Well, that settles it. No Led Zeppelin reunion, and that's all anyone ever cared about

Isn't it interesting that nearly all of the Led Zeppelin news coverage anywhere on Thursday was centered on Robert Plant's declaration that there was "zero" chance of another Led Zeppelin reunion? In case you missed it, that's what he told the BBC in the very last second of a six-minute chat aired on BBC radio Wednesday morning and was available online for listening all over the world.

It's what he said in the very last second, the "zero" chance comment, that stole the headlines. Because there's always been an interest in a Led Zeppelin reunion, no matter when the last one was, or how discouragingly bad the last one was, or how astonishingly good the last one was. But Robert's closed the door.

Jimmy admitted, in his separate interview, also broadcast April 23, that he's more surprised than anyone there's not been a reunion. Furthermore, he's not the one to ask about a Led Zeppelin reunion. He's only the guitar player. He's not the singer. You should ask the singer. And so they did, and the singer said no. It was an outright no. And as Brian Gardiner astutely observed on his site, this is exactly what he could have said a long time ago and saved us all some agony.

I'm feeling really badly for Jimmy now. I think he put a whole lotta stock in the inevitability that Robert would change his mind once again. It's possible Jimmy didn't want to get any kind of a studio or live project going again unless Robert was going to be the frontman. Luckily, John Paul Jones doesn't feel that way, and we've gotten Them Crooked Vultures, Seasick Steve, Minibus Pimps, I won't repeat myself...

What was really cool is the fact that neither of the two Led Zeppelin bonus tracks premiered by the BBC at the same time was anything ardent fans have ever heard before. (Correct me if I'm wrong!) Jimmy truly dug into boxes of tapes, and took two years doing it, to arrive at the best stuff there is. And so far, this is stuff that never leaked to the masses.

We've now heard a minute's worth of the Led Zeppelin III outtake "Key to the Highway" (none of the "Trouble in Mind" portion expected later) and learned it was recorded 30 minutes after "Hats Off to (Roy) Harper." It features Robert Plant singing through the same reverberating filter also heard on another studio outtake already distributed and well known among bootleg collectors. But it's a totally different melody, and the chord progression features a nice two-five turnaround seldom heard in the blues.

Representing Led Zeppelin II's bonus disc is a rough mix of "Whole Lotta Love" with an alternate vocal. This is nothing that came out with the multitracks when they leaked online in February 2012. Hmm, just over two years ago, which we can now surmise is when Jimmy started working on this remasters-plus-bonus project taking advantage of technological advancements of the past two decades since the first remastered Led Zeppelin CDs ...

And this is all in addition to the sweet first track of the live CD accompanying the Led Zeppelin remaster, which we can stream on Spotify now whenever we want.




Also, it was fun hearing Robert admit he was imitating the stylings of Steve Marriott on "Whole Lotta Love." Isn't it funny how Jimmy wanted Steve Marriott as the singer and instead got a Steve Marriott imitator? Not that Robert was a Steve Marriott imitator all the time. He says he was this for one three-minute song, then onto something else entirely different for another. Great point!

It sure would be nice hearing from John Paul Jones on these matters. I wonder why not.

Anyway, now that Robert closed the door to any future Led Zeppelin reunions, what impact will that make on whether Jimmy picks up a guitar again, in his 70s, and goes out there with somebody else?

U.S. tour dates announced for Robert Plant; June-July for world music tour with Sensational Space Shifters

Robert Plant has new words today on his musical direction or "path," a word he always preferred over "career" anyway. Contained in a press release announcing his June and July U.S. tour dates with the Sensational Space Shifters are these words:

"Keep it fresh, spin the bottle, dig deep, embrace the past - visit it - celebrate it - but don't build a home in it."

Yeah, it sounds like something Plant would say. It helps to understand why so much of their concert has been taken up by playing Led Zeppelin songs. The evidence is on the official live releases he's recorded with them, available as downloads or physical CDs. Just check www.robertplantlive.com.

