Cat Posted February 9, 2008 Share Posted February 9, 2008 Jimmy Page, Outrider (Geffen): If you thought Robert Plant was just the dumb blond in Led Zeppelin, compare his recent release, ``Now and Zen,`` to former bandmate Jimmy Page`s first solo outing. While Plant seasons the old sound with tasty `80s pop, humor and an occasionally intelligent lyric, Page parodies his past glory with an excruciating collection of leaden Zepp rehashes. The recycled riffs in this nine-song set (including three instrumentals), appearances by Plant and Jason Bonham (the son of Zepp`s late drummer, John) and flagrant imitations of Plant`s singing style by the other guest vocalists are obvious attempts to cash in on the revived interest in hard rock`s most revered group. Side 1 is a harshly frenetic round that even Plant`s presence (on the appropriately titled ``The Only One``) can`t save. Page slows things down on Side 2 when he drags out the old blues influences. Tellingly, the one track that comes close to justifying his ever-growing guitar hero status, ``Prison Blues,`` is a straightfoward 12-bar blues improvised in the studio and recorded in one take. ``You were pumping iron, while I was pumping irony,`` Plant sings on his own LP. ``Outrider`` is the muscle-bound mess he could have been referring to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveAJones Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 Thanks, Cat. I've been searching for this one. It was written by Chris Heim. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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