I can't say that anything about In Through the Out Door strikes me as "cheesey", much less the keyboards and I've been a diehard fan since the earlly 70s. Did people want Zeppelin to be a one note type band that never progressed or experimented with different sounds?

Jones made it clear in press reports that the last thing they were looking for were "soundalike" singers. They also never had any plans of touring under the name "Led Zeppelin".

Just saw a weather report for the United Arab Emirates on The Weather Channel. Snow is such a rare event over there that there's no word for it in their vocabulary: United Arab Emirates Mountains Covered In Snow

There was never any plan to record or tour under the name Led Zeppelin or to find a soundalike singer.

Then there's those of us that take in several forms of media from all sides and form our own opinions.

I have no idea what the "best" song on Raising Sand or any album is but I do have favorites. I have many from Raising Sand, this week it's probably Killing the Blues. I also love the versions done by John Prine (the first place I ever heard it) and Chris Smither. I've noticed some come into this record expecting to hate it right away. If you already have those preconceived notions I very seriously doubt you'll like it as it doesn't sound remotely like anything either he or Alison have ever done before. As for the ongoing and pointless argument of what Plant should be doing. I think he's doing exactly what he wants which is all that's important to me. It also appears Page has no interest in doing a tour or recording new material. The likelihood of that living up to fans' and critics' expectations even if Plant were involved is also very slim so it's probably best to leave well enough alone.

I remember Kingdom Come and am even guilty of buying one of their cassettes at the time. They were also one of many bands that were the target of the Gary Moore/Ozzy single Led Clones but I can't say I recall ever hearing about Great White being accused of being a Zeppelin soundalike band. Yes, they did their fair share of covers but they didn't even do the album of Zep covers until well after their star had risen.

Though Presence is definitely the more guitar oriented of the two, I don't think either of those records lack any depth.

Wouldn't it be more fun and keeping with the context of the original concert to not have permission?

I don't really have a problem with downloading either. I also don't mind people using leaks to decide if they want to buy an album or not. Just so long as they do buy it if they like it. As mentioned in another recent thread about downloading, a study done within the last couple of years showed that those that download the most music also purchase the most music. That makes complete sense to me as those are your hardcore music fans. The aspects of downloading that I'm not so fond of are mp3's and how they've become the norm. Once CDs stop being manufactured and downloading becomes the primary source of obtaining new music I certainly hope mp3s aren't going to be the only option. Even though I'm hard pressed to tell the difference between a mp3 and an uncompressed file, the fact remains, they are still compressed and therefore inferior in sound quality to uncompressed files. Everyone from Lou Reed to T Bone Burnett have pleaded with the industry to not allow mpg3's to become the norm. The sad part is, casual music fans who don't know the difference (or simply don't care) are the ones driving sales. As long as money is being made the industry at large could give a shit about something as minor to them as hardcore music fans that insist upon the best sound quality available. They just want to see money in the bank. If I want to use iTunes on my computer I can either start buying stuff via the Apple store or start using iTunes to save my entire collection to my computer. I know I will have to do that at some time since downloading is fast becoming the only option for obtaining music but I honestly don't have the patience for it. Especially considering my collection now stands at something like well over 1,000 CDs. In regards to the artwork, sure it's nice to have PDFs saved to your computer that you also have the option of printing out but nothing will ever replace the joy of unwrapping a vinyl record for the very first time and sitting down to listen to it while reading the liner notes and taking in the album artwork. Some have also made a lot of how downloads brings music back to a time of listening to music one song at a time. I've never been all that bothered by that either since singles have pretty much always been big. That said, I think there's also a lot to be said for listening to an entire album. There's a certain beauty to how some albums are sequenced and enjoying listening to them in that way. There's also the fun of resequencing an album for your own enjoyment. Singles are great but they will never replace the joy of taking an album in as whole, as they were originally intended to be heard by the artists themselves. I also used to enjoy making mixtapes which are another true artform but there's also a lot to be said to the album itself as an artform.

Your story reminds me of my last Ryan Adams concert a couple of years ago in Charleston, SC. For one it was a strange scene since Riverdance or sort of play/musical was going on in close proximity to the venue where Ryan was playing so you had ball gowns and tuxes mixed in with rock n' roll concertgoers. Upon entering the venue where Ryan was playing there were drunk teenagers (mostly girls) that couldn't hold their liquor. One actually had to be carted in in a wheelchair since she was so shitfaced she was unable to walk. There was also a drunk girl seated next to us that was completely out of it during the entire concert. When it was all over she was still in her seat passed out. I guess security had to do something with her. I know everyone likes to get their drink on on occasion but some of that was just plain pitiful to see. "I think I'll get so wasted that I don't remember any of the concert and remain passed out throughout the entirety of it".