His 2013 touring band, the Sensational Space Shifters, is fresh off a month of dates in Australia and New Zealand, not to mention Singapore, one destination that never came through for Led Zeppelin back in the day. The Sensational Space Shifters are a reconfigured Strange Sensation, the backing band that accounted for Plant's 2001-2007 output -- up to his collaboration with Alison Krauss and the Led Zeppelin reunion.

The Strange Sensation backed Plant on the albums Dreamland and Mighty ReArranger as well as many performances, including for the WOMAD audience. Since then, guitarist Justin Adams recruited riti player Juldeh Camara from the Gambia. Also coming from that country with experience in sabar drumming is Dave Smith, a jazz drummer and orchestral percussionist said to have "Ginger Baker-like energy." Meanwhile, guitarist Skin Tyson and bassist Billy Fuller played in the 2010 project Men from Mars, recording "in the hills of Snowdonia" a self-titled album available for download at Bandcamp. Keyboardist John Baggott has been composing for TV and film.

Plant's press release reveals that he was a "timid English boy" early in his teens, growing up in a "sanitized shelter." He grew immensely, finishing out his teens having just become a quarter of the lineup of Led Zeppelin.

An array of sonic influences continued to develop Plant's singing throughout the years, not the least of which is the music of the Mississippi Delta: "a world of field holler, despair, Levee camp and chain-gang moans; of Saturday night fish-fry and Juke Joint foot stomp."

Plant has also learned "from the sounds of Southside Chicago Electric Blues; of Griot mantras from West Africa; from Louisiana Dance Halls; Greenwich Village Folk hangover; Haight Ashbury indulgences; Moroccan medina breakbeat; the early English radical techno materials, Texas two-step and Bristol Dubstep."



The Sensational Space Shifters and Plant, this June and July, are coming to the United States to play 21 cities spanning both coasts and a few in between. Fifty years after being that "timid English boy," Plant is "drawing from a lifetime of adventures, tracking the dark, beautiful resonator." While speculation about any kind of a possible Led Zeppelin reunion can be put off for the near future, it's said that "Plant follows his heart and lifts his voice higher and joyous ever away."

What the press release doesn't indicate is whether they'll be unveiling any new music at this time. UPDATE, 2:34 p.m.: A publicist for Plant says the set list has yet to be determined and added "no new record [is] scheduled to be released." Tour dates follow, after the jump:

Robert Plant says he's forever committed to Buddy Miller

As Robert Plant picked up one of the big prizes at a Nashville awards ceremony last night, he did more than just thank his touring bandmate Buddy Miller: He pretty much committed himself to having Miller involved in all of his musical projects from here on out.

Plant delivered his remark at the Americana Music Association's annual Honors and Awards ceremony, while accepting the Album of the Year award for his Band of Joy CD. Miller earned two awards of his own at the ceremony.

Before Plant and Miller co-produced the Band of Joy album released last year, they were already touring bandmates from the Raising Sand tour with Alison Krauss. Plant said it on that 2008 tour that he basically decided on sticking with Miller into the uncertain future: "When we toured the Raising Sand tour, I said to the forces that be, I said, 'We can't go anywhere without Buddy Miller,' and I'm never gonna go anywhere without Buddy Miller, ever."

The live audience in Nashville cheered Plant's comments about their hometown hero, who in a few minutes would be named Artist of the Year -- ironically, beating out Plant in the category.

Earlier, upon winning Instrumentalist of the Year, Miller had proclaimed himself "really, really not that good." He said, "I feel like I get away with murder with what I do." Miller mentioned Plant by name, along with Emmylou Harris and Jim Lauderdale, thanking these "wonderfully, incredibly talented people" for letting him "sneak in there behind them."

Plant was much more complimentary of Miller's abilities as an instrumentalist. To him, Miller is "the consummate player of all the licks and the beauty and the soliloquy of great American music that I'd ever heard in my life."

