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Mercurious

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Posts posted by Mercurious

  1. Led Zep I meets just about every definition of psychedelic, and let's not forget how much work Jones and Page did in the different psych genres 1966-69, from Sunshine Superman to "Glimpses" to Her Satanic Majesties Request. Of course, the Yardbirds put the rock in psychedelic rock, and half of Led Zep I is atomic Yardbirds material (Dazed, HMMT, BMS, plus You Shook Me = New York City Blues crystallized). Of the non-Yardbirds stuff, "Your Time is Gonna Come" and "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" have a haunting psych vibe, and Babe had been covered by Quicksilver Messenger Service prior to Zep doing it, so that was becoming kind of a staple on the San Fran psych scene. 

    There were psychedelic moments throughout, from "What is and What Should Never Be" to the breaks in In the Evening and Carouselambra, and then the outright masterpieces -- Dazed, Friends, Levee, No Quarter and Kashmir.  Jones and Page discuss "The Pychedelic Legacy" of Led Zep in Jim Derogatis' book Turn On Your Mind: Four decades of great psychedelic rock (pp 388-390). 

    "The goal was synaesthesia -- creating pictures with sound." -- Jimmy Page 

  2. On 9/4/2017 at 9:45 PM, luvlz2 said:

    I went to see JBLZE recently and before leaving for the concert was deciding whether to wear one of my Zeppelin t-shirts or Robert Plant or maybe my C./P. t-shirt. I figured a lot of people would be wearing Zeppelin shirts, and at the last minute I decided on the C./P. shirt.

    On the way to the concert I was having second thoughts, thinking why am I wearing this to Jason's Led Zeppelin tribute? I should be wearing a Zeppelin shirt! It even occurred to me that I might even get into a fight over it. I said oh well, just stand my ground in case anyone decides to give me any kind of slack over it. I love this album and will stand my ground about my love for it, my love for Page's work! I certainly don't go around looking for any kind of fights in general, but you never know what could transpire at a concert.

    But when I arrived I immediately got a warm compliment over it from the first group of people who saw me, and I continued getting compliments all night long until I left the concert! Turned out it was a smart move! There were a lot of people wearing Zeppelin shirts...

    Great story!! And based on the recent comments on this thread, it appears that most of the animus on this forum about C/P back in 2008-10 is long gone. I keep going back to this record, even played it in a bar not too long ago, and the response was nothing but positive, as in "Hey, this is really good - what is it?" The go-to is "Don't Leave Me This Way", which toward the end soars with something of Kashmir or Achilles feel - classic Page, and great structural work, too. "Whisper a Prayer for the Dying" is also very strong structurally. The heavy droning dirge of "Take it Easy" typified the grunge era better than a lot of grunge did, imo. The album is a super strong, bluesy entry for the era, and has a diversity of content that most of the records of the time lacked. And yes, it was early enough to be "a grunge era" record, the beast still kicking in 1993 though not for long after.

    It's not perfect: there are the cringe-worthy lyrics of "Take Me" and a shameless pop offering on "Take a Look at Yourself".  But what was Page to do, rewrite the lyrics when Dave wasn't looking? Dump a song his bandmates obviously wanted to sing and replace it with one of his droning slack tuning experiments? (hmm, that would have been good). This was a different, more easy-going Page than the Led Zeppelin producer. I know, he's often criticized for having been too easy-going in The Firm, but things were working quite well in C/P, obviously.

    I'm no Coverdale fan by any means but I like him on this record, like him a lot. He and Page brought out the best in each other in 1992-93, and the remarkable thing is that their partnership probably shouldn't have worked at all.... 25 years later and I can't be much more impressed than I'm finding myself to be about the results.    

     

     

  3. On 2/10/2008 at 5:03 AM, mos6507 said:

    Rolling Stone's review is much fairer, and matches my opinions on it.

