Jimmy Page with the Black Crowes 7/3/2000

[Zepulon]

Not sure if this has already been posted, but I'll do it anyway...

http://blogs.newsobserver.com/beat/led-zeppelin-one-by-one

This is from my local newspaper's archives. My favorite part is where it mentions Pagey not being very computer literate.

The more recent article about Robert Plant talks about his tour with Alison Krauss.

[beatbo]

i'll save ya the jump:

Led Zeppelin, one by one

Submitted by dmenconi on 07/10/2008 - 17:51

Tags: On the Beat: David Menconi on music | Alison Krauss | Black Crowes | Jimmy Page | Led Zeppelin | Robert Plant

I never got to see Led Zeppelin back in the day, but I've been working my way through each surviving member individually. I caught John Paul Jones at South By Southwest a few years back; and Jimmy Page with the Black Crowes. And after tonight, I'll be able to cross Robert Plant off the list when I see him with Alison Krauss, a most unlikely pairing.

I even got to interview Plant last week, in rather amusing circumstances. At his publicist's behest, I dialed the number of a hotel in Phoenix and asked for "Mr. Fish." Next thing I knew, Plant was on the line. He was completely charming, except on the subject of whether or not his old band would ever do a reunion tour. See the interview in Friday's paper, a package that also includes brief chats with various sidemen plus multiple recaps of other musical odd couples through history.

While I'm at it, below is a 2000 interview/review from that Page show in Raleigh.

Pair approval

By David Menconi, News & Observer

(July 3, 2000)

Some pairings are so perfect, the wonder isn't that they happen. The wonder is that the parties involved took so long to get together in the first place. The tandem of Jimmy Page and the Black Crowes, playing Walnut Creek's ninth anniversary bash on Tuesday, is just such a pairing.

The legendary Led Zeppelin guitarist first met up with the Crowes last year, jamming with them at a charity show in a London club, and it was love at first solo. But the relationship really took off when Page and the Crowes later started rehearsing together for their subsequent U.S. tour -- on the very first song they practiced, "Ten Years Gone," a track from Zeppelin's 1975 album "Physical Graffiti." And right at the center of it was Raleigh homeboy Audley Freed, the former Cry of Love guitarist who joined the Crowes in late 1998.

"When I would play 'Ten Years Gone' with Led Zeppelin, it was just one guitar, obviously," Page says, speaking by phone from Chicago. "Well, we played it this time, and all of a sudden there were all these harmonies coming out of it. And it was like bliss for me, hearing my work coming alive again. It was wonderful. Audley figured out all these parts ahead of time. I had thought, 'There's bound to be a few bits I'll have to show them because they're hard to hear, almost subliminal.' But he'd worked it all out, and hit everything right on the nail. He's a very fine musician, believe me."

When told that Freed hails from Raleigh, Page chuckles and says, "Well, then, he'll have a quite substantial guest list for that show, won't he? He's lovely, Audley. Such a lovely guy and a good guitar player, too."

Yes, things are pretty copacetic right now for Page and the Crowes, who have both found a renewed sense of purpose in each other. It's a partnership reminiscent of the mid-1980s collaboration between Bob Dylan and Tom Petty's Heartbreakers, which did both parties a world of good by tightening up Dylan and loosening up Petty.

Page sounds thoroughly rejuvenated on "Live at the Greek: Excess All Areas" (Musicmaker), the Page/Crowes live album recorded in Los Angeles last fall. You wouldn't think the Zeppelin catalog could ever sound fresh again, but "Live at the Greek" walks the line between update and homage perfectly.

Likewise, the Crowes have never sounded better -- especially singer Chris Robinson, who gives every indication of having spent ample time singing "Heartbreaker" and "Your Time Is Gonna Come" to a mirror while growing up. The Crowes have been compared to the Rolling Stones and Humble Pie far more often than Led Zeppelin over the years. But they make an ideal fit for Page, adding oomph to a body of work that packed plenty of wallop to begin with.

To hear Page tell it, the fact that "Live at the Greek" exists at all is something of an accident. After the initial London club date, the Crowes and Page played a handful of dates in the United States last fall and decided to record the last show at Los Angeles' Greek Theatre so they'd have a souvenir of the tour.

"This live album wasn't anything we knew we'd do at the time," Page says. "We only made it after we got into the dates because it was going so good, we thought it'd be crazy not to record the last show. We thought it could just be something for our own collections, or maybe we'd get a magic night. Well, the gods were with us because it was a magic night. After the show, [producer] Kevin Shirley came out and said, 'That was really great.' And we were going, 'That's right, we recorded it!' We'd actually kind of forgotten about recording, we got so into the music."

Page says they initially chose to make "Live at the Greek" an online release so they could put out the entire concert, all 19 songs without edits or overdubs. The two-disc set was released in February -- not to stores but on the Internet, available by mail order or download from the Musicmaker Web site.

"Had we presented this to the major labels, the first thing they would've wanted to do was cut the show down," Page says. "There's no way we would've gotten away with this on a label. They would've wanted to edit a single, because they always do -- it's something that seems to be in the genetic makeup of record companies. Even in the days of Zeppelin. They wanted to edit 'Trampled Under Foot' for radio back then, but I wouldn't have it. And even more these days, they just feel they have to edit everything, especially a live recording. But the beauty of this is it wasn't edited."

Lack of edits and all, "Live at the Greek" has turned out to be one of the music industry's most successful online ventures to date. Musicmaker touts the album as "the biggest paid music download ever" (though the company declines to cite a figure). The album has done well enough that the same unedited version is finally reaching stores this week, via TVT Records.

