Here's a topic that will never go away. Where do things stand between Robert Plant and his former bandmates in Led Zeppelin?
Well, the topic would go away if he were joining them. Rumor has it that Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones are playing with Jason Bonham in a London rehearsal studio, aiming to write some new music.
I can confirm for sure that Robert Plant isn't there. I just saw him two nights in a row in Tennessee. I can also confirm that Jimmy, Jonesy and Jason were not there. (Members of the Spin Doctors were at the Chattanooga show though, down a few seats from Alison Krauss's parents.)
Robert's concerts with Alison contain a few examples of what I would call "Zeppelin moments." What I'm referring to do has nothing to do with the song choice. It has everything to do with Plant's enthusiasm and energy while he's performing. The band gets tight and in the pocket, and once they achieve that, they can become loose. And a Zeppelin moment is not a Zeppelin moment solely because it is tight but loose, or because there is light and shade (which there certainly is in Plant and Krauss's song arrangements). A Zeppelin moment is defined by the presence of unbridled emotion. There were two distinct Zeppelin moments in Knoxville: They came in "Hey Hey, What Can I Do" and "The Battle of Evermore." There were also two distinct Zeppelin moments in Chattanooga, and they weren't even in Zeppelin songs! (I know I'm going out on a limb here. Love me or hate me; agree with me or disagree with me. Just don't shoot the messenger. I know what I felt at the show.) The Zeppelin moments in Chattanooga were in Townes Van Zandt's "Nothin'" and the Page-Plant song "Please Read the Letter." There, I said it.
In his constant and ongoing evolution since 1980, Robert has written and covered songs that mean as much to him as the ones he wrote with Led Zeppelin. Songs by Arthur Lee, Bukka White, Skip Spence and Gene Clark hold personal meaning to Robert, as much as tunes by Willie Dixon, Blind Willie Johnson and Memphis Minnie did to him in the Zeppelin era. He has spent more than 20 years latching onto those influences and writing incredible solo material. And in that time, we witnessed him first abandoning the Zeppelin material and then re-embracing it, arguably even improving on it. Along the way, he has come to terms with his history, becoming able to play Led Zeppelin songs in concert once again, and even without making it necessary to share the stage with Jimmy Page or John Paul Jones (or, hell, for that matter, Jason Bonham). Robert has come to terms with who he is.
Know who he is? Lyricist for "Black Dog." Lyricist for "The Battle of Evermore." Singer on "Black Country Woman." Lyricist and bluesy belter on "Hey Hey What Can I Do." Singer on "When the Levee Breaks." All of that, and more. Think he's ashamed of that? Hell no!
["Misty Mountain Hop" and "Living Loving Maid (She's Just a Woman)" aside, right? And his self-inflicted Spinal Tap references notwithstanding.]
Point is, he's come to terms with his past life as Led Zeppelin's dynamic frontman and has discerned a way to make that complement everything he's doing today, whether it be with the Strange Sensation or Alison Krauss or whatever. What he's doing is commercially viable, and it's lately been dramatically successful, both commercially and critically, moreso than anything else he's done recently.
But notice the words I've just slipped by you? "Past life" as Led Zeppelin's singer. Probably didn't make you flinch. Probably not. He was Led Zeppelin's singer in 1980. Yeah, he did it again a few months ago, but it was as foreign to him playing a fourpiece version of "In My Time of Dying" as it was for us, the listeners. He didn't know what to do onstage when approaching that song. He's said as much himself; listen to David Fricke's interview with him in Rolling Stone if you don't believe me! Robert Plant was unsure of how to carry himself heading to the stage in London this December. Why? Because he had to go back in time, way back in time, to get there. Mentally. Personally. Maybe physically. Zeppelin was how many years in the past? We're talking 1980, so what's that? 2007 minus 1980... That's 27 years!? Sounds like "past" to me, over a quarter of a century.
Ok, let's use the word "challenging" here. You tell me, I'm a dumb guy here. What's more challenging: doing something you've already done, decades ago, and proved recently you can still do, or spreading your wings and trying something brand new? Which is more challenging? To be sure, I'm talking about the difference between singing on a Led Zeppelin tour that would be teeming with the "Ramble On"s and the "Rock and Roll"s that come with a tour.... And oh yeah, don't forget "Stairway to Heaven"... Difference between that and what he's doing now, the Raising Sand 2008 tour.
One of my biggest lasting visual impressions of the shows the past two days is of Robert sharing a single microphone with two other male singers, with Alison Krauss a few feet away delvering a spiritual number. He's harmonizing with these guys. He's humbling himself. In Knoxville, I tried to figure out which of the three male voices was his, and I couldn't. Have no clue. Promised myself to listen more closely in Chattanooga and figure out for sure who was who. And I was a lot closer to the stage and I blocked off all distractions and put nothing between me and the sound and visuals coming at me. Know what? I still have no clue which voice was Robert Plant's. No clue! My favorite singer in the world! And I couldn't tell you if that voice was his or that of some dudes named Buddy Miller or Stuart Duncan. And that's the whole point. He blended so well. He's working out with this thing. Now you tell me what's challenging. Not only challenging but enticing. Plant may view it as reverting to the past or repeating history unnecessarily to try out a Led Zeppelin tour and give that another go. Even if there's the call of new material, it may not be enough to draw his interest.
And bear in mind, as my traveling mate just reminded me, there aren't enough doctors in the world to support a Led Zeppelin tour.
Above photo from Robert Plant and Alison Krauss concert Knoxville, Tenn., courtesy of Bruce "The Buckeye"
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