Led Zeppelin 2007 Tour-Will this actually happen?

Too true.

At my age, it takes me all night, to do the things I used to be able to do all night long.

 

I do know Foreigner has a full summer tour planned, and Bonham is the drummer... Sure, I'd guess he'd drop gig that in a hot minute if LZ actually did decide to give it a go, but persoanlly I don't see it happening. That said, I'd attend for sure if it did!

 

Let's see... He did the score to Death Wish 2.... 2 albums as a member of The Firm, along with Paul Rodgers from Bad Company... kicked a long herion habit... worked on Robert Plant's 50s homage project, The Honeydrippers... A solo album called Outrider (which has Jason Bonham on drums, and Plant guesting on one song that gives you a decent idea of what Zeppelin might've sounded like in the later 80s' Bon Jovi/Whitesnake marketplace... there's a lovely rock instrumental on there called "Emerald Eyes" that I've always been really fond of)... ...a collaborative album with David Coverdale appropriately titled Coverdale/Page... the MTV Unplugged/Unledded reunion and subsequent tour with Robert Plant... ...the Page/Plant album Walking into Clarksdale, which captures a lot of different Zeppelin-like sounds with a modernized spin (quite underrated)... ...screwing up his back while performing on Jay Leno's show, which sidelined him from live work for a while... overseeing the restoration of Zeppelin vault material for both the Led Zeppelin DVD and the How the West Was Won live CD...

Page hasn't always been in the spotlight, but he's been as busy as he wants to be... he's not exactly hurting for cash. One rumor has it that he's getting ready to work on a new solo album.

 

With a new Honeydrippers album in the works? He'd be better off if LZ actually did tour once again.

As previously mentioned, I don't see this one happening, but how many empty seats do you think there would be in any arena on any given night? Not many!

Unfortunatley, as a LZ fan, I think their chance to "reunite" has long passed. This was something I remember being talked about in great detail back in what, 1985(ish) or so? It think it would have worked then.

 

No. He did some stuff with Alison Krauss, believe it or not! Can't wait to hear that!

 

I really could see this happening. It couldn't be a 2-hour show of Plant in his Banshee-mode. But I could imagine a show in which a lot of it is unplugged, balanced out with some electric numbers that don't push Plant's vocal abilities past the breaking point.

 

Page is restoring the Song Remains The Same so maybe this is where this rumour started as he may have asked for Plant's and Jonesy's input.

 

Why would he be better off?

 

Page also did an album with Roy Harper called Whatever Happened to Jugula.

As for the rumored solo album, he actually said in an interview at the end of last year that he started planning the album but then it got sidetracked last year for some season. He said wanted to get it back on track this year.

 

I'd much rather see this than some half baked 2007 reunion. I really, really don't think that Page and especially Plant will want to tarnish the great Zeppelin reputation with a tour.

I'm not saying they couldn't pull it off....I just don't want them to be yet another group of old men from the 60's/70's that people will go see as some sort of novelty act.

Now, a series of small concerts in smaller venues, not billed as Led Zeppelin, would be great!

 

The Honeydrippers album was in the planning stages with Ahmet Ertegun of Atlantic Records. Unfortunately, Ertegun died and Plant annonced that he was scrapping plans for the album.

Yes, the work with Alison Krauss was done last fall. I recall seeing the name of the guitarist who worked with them. I can't recall it, but when I looked it up, it seemed like an interesting collaboration. The guy has a reputation for really off-the-wall avant-garde stuff.

 

No it isn't. I saw the "Mighty Rearranger" tour when it hit Toronto in the summer of 05 and Plant was nothing short of brilliant. He sang wonderfully and everyone agreed he was right on. He may not sound like he did in 79 but he has a lot of class and didn't in any way embarass himself 2 years ago. (He's always been great everytime I've seen him since 88.)

 

I'm guessing LED ZEPPELIN would be a bit more profitable than HONEYDRIPPERS. And personally, I'd rather hear a bad live version of Imagrant Song than a perfect Steve Hoffman mastered studio version of Sea Of Love.

