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NealR2000

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  1. Every LZ album commenced with what I would describe as an "impact song". As beautiful as Bron-Yr-Aur is, it would never be a starter.
  2. In Peter's defense, he always made it clear that he left the band to focus on their music, and he took care of everything else.
  3. Vocals are the toughest instrument of all. Anyone else can have a bad night and it isn't so noticeable ... at least not as noticeable as a shot voice. Stinking cold. Bronchitis. The flu. Unless it's at the passing-out point, anyone but the singer can usually tough it out for a show. Even at Jimmy's worst, he could usually grind out a performance. On top of this, a singer, when on a long tour, has to protect the vocals chords, knowing there about 30 shows ahead of him. You might feel great one night, get a little too enthusiastic, and find out the next morning when you wake up that your voice is shot and needs 3 days to get back in shape. Too bad, you've got a big show before then and to cancel it will piss of the fans and cost a fortune in refunds.
  4. Yes, that Atlantic Reunion didn't stand a chance. Huge row over Stairway, as well as Zep getting delay after delay on a start time. Nerves (for Page) were resolved with alcohol, and the additional time meant a lot more alcohol. They were awful.
  5. The male voice not only gets deeper during adolescence where there's a rapid change, but it also tends to deepen very gradually throughout life. I'm no expert on why this second phase of voice deepening occurs, but I suspect it's due to wear and tear of ones vocal chords. Now add to that, the life of a professional singer, and add further to that, a professional singer like Plant, who in his younger years, really sang his lungs out.
  6. There was definitely a big difference in Page between the P&P 95 and 98 tours. In the former, Page was still drinking, evident by that bloated puffy look. By the latter tour, he looked much healthier, not to mention playing sharper (and doing all the guitar work alone).
  7. I know that there were indirect arguments between the band members on the 77 US tour. On this tour, "jobs" were given the members of the extended family members of the Bonham and Plant families as favors. The problem was, these family members didn't take their work too seriously and assumed it was a drunken funfest, not appreciating that fuzzy zone between family and work. Apparently, Jimmy would get angry and sack them, only to have the issue smoothed over later in the day. I think that if there were actual issues between band members, it was dealt with on an intermediary basis via Grant, with the best known example in the early days where Jimmy got Bonzo to not play so loud.
  8. I've seen a number of these fly-on-the-wall scenes, as well as read many, where bands come off stage and get into sometimes heated arguments over mistakes made during the performance. I don't recall reading anything about similar happenings with Zep. Does anyone know any different? On one hand, I suspect there were some, as Zep live wasn't always great, but on the other hand, I'm not so sure as the one at "fault" was invariably Page, and what with his position, I'm not sure any of the others would say anything. Don't get me wrong, I don't think any of the others were in awe of Page or intimidated by him, but I just don't see any of them challenging his musicianship.
  9. There's about as much out there about Robert's parents as there is about any of his peers parents. Very little. Some deep searching will reveal a few photos. As for his relationship with his father, you must appreciate what post war Britain was like. Robert, despite his good education, dropped out of the expected career path, grew his hair, began dating an Indian girl, and chose the life of a musician. In 1960s provincial Britain, this was sheer madness and caused a serious estrangement with his parents. When success came, naturally things worked out.
  10. The most telling moment of the O2 show was after it ended. Three of them went backstage to bask in the glory, celebrating with families, friends, guests, etc. Plant left immediately. He had his driver take him to a very modest kebab restaurant where I'm sure he thought about what he had just done. He'd done it. Sang Stairway, even. Surely this would finally shut the masses up now.
  11. It was well filmed. A great performance. It is the only way the millions of fans can enjoy it. Even a handful of additional shows would have been impossible for all but the very lucky to see. Be grateful for what we got. It was way more than we thought we would ever get.
  12. Not particularly scientific, but from his look and appearance, I'd say he got clean sometime between Page & Plant's 94 and 98 tours. I have no doubt that he had kicked the junk long before, but was still heavily drinking to at least the 94 tour, where he had the look of a drinker. By 98, and now doing guitar duties alone, he looked, and played, terrific.
  13. As private a person as Jimmy tries to be, I just can't see anything to write about that hasn't already been put out. Whether it's artist Jimmy or the debauched Jimmy, it's all been said already.
  14. Just to add to the reasons, if you have listened to a lot of the famous musicians from that same era, you get a lot of snide remarks about Zep. They have mellowed a lot these days, but many of their interviews from the past had some Zep bashing in them. I always thought that money was by far the biggest reason. Many of these famous musicians, even the Stones and the Who, got royally ripped off in the old days, coming back from grueling tours with not a lot to show for it. Meanwhile, Zep were breaking records and drowning in cash thanks to the ways of Peter Grant. I can't help but think that this affected their peers, who in their resentment, shot back with words like shrieking, bombastic, vulgar, loud, pompous, etc.
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