Robert Plant: White Bread Or Visionary?; [Review]

[Cat]

New York Times Company Mar 27, 1988

By Robert Palmer

''White, clean and neat'' - that's the way Robert Plant recalls his childhood in the mid-50's, in the song of the same name that concludes his new album, ''Now and Then'' (Esparanza/Atlantic 790863 LP, cassette and compact disk). He remembers Pat Boone singing mellifluous bromides to ''Take Daddy's Blues Away,'' and Debbie Reynolds, and Johnny Ray, all ''sugar, sugar white clean and neat.''

It's evident, from the song and the rest of the album, and from the charmingly loquacious interviews Mr. Plant has been giving lately, that he means to compare the white-bread homilies of mid-50's pop to today's digitally sanitized pop radio fodder. In the mid-50's, rock-and-roll was the alternative to everything ''white, clean and neat.'' Today, there's underground rock, much of it influenced by Mr. Plant's old band, Led Zeppelin. But is the music Mr. Plant is making now part of the problem, or part of the solution? Will it fit comfortably into the lockstep programming of formula radio, or will it rock the boat a bit?

Led Zeppelin disbanded in 1980, following the death of the group's drummer, John Bonham. But, as the title of Zeppelin's mid-70's concert film and sound track album proclaimed, ''The Song Remains the Same.'' That is, the style and stance Led Zeppelin created and developed during the 70's lives on, both in its original form - Zeppelin's ''Stairway to Heaven'' is still rock radio's most requested song - and as an influence on contemporary bands, from heavy metal retreads like Whitesnake to former punk rockers such as the Cult and the Mission U.K. to brand new outfits like Jane's Addiction. Snippets of John Bonham's drum solos have been lifted to provide the rhythmic muscle behind popular rap performers; Robert Plant's Zeppelin-period howls continue to provide inspiration for hard rock singers; and Jimmy Page, Led Zeppelin's guitarist, producer and musical mastermind, has left his mark on groups as diverse as Bon Jovi, R.E.M. and U-2.

In fact, a full-blown Led Zeppelin revival has been taking shape over the past few years, fueled by musical homages acknowleged and otherwise, and by the success of Stephen Davis's decidedly unauthorized biography, ''Hammer of the Gods.'' And the revival shows no signs of abating. It's one of contemporary pop music's more amusing ironies that Robert Plant appears to be jumping on the bandwagon a big late.

On his first brief solo albums, Mr. Plant seemed to be deliberately distancing himself from his lurid past as the king of hard rock hedonism. Of course, many of Led Zeppelin's most devoted listeners had penetrated beneath the band's metallic veneer, to the Moroccan and Near Eastern influences and futuristic electronic colorations that helped make Zeppelin more than the definitive arena-rock juggernaut. For these listeners, much of the restless experimentation of Mr. Plant's solo work had a familiar ring. But ''Now and Then'' is an audaciously direct response to the Led Zeppelin renaissance. From the four symbols on the cover, which deliberately evoke the four runic characters on the front of Led Zeppelin's otherwise untitled fourth album, to the unmistakable presence of Jimmy Page's guitar on the new record's most immediately compelling song, ''Now and Then'' finds Robert Plant confronting the Led Zeppelin legacy head on.

But ''Now and Then'' is anything but a rehash. With the help of a new, young band, Mr. Plant has conceived an ambitious fusion of guitar-driven rock, computerized techno-pop, and blues and rockabilly roots, and on the album's best track it works spectacularly. ''Tall Cool One'' is macho swagger with irony and intelligence for seasoning. Computer-assisted keyboards burble a sturdy, driving riff from Johnny Burnett's 1956 rockabilly classic, ''The Train Kept a-Rollin' ''; the lyric makes a passing reference to ''One Hand Loose,'' a Charlie Feathers tune of similar vintage. Jimmy Page slashes across the track with a guitar break that's pure, surging anarchy, and far too brief. Snatches of Led Zeppelin favorites punctuate the song like percussion breaks, contributing to the pile-up of mixed signifiers that give ''Tall Cool One'' its recombinant, post-modern edge.

