Dancing day's are here again, as the mighty Zep reform!

Ron Whitfield · Post by **Ron Whitfield** » 8 Sep 2007 1:44 pm

With Jason Bonham filling the drum slot, it looks as tho we will once again get to enjoy the noise as Page, Plant, and Jones hit the road soon.

Maybe I'll get to see them for a 25th time!

Mat Rhodes · Post by **Mat Rhodes** » 8 Sep 2007 5:32 pm

Robert Plant may have to wear his pants even tighter this time. He can't hit those high notes like he used to in the early 70's.

No disrespect intended for Zeppelin, but some things should be left well alone.

But, hey, if The Police can still sell out stadiums, why not?

Frank Freniere · Post by **Frank Freniere** » 9 Sep 2007 8:46 am

I feel the same way Ron does about Van Halen.

Ron Whitfield · Post by **Ron Whitfield** » 9 Sep 2007 3:21 pm

Trust me Matt, even in the early 70's, Plant didn't always even try for the highs, as evidenced when I had great seats for a 71 show in Long Beach, CA, and they opened with Immigrant Song and Plant did the famous vocal intro at a contralto level, which sounded pretty stupid.
But after the initial WTF, the rest of the song/show was so good that, oh well..., true classic rock.

And, I've heard the The Police have not been so great, nor selling all that well. Good for them!

Mat Rhodes · Post by **Mat Rhodes** » 10 Sep 2007 9:15 pm

Point taken - I wasn't there. But they sure as *@!% never should have released "The Song Remains The Same" live album. If that was an indicator of the quality of their live performance in the mid-70's, then the bar can go no direction but up from there.

Doug Beaumier · Post by **Doug Beaumier** » 10 Sep 2007 10:09 pm

I saw Zeppelin in 1969 in a small auditorium in Springfield Mass, and they were Loud, but Good!

P Gleespen · Post by **P Gleespen** » 11 Sep 2007 6:01 am

the bar can go no direction but up from there.

That's for sure. "The Song Remains the Same" is horrible on a level that only some of the 70's Rolling Stones live recordngs can rival.

I feel the same way Ron does about Van Halen.

How DOES Ron feel about Van Halen?

David L. Donald · Post by **David L. Donald** » 11 Sep 2007 7:01 am

Well John Paul likes to play lapsteel steel.
So maybe more fans will see him doing that
on the tour too. Win win for the steel guitar.

If Plant can't still hit the high notes he could at 21,
why worry, half of us can't still HEAR them now, if he could.

Ron Whitfield · Post by **Ron Whitfield** » 11 Sep 2007 12:04 pm

Per VH, I used to see them pre DLR around my neighborhoods and they were one of those bands that you knew had a chance..., someday, 'cause Eddie and Alex were pretty hot, but they had lot's of quality competition to go against in So. Cal back then. It wasn't til I was living on Oahu that I heard a local band (during a private party on a catamaran off Waikiki) doing a hot song (Ain't Talkin' About Love, that I thot they wrote), and complimented them later, only to find out it was Van Halen. It took me a few minutes to think that it might be those darn kids again! Sure 'nuf, they made it to the big leagues, and beyond.
But, I really could care less about them now, even tho I'm up for anything good. And the same goes for Zep if they don't pull it off, big time.
It's like waiting decades for Iggy to ask The Stooges to reform, only to have them (surprisingly, mostly him) be a total joke.

More on Zep, I saw them more times than I could count, but the first and last gigs I saw were the only ones that I'd like to see again. They often were terrible after '72, and usually mediocre, with some stunning highs in most every show, but if you caught them on a rare magic night, you'd never forget it. Those were the moments that cemented their status, and reletively few witnessed them.
The 'Best of the West' live package has some decent stuff on it, from shows that I was at, but even it's evidence of how Page would go off on endless 'who cares' solos, and the all too often sloppy bombast of the rythym section.
But, I loved sitting behind the band, to watch Bonzo beat his hands to a bloody mess during a 30 min. solo, and then have Page power chord back in.
And, No Quarter, plus the theremin portion is still memorable.

I have high hopes for the new version and hope they mean it, writing new music that is seriously good.

But, it's a long shot.
More Jonesy!

Lucky you, Doug!

David Mason · Post by **David Mason** » 12 Sep 2007 4:38 am

Ooh, it makes me wonder... Page is 63, and he kept himself at death's door with heroin for a lot longer than might be good for him. (?) He and Plant went on a two decade-long pub crawl that might've taken a toll too. I personally prefer musicians with some danger and darkness and pain in their music, there are way too many bands nowadays who sound like the worst blues they ever had was when Daddy took away their Gameboy batteries, but the older musicians who can still play with fire and conviction seem to be the ones who took the best care of themselves.

