Patrycja Posted October 1, 2014 Share Posted October 1, 2014 ^Weird, I can't edit again... I wanted to add p.s. Oh, and Robert Plant is better than ever, and all of what he can give is heightened by the accompaniment of such talented musical companions who are exceptional in their own right. GREAT SHOW! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrycja Posted October 3, 2014 Share Posted October 3, 2014 http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/music/2014/10/01/led_zeppelin_frontman_robert_plant_hypnotizes_mesmerizes_fans_at_massey_hall.html Toronto Star review of Robert Plant and the Sensational Space Shifters show at Massey Hall in Toronto on Sept. 30th. Good write-up. Just ignore the terminally boring if only...one last time... in the comments section. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColoradoZephead Posted October 3, 2014 Share Posted October 3, 2014 Definately one of his best albums. Great moods and vibes to it. I just got tix to see him in Denver this Saturday Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColoradoZephead Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 Just got back from the Plant show in Denver. Excellent show! The best I have seen him in years. He played 4 or 5 songs from the new cd and they went over rather well. It is great to see an artist exploring new ground and not living in the past. He also mentioned the math he did to figure out how many days it had been since he first sang for Denver (first American Zep gig) and it was 16k or so days. It was humorous the way he told it. Once again, spectacular show and definitely worth going to if he is in your area Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deborah J Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 Patrycja, great write up of your event. Thanks for sharing! ColoradoZephead, welcome to the forum and glad to see you had a wonderful time as well On another note - Robert will be The Colbert Report October 9, 2014..my DVR is already set to record:-) http://www.colbertnewshub.com/episode-guide/episode-guides-2014/october-2014/ http://www.sidereel.com/The_Colbert_Report/season-10/episode-128 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deborah J Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 Edit- Wrong thread, meant to post under Robert Performing Live 2014:-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deborah J Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 Review: Robert Plant looks ahead even when revisiting Zeppelin The fans roared approval after Robert Plant and his band, the Sensational Space Shifters, resurrected “Ramble On,” a signature moment from 1969 by his long-ago band, Led Zeppelin. The applause was so loud and so sustained that it brought the show Thursday at the Riviera to a momentary halt. Plant grinned appreciatively from behind his shoulder-length ringlets, then leaned in as if to remind a friend what time it was. And, oh, by the way, “we’re in the 21st Century,” he said, “and we’ve got songs from it.” With that, the band veered into the industrial grind of “Turn it Up,” with its brittle textures and otherworldly atmospherics, the tale of a vagabond hearing the spooky sounds of America while lost “on Charley Patton highway” amid “the mist, the rain, the mud.” While across town Fleetwood Mac was playing 35-year-old hits to a United Center audience 10 times the sizes of the Riviera’s capacity, Plant was treating his venerated past with Zeppelin like one stop on a 45-year journey into the unknown. The singer and his six-piece backing band sounded like they had just arrived at the unnamed intersection of West African drone, Mississippi blues and U.K. folk and trip-hop. They favored rhythms that slithered and textures that melted melody and dissonance. They conjured an atmosphere heavy enough to drape over the rangy singer’s shoulders. For every brief blast of Led Zeppelin nostalgia that would send everything staggering into a new orbit, there would be new songs that lurked in the shadows and found their own multi-culti groove. There was no hierarchy between acoustic and electric instruments, the exotic and traditional, but an open space where everything was in play, from the African ritti (one-string violin) of Gambian musician Juldeh Camara to the electronic sci-fi of Massive Attack keyboardist John Baggott. The key was in the arrangements – not everything was played all at once. Instead, gaps opened up that allowed interaction and movement. Plant worked the less-celebrated quiet edges of his voice, stretching syllables and playing with words in a way that some of his past projects wouldn’t allow. He doesn’t hit those stratospheric notes that he nailed in Led Zeppelin, but his tone was pliant and haunting in a lower, less agitated register. His baritone drone sent chills, punctuating a campfire-gypsy version of Zep’s “Going to California.” The singer brought together all the musical threads that have shaped his music since he was a teenager in the coal-fired “black country” of middle England. Rather than flog the warhorses, he offered glimpses into how they came to be: The folk classic “Babe, I’m Gonna Leave You” from Led Zeppelin’s 1969 debut album was presented with flamenco guitar as part of its whisper-to-a-roar dynamic, a clear precursor of “Stairway to Heaven.” The sound of ‘50s Chicago via Willie Dixon’s blues (“I Just Want to Make Love to You”) and Bo Diddley’s roadrunner chug (“Who Do You