Robert Plant: Fans Should Move On

That is not what he is saying necessarily, there is a lot more to it than that

 

I think it has to do with the freedom to breathe

If he is with Page and Jones billed as Zeppelin you have dozens of things that add to pressure and limit his freedom. Fans expectations, huge spectacle shows that bring along with it huge commitments in huge venues with huge media coverage, and less freedom to sonically change things up or play new material, as well as having to deliver the songs vocally in the "Zeppelin" way, and not to mention as a musician, he just may want to play with different musicians in different scenarios

With his solo band, he can choose what venues he plays in a very low key way, he can choose the setlist and what songs he feels like doing and how he feels like doing them, less expectation to live up to Zeppelin's 70's reputation, and all in all I can easily see how a man in his 60's would want that freedom as opposed to the Zeppelin juggernaut that he already lived through (as well as had ups and downs and tragedy with before)

To me what Plant is doing makes all the sense in the world, speaking as a musician. Making new albums frequently, picking and choosing any songs from his entire career (including Zep) to have fun with, all in a new and low key kind of way

 

Plant has been "changing it up" since 2002. And his live arrangements of Zep songs in 2017 sound a lot like the arrangements he was doing in 2002. He criticizes "cabaret", but what he's doing now isn't that far removed from an oldies act in a cabaret club. Just because you perform cabaret songs at a slower tempo, that does not mean that you aren't doing cabaret. And it doesn't meant that you're occupying "higher ground".

 

Spot on, couldn't have said it better myself.

 

Good for him. The past doesn't always need to be present.

 

I saw the man live @ Pori Jazz, Finland in 2015. Only time I have had the chance to hear Led Zeppelin songs performed by any member in my lifetime. It was absolutely awesome! Don't know what Jonesy or Jimmy are up to though, looting the vaults?

Edit: since I have a Spotify premium account I felt entitled to stream the man's new album without purchasing it. It's not a new Fate of Nations, but people, we have a new album out!

 

This is a guy who had a huge success with Raising Sand and has just chucked the whole lp, so to speak--no cover songs from that. Not many artists have that freedom

 

To a point I would agree with you, but at times half his show is Zeppelin tunes and he certainly at times seems to dismiss what he accomplished in Zeppelin. Personally to me he seems torn about what he really wants. Yeah at times he seems like he just wants to sing whatever song he wants and at other times he seems like he wants to be totally distanced from Zeppelin , and at other times he seems to accept what he accomplished in Zeppelin. I can't blame him really. He had so much tragedy at the end of Zeppelin how can he not have mixed feeling about it. And only to be judged by what you did 30 to 40 years ago would be hard. But you know a lot of Zeppelin fans have also have no expectation of Zeppelin ever playing again (me being one of them), and by Plant to keep harping on it only feeds the expectation that he might play with Zeppelin. To coin a phrase, Shut up and play your songs. hahahah The best thing Plant could do to have us all move on is stop talking about Zeppelin, and just play your own songs. Please take these comments in the light hearted manner they are intended. haha

 

That's an interesting point, that he does NOTHING from SAND, far and away his most heard solo thing. Wonder what that's about. Certainly his current band could recreate or play with that vibe very well. More interestingly infuriating choices from Plant.

 

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but did Robert Plants son not die whilst he was out on the road with Zeppelin?? And did he not loose his old friend to the bands lifestyle???

Am I the only one who thinks maybe he simply doesn't hold the same affection and nostalgia for the band that many of you do, and therefore may be the reason for his reluctance to reform Led Zep. Seems he lost more than he gained from that experience and just wanted to move on from that scene as well as create something new.

 

I like it when he reinvents the old songs:



I have the dvd that this appears on. I didn't look at the track list before I played it for the first time, and wow!! - it was a great surprise when those first lyrics of Houses came out of his mouth.

 

Good for him.

 

So, pretty much exactly what he's been saying since 1982, then.

 

Pretty much my take on it, but I have to concede Plant is probably emotionally invested in what he's doing now. Still the "let's pretend" angle applies even if he's invested. On some level he knows it's not as good.

 

In general, Plant speaks very highly of the Led Zeppelin catalogue and legacy. He is proud to be part of such a revered body of work, and enjoys performing reworked versions of material from that catalogue, and rightfully so. He simply does not want to commit to playing Zeppelin music under the Zeppelin banner as part of a massive, nostalgia tour. None of this is new. It just seems odd that Plant gets ripped by a faction of fans for playing Zeppelin music because apart from the 1983/1984 tour when he was trying to establish a separate identity as a new solo artist, he has been playing the Zeppelin catalogue for decades in various configurations.

 

I saw the Plant/Krauss tour on my 40th birthday. Needless to say the Zep songs that were played were arranged mellower on that tour. Then, coincidentally, Warren Haynes brought John Paul Jones to the Christmas Jam that December, so I did get to see two members in one year.

 

He's played Please Read The Letter on this tour. I know it's a Page Plant song, but most folks associate it with Raising Sand.

 

Thanks for correct...I was just going by the lastest list I saw from Dec 2 which lacked "Letter," made leap that he was doing static setlist but did not check that fact.

 

The reason "new stuff" suffers is because "old fans" are bitter that it's not 1974...Hell, that's the reason "old rockers" had a hard time in the 80s too....

 

''All these magazines and internet platforms should be supporting new music and help new musicians to find an audience, instead of dwelling on the old crap all the time. It’s like there is nothing new and exciting out there any more, when in fact there is. So stop living in the past. Open your ears and your eyes. It’s not that difficult, is it?"

Sounds to me like Robert ''however briefly'' has visited this forum.

 

Is his new album any good? I ordered it on colored vinyl from Barnes & Noble.

 

Rock is dead because rock is no longer about doing drugs and free love. Waah.

 

McCartney as well. For me, some of his rearrangements of LZ don’t work. I won’t criticize McCartney for giving the average person seeing him for the first time what they want. They want Beatle songs, not Bip Bop. ( Though, I wouldn’t mind hearing Bip Bop. I’m not the average fan). Especially at the prices his shows cost.

 

It's very good as a matter of fact, didn't dig the last one much though. Have the vinyl version btw.

 

I have a lot of respect and admiration for the way Robert Plant does things. He has genuine integrity.