What Robert Plant Album Is The Most Zeppelinesque ...?

Uhh, what the title asks. The Plant solo stuff I've heard (not a lot, and he's done what -- a dozen or so albums?) has mostly been fairly uninteresting, but I haven't delved with any purpose yet. Do any of his records cleave towards "Hammer Of The Gods" rock power ...?

Yes, I searched; nothing came up re: my question.

 

I am not at all familiar with his solo output, but I know his last album has some heavy moments. They are heavy in more of an alt-rock kind of way than anything Jimmy Page would have played, but they still had a good amount of guitar. The title track of that album also had a “Kashmir” kind of eastern sound.

 

He's gone out of his way to avoid that.

D.D.

 

I would say his first 5 albums have some songs that more closely resemble some Led Zeppelin songs than his later albums.

Check out the song Tall Cool One and see how many Zeppelin samples you hear.

 

His first 2 albums have remnants of his days of yore......

 

Manic Nirvana or Now and Zen

 

Exactly!

Most Zep-like is his first, Pictures At Eleven.

 

Manic Nirvana. Maybe.

 

Too far in my opinion. Tried so hard to avoid sounding like Zeppelin that a lot of his solo work sounds contrived. Should have just kept rocking. I don’t think anyone would have had a problem with that.

 

The first album: "Burning Down One Side" sounds like "In the Evening" sped up. "Slow Dancer" sounds like it too could have been on In Through the Out Door. (It would have been that album's best song. )

 

This.

 

The only thing that spoils it is the god awful sounding drum machine. Sounds like me making gulping sounds with my throat.

 

I felt the one time he really tried to make a hard rock album -- Manic Nirvana -- he wound up with the least artistically successful album of his solo career. But I also thought Phil Johnstone and those guys were the least interesting people he worked with.

 

First album.

Maybe Manic Nirvana......

 

I've always thought Principle Of Moments was really Zeppelin-esque. Later Zeppelin, at least.

 

Yea, in an overall sense, I would agree with you there.

 

How about Fate Of Nations?

I remember thinking the song “Calling To You” was rather Zeppy.

 

Pictures At Eleven.

I can see where the Manic Nirvana mentions are coming from, but to me it sounds more like revisionist Zep than the real deal. Pictures really sounds like it could've followed up In Through The Outdoor!

 

Pictures at Eleven has the most Zeppelin-ish stuff, especially Slow Dancer, Like I've Never Been Gone and Worse Than Detroit. Worse Than Detroit could almost be Presence.

 

Not necessarily that it sounds like Zeppelin, but rather, to me, it sounds like something Zeppelin could've done.

That guitar riff in Other Arms is completely Jimmy Page. I can just picture him playing that.

 

I think rather than picking an album you could put together a playlist of Robert's most Zeppelinesque songs... there was usually one or two per album -- Slow Dancer and Calling to You have been mentioned, I might add "Wreckless Love" from The Principle of Moments... often it's not so much that the music sounds like Zeppelin but that Robert lets himself off the leash and throws a few "baby"s and "push"s into the mix.

 

That one and Mystery Title.
Not almost, but they could've been on Presence!

 

Agreed. I'd add Tin Pan Valley from "The Mighty Rearranger" to the list. Some really great dynamics with building tension/release and very Zeppelin vocals are the payoff in the release parts.

 

This is about as close as any of his material comes to Led Zeppelin. None of it tries to duplicate the Zeppelin hard rock sound.....IMO.

 

It's a great example of exactly what Robert brought to Zeppelin. You're right about it not trying to replicate Zeppelin, but the sound is still familiar, ya know?