Rabbit
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Post by Rabbit on Aug 11, 2014 18:51:08 GMT
Robert Plant has a new album being released some time at the beginning of September. He played Glastonbury this year and there is a great concert available on BBC IPlayer with him and his band. They perform some old Zeppelin numbers in quite different ways which makes a change and also numbers that will appear on the new album.
I saw Zep's first performance of Stairway to Heaven at the BBC a very long time ago. Funny thing was that their playing wasn't too loud and I have always felt that Led Zep had a really wide dynamic range. They didn't just play flat out all of the time.
The BBC concert makes good listening, with some excellent players in the band, including a West African musician. Worth watching if you like Zeppelin.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 11, 2014 19:14:23 GMT
Hi Ian and thanks for the heads up. I'll be buying that one for sure as I'm a huge Zeppelin fan and have been since I was a boy.
If anyone else fancies listening to Zeppelin but in a slightly different way, could I point you in the direction of two albums I have and really enjoy when I'm in the mood:-
No Quarter - Robert Plant & Jimmy Page - partly recorded in Morroco it expands on Zep's middle eastern flavour of songs like Kashmir.
Kashmir-Symphonic Led Zeppelin does exactly what it says on the tin. The London Philharmonic Orchestra rocks out to some cool Zepp tunes.
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Rabbit
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Post by Rabbit on Aug 12, 2014 15:31:45 GMT
Thanks for the recommendation, Jeff. I downloaded that album and I think it's going 'CD' here now. Excellent album. 'No Quarter' is a great listen.
'Since Ive Been Lovin' You' is one of my favourite early Zep numbers and I love the addition of the strings on this version. Jimmy plays SO well on it as well. He plays blues so damned well and when I hear this stuff, it reminds me of their real musical roots and their connection with rhythm 'n blues very strongly.
Their first album is one of my favourites and would love to hear a revised version in retrospect before they both get too old!!
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Post by Deleted on Aug 12, 2014 20:00:54 GMT
He plays blues so damned well and when I hear this stuff, it reminds me of their real musical roots and their connection with rhythm 'n blues very strongly. So right Ian, many people have forgotten that they were HUGELY influenced by blues music, and even on their fourth studio album they were still doing blues covers like 'When the Levee Breaks' by Memphis Minnie. 'Houses Of The Holy', their fifth studio album, was the first to have no blues covers. Maybe by that time, they felt they'd paid they're dues. I myself came to Zeppelin through listening to the blues. Jimmy Page was fresh out of the Yardbirds, a real blues-guitarist breeding ground - think Clapton and Beck. Before the Yardbirds he was a gun-for-hire, and played on every session he could get, just to make ends meet. There are some famous songs from the sixties that not many people realise he played on. He was asked to play every style you can think of, and in later life would state that this gave him the best apprenticeship possible, plus the discipline needed to turn up on time at the studios. Session men who turned up late didn't get paid! Plant was also a big blues fan. When I went to the BBC I-player to download the concert you mentioned I see they have an interview with Plant, and I'm pretty sure its the one i saw a few years ago where he talks about the bands' beginnings and his love of blues. He's quite a funny guy actually. I also remember seeing some very early black and white footage of Page as a very young boy (maybe 15 or 16) being interviewed on the BBC. Its hilarious! Typical stuffed shirt BBC interviewer, and Page sounds very, very middle-class as well. The interviewer asks him if he would like to pursue music as a career and IIRC, Page says no, he' d like to be a chemist (or a doctor, can't remember which), it's really funny. It must be on Y/T somewhere! EDIT :- Found it! Skip to 1:45
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Rabbit
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Post by Rabbit on Aug 12, 2014 20:20:25 GMT
Robert Plant is so laid back about what he does as well. I really like the way he improvises and changes the way he performs old material. This recent concert has some brilliant examples of Zep material with a very different approach. I also like how open he is to 'world' sounds and how he seamlessly integrates foreign scales and sounds into his music.
I found the recent concert at Glastonbury very moving actually. The way he just flitted through Zep material from different times; especially the bluesy stuff from the early days. Their first album was quite amazing but I rediscover later stuff again as soon as I hear Plant reinvent them.
The guitarists at Glastonbury were also very remarkable. Really inspiring and uplifting stuff.
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