Did anyone see Coverdale on BBC1 breakfast time tv this morning? I thought his head was gonna explode from all the botox - scary!

Ha Ha! I know what you mean. I hated Rush back in the late 70s coz a kid in my class at school loved them and was always baiting me that they were better than zep and were gonna steal their crown. Over the years they have grown on me a bit and when Geddy Lee stopped screeching like a scalded cat they sounded a lot better. Technically brilliant eg XYZ (no vocals a bonus!) but emotionally soul less you either love them or hate them i guess!

It's bizzarre why he would want to go back to the hair metal look of the late 80s when he is 62!!! He looks ridiculous and i remember him swearing years ago he would never have plastic surgery! When he released Into the Light back in 2000 he had his hair back to it's natural brown and in a shorter trendy style - he looked great!

Thanks for posting these lyrics! I never knew the significance partly because they are so buried in the mix and it's hard to decipher them! The song takes a whole new meaning now though it's still let down by the annoying parping synths and disco euro beat!

OMG! Coverdale looks really scary on the cover - like he's been mummified! When plastic surgery goes wrong!

I must say i was sceptical about this union until i heard Pride and Joy on a cd sampler given away in Q magazine before the album was released. It seriously rocked! Got the album first day of release and played it to death. When the riff kicks in at the start of Waiting for You - whoah! Coverdale definitely brought out the best in Page. Shame it did'nt last more than one album and a mini tour of Japan but grunge was at it's peak and i guess it was the right release at the wrong time.

Thanks for backing me up on this one Geezer! It's not my intention to stir up a hornets nest on here, just telling it as i see it IMHO.

Looks like the sound guy took a bullet for the team! Jimmy Page has never admitted to being at fault for anything - ever! He blamed Phil Collins for the Live Aid debacle when he himself was beyond the point of being shit-faced for chrissakes! They had 6 months of rehearsals on and off and a full dress rehearsal a few days before the gig to get the sound right! Ok the 02 is not acoustically the best venue for gigs but don't tell me it was worse than Earls Court which is effectively an aircraft hanger! The sound guys in the 70s really knew their stuff and with a fraction of the technology available today. I back Mr Ed 100% in his argument and not just because he is a fellow muso! There are too many blinkered folks on here who won't hear a word said against their heroes who are fallable after all!

I must admit to being surprised by his choice as Francis Dunnery's playing is very much in the prog-rock style and he must have had to rein in his urge to let rip sometimes! I highly recommend It Bites' All Around the World album - progressive pop-rock at it's best!

He was a brave man letting It Bites be the support in the UK! They were at their peak in 88 and red-hot live! I guess he was so impressed he used Francis Dunnery on his 93 tour?

He might have got the tone he wanted but it's not the trademark Jimmy Page tone i know and love. For me Page has a guitar technique and sound as identifiable as a fingerprint. You only have to hear a couple of notes and you know it's him - now that's rare! At the 02 gig his tone sounded very wooly and muffled as if he was playing underwater - the intro to Ramble On for example. I don't know what effects unit he uses these days (maybe some one could enlighten me?) but it's sucking the soul out of his playing to my ears. He just did'nt sound like him. Just my opinion folks!

Whoah respect! Mr Ed, a man who dares speak his mind! I was worried i was the only one thinking the same thing regarding the guitar solos and tone! I have to agree with every point he made. I was delighted with the overall band performance having expected a car crash of Live Aid proportions but Page's solos were bland souless versions compared to days long gone. It was as if they had got a session guy in his place! The solo in Stairway was a low point for me. I read somewhere Page admit this was the first gig he had played with Zep sober. Well half of me wishes he had downed a bottle of Jack Daniels and done half a gram of blow before the gig just to loosen up! His tone was horrible too, over-processed and mushy. Where was the crisp crunch and ringing tone which is his trademark? Then there was the feedback - why? Sorry no excuses, not a mixing desk issue - the guitar is the input source - too much gain equals an overloaded signal - simple physics! I was shocked he seemed to have little or no control over his guitar rig. I'm not detracting from my enjoyment of the gig overall just disappointed his performance did'nt raise the hairs on the back of my neck like he used to.

I'd like to add Great Spirit from my fave Plant album Fate of Nations. He actually croons on this - very soulful and would'nt sound out of place on a Luther Vandross album! Then there is that sublime guitar solo - drool!

apparently he is enjoying being a male model more than making music these days!

Just read your review of ITTOD - spot on apart from Hot Dog which i will hate for the rest of time! I remember reading a review of the album in Sounds magazine by Geoff Barton a respected journalist in the UK and only giving it a 2 star (poor) rating. The title of the review was "Close the door, put out the light" which was sadly apt after hearing it and conceding he was right! Never realised the lyrics of Carouselambra were directed at Page - interesting! I thought Fool in the Rain was about his smack habit! I have like you burnt my own version of the album using the vastly superor Coda out-takes - why they were missed off is beyond belief! Superior production, cranked up guitars, feel good vibe and no synths!!!! Here is my improved version of ITTOD with running order and edits Side 1. In the Evening Darlene Fool in the Rain (minus the awful samba section!) Ozone Baby Side 2. Carouselambra (edited down to 5 mins and minus the horrendous disco euro-beat synths after the bridge!) All My Love (rubbish trumpet synth solo replaced by monster Page solo - he sounds asleep in this song!) Walters Walk (Stargroves '72 out-take included in this release) Wearing and Tearing South Bound Saurez, Hot Dog and I'm Gonna Crawl to be dropped on the grounds of being not worthy of the Zep mantle! Now we might be talking about a great album!

Sadly i have to agree! I bought this the day it was released back in Aug '79 and after hearing it i felt like throwing up in the brown paper bag it came in! Page is nowhere on this album! What little guitar is on it is really low in the mix. It does'nt even sound like a Zep album to me - weak uninspired songs, no trademark crunchy guitars, drums that sound like soggy cardboard boxes and overladen with rubbish sounding synths! It hurts me to say it but it's a blot on the greatest musical legacy ever! Anyone who thinks this is a great album is deluded - sorry just my personal opinion!

It put Live Aid and Atlantic 40th well and truly to bed for me. Soooooooooooooooooooooooo much better than i thought it would be. They had put a lot of work into the rehearsals and it showed! Would have loved it if they had done a 3 hour show like the old days but hey ho you can't have everything!

I remember going to London specially back in the summer of 82 to try and find it. Spent hours wandering around only to discover it had closed 5 years previously! I was hoping to find Jimmy serving behind the counter - I know, I know!

Now that's an idea! Don't know about twin bass guitars though! lol

G E Smith seriously rocked wth Hall and Oates - great solo in Wait for Me live version!

Why does'nt he do a Slash-type project where he enlists loads of guest stars/collaborators? Personally i think he shot his creative bolt after the Coverdale Page release which was awesome, but with a few helping hands he could get inspired again - just a thought?