     

    http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/davidc...6/coverdalepage

    "Ooops - We can't find what you're looking for", Rolling Stone says when you click that link from the first part of the thread. "Page not Found" says my browser, pun intended, summing up my feeling on those early pages of the topic. How could anybody dislike this album? much less despise it so much as to start a troll topic on the Led Zep forum of all places?  Maybe it was Robert? 

  4. On 8/12/2017 at 8:00 PM, luvlz2 said:

    I agree with what Mecurious said too, except there is so much material on this thread now...

    Yes, I wish there was a way to move the more recent stuff, which is really good, especially the remembrances of 1993, and hearing "Pride and Joy" and "Shake my Tree" on the radio for the first time. I guess just leave it be, despite the trashing the album receives at the start of a thread, which, as unpleasantly hip and wrongheaded as the initial reviews were, they have historical value too.  

  5. I remember the excitement generated by the Who farewell tour in 1982, and also how flat they sounded with Kenny Jones yet sold all these stadiums out anyway. It was proof positive that Zep had done the right thing in breaking up, I thought, and suggested to me that Townsend was a bit callous about replacing Moon. Nothing could have been further from the truth, of course, as Moonie was very dear to Pete and the Who had The Kids Are Alright and the Quadrophenia films in the works when Moon died. The show had to go on, if only to promote the art, and it was the right thing to do for Quadrophenia in particular. Through the years many of the reunion performances have happened within the context of the two rock operas, which require Townshend and Daltrey to play together, and why hire anybody else but the Ox to play bass? Moon's death did have its effects and Townshend and Daltrey spent more time on other projects. Townshend's Empty Glass (1980) was a fine album - some think it's a masterpiece. Daltrey did a film on his own. They made Face Dances and It's Hard, a couple of so-so efforts but for "Eminence Front", did the farewell tour in 1982 and then broke up. They didn't last very long without Moonie - 4 years, with much of that time spent on other projects.

    Zep didn't have quite the artistic obligations Townshend had with the Quadrophenia, and its all apples to oranges anyway. While the Who were doing their farewell tour, the Death Wish II soundtrack was out and I was ecstatic about it, happy to hear new stuff from Jimmy and know that he had succeeded expectations to both the film and the album. It's still a terribly underappreciated album. Pictures at Eleven came out later in the year, and, lo and behold, Robert made a fine album which received a lot of radio play and was a good listen and I played it quite a lot that summer while doing a horrible job fingering Robbie Blunt's guitar chords. (Yeah, I was all but convinced Robbie Blunt was Jimmy). Those were proud days to be a Zep head, knowing that they had done the right thing in calling it quits yet were still creating good and sometimes great music for us, though separately.  

    But by 1990-91 the record stores have become cd stores and they're flooded with Led Zeppelin product. The people bought them, and they outsold everybody but Garth Brooks in the 1990s. How this translated into "we can't play with John Paul Jones" I will never understand, and most of what was said about now and than was and is bullshit, imo. I think from 1990 on the surviving members of the Who were more honest with themselves and their fans, let the critics howl and moan about the Tommy tour, which they did -- & who cares what the critics think anyway?

  6. On 7/19/2017 at 0:39 PM, badgeholder said:

    Presence is one that really stood out to me with the new remasters, where I thought the hi-res files were a bit dark, the CD a bit brittle, but the vinyl LP - perfect! On my system at least

    Yep. My ears exactly. The LP sounds perfect - many have mentioned the lack of a bottom end, but it's there in a big way on the original album (vinyl on turntable) to the point where I thought page had perhaps mixed himself down overmuch. As I was reading the comments, kept hearing the opening jump of HOFN and the stumble down of NFBM wondering what album everybody's listening to. Of course, it's the remastered CD, which is  "a bit a brittle" and the guitar is edgier. Tea for One, which has a certain warmth on the record, sounds chillingly cold on the CD. Listening to Royal Orleans on the laptop right now, and even in this less than ideal playback environment, it sounds fantastic. Page's attention to detail in arranging the guitar army is mesmerizing in either mix. 

    Presence is not the best Zep album, but it was my favorite of the original eight studio albums for many years (I tend to lean toward Houses these days).

