Very true DD, very true. 1977 Grant bears even more responsibility for the total loss of control of the band's management. Think about it - Grant , Cole, and Page all had the power to call the shots if one of the others failed in their responsibilities. If Jimmy said "Enough !" that would have been it, same with Grant and Cole. The common bond with all three was that cocaine and heroin had crept in and taken all of them, the top of the Zeppelin pyramid, captive. Bonham too was a victim but he needed help from someone in charge - but no one was in any kind of shape to help John or to right the sinking ship. (note Robert's lyrics on Carouselambra). Richard Cole was simply not up to the security task while under the influence of a powerful drug and neither was Peter or Jimmy.

Virginia, I'm a Connecticut Yankee, and you're a Southern Belle...and your Beauty, then and now, is more than skin deep, and your presence here is by far the most welcome one of all. If you can only imagine the many, many breaths you stole when you suddenly appeared on the screen as Robert's " Holy Grail "...mine included. And now, along with your grace, class, and talent you've stolen them all once again. *) My Fair Lady indeed.

I'm not panning Richard - at least not until 1977. At that point he was coked out and he had thugs as his security force. He lost control of a very important part of a successful tourng band like Zeppelin. Security needs to be heavy handed only when there is absolutely no other choice. Cole just let the animals run the zoo, while the white stuff was running him and, sadly, the band as well.

Richard Cole...hmmm, wouldn't it be interesting to hear Robert Plant ask him a question or two...For me - Richard did his best up until 1977 when all hell broke loose and the Zeppelin name was tarnished under his watch.

Well said Scarlet! I hope this thread ends here. It's their own business anyway - not ours!

Yeah - Robert was a fuck-muffin.......right. Get to know your story.

Sounds like Robert is the one who had his heart broken after reading this story...

Agreed Scarlet, it IS sad and pathetic...all too much so.

Sounds and looks like this Audrey gal made the "rounds" if you will. Ahh, the seventies - when true love was a merry-go-round of sex, lies, and cassette tapes. I would have thought Robert would have known better than to fall for girls like Audrey. But hey, love is blind, even for our Heros. :-(

If "Wearing and Tearing" was included on ITTOD instead of "Hot Dog" or "Fool in the Rain" it would have been a killer album. Still, "In the Evening" is such a standout along with the entire side 2 that it makes ITTOD a very good listen.

Ahh, well said, - how true. Jimmy was never ever a perfectionist on guitar. He plays as is - wreckless and non-technical - always on the verge of another train wreck. But when he pulls it off his genius is see "perfectly" clear to see. Shining and glowing. However his "mistakes" are always just as clear, and depending on your viewpoint and your preferences you can forgive and go on living with Jimmy as he is. Clapton, Beck, and the other "purists" have their place but I'd much, much prefer to be in Jimmy's train wreck anytime.

As a working DJ who sets up all his own sound equipment in every kind of hall, bar, outside venue, etc. I would have to agree with the posters here who lay the feedback issues on Jimmy. Jimmy should have been able to control his volume, gain, and wah in order to help eliminate any feedback and help the FOH guys monitor and adjust for Jimmy's adjustments if he had backed off the volume and gain. But alas Jimmy went forward with his settings and the result was ear-splitting feedback and a weird distortion that was way out of place. When my rig gets crazy, feedback is always an issue in certain venues and volume levels and mic placements, I have to pull it back and get it under control - it happens at my mixer and the amps respond accordingly to their input, and that's where I have to know what to adjust. And Jimmy should have also. Plain and simple.

In Through the Outdoor was a Plant, Jones, Page co-production no? Wasn't Page too strung out during the early part of production and recording to play a major role in studio or with the over-all scheme of that album?

I have the Deluxe edition and if I may offer some quick thoughts: Jason - fuckin' awesome! Every song he played his ass of and played so well! Robert - Lower register, mimed some forgotten lyrics, over-all though he was a true front man and a mature power-house! Jimmy - abbriveated solos, and a malfunctioned Dazed and Confused, but he was so amazing! Power full-filled and a true artist! John Paul - yes, lost in the mix early on but comes back with IMTOD very strong and every song after. He's the un-sung hero of this Band. A true professional and on point with every song! The technical difficulty of mixing out the very bad and inexcuseable feedback on the first 2 songs leave us with a poor audio mix that finally gets righted by the time Black Dog comes along. Nothing a engineer can do with such a bad start to the audio that night. Overall - amazing and true to the Zeppelin Legacy.

Perfect Question! I would add to that: Why is Robert continually showing you how to make new and exciting music from old, but treasured, pieces and yet you ignore his efforts and do nothing that is current and worth talking about?

i don't know, really, does it matter how many takes it took to get a good, but not great, solo? Yes it would be cool if he did it in 3 or less takes but Jimmy is such a perfectionist he probably pieced together the Heartbreaker solo and lost track on just how many "pieces" it took in the end. 1, 3, 10, 100 - it all blended together for him to get what he wanted. Which in the end was just a good solo and fit the song. Nothing earth-shaking. Now, it would be a REAL revelation if we can find out how the hell he did the Achilles Last Stand Opus with a million over-dubs and is sooo epic and grand as well as the rest of Presence in such a short time...IMO ALS is a much, much better guitar based song than STH will ever be. ALS may be the best and most intense guitar based song ever pieced together! Just give a close listen - there's a lot going on in that song! Forget the Heartbreaker non-sense...