Love”) sandwiched Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love,” as if the eras were in constant flux, a feeling underlined by Camara’s ritti hoedown. Camara was the band’s secret weapon, creeping on stage at strategic intervals to ignite the dancing, including a do-si-do with Plant on “Arbaden (Maggie’s Baby).” Guitarist Justin Adams contributed his own swagger, banging the frame of his guitar in perfect time with drummer Dave Smith on a rockabilly interlude during Bukka White’s “Fixin’ to Die” that brought a smile to Plant’s face. On the penultimate “Nobody’s Fault but Mine,” a song associated with artists such as Blind Willie Johnson, the Staple Singers and John Renbourn, Plant kept time-traveling. A song from the early 20th Century was back on unstable ground in the 21st, a ghost dance down another uncharted road shrouded in mist, rain and mud. The singer looked and sounded right at home. greg@gregkot.com http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/chi-robert-plant-concert-review-20141002-column.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrycja Posted October 6, 2014 Share Posted October 6, 2014 Thanks, Deb I wish I could adequately express just what it felt like but my words fall short. Maybe just to add that some concerts leave you kind of empty or longing for something slightly other than what was given (not in terms of wish fulfilment, just the whole thing maybe feeling a little like sometimes people went through the motions a bit, you can pick up on it). But not RP and the Sensational Space Shifters, they're the real deal from first note to last. Whatever experiences they've had individually and then brought together have made the right kinds of creative conditions that resonate a certain way, a joy that stays with you long after the show has ended. It's no surprise Robert's energized by it. Plant grinned appreciatively from behind his shoulder-length ringlets, then leaned in as if to remind a friend what time it was. And, oh, by the way, “we’re in the 21st Century,” he said, “and we’ve got songs from it.” Always a challenge, that, but I feel that the reworked Zep songs have their proper place within the context of what the band's presenting. That's a great review you posted above, and one line that really hits the mark is this: There was no hierarchy between acoustic and electric instruments, the exotic and traditional, but an open space where everything was in play Look Robert can get the crowd roaring with a scream, and while he gives it a whirl now and again, what I love about these performances is that there is such sensitive use of space for the band members and for the different types of music; the musicians work as well together as the seemingly disparate genres do, and that's a credit to the band for bringing it together. Everything is in its place just so with the freedom to still change it up when the soul calls for it. I'm so impressed with the generosity and nuance and numen of the enterprise. It fills up the venues and those within witnessing the music with the genuineness which emanates from doing the work of seeking that right kind of creative spirit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freshmint Posted October 7, 2014 Share Posted October 7, 2014 I have been listening to this new album several times and I find it very special. "House of Love" is my favourite track at the moment. I am just amazed by that instrumental part (it starts from 2:39)... wow!! The lyrics in "Pocketful of Golden" are very emotional and personal... I love the fact that Robert has written plenty of new songs and he also tells a lot about his life journey and other personal stuff in the lyrics. The previous two albums were mainly cover songs so this is refreshing! He really seems to be enjoying making music with the Sensational Space Shifters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motu Posted October 7, 2014 Share Posted October 7, 2014 NPR Music is doing a live broadcast of the concert Sunday evening in Brooklyn. http://www.npr.org/event/music/351494090/robert-plant-and-the-sensational-space-shifters-live-in-concert Set your calendars! NPR replay is "on" again until 28 October ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebk Posted October 7, 2014 Share Posted October 7, 2014 NPR replay is "on" again until 28 October ... Thank you!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperDave Posted October 8, 2014 Share Posted October 8, 2014 NPR replay is "on" again until 28 October ... Great to know this as I missed it the first time around and saw him just a few days prior to this at the opener in Portchester! Thanks Motu! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motu Posted October 11, 2014 Share Posted October 11, 2014 A TimesTalks Conversation with Robert Plant Friday, Oct. 10, 2014 TheTimesCenter, 242 West 41st Street, NYC listen and watch while it stays available ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrycja Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 NPR replay is "on" again until 28 October ... Great to revisit this concert once again. I missed a lot when it was first streaming - like "A Stolen Kiss" which was a tad pitchy but beautiful nevertheless. I LOVE the new material!!! It's interesting to see the little details that one doesn't get to live, exchange of looks about the vibe amongst them, cues when to come in, and what each musician is doing at any given moment. I mean you could hear it live, of course, but in getting