  7. On 4/20/2016 at 5:28 PM, luvlz2 said:

    Glenn Hughes, Jason Bonham and producer Kevin Shirley have confirmed that Black Country Communion will reunite in 2017.

    Earlier today, Shirley took to his Facebook page to write: "We're refurbishing the fuel tanks and refitting the rocket. Getting ready for takeoff in 2017 again, and I'm fired up ... Who's ready for another dose of BCC!?"

    On his own Facebook page, Bonham posted a photo of Black Country Communion and simply added the caption "2017!!!"

    Hughes hinted at a possible reunion earlier in the day by posting a picture of the four musicians on Facebook and adding: "The lads ...to quote Joe this morning ... 'maybe it's time to break out the heavy bats again." In the comments, Glenn also added: "Thanks so much for your very kind messages ... We hear you ... & time is the HEALER ..." He then wrote in a separate posting: "Preparing BCC Rocket Ship Re-launch for 2017 all systems go."     Link

    "time is the HEALER" ???  What's that supposed to mean - this band had interpersonal issues that left wounds requiring healing?  What is it with these (ex) Deep Purple guys and their assorted band dysfunctions?!  I didn't think BCC was together long enough to have dysfunctions.

    Anyway any news on new BCC?

  8. 22 hours ago, Walter said:

    I was thinking MSG too. His hair looks a little shorter too, imo. 

    I have a shirt with that pic on it, but it's more pointillism than a photo.

    Edit:  I looked at the time line and he wore that shirt combo at Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Nassau, Philly, MSG, and Seattle - that I saw. 

    It's from Indianopolis, IND, Market Square Arena, 25 January 1975.  

     

    21 hours ago, JTM said:

    Fair enough, though if the picture had shown Jimmy swigging on a bottle of beer I'd think nothing of it, JD is not meant to be swigged.                                               I look at the picture and I'm reminded of someone I knew who would do that sort of thing, always had do more than everyone else, he never knew when to stop.         Alcohol wrecked his liver, killed him at thirty five years old. The twenty second anniversary of his death was on the 11th last week. I used to call him a knob head to his face, often pulled him about his going to far, he would just laugh.... 

    Apologies for being a bit morbid and sounding like an AA lecture.

    Ever been to Indiana?  You'd be slugging Jack too if you had to spend much time in Indy. Apologies in advance if you're from Indiana :)

     

  9. Plant in the 1980s.

    Page in the 1990s-2000 with Coverdale, Plant, Puff-Daddy (Platinum single) and the Black Crowes, plus all the work on the remasters.

    Jones in the 'aughts thru 2010 and beyond. 

    Interesting how this has played out.

  10. Ozone baby and Living Loving Maid would be good songs for bands not Led Zeppelin. Darlene would be my 3rd, not on the list.  Hot Dog also deserves every vote it got. Very surprised that Hats Off and Carouselambra were even on this list, much less getting the most votes.  Recount!

  11. On 5/23/2017 at 7:03 AM, SuperStatic said:

    Agreed, Zooma is a tour de force. It show cases JPJ's criminally underrated musicianship in spades. What I meant by Coverdale/Page being the "best over all" solo album by any of the guys is its AOR nature in comparison to Zeppelin's albums and not necessarily its musicianship (which was pretty stellar in itself imo).   

    Coverdale/Page went Platinum in the U.S. without a supporting tour, something neither Manic Nirvana or Fate of Nations achieved with tours. Coverdale/Page is a great rock record criminally underrated on this board yet oddly enough, was quite a bit more popular in its time than any album released by a solo Led Zeppelin member since Now and Zen in 1988 to present. The steady sales happened despite all of the negatives that surrounded its release -- the utter contempt Page fans had for the idea of our hero working with Coverdale; Plant being first and foremost among us, slagging C/P at every opportunity; no U.S. tour; Coverdale's really so bad so sad feeling stronger/can't wait any longer lyrics; and totally disdainful reviews by an increasingly hip American press suddenly filled with latent punk pretensions out to bury anything that sounded remotely metal. The Coverdale-Page record should have flopped in the grunge era. But it didn't. People who heard the radio release tracks, those who still listened to AOR radio (apparently, they were out there somewhere, and both "Pride and Joy" and "Shake My Tree" were top 5 hot rock hits), dug 'em and went out and bought the record.  Apparently, they played it for others who hadn't bought it initially and, by mid-1995, the album was certified Platinum.