I could be wrong, maybe Honeydrippers will reunite and sell 100 million albums?

 

I agree!

He is in fantastic voice on the No Quarter album. No, he's not 25 anymore but what the heck do people want?! When he sings his age, or songs more suited to his age, he still sounds fantastic and completely unique!

 

See, this is the "reunion" mentality that drives me nuts. Why would we want an aging Robert Plant trying to sing Immigrant Song now? Same with Genesis. Why would I want to heard Gabriel lowering Lamb Lies Down 3 steps so he can reach the high notes? Would anyone want to see Reggie Jackson try to hit a 100MPH fastball today? Of course not. But for some reason rock lovers wanna drag out these saggy bags of skin to try and recreate their childhood.

I'd rather hear Robert do stuff like he did on Might Rearranger or hear the new stuff he's working on with Krauss. But that's just me.

 

On the other hand, I heard a live recording of his 2005 Nashville show that was absolutely painful to listen to. It literally sounded like a senior citizen doing Zeppelin karaoke! Johnny, have you ever heard a recording of the gig? Sometimes being there in the midst of it all is quite different from having an isolated recording of the performance.

Plant's solo work in the 80's and early 90's featured some stunning vocal work: Wreckless Love, Big Log, Little By Little, Watching You, etc. He lost a lot of his capability over the years, but he can sing quite well within the limited range he has left if he tries. The PBS Soundstage DVD released last year is a good example of that. However, if you listen to the Loooooooooooove at the end of Whole Lotta Love on that DVD, you can clearly hear that it's a sample being processed and not actually his voice. Ironically he does a couple of high-pitched yelps during a jam at the end of the song Tin Pan Valley and afterwards, he looks like he's completely exhausted and about to collapse!

I think it's a combination of an aging voice and his attempts at a singing style that's influenced by Middle Easteran quarter tones. It might work if one is 30 and able to hold a tone, but he's not. He's a longtime smoker who's approaching 60. Trying to accurately do some intricate singing just doesn't work (actually, when someone is no longer able to hold a note, it's a convenient excuse to say, "Hey man, I'm singing quarter tone."

 

Amen. Here's some live in-studio material of him and his Strange Sensation band from AOL:

Black Dog - http://video.aol.com/video-search/Black-Dog-InStudio-20-Conversion/id/18725400

Gallow's Pole - http://video.aol.com/video-search/Gallows-Pole-InStudio-20-Conversion/id/3673063370

Shine It All Around - http://video.aol.com/video-search/Shine-It-All-Around-InStudio-Robert-Plant/id/1428846172

 

I don't get when people say Plant's voice is shot. Yes his voice has aged but it's not shot. Listen to All The King's Horses on Mighty Rearranger. One of his best vocal performances ever. He has said in a recent interview that he knows his voice has changed but he knows how to use it and deal with it. It's not "shot" by any means.

 

Yeah, but don't forget that was almost 13 years ago!!

My, how time flies....

But I will say that while his voice obviously isn't what it was when he was 22 years old, he does a really good job with what he's got. His voice has gotten deeper with age, and of course he put it through a tremendous strain early in his career with Zeppelin.

In the mid-70's (even as early as '72) he started having problems reaching notes that he would have had no problem with in '69-'70. With that style of singing, it's not shocking that he blew his voice pretty early.

I think in recent years Plant sounds better than he did with Zeppelin from '75-'80, because he knows his boundaries and really doesn't try to overstep them. If you listen to his singing at the Live Aid debacle, you'll hear someone trying to sing way out of his range. The last couple of Plant performances I've seen or heard, he seems to select the right set lists, with the right pacing for his voice.

I don't think Plant could belt out one after another after another screecher at this point. Instead he peppers his shows with songs that require dynamics, between some lower range stuff. It suits him much better than trying to do "Black Dog" followed by "Communication Breakdown" followed by "Over THe Hills And Far Away".