The funny part about Page being involved in a cutting-edge Internet venture is that he himself is ... well, not exactly computer-literate.

"As far as home computers and Internetting, I've got a partner who does that for me," he admits with a laugh. "I think I should maybe spend some time getting totally OK with that. It's something that's eluded me up to now. I know how to use a fax machine -- I can do one of those -- but not e-mail."

Even if he doesn't know his way around the Internet, Page can find his way around a fretboard just fine. "Live at the Greek" has drawn universal critical raves, the best reviews of Page's post-Zeppelin solo career. The album's success nicely sets up a longer tour of America and the rest of the world, which will keep Page and the Crowes busy until the end of this year.

At some point, the Crowes will also begin making their next album -- the group's first with Freed as a bona fide member during the recording process. It seems a safe bet that Page will also be involved to some degree.

"It's early days, but I'd love to do at least one track on their album," Page says. "It's really nice, the way this has gone from one charity date to a surprise live album and now this tour, which we never really planned on. It just seemed like the right thing to do. All I know is during rehearsals, we'll start jamming on something and go, 'Ooh, that could be really good.'"

###

Concert review: Zeppelin led all the way

By David Menconi, News & Observer

(July 6, 2000)

Raleigh -- No doubt you're familiar with the "New Product Flog" routine at concerts. That's when you go to see someone who has been around a while and way too many songs are prefaced with that dreaded phrase: "Here's another one from our new album!"

There was no such problem Tuesday night at Walnut Creek, when the Jimmy Page/Black Crowes show rolled into town. With classics from Page's old band Led Zeppelin comprising nearly three-quarters of the selections, this was a show of virtually all money shots. And it was a good thing, with close-in seats going for 85 bucks.

Led Zeppelin songs are not unlike the Titanic -- massive, lumbering, hard-to-steer beasts. Zeppelin songs usually won't surprise you, and they take awhile to build up a head of steam. But they'll definitely get you somewhere, if played by a band with a rudder big enough to handle the momentum. The Black Crowes, proudly derivative of all things '70s, provided Page with near-perfect backup from start to finish.

Everyone knew his role and played it well, offstage as well as on. Crowes guitarists Audley Freed (a Raleigh homeboy) and Rich Robinson mostly stayed in the background, letting Page provide most of the pyrotechnics. So did the other Crowes while lead singer Chris Robinson's vocals and gestures invoked everyone from Zeppelin singer Robert Plant to Iggy Pop.

As for the crowd, everyone went crazy again and again. Page, who rarely spoke, was greeted with roars for his every little acknowledgement of the crowd. But that was nothing compared to the reaction he got with his guitar. I think this was the most people I've ever seen hitting heroic air-guitar poses en masse.

No, it wasn't terribly long on subtlety -- anyone who came expecting "Kashmir" or "That's The Way" went home disappointed. But there didn't appear to be too many dissatisfied customers.

While Page is this tour's big draw, the show's biggest burden actually fell on frontman Chris Robinson, who had to operate more or less without a net. He seemed to relish the challenge and to be aware that he was living out the fantasies of generations of teenage headbangers, strutting and prancing with gleeful aplomb.

It was marvelous to watch, especially because this partnership has re-energized the Crowes so much. With Page and Freed providing extra six-string wallop, such Crowes selections as "Remedy" and "No Speak No Slave" have never sounded better.

Still, it was those Zeppelin war horses that ruled the evening, including "Misty Mountain Hop," "Ten Years Gone" and "Whole Lotta Love." Curiously, Chris Robinson introduced every non-Zeppelin song of the show -- but none of the Zeppelin songs, which were treated reverentially by both band and crowd.

"In My Time of Dying" may have been a shade too ponderous, but it finally exploded in the extended solo interlude. By the end of the song, even the phlegmatic Page was jumping up and down. Even better was "Nobody's Fault But Mine," which Robinson livened up with a harmonica solo and a vocal that was a dead ringer for the late AC/DC singer Bon Scott. Then Page stepped in and swept it away with his best solo of the night.

For this night, at least, the dinosaurs were all right.

[kabbalahone]

"It's early days, but I'd love to do at least one track on their album," Page says. "It's really nice, the way this has gone from one charity date to a surprise live album and now this tour, which we never really planned on. It just seemed like the right thing to do. All I know is during rehearsals, we'll start jamming on something and go, 'Ooh, that could be really good.'"

Did you notice this?

Wonder if it's going to be a pattern

and considering the interview is 8 years old, he may have become more computer

literate since

[mos6507]

Did you notice this?

Wonder if it's going to be a pattern

and considering the interview is 8 years old, he may have become more computer

literate since

There were emails going back and forth leading up to the O2. Not sure if Page ever managed the keyboard. Also, Jimmy did a web chatroom interview once, but they surely get someone to type for him for things like that.

[kabbalahone]

There were emails going back and forth leading up to the O2. Not sure if Page ever managed the keyboard. Also, Jimmy did a web chatroom interview once, but they surely get someone to type for him for things like that.

lol. At least I get a bit of humour after seeing that stormtrooper action figure

[Rorer714]

I was at that show in the 12th row.It kicked ass.I'll never forget it.

'No escaping his roots,

[ledded1]

Did you notice this?

Wonder if it's going to be a pattern

and considering the interview is 8 years old, he may have become more computer

literate since

Well he still hasn't sent me an e-mail so I guess not

[Rorer714]

Well he still hasn't sent me an e-mail so I guess not

Me either,Ollie!