    How and why did C-P become the best selling post-Zep solo effort of the last 25+ years? That's easy. From Page's opening reel on "Shake My Tree", Coverdale-Page is filled with killer rock riffs that put the bands of the day -- Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, Stone Temple Pilots, G n R (Use Your Illusion era), the Black Crowes, et al. to shame. Tracks like "Over Now" could easily be centerpiece tracks on any Soundgarden album and might be considered classics if they had been. No it's not as hip as Transient Random Noise Bursts (stereolab, 1993) or the great Porno for Pyros record or Independent Worm Saloon, the Butthole Surfers record JPJ produced that year, but hardly anybody bought that stuff and "Feeling Hot" rips like Reverend Horton Heat. If you can ignore the lame-o metal ballad banalities of Coverdale on "Take Me For a Little While" -- track 3 - skip it!!! -- by track six you begin to get the idea that you're listening to one of the best albums of 1993. Track 7 -- "Easy Does It" is classic psychedelic Page w/ noise guitar and another riff that shames the grunge era, and it seals the deal. Musicians are quite probably the reason this album got around. Skip track 8 -- is that Night Ranger or that song from St Elmo's Fire you want to forget? The next track, "Don't Leave Me This Way" is fantastic, a soaring progressive blues tour de force -- I wish the Firm had been this good, and I wish this had been track 3 instead of the metal ballad. Alright, I'm sold. Holy crap - "Absolution Blues" -- Jimmy is on FIRE. No wonder Plant picked up the phone. (EDIT - And they save the best for last: "Whisper A Prayer for the Dying" will haunt you for days and may feature an idea or two from the XYZ sessions swirling around in its mix - another brilliant statement on an album that didn't get its due yet found an audience anyway, on its own merits.)

    There really should be a new thread, a dedicated re-evaluation of the Coverdale-Page album on its own terms now that Jimmy is effectively retired (age 73) and we can try to look back on it with a clearer, depoliticized lens. This thread is old and nobody seems to have wanted to deal with the OP in years. 

  12. He really rips away during Bron-yr-aur Stomp in '77 doesn't he?  I can basically agree with most, if not all, of this ^^^^. He is a sculptor of sounds, and his setup w/ Showco for "Guitar Solo" is probably the thing he's most interested in on that tour.  To me he's Erich Zann (HP Lovecraft story) at that point, which suggests he's out on a limb and in a different place entirely than he was shredding away in 1973.  It's fascinating what he's trying to do there, and we can certainly say his interests r.e. guitar sound have changed a lot by then. Had he been feeling better physically, we may now look on it more logically as "the next step" from the changes in style he made in 1974-75.  ..... note on WS/BMS -- it's kind of a personal statement for him, a place where he may feel grounded; and we can probably say he gets lazy at times relaxing in good old DADGAD, a very meditative place to be.  

    As for 1980, I'm not familiar with The Damned (page liked them, later played with their drummer) so much but I do know that some of those licks he plays on the WLL jam in West Berlin can be found on Bauhaus records, and - fast forward 7 years - NY noise bands like Live Skull, Sonic Youth and Band of Susans.  In 1980 that is new, new, new stuff to everyone's ears, a kind of No Wave of sorts, and it underscores heavily that Jimmy Page is no ordinary guitar palayer or person.  I wish he had gone further down that path, and maybe that's what he and  Bonham were playing on the next record, who knows?  Anyway, sure sounds like Page knows what he's up to on those pieces (TUF as well).

