
Dignity and hair
Just saw a large photo of Robert Plant in Rolling Stone and his hair looks dyed to me. Plus, any man who wears ringlets in his hair at his age doesn't get brownie points for dignity. But then, dignity is over-rated. He's a rock star, not a politician. And I like my rock stars on the eccentric side, dyed hair or not.
It's up to Robert Plant what sort of music he wants to perform. But I don't really like his smug superior attitude about it (evident in some of his quotes in the RS article), suggesting that somehow his decision to do covers of old songs written by other people makes him somehow more authentic or adventurous than his old Led Zep bandmates or any other bands who want to perform the material they wrote.
McCartney has several really good albums in the last decade (my favorites: Chaos and Creation and Electric Arguments) and I wish he'd do fewer Beatles tunes and more of his own recent stuff in live shows. But that's not what a lot of fans want from him. That's what happens when you create music that is beloved by many the world over. At heart, though, I think McCartney also "chooses to perform music he plainly loves for the love of it."
Re: Recent McCartney
I'm with you, McCartney's albums from Flaming Pie onwards have been great. Driving Rain is probably the least consistent, but they're all worth having and I'd love to see him playing more from them.
That said, I'd love to see him live again full stop, only been to one of his gigs (Manchester Arena, 2003) and it was a blinder.
My Uncle Eric
Every time he saw Robert Plant on TV,in a Newspaper he would say,"He looks just like the bloke i chat to at The Wolves,Can't be him though 'cause the bloke at Molineux is really nice".We never had the heart to tell him,god rest his soul.
What's strange about this is
What's strange about this is how keen Page always seems to be, and how he seems totally lost without Led Zep. I would have thought he was the independent type, but it seems he still can't get over it.
Anticipation
For a multitude of reasons I never saw Zep when I had the opportunity and wasn't lucky enought to get tickets in the ballot for the 02 gig. I would have loved to have seen them in retrospect and kick myself for missing out.
However the prospect of him getting back together with Alison Krauss whets my appetite far more than the prospect of a Zep reunion.
Plant has found a credible niche
Page hasn't ... and Plant can now to Led Zep covers in various styles (with different musicians) while it would be difficult to think of Page playing the same songs in an adapted manner ... what *might* work would not be the full-bore "Valhalla I am coming" rock god gig with all the amps at 11 but more a Led Zep unplugged style performance? Get JP Jones to break out his mandolin, JP on acoustic, Plant on vocals and harmonica ...play appropriate Led Zep tunes and standards in an annual Christmas gig in London that doesn't cramp anyone's schedule ...
Unledded
Wasn't that similar?
No Quarter was similar too...nice reworking of Gallows Pole with some Moroccan influences.
Planty
is currently the meedja darling, and why not? He is a top bloke and all round good egg and deserves his "legendary" status, but am I the only guy in this planet who found Raising Sands ordinary? Decent enough album to be sure, but album of the year? Really? I think not. Band Of Joy is better, but Led Zep 4 it is not. I shoud also add that I am an Alison Krauss fan of long standing, so it is not that I am anti Country Music/ pro Heavy Rock as such, it's just that these two aforementioned albums are not quite as good as some people would make them out to be.
The first LP I bought...
Was LZ II in ~1970, and they remain my favourite band. However, despite that lifelong dedication, I think that Raising Sands and Band of Joy are the best things Robert Plant has ever done. In this case, 'play some new'.
Couldn't agree more
Plant is producing some of his best stuff these years. I saw him at the Sage in Gateshead last October and The Band of Joy were fabulous. It was clear how much enjoyment was being taken from the music both on and offstage. I saw Zep in my youth and respect Robert's decision to not rehash his past. Yes he carries the material with him and has played many versions of those songs since Zeppelin ended. The important thing here is that they aren't straightforward covers. More often than not you are treated to reinterpretations of what can be overly familiar "classics". The music is all the better for it.
Jimmy Page
has become the biggest waste of talent in music sicnce the Zepellin burst.
Why he hasn't been able to move on and put his incredible talent to other uses is beyond me. Very sad indeed.
As for Percy's output of recent times, not my cuppa but I would rather he tries different stuff if that's what floats his boat, I know I would.
But but but...
What about Coverdale Page? and The Firm? and the stint with the Black Crowes? and XYZ?
How can you imply he hasn't done anything of worth since LZ? ;-)
Hey, who needs Robert Plant anyway?
Led Zep fans be warned - Jimmy joins in at 2:20ish and it ain't pretty. Poor little Jimmy wouldn't let go.
gosh
thats the worst Zep cover I've ever seen. And this comes from someone who can listen to Limp Bizkit's early stuff now and again. What on earth was Jimmy thinking?
Limp…
The reason it ain't pretty? That lunk Durst is an absolutely terrible guitar player, and can't hold back on his insensitive bang bang strumming. You can't hear Page, lord knows if it was any good.
It's
Wes Scantlin (Puddle of Mudd) on guitar and Fred Durst on vocals murdering 'Thank You'. Jimmy sounds out of tune to me - not that he could save that horror of a performance.
Yes someone is out of tune, fair enough
Jimmy probably hasn't discovered that you are 'supposed' to plug it into a digital tuner these days. And just before you go on, not before you spend half an hour arsing around with the guitar in the dressing room.
Looks like Jimmy missed the
Looks like Jimmy missed the soundcheck.
Oh Irony
I love it. Have an up.
One of the reasons for Plants current success?
In our capitalist age, people can hardly believe that someone could turn down the opportunity for the most lucrative Rock reunion ever. People are scratching their chins, asking "maybe there's something to that Percy after all, better give him another listen". Remember he's been left on the sidelines for most of the last 30 years! Of course the Kraus album (especially good) and sure Band of Joy are good albums all right, but would they have found the same audience without this? I'm not so sure
Yet another lazy, poorly made, wasted opportunity from the BBC
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00vy78w/Robert_Plant_By_Myself/
According to the script, clearly written before anyone had bothered to check the facts, Led Zeppelin "crashed and burned". But never the less someone has actually attempted to conduct a serious if shallow interview. And there is the occasional nugget, like Plants assessment of their live aid performance as 'incredibly dreadful'. Check it out.
top
I thought it was really good programme. But I am not a LZ nut, and have really only become interested in Plant since Raising Sand. He is a man who is clearly comfortable giving only what he wants to in interviews, so I think shallow is mostly what you will get regardless of the interviewer.
Maybe its partly the budget …
…But there is also an incredible lack of production talent. What strikes you is how honest and open he is willing to be, and how much more could have been gleaned by someone who actually gave a toss. What's missing are the questions, and the serious intentions of the production team. Instead what you get is a push the obvious buttons, inaccurate 'crash and burn' script read by the irritating Radcliffe, a very poor choice. Basically Tabloid TV. Ill-informed references to "the legend", accompanied with interminable zoom shots of Robert's crotch area.
To be fair, he's *always* said Live Aid was a pretty dreadful
set and, when the complete Live Aid DVD set was being put together, he refused to allow the LZ set to be used.
Plant was referring to being asked about Zeppelin
Rather than the band or their music, which is quite a difference.