a magnified look you appreciate the individual contributions all the more. I love the new album, right, and how the songs sound live, but the chops and tricks Robert brought out at the beginning of the WLL medley ... sweet Jesus lawd have mercy! and then where they all took the songs It struck me, too, how well these reworked Zep songs are in their hands. There was some discussion in another thread about the Paris Amnesty gig, so I had a revisit of BIGLY. Look at/listen to how Dave Smith plays it (power and dynamics with economy of movement) versus Michael Lee's style. I'm not criticizing here, just pointing out that what a song needs is sometimes sacrificed to or superceded by the dictates of the space in which it's performed. I don't like huge stadium concerts, so there's my bias, but I still feel that these current renditions and performance conditions are better suited to the best expression of the songs. You can't just shoehorn everything into a rock blast; I've been in concerts where acoustic treatments or ethereal vocal harmonies filled the stadium. Anyway, just an observation; I'm quite tired, hopefully it makes sense. A TimesTalks Conversation with Robert Plant Friday, Oct. 10, 2014 TheTimesCenter, 242 West 41st Street, NYC listen and watch while it stays available ... Thanks a lot for letting us know, motu! I recorded both the NPR show and this but only saw the first bit of the latter. Elephant has left the building. I'm a bit miffed that we didn't know about this interview beforehand. It's a long shot for most of us to attend, but that's better than impossible because of finding out about it after the fact. Robert's been doing tons of interviews for this tour. So hard working, man, like he's on a mission to make every moment count. Looking forward to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dark Lord Posted October 18, 2014 Share Posted October 18, 2014 I am pretty pleased with this album, and it is definitely a grower. I'm not too hot on all the ethnic sounding stuff, but standouts for me are Rainbow, Pocket Full of Golden, A Stolen Kiss, Up On The Hollow Hill. As a huuuuge vinyl collector, I naturally bought the LP version, which was an astonishing value. $40 shipped to my door: 2 discs of 180 gram virgin vinyl; side 4 is laser etched with a picture of Neptune (I presume); a copy of the CD is included inside the album cover and it comes in a printed slip sleeve; all are pressed in Germany. Just an astounding product, compared to the turd vinyl that I bought back in the mid '80's when the discs were pressed with Corn Flakes and floor sweepings. This music on this album is a very pleasant surprise. No complaints here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZepRex Posted October 18, 2014 Share Posted October 18, 2014 I am pretty pleased with this album, and it is definitely a grower. I'm not to hot on all the ethnic sounding stuff, but standouts for me are Rainbow, Pocket Full of Golden, A Stolen Kiss, Up On The Hollow Hill. As a huuuuge vinyl collector, I naturally bought the LP version, which was an astonishing value. $40 shipped to my door: 2 discs of 180 gram virgin vinyl; side 4 is laser etched with a picture of Neptune (I presume); a copy of the CD is included inside the album cover and it comes in a printed slip sleeve; all are pressed in Germany. Just an astounding product, compared to the turd vinyl that I bought back in the mid '80's when the discs were pressed with Corn Flakes and floor sweepings. This music on this album is a very pleasant surprise. No complaints here. I totally go along with this comment! I am, like you, a huge vinyl afficionado and was pissed off when I couldn't get my hands on a vinyl copy the first day it came out. Then on the second day I got lucky and in the end I had my copy for just 17€ which equals about 20 Dollars (US). :-) I couldn't understand all the aggro this album caused when it was first streamed, cause sitting down in the evening with headphones on your head and a good wine (or whatever folks prefer) creates a whole other atmosphere than streaming it through the cold loudspeakers of a computer. So I waited and when I first played it I couldn't understand all the negative comments anymore at all. Of course, music is down to everybody's taste but some people on here seem to bash Robert's solo-work just for the sake of it without really wanting to give it a chance which is sad, you miss out on a lot of great music! I, for one, got all bleary-eyed when I first heard A Stolen Kiss. My god, beautiful melody, stripped of any extravagant effects or funny instruments. And the lyrics: Love waits for no one, there's so little time/ It's cruel and elusive and so hard to find..Just an example of the overall beauty of the lyrics on this album. I instantly loved this and it's been a long time since I heard such a beautiful song Another one I love is Turn It Up. Rocks your socks off. Other favs are Rainbow, Little Maggie and Up On The Hollow Hill. And I'm sure of one thing: the more I listen to this album the more I will love it and the more little lovable things I will find. That's what music is all about to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ANONYMOUS Posted October 18, 2014 Share Posted October 18, 2014 A TimesTalks Conversation with Robert Plant Friday, Oct. 10, 2014 TheTimesCenter, 242 West 41st Street, NYC listen and watch while it stays available ... Wonderful to hear him riff about music and lyrics and life. It seemed