    We've hijacked this topic, I'm sorry about that, all, it was done out of good will, certainly ... 

  13. 3 hours ago, Mithril46 said:

    Yeah, great idea. There is ample evidence for and against this topic. As a guitar player, I will say ultimately that Jimmy at

    his highest technical ability is not far off from any of the shredders mentioned.

    I was going for the Trampled Under Foot effect, and also thinking of that other thread where the topic was "Was Jimmy's peak 1973?". If one says he's at his best in 1969 is that an endorsement of the blues, the telecaster, the effects he's using in April 1969, his mental state or that only Hendrix can touch Zep live at that point in rock history?  If one says it is 1972-3 is that an endorsement of his chops, the "Houses of the Holy" material, the advanced state of "dazed and confused" (and high fret speed), the good pick feel he had in New York, or Showco's advancements?  How does the Led Zeppelin fan come to terms with the dissonance and jazz playing added to his repertoire in 1975?  Is "Sick Again" supposed to sound sick or is he just using that mess to warm up?

    Jimmy Page gives even the greatest of Led Zeppelin fans a lot to think about. He himself has always said that technique doesn't enter into it - that the guitar is merely an instrument for expressing ideas and emotions. Right there, he's got us. To get too much into technique is to miss the point, and isn't being a Zep-head on this forum a nod to the idea that one "gets" Jimmy Page's point? A discussion of Page's guitar technique may not be appropriate for this forum, and I would suggest that it's probably not (not my call, thankfully). This is not the place for Blackmore fans to take shots at Jimmy Page, which is what the question of technique invites and the ditch where the discussion invariably heads, every time. (Hey, I like Highway Star, too, but it's just irrelevant to Jimmy Page's musical approach in 1974-75 - isn't Page quite deliberately heading in a different direction?) 

    3 hours ago, Mithril46 said:

    Page is looking at the integrity of the whole song, not focusing on the solo as the centerpiece. This is important to this thread.

    Bullseye!  I would add that any discussion of pick technique such as the one that happened in the first 1/3 of this thread is largely irrelevant to Jimmy Page, who has always said he struggles with pick technique, and has always said that mistakes are often the most interesting and vital things that happen when playing live. To paraphrase Page again - Technique does not enter into it

  14. On 3/22/2017 at 5:20 AM, Brigante said:

    Thinking about it, this piece only says that Jimmy's active discussions 'may be' about Led Zeppelin. Which means that, equally, they 'may not be'...

    Could be something Yardbirds related.  Clearing out the vaults. Finally issuing "Knowing that I'm losing You" (the original "Tangerine")?  Maybe he found a way to

    clean up the Anderson Theater recording. Or the devastatingly good LA Shrine shows.  What's better than the Jimmy Page Yardbirds in their final days blasting

    through "Waiting for the Man"?  (Oh, right - Led Zeppelin blasting through "As Long As I have You" medley). 

    Could be about the Joe Cocker single too - "With a Little Help From My Friends" was a 1968 event. 

  15. On 1/29/2012 at 2:47 AM, Strider said:

    The other thing happening was the traveling Dunking Circus that was that year's Philadelphia 76ers team was coming to town and playing the Lakers at the Forum that night...see second photo below. This was Julius "Dr. J" Erving's first season in the NBA after many years as an ABA god, and he and the 76ers were tearing the league up. Dr. J, George McGinnis, World B. Free, Steve Mix, Doug Collins, Harvey Catchings, Caldwell Jones, Darryl Dawkins(who named his dunks), and Joe Bryant(Kobe's father). Gene Shue was the coach. At a time when most games didn't sell out, Philadelphia was drawing SRO crowds everywhere they played...and tonight's game at the Forum was no exception. Plus, just to show you how times have changed in the NBA, the top ticket price for Laker games that year was $8.75. That's right, $8.75 got you near Jack Nicholson.

