Robert Plant


I’ve been a Zeppelin fan since I was a little kid. Was obsessed with them in high school. I always thought Plant was one of the best singers in rock and roll. A lot of people still do. I never saw Zep but did see Plant in concert several times in the 80s/90s.

 

Over the decades I find that I don’t listen to Zep all that much for whatever reason.

 

This Christmas Eve morning I stayed home from church because of a nasty cold and dug out some of my old LPs. One of them was a bootleg (at the time) of Zeppelin's live BBC performances. I bought it used in 1984 for $20 which was a ton of money for me back then. (You can get this on Qobuz etc now.)

 

About 4 minutes into Whole Lotta Love the band lapses into a blues/Elvis medley of songs that is simply epic. The entire band is right on point and amazing as always but in this medley Plant really shows you his stuff. The range, the control, the timing, the soul. All there. Is he the best rock and roll singer ever? I can think of a lot of challengers to that idea but he’s certainly up around the top.

Give this song a listen. The initial part of Whole Lotta Love is not my favorite. But this medley and the ending are Zeppelin at its best.

Merry Christmas all.

n80

@au_lait  I think Big Log is one of, if not THE best Plant solo song of all. Takes me back to my college days while courting my first and current wife.

@re-lar-kvothe I was also devastated. I was a sophomore or junior in high school in the football locker room when one of the other football players told me. He did not like Zeppelin and thought I was weird for liking them so much and he told me in a mean spirited way. What's worse, is that my parents had tentatively given me permission to drive up to Greensboro, NC with a friend to see Zeppelin. It would have been my first solo overnight car trip.

Wonderful story about meeting Plant. I'm always a little leery of meeting my heroes. It can be disappointing. So glad Plant was cool.

@dmguaragno Agree. I've always been a bit disappointed at the sound quality of most of their stuff. Glad Plant sorted that out in his solo stuff for the most part.

@willy-t Yes! The Honeydripper's EP is excellent. My CD seems well recorded. Plant tackles these old standbys with aplomb but also with respect. Sea of Love got lots of radio time and is superb but my favorite track is Young Boy Blues. And talk about a star-studded line-up: Page, Plant, Nile Rodgers, Jeff Beck, Brian Setzer, Robbie Blunt, Dave Weckl (!) on drums, Paul Schaffer. Unbelievable really.

I try to not listen to them on the radio so I can enjoy them on my system.

@dodgealum YES!!! I Love Plant but was always blown away by Bonham and Jones. They were the backbone of the music. When they showed up  the fight begins, so to speak. Their contribution to the band's tone was demonstrative and emotional on an almost guttural level. When they laid down the beats you knew someone was in the room. To this day, when Achilles Last Stand is played anywhere I get goosebumps.Call them what you will, they were the best R&R band ever assembled.

@n80 

Both at the same time?.....ah the good ol' days

" Takes me back to my college days while courting my first and current wife."

Regards,

barts