Tag Archives: Robert Plant

Song of the Week – For Your Life, Led Zeppelin

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Ignored             Obscured              Restored

Rock vocalist Robert Plant is best known for fronting Led Zeppelin, whose eight studio albums between 1969 and 1979 redefined rock music — excluding the hastily thrown-together compilation Coda (1982).  But after drummer John “Bonzo” Bonham’s death in 1980, the band made the painful decision to disband. Their press release explained:

“We wish it to be known that the loss of our dear friend, and the deep sense of undivided harmony felt by ourselves and our manager, have led us to decide that we could not continue as we were.”

Since then, countless offers for a Zeppelin reunion have surfaced.  Yet of the three surviving members, Plant has been by far the most reluctant.  The band has reunited only three times: at Live Aid in July 1985, the Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary Concert in May 1988, and the Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert in December 2007 — an event honoring the Atlantic Records founder who signed them in 1969.

Instead of looking backward, Plant has consistently chosen new creative ventures.  He’s fronted projects like The Honeydrippers, The Strange Sensation, The Sensational Space Shifters, Band of Joy (with Buddy Miller and his former partner Patty Griffin), and Saving Grace (featuring Suzi Dian).  He’s also sustained a rich solo career and recorded two celebrated duet albums with Alison Krauss.  Yet this restless spirit doesn’t mean Plant has turned his back on Zeppelin — he remains proud of their legacy, including overlooked deep cuts.

In an interview with MOJO magazine, Plant pointed to one such track:

“But you know, most people have missed some of the best Zeppelin stuff. “For Your Life”, on Presence, “Achilles Last Stand”! Fucking hell.  Just extraordinary that three people and a singer can do that.  Really, they were pulling so much stuff out of the unknown. Bonham and Jones on “For Your Life”.  It’s just insane.  And Jimmy, just…”

So, for today’s Song of the Week, let’s revisit “For Your Life”.

Written by Plant, the lyrics depict the corrosive effect of cocaine on the crumbling L.A. music scene of the 1970s.  The music itself was largely ad-libbed in the studio — yet the result is one of Zeppelin’s most powerful, underappreciated performances.  I’m grateful to Plant for pointing me back to this terrific track.

And don’t stop there.  Keep pace with Plant by exploring the many albums he’s released since 1980 across all those diverse projects.  His journey since Zeppelin has been every bit as adventurous as his time within it.

Enjoy… until next week.

Song of the Week – Big Log, Robert Plant

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Ignored             Obscured              Restored

Today’s SotW post was written by frequent guest contributor and long-time friend, Michael Paquette.

Robert Plant’s solo career has been a bit uneven, but he has always sought fulfillment with his musical efforts and has produced a wide range of material in following that path.  His most highly acclaimed work outside of Led Zeppelin is his collaboration with Allison Krauss which resulted in the landmark Americana album Raising Sand (2007).  Led Zeppelin was not much of a singles band. Plant’s solo works have not climbed the charts but consistently produced compelling music.   Led Zeppelin called it a day after the death of John Bonham in 1980.  Many fans felt that the band would reunite with a different drummer.  However, that never happened partly because Robert Plant was so engaged in his solo career.

Plant’s second solo release was called The Principle of Moments.  Released in 1983, it fits in with the works of many bands that used synths for bold and splashy sounds at that time.  But Plant and his bandmates used synths to construct an evocative and more subtle mood.  The guitar work on this album by Robbie Blunt conjures up a similar sound to what Mark Knopfler was playing with Dire Straits.

When “Big Log” was released, it snuck into the top 20 in 1983 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, and #6 on Billboard’s Top Tracks.  It was Plant’s first solo release to chart.  The album would continue to gain recognition and was ultimately certified gold with two other songs that also made the charts.

Plant uses a more restrained vocal on this song cutting loose with some wails as the song progresses.  Phil Collins is on the drums.  The title appears to be a little suggestive but is just a reference to a log blazing in a fireplace while Plant and Blunt were laying down the track.  This song still burns bright when revisited over 40 years later.  It is a fine solo work constructed by a leader of one of the all-time greatest bands.

A remastered edition of the album was released in 2007.  It included live renditions of two songs from the original release, and an unreleased live version of Plant and Bob Marley performing “Lively Up Yourself” recorded in September 1983. 

The Principle of Moments is a fine addition to any record collection that also includes Led Zeppelin material.

Enjoy… until next week.

Song of the Week – Shine It All Around, Robert Plant

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IGNORED OBSCURED RESTORED

Sometimes my inspiration for a SotW comes from the media I currently follow. In recent weeks Robert Plant has been making the rounds or in the news. Music biz blogger Bob Lefsetz wrote an interesting post about Plant’s interview with Howard Stern on October 17th. You can read his post and link to the Stern/Plant interview here:

http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/2017/10/26/robert-plant-on-howard-stern/

Later a friend of mine, William McD, sent me the link to this article in The Guardian from September where Plant discusses his back catalog:

Julie Rogers – A Life In Music, Robert Plant

These two coincidences led me to reevaluate Plant’s solo, back catalog. There are many interesting and wonderful songs to hear. One that really grabbed my attention is today’s SotW, “Shine It All Around.”

“Shine It All Around” is from Plant’s second album with the Strange Sensation called Mighty ReArranger (2005). It received a Grammy award for Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance.

And it has a very positive message, something the world can really use these days.

This is the land where I live
Paint it all over golden
Take a little sunshine, spread it all around
This is the love that I give
These are the arms for the holding
Turn on your love light, shine it all around

If you have access to a service like Spotify, please go back to listen to Plant’s solo repertoire. You will be soundly rewarded.

Enjoy… until next week.