    After a couple of dismal seasons of missing the playoffs, the Lakers were also looking pretty good in Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's second season with the Lakers. LA was in a dogfight with Bill Walton and the Portland Trailblazers that year, and they had recently tied the Laker team record for home victories in a row at 17. Tonight at the Forum against Philly, they would go for the record. Besides Kareem, there was Cazzie Russell, Don Ford, Don Chaney, Kermit Washington, and a spectacular talented rookie out of Marquette, Earl Tatum. And who was coaching our Lakers? None other than Mr. Laker and Mr. NBA himself, Jerry West.

    Applause for your trip down the lost American highway and the Zep '77 experience. I'm really enjoying the reading. 1977 was the year I became a fan of that Ken Stabler Raiders team, but my NBA allegiances were to that team in the Midwest that traded Kareem to the Lakers. Which brings me to the point of this reply --  If you get some time, check out the Karol K channel on Youtube.  Karol posts full video of late 1970s and early 1980s playoff games, the perfect medicine for any old school basketball Jones. There are 1977 playoff games posted and available now, including a few of your '77 Lakers. Last week watched the game 6 where Kareem scores 43 vs. Clifford Ray and Golden State. There is no charge for any of this, and no media conglomerate is striking any of the games she posts.  It's too good. Sounds like you would dig it.

    While those games are free to watch, top available ticket for Sunday's Clippers-Jazz game is over $3,000.   The sticker shock has frozen my laptop.

  16. 9 hours ago, Crimson Avenger said:

    I think Dazed is probably the culprit for many people's poor assessment of 1975. .....

    As for the rest of 75, he's usually on it throughout and has done his homework for the tour. Just take almost any OTHAFA or TU, for example. I'm listening to TU from 18th May as I type, and it's great. He's good from the beginning too... I'm skeptical about the effect we hear 40 years on from the broken finger; it's hard to spot a difference between Brussels and Chicago. The early shows are shorter, but he plays well in January too. A decent board tape from Jan 75 would be most welcome.

    1977, sure, he's down a notch or two, for whatever reason. But not 1975.

    He's feeling alright by the time they hit Madison Square Garden in early February, and they play Dazed for the first time on the tour. Chicago's a rough one for Plant - really struggling with the cold.   Your assessment is pretty similar to mine.  Dazed in 1973 is so good I can't imagine playing that any better, but I do enjoy the 1975 versions also. TU is something he doesn't have in 1973, and that backwards sounding bent wah wah noise on it is all too wicked and strange. I love that stuff. His solos on NQ in 1975 are advanced from the smooth 1973 solo, and one can see that he's going for a dissonant approach and introducing new ideas in his playing, an electric noise and jazz touch.  By opening the 1975 sets with Sick Again, they are challenging the listener with new material and the new tone and approach on guitar.  Earl's Court he's a little stiff to start out, imo, but Sick Again is supposed to sound sick, like falling down, so there is some cinema verite happening there. I think his doctor no doubt told him to lay off the guitar and let the finger heal, so I don't think he plays very much between the end of the U.S. tour in March and the Earl's Court shows in May.  However, by NQ he's loosened up, and when he hits the wah to drive the solo to its end, he's on. There are much, much better shows than Earl's Court from that tour.

    Overall, his playing is more diverse in 1975, and the material has grown as well, imo. One might say he didn't want to tell the same old same stories he told in 1972-73, so he made some changes to keep the material fresh.  "Tangents within a framework" indeed.

  17. It was cut and dried that Skidmore and the Wolfe Trust (which exists in name only - there is no such legal trust anywhere in the U.S.) could only claim the deposit copy of the music, not the recording.  That they're asking the appeals court for an oral argument is an indication that this is just a publicity stunt to tarnish the reputation of Led Zeppelin and increase sales of Spirit's music, in whatever format. These people "harbor nefarious motives," there can be little doubt.

    Judge Klausner should have thrown the suit out but let it move forward so that a jury could make the call. It's not likely they'll find an appellate court judge who wants the publicity; there's no currency in it - federal judicial appointments in the U.S. are lifetime appointments. 