I'm no Great White fan but they did stand out from the other "hair bands" of the day as they weren't just a group of pretty boys churning out songs that bordered on "pop", they actually knew how to rock. I also take deference to the use of the word "bar band" as though it's some kind of an insult. I once described Lynyrd Skynyrd as a "bar band" on one of their boards only to be met by a bunch of pissed off fans who took it as an insult. It's as though they had no knowledge whatsoever of the bands' history or their approach to music in general. I think, taken in the proper context, "bar band" is very complementary. Given today's impersonal enormo-domes there's a lot of artists I'd much rather see in a bar such as Z.Z. Top. There's a reason big groups like the Stones still do the occasional club shows prior to the start of a tour, it's way of connecting with their fans that just doesn't happen when they're playing large arenas.

I keep reading that In the Evening is the only "rocker" on In Through the Out Door. I guess it depends on how you define "rocker" but what exactly are Southbound Saurez, Fool In The Rain, Hot Dog and Carouselambra, funeral dirges?

I agree. I've found some artists' b-sides to be some of their best material. A prime example of this is R.E.M. Another one would be Bob Dylan, even though the latest installment in his Bootleg Series (Telltale Signs) is mostly outtakes and reworked material it shows just how strong his stuff is that was initially bound for the cutting room floor. Some songs are also not included simply because they don't fit the "feel" of an album so it's not always that the artist in question thought they were "bad" songs. As Peter Buck wrote in the liner notes to R.E.M.'s b-side, outtakes, etc. collection Dead Letter Office: "A little bit of uh-huh and a whole lot of oh yeah."

Then, there's this from Ian's website: http://www.macspages.com/faces.htm The rehearsals were a lot of fun, everybody was in fine form, and things are looking good for a gig or two next year, but these things take time to work out and I'm just going to wait until there's something solid to report, so I'm not getting excited just yet. ............I'm holding my breath

I would place all blame for "toying" on the press and not on any of the surviving Faces. We've all seen how they twist things about the surviving members of Zeppelin and the Grateful Dead as well as others. I don't see this as being any different especially when the source is NME.

Not everyone issues new records on vinyl but quite a few do such as Pearl Jam, R.E.M., Plant/Krauss, Van Morrison, Dylan, the Drive-By Truckers, Ryan Adams and several others. You can also find reissues on vinyl from the likes of the Beatles, Zeppelin and the Beach Boys. I'm just glad to see there's still a market for it. It goes to show they never should have removed vinyl from record store shelves to start with.

Stewart, Flea Refute Faces Reunion Reports

She may be on both, who knows. If I see her on I usually flip right past her. Either way, Headline News is part of the CNN organization. If I'm not mistaken it's billed as CNN Headline News so I could see where someone could refer to her as being on CNN though they are two different channels.

One of my first record players was one of those combo deals from Sears which I had for years. Later I was gifted with an Aiwa receiver to which I added both a Pioneer cassette deck and CD player. I forget the brand name of my speakers and turntable. In any event, I'm sure their all in dire need of an upgrade. When going through some of my old stuff in recent years I also found myself unable to part with an old portable phonograph that folds up, speakers and all. I've searched online for a photo of one but can't find any. Back to the subject of more unusual turntables, here's one.

I can't stand her either but it looks like she is: http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/nancy.grace The last time I was flipping channels she was still going on about the Caylee case. Which is the exact same thing she was talking about the last time I flipped past her. Kinda reminds me of Geraldo and his OJ fixation. National news has become sensationalist enough that I have zero tolerance for programs such as hers.

I see nothing whatsoever the matter in engaging in a bit of revisionist history in regards to resequencing In Through the Out Door but in all honesty I like it just the way it is. I also never had a problem with it (bad reviews or not) when it was initially released.

It seems to be the general consensus among fans that they favor Clapton's work with Cream and Derek and the Dominoes over his solo output. As far as the "Clapton Is God" sloganeering I tend to agree. That said, I also enjoy a great deal of his solo work, 461 Ocean Boulevard especially. On his recent tour Clapton has included the likes of Robert Cray, Doyle Bramhall and Derek Trucks in his band. I think the main reason was to light a fire in Clapton himself again. From most accounts I've heard and read from those that attended shows on his last tour, it seems to have worked. All that said, my favorite guitarist out of Clapton, Beck and Page remains to be Page. The only guitarist I like more would be the late great Jimi Hendrix. I would also put Duane Allman right up there.

When Sarah Palin was speaking during the Republican convention I honestly had no idea if I was watching live national news coverage or Comedy Central. When Tina Fey started appearing on SNL again doing her dead on impression of Palin that blurred the lines between reality and comedy even further.