If the rest of ''Now and Then'' was the equal of ''Tall Cool One,'' the album would be a major breakthrough. Alas, nothing else quite matches this one song's air of manic exhilaration, though ''Heaven Knows,'' powered by a Jimmy Page solo that threatens to go screaming off into the heavens, comes close. ''White, Clean and Neat,'' is equally audacious in conception, with its dense mesh of guitars and keyboards, voice-over narration and sinuous singing, but the mechanical repetition of the song's course runs a good idea into the ground.

As a vocal tour de force, ''Now and Then'' is a conspicuous success. Mr. Plant's intensely physical vocal presence is matched by fresh, diverse phrasing and an admirable control of timbre and dynamics.

But back to our original question: is ''Now and Then'' a vital, inventive alternative to today's formula pop, or is it, like so much else that rules our airwaves, too ''white, clean and neat?'' The fact is, it's a bit of both. ''Now and Then'' consistently and admirably refuses to settle for merely going through the motions. But its most invigorating moments, especially ''Tall Cool One,'' add up to a lot more than lively, radio-ready 80's rock. At its very best, ''Now and Then'' suggests that Mr. Plant and his young collaborators, particularly with the assistance of Jimmy Page, are capable of making music as visionary as the best of Led Zeppelin. And when the potential is there, why settle for anything less?

[SteveAJones]

I recall when Robert did press for Manic Nirvana in 1990 he reflected upon 'Now and Zen'

and decreed it was indeed "a little too polite". However, given the fact he was changing

gears on his solo career (new band, the incorporation of Led Zeppelin songs into setlists)

it was the perfect vehicle for him at the time. An artistic and commercial success all the way, IMHO.

[Cat]

I recall when Robert did press for Manic Nirvana in 1990 he reflected upon 'Now and Zen'

and decreed it was indeed "a little too polite". However, given the fact he was changing

gears on his solo career (new band, the incorporation of Led Zeppelin songs into setlists)

it was the perfect vehicle for him at the time. An artistic and commercial success all the way, IMHO.

When did "Now and Then" become "Now and Zen"?

[Stargroves Tangie]

When did "Now and Then" become "Now and Zen"?

I have the original article & noticed the same thing- my guess is that Mr. Palmer wasn't looking too closely at the album cover when he reviewed it...

[ninelives]

When did "Now and Then" become "Now and Zen"?

It's an error sadly many people have been guilty of.

[SteveAJones]

Robert's offstage comments at the Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary concert in May 1988 lead me to believe he credits manager Bill Curbishley with having come up with the title

'Now & Zen'. As I understand, it was Bill who encouraged Robert to assemble a younger

line-up and incorporate Led Zeppelin songs into his solo tours.

[ninelives]

Robert's offstage comments at the Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary concert in May 1988 lead me to believe he credits manager Bill Curbishley with having come up with the title

'Now & Zen'. As I understand, it was Bill who encouraged Robert to assemble a younger

line-up and incorporate Led Zeppelin songs into his solo tours.

Wasn't Curbishley also the one who called Robert Manic Nirvana, thus inspiring the title for his album in 1990? Hadn't heard that about Now and Zen. I vaguely remember Robert talking about the title but I haven't clear details of what he said.

[SteveAJones]

Wasn't Curbishley also the one who called Robert Manic Nirvana, thus inspiring the title for his album in 1990? Hadn't heard that about Now and Zen. I vaguely remember Robert talking about the title but I haven't clear details of what he said.

Indeed he was. He called him Manic the Panic (or something similar?).

For Now & Zen it was something like "you've done this now, you've done that then, now and then, now & zen". I'm not completely sure he credits Bill Curbishley for the album title but if it wasn't him it was a gentlemen who was working closely with Robert at the time.