    I also can't find anything in the 90-page filing that says anything about the $800,000 bill - I think the digital music news reporter may have made a mistake. Judge Klausner ruled that Skidmore and the Wolfe did NOT have to compensate Time Warner/Led Zep for the fees. 

    If there were laws against crazy people with nefarious motives getting publicity we'd have to jail most of our politicians.

  18. 2 hours ago, BledZabbath said:

    It would've been cool if they picked Bill Ward, I remember reading once that at an awards show or something, I can't remember now and I've tried googling it up, that Plant said if they ever regrouped, Ward would be the guy to fill Bonham's shoes, the only guy that would be able to do it, something to that effect.

    Maybe some of the experts on here could help me?

    I remember clearly an episode of "That Metal Show" where Ward (he was the guest) said that he liked Page on a personal level (not just as a guitar player) and that the one person he had not played with in his life who he really wanted to before the end was Jimmy.

  19. On 3/31/2017 at 3:44 PM, Mithril46 said:

    Some know this, some don't. When Zep was inches away from a worldwide tour in ( 91' ?) almost positive Plant wanted

    Scott Gorham from Faith No More as drummer. Plant actually said at one point of Jason( around that time) "He's not that

    good". Gorham was no Bonzo but was a first rate very versatile drummer. Not trying to knock Jason, but at that

    almost reunion tour , judging a bit from the Outrider tour with Jimmy, Jason occasionally played near his father's

    level, but overall maybe just above average at most. He also may have been a liability due to the drug/ alcohol

    problems he had. Possible spelling mistake, Gorham, or Gorman ??

    Steve Gorman?  He's the Black Crowes drummer. Faith No More guy is Mike Bordin. Both good drummers.  Agreed about Jason. There are nights on Outrider that are painful to watch. Other nights are brilliant. 1991 sounds right - I remember the rumors about Bordin being the guy they had chosen. Seriously? that guy?  Too metal, I thought. Robert had misjudged the American market throughout the 1980s, and he must have been jolted that the Zep CD catalog was outselling his solo stuff. They had so much product out there, the new comp package, and everything else, why not go out and introduce yourself to the Gen Xers buying the stuff?  For a moment, Robert was swayed. But only for a moment. Instead he began doing Zep covers with his band.

  20. On 2/1/2017 at 6:25 PM, CBR_1000RR said:

    Was that the absolute best form he was ever in over the course of his career?

    Listening to the 1973-1-22 Southampton show was mind-blowing with his playing. The band was a little sluggish on Rock and Roll, but by the time they hit Black Dog, Jimmy takes off from there. The pick work seems effortless and his fingers seem to just dance on the strings. I love his playing no matter the year, but while people say 1968-1973 was his window, I feel like 1973 is just him being effort less and displaying incredible dexterity that flows. 

    Difficult to argue with any of this. In terms of "dexterity that flows" he really does hit a peak in 1972-73. He's in better physical shape then, I suppose, than later on, or when he was dealing with the fractured fret finger. He was also aided by the new material 72-73 -- he doesn't have No Quarter in 1970-71. He's got Thank You.  He flows all over that, but after a while it's pentatonic jamming, effortless free and easy. The Rain Song and TSRTS help, too, and so does OTHAFA, which gives him a chance to get into some dissonant playing. What they're doing in Dazed 72-73 is simply awe-inspiring. When we hear guitarists talking about Jimmy Page changing their lives, they're usually talking about those years or 1969, when he's just blowing people's minds on those early tours.

    But I'd take No Quarter from  1977 over 1973 versions BECAUSE it's not effortless. I think it's more thoughtful playing, more expressive. He's definitely adopted a dissonant jazz phrasing and, no, it's not always smooth. Often it wasn't supposed to be. I also like all that wah noise on Trampled Under Foot, so there we have new material, new ideas, more dissonance. He may not be playing "better" in the political sense, but I think he's communicating more in 1975. In 1977 we have Achilles instead Dazed, and i can't make a call on that. The best thing about Page is that he doesn't just stay in one place -- he keeps evolving and devolving, not changing with the times but in what he wants to say with his playing. This is different from the question of "how" he was playing.  