 

It ain't gonna happen--that ship has sailed....


Evan

 

I'm not one of those LZ fans begging for a reunion, so please don't put me in that boat. What I am saying is I'd rather hear the worst version of Immagrant Song over the best version of Sea Of Love anytime of the day 365 days a years. My comment was directly and solely related to Honeydrippers material.

But while we're on the subject, I'm guessing there are about 10 million Zep fans who would still rather see Plant's "saggy bags of skin" limping around on stage with Paige than Krauss. Whether or not you or I are one of those 10 million is irrelevant.

 

You make an excellent point, but I must add a caveat: it depends on the performers. Some groups can still perform to their previous high standards, perhaps even significantly better with maturity, and some can't. I've seen some amazing aging rockers in recent years, including Bad Company with Paul Rodgers in fine voice and The James Gang, featuring Joe Walsh turning in some amazing fretwork, belting out high octane rockers and hitting all the notes; Fox & Peters were in fine form as well. Speaking of hitting all the notes, have you seen the imported Colin Blunestone & Rod Argent Zombies Reunion DVD? Awesome!

OTOH, Deep Purple's Ian Gillan has been struggling to maintain his voice for years and once shorn of his legendary locks lost the last vestiges of a youthful rocker; I fear that it's a losing battle probably caused by damaging his vocal chords with that screaming delivery in the halcyon years of DP's Mk II touring. Eric Burdon is another performer who's parade has gone by. It's embarrassing watching the once great Animal's/War/Eric Burdon Band vocalist perform on video these days; worse than a 3rd rate lounge act.

I'm not so sure that Gabriel couldn't pull off a Genesis Reunion, at least visually, through his legendary use of exotic costumes and with Collins to share vocal duties his voice might be strong enough to be credible.

Led Zeppelin is a much bigger risk as everything would depend on Plant's vocal range. They were a hit & miss group back in their heyday; much of what sustains their legendary status is the memory of the events rather than the quality of their performances. Now, with an aging fan base combined with a younger audience curious to see what the fuss was all about the risks would be greater, the scrutiny and reviews harsher and the rewards entirely dependent upon whether their initial shows lived up to some pretty tough expectations. Of late they look pretty old, so it will take some effort to suspend disbelief that they're still brash testosterone fueled rockers. Trust me on this, an older audience doesn't want to FEEL old any more than the younger audience wants to feel out of place.

The only possible way Led Zep could pull it off would be with first rate, well reviewed performances, not something that they achieved consistently even back when they were on top. In other words, I doubt that either Page or Plant would roll the dice on such a risky venture unless ALL the shows were sold out in advance, but rumors still abound.


Cat

 

Man,i dont know what some of you are hearing but if they went and did old LZ stuff it would be bad,real bad as Plant just cant hit those notes most of are use to and everytime he didnt,well it just wouldnt be LZ. I'll just put a cd on.

 

What's wrong with having a "reunion mentality"?

People are so quick to shoot down the idea of bands who are in their 50's or 60's doing reunions, stating they could never re-create what they did in their 20's. Of course they can't, that's riduculous. But there are bands who never broke up -- the Stones is an obvious one....even U2 who are in their mid-40's at this point....who are allowed to get older and adapt to their advancing ages. A U2 show today is a different beast than it was in 1983. And there's nothing wrong with that.

I've seen quite a few bands that got back together after decades apart -- some of them were great, some were good....some were awful. But none of it affected the way I percieve their original incarnations. The ones who were bad didn't tarnish their reputations or damage their history. If anything, they gave me an opportunity to see a band that existed and peaked before I was even born!! And they gave middle aged rock fans an opportunity to relive their teens. Even if the performance sucked.

I think throughout the 1970's people always held out hope that The Beatles would someday get together and do something -- and with Lennon's murder in 1980, it really drove home the fact that there are no guarantees in this life. People want to see a happy ending, and not be left standing around after these people are dead saying "I wish they'd just gotten back together and done one more show".