he got a bit emotional after the Page question (and into the spirituality questions.) Wondered if anyone else noticed that? Such a rich mind and vast heart. Thank you for posting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColoradoZephead Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 I am pretty pleased with this album, and it is definitely a grower. I'm not too hot on all the ethnic sounding stuff, but standouts for me are Rainbow, Pocket Full of Golden, A Stolen Kiss, Up On The Hollow Hill. As a huuuuge vinyl collector, I naturally bought the LP version, which was an astonishing value. $40 shipped to my door: 2 discs of 180 gram virgin vinyl; side 4 is laser etched with a picture of Neptune (I presume); a copy of the CD is included inside the album cover and it comes in a printed slip sleeve; all are pressed in Germany. Just an astounding product, compared to the turd vinyl that I bought back in the mid '80's when the discs were pressed with Corn Flakes and floor sweepings. This music on this album is a very pleasant surprise. No complaints here. I am very impressed with this album. I will go on a limb and say it his best solo effort. I wish Jimmy would continue to explore like this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mckjuana Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 I am very impressed with this album. I will go on a limb and say it his best solo effort. I wish Jimmy would continue to explore like this I'd love it is iimmy just explored..anything tbh. Even an album about a trip to the local shops could have merits, then he could explore things further afield like Bognor Regis, and then finally he could explore the mysterious East. I've had a while to take this album in now and I while I don't think it's Roberts best, it falls firmly in third place after FON and MR. However, paradoxically, at times I find it to be very slow and painful listening if I'm not in the right mood to listen to it. If the album has my attention it's very rewarding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperDave Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 I am very impressed with this album. I will go on a limb and say it his best solo effort. I wish Jimmy would continue to explore like this Certainly one of Robert's best. It's either this or Fate Of Nations. I can't think of a song off his current release that I don't like, but there are a couple from Fate of Nations I'm not crazy about. One being "Great Spirit", which doesn't do much more me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrycja Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 Certainly one of Robert's best. It's either this or Fate Of Nations. I can't think of a song off his current release that I don't like, but there are a couple from Fate of Nations I'm not crazy about. One being "Great Spirit", which doesn't do much more me. What about the bluesy acoustic version of "Great Spirit?" I agree about lullaby... not a weak link in the lot. I don't like ranking the albums though I get that people have their favourites; it's just that this one comes across as the most cohesive effort of all the musical and personal experiences he's journeyed through. Gets better the more you listen to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperDave Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 What about the bluesy acoustic version of "Great Spirit?" I agree about lullaby... not a weak link in the lot. I don't like ranking the albums though I get that people have their favourites; it's just that this one comes across as the most cohesive effort of all the musical and personal experiences he's journeyed through. Gets better the more you listen to it. I do have that acoustic version on one of his cd singles from then. Been a while since I heard it. Don't think I was crazy about it then either. Will have to dig it up for a listen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksgemini Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 Isn't the acoustic Great Spirit on the cd? Maybe it was added later It is all a blur but pretty sure my Fate has both... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirchzep27 Posted October 27, 2014 Share Posted October 27, 2014 Was listening to this record this wknd, noticed the falsetto wooo, in the chorus of rainbow, is sort of tempered in the mix, interesting effect. To me i could hear turn it up, off the shaken and stirred record, somebody there, on fate of nations. Theres a keyboard passage on, pocketful of golden, that sounds like something off manic nirvana. Also, like band joy record...no drum cymbals throughout record...except on last song, where the drummer has the mechanics of john bonham going on there along with the african language vocal. Amazing language to hear sung actually...very musical. On some of the listens, by hollow hill, i start feeling like im trapped in a sting album musically...so that last track shakes up up the subdued flow. Its also cool how, when the electric guitars appear by turn it up...they are a showcase...as opposed to something we as rock listeners, are soo used to hearing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motu Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 Robert Plant and The Sensational Space Shifters perform Little Maggie on Later... with Jools Holland, BBC Two (28 October 2014). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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