  21. On 3/18/2017 at 9:40 PM, SteveAJones said:

    I'm still stunned that Robert so publicly threw Phil Johnstone under the bus like that. Johnstone was responsible for one of his biggest hits, Heaven Knows, and contributed to many others. By "horses for courses", I think Robert's suggesting that out of necessity they each found themselves collaborating with musical partners they otherwise would not have. 

    There's that rotten side of Robert again, hahaha.  The "he's a fucking idiot" comment is a helluva blurt, if that's what he thinks of Coverdale.  The way he rounds that up, though, the "he" in "he's a fucking idiot" is probably Page for working with Coverdale, not Coverdale for being one, despite the "can hardly wait any longer/feelings growing stronger" lyrical banalities.  The writer interviewer might have clarified this for us, since at first glance it reads like he's calling Coverdale an idiot, though he's likely implying that he and Page were idiots for working with Johnstone and Coverdale. Oh, that Robert, hahaha.  He's managed to call four people idiotic, himself included, even as Page is refusing to answer the question!! 

  22. 17 hours ago, the chase said:

    He probably wasn't being serious. 

     I thought Robert's answer about John Paul Jones was honest and made some sense. But it was handled wrong. A call, business meeting, something was called for out of "professional courtesy" as Steve rightly put it, if not a professional obligation.   His one liners and sarcastic wit cause a lot of unnecessary problems and bad feelings.

    I find Jimmy Page more disappointing, at least in this interview.. He didn't, from what I gather have any type of issue with David Coverdale. Pleading the 5th was odd and kind of wimpy. 

    they're going to stay on the same page as much as possible in any interview, but it's all BS.  Robert just wanted to use his guys and maintain control. Just watched the entire 10/3/1995 blue ray show from Irvine, CA -- Robert actually makes a Herman's Hermits crack in his stage banter, his usual poke at Jones. It's all too much.  I know, someone will say it's all part of Robert's sense of humor, and that these are good=natured jokes --- but the guy he's trying to jive with isn't there!!  It's just too much. His knocks about replacing the hurdy gurdy player (Eaton) right before his solo also come off as a bit on the mean side. He's got a rotten side, that much seeps through. 

    And what's he talking about, new stuff? It's entirely Led Zeppelin with some different arrangements & orchestration. To say Page-Plant was a project unto itself is just semantics, PR lawyering by a singer who lacks sincerity. I passed on a couple of chances to get tickets for this tour because there was no Jonesy. I missed an amazing show but I don't regret it one bit.

     

  23. 48 minutes ago, tenyearsgone21 said:

    So what he doesn't want much with Zep. They agreed the band was done when Bonham passed. They all agreed. Maybe feelings changed down the line but Robert chose not to revisit Zep full time. I don't know why he's a bad guy but Page hasn't done shit for years except remaster zep records a bunch of times but that's wonderful? I appreciate it but I respect Robert for doing his own thing more. And just cause Shaken wasn't his finest hour I wouldn't put down what he did following which I think was some of his best work. 

    Some of it was pretty good, once you get past the Tall Cool Devo riff. There was too much other great stuff happening back then to pay Robert much mind. He's been playing Zep for decades now, just not with the guys who wrote the music, which is just sad. 

    Meanwhile, Jimmy's giving us the full BBC sessions,  a slew of Led Zeppelin construction pieces with each reissue, and the Soundtracks box with all of its soundscapes no one had heard before. He's doing exactly what some Zep heads want him to do, and I appreciate it.  He issued a new album of covers yesterday that he produced in 1961 for Chris Farlowe -- 1961 !!! It's a cool piece of history and sounds great. How people slag him for not playing with people like Dave Grohl or rehashing Devo riffs, for example, is beyond me. I don't need him to be anybody or do anything he doesn't feel like doing, and he's already given us a lifetime of the best rock ever made, and more of his genius than we have a right to.

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