I definately don't think Albini was the right guy for job, even though I liked his work with PJ Harvey & The Pixies. It worked for those two bands but with Nirvana & Page&Plant his techniques stifled those records. Sometimes it's just not a good mix no matter the amount of talent involved between parties. "Please Read The Letter" is a perfect example. It's a nice song & it worked much better when Plant re-did it with Krauss. The songwriting stands.
But I do think the album is uneven. I would have preferred if they continued with more of the Eastern vibe of "Unledded". The songs they performed in concert sounded much better live than in the studio, I particularly liked the title track live. I think I would have liked the album more if it had a bit more variation. Not a bad effort but I believe everyone was expecting a bit more but it's also unfair to compare it to Zeppelin.
I'd much rather hear "Crackback" from JPJ's "Scream From Help" which Page co-wrote & played on. That's the best original composition by 2 former Zep members collaborating together. Page stood by the wrong guy in the 90's in my opinion.