It just remains to be seen - is there still a bustle in the hedgerow?

P Gleespen · Post by **P Gleespen** » 12 Sep 2007 5:07 am

It just remains to be seen - is there still a bustle in the hedgerow?

Don't be alarmed now, but I think they may have actually run out of time to change the road they're on.

David L. Donald · Post by **David L. Donald** » 12 Sep 2007 9:06 am

Funny a rocker burns the candle a few decades and is CONSIDERED done for.

But a jazz man known to have 'seen it all, forever'
becomes a sweet playing veteran.. right up until deaths door.
60-80 and still playing, maybe not with the speed
and inventiveness of 45 to 55 or so,
but still considered great.

Well it's a harder school to get into in jazz.
Heck the doors hardly open till 40-50 years old.

So 63 in jazz is younger side of elder-statesman.
In rock it's geriatric excesses of the worst sort,
with few exceptions.

Bill Whyman gets better reviews for his big band album,
than his last 2 Stones tours or albums.
If not larger sales.

If Page can come up with a nice blues edge he feels,
and Plant doesn't try to recreate a voice from 40 years ago,
they could EASILY make some very listenable
and fun music.

Or they could just retread their old hits and over reach.
I think they have been on enough stages to know
the difference.
A heck of a lot more stages than the Police.
We'll see, or at least someone here might.

Addendum :
Just having heard a bit of Raising Sand.
Plant with Alison Krause
backed by Dennis Crouch from the Time Jumpers
and forumite Greg Liez too.

Check the video interview on the Amazon page.

Some super singing between them.
If Page can find a space to back Plant
doing what he clearly still does well.
Then it could be more magic,
just different magic than what we might expect.

Doug Beaumier · Post by **Doug Beaumier** » 12 Sep 2007 9:35 am

Lucky you, Doug!

Yes, I saw them in a small theater in 1969. For me, the most memorable part of the show was Bonham’s drum solo. Also, Page playing “Black Mountain Side” solo. Those solo performances stand out in mind.

Back in those days there was very little security at shows. A couple of my friends went early to watch Zepp unload and set up. It was about 3:00 in the afternoon, there was no one around, so they walked into the back of the theater, through a large open door, and watched the roadies set up. Then they sat in the 3rd row and watched the sound check. There was no one else in the theater. After the sound check Robert Plant came down and sat in the row right in front of them and chatted for about 15 minutes! He asked them about the city, where they went to school, etc.

The clubs back then had little to no security. I walked right up to the edge of the stage for a close-up view of the The Grateful Dead, Allman Bros, Flying Burrito Bros, James Brown, Aretha Franklin, The Byrds, The Who, Roy Buchanan, Frank Zappa, Mahavishnu Orchestra, and a lot of others. Those days are long gone.

Ron Whitfield · Post by **Ron Whitfield** » 12 Sep 2007 10:52 am

Unless you're a Mermen fan, then those day's are still alive and well.
They're one powerful and creative trio that has been around for a long time, play it differently every night, and in smaller venues to boot (and I mean small, like sometimes restaurant small!) with minimal ticket prices, ala 1970 (how quaint...).
www.mermen.net You can also check them out on youtube and at www.archive.org
And the bass player (Jennifer) is a surf babe!
Hmmmm, she's no longer listed among the currents.

Looks like the original bassist is back.

But overall, Doug, those were the days!

Barry Blackwood · Post by **Barry Blackwood** » 15 Sep 2007 9:50 am

"If Plant can't still hit the high notes he could at 21, why worry, half of us can't still HEAR them now, if he could."

David, that is funn-eee!

Ben Jones · Post by **Ben Jones** » 7 Nov 2007 9:39 am

I was just listening to Zep III today. theres pedal steel on there!
Thats the Way has alot of it actually....
what do you guys think of Pages steel playing?

I saw plant in the audience at cbgb's one night, he had an orange tan and asked "where are all the birds at?". Seemed nice enough.

Tucker Jackson · Post by **Tucker Jackson** » 10 Nov 2007 1:20 pm

Ben Jones wrote: I saw plant in the audience at cbgb's one night, he had an orange tan and asked "where are all the birds at?"

Apparently, nobody told him:
CBGB's for rock
Studio 54 for birds