Plant thanked not only Miller in his acceptance speech but also Krauss and his more recent female collaborator, singer Patty Griffin. Said Plant, "When we were making the Band of Joy album, it got to Christmas a year or so ago, and I said to Buddy, 'There's something missing, and it's getting a bit too pastoral.' And so, I have to thank Patty Griffin for really turning the record round."

The British singer also recalled a pivotal encounter with Americana music from even before he was a teen-ager." When I was 12, I heard 'The Mountain's High' by Dick and Dee Dee," he said. "I never looked back. I just kept dreaming of American music and coming over here, and I did. I stole a great deal with my old companions."

The Band of Joy, with Greg Leisz filling in for the absent Darrell Scott, performed the song "Monkey" -- but not before Allman Brothers Band leader Gregg Allman got in a quick comment: "Did you ever think you'd be sittin' here in the Ryman [Auditorium] watching Robert Plant and the Band of Joy?"

Robert Plant, Patty Griffin debut Crown Vic lineup in Marfa, Texas

Well, this may be an early indicator of what Robert Plant's career may look like next. And no, it's not with Led Zeppelin.


But it does include their music.

@SoundcheckMag

No, Robert's not taking his own "Hot Dog" advice from 1979: "I'll never go to Texas anymore." He's long broken that rule.

On Thursday night, he appeared in Texas, as rumored, at Marfa's El Cosmico for the Trans-Pecos Festival of Music & Love. He and native Texan Patty Griffin sang with a band of Lone Star Staters called the Crown Vic.

Something tells me that name may already be copyrighted.

@SoundcheckMag

The band's got electric guitar, mandolin, keyboard and accordion, electric and acoustic bass, and drums. Griffin's on mandolin, too, besides singing and doing her one and only dance.



In uploading a video of their first song on YouTube, MarcDurbin identifies the band members with Plant and Griffin as "David Grissom (electric guitar), Michael Ramos (organ, accordion), Glenn Fukunaga (acoustic & electric bass), [and] Dony Wynn (drums)."

As has been the case with just about every Robert Plant band of the last 20 years -- wait, make that 41 years -- they do "Black Dog." Hmm, that could have been predicted.



Plant's set puts a Texas town seven hours west of Austin on the map. Hundreds are attending the festival in Marfa, reports Nathaniel Miller for Odessa American Online.


View Larger Map

Plant and Griffin are said to have been rehearsing in Austin with the group of local musicians. When Griffin goes on the road with Buddy Miller, Plant is expected to remain in Austin to continue working with Crown Vic.

Robert Plant's name does not appear on the festival poster. His appearance was rumored but not officially announced until the day of the festival opening. Previously, Patty Griffin was scheduled to appear with "special guests" who would be a surprise.

@SoundCheckMag posted on Twitter:

"Incredible! Mostly killer blues rock w/ some Louisiana accordion & beats. A few slow tunes too. [T]heir harmonies are perfect."

Miller added via Twitter that "Rock and Roll" also made Griffin and Plant's set list. KGSR's Andy Langer has uploaded "Misty Mountain Hop" to YouTube. (Hey, it seems like Plant's been listening to Led Zeppelin's untitled fourth album!)

Swan Percussion via Facebook

From Miller's report on Odessa American Online:

Singer Patty Griffin appeared on stage and introduced her band, including one of the most famous lead singers in rock history.

"I'd like to introduce you to my dear, dear friend, Robert Plant," Griffin said to an explosion of cheers.

About 300 people from around the state gathered in Marfa for El Cosmico's sixth annual Trans-Pecos Festival of Music and Love, and the crowd seemed remarkably calm and quiet. Attendees and vendors gathered to listen to music, eat food and drink beer.

Isadora McKeon, producer of the event, said the event was also helping those in need. "Five dollars of each preregistration ticket sold will go to the Central Texas Wildfire Relief Fund," McKeon said. ...

What started out as friends coming together at the building's location, turned into a two day festival of music, vendors and fun. "I'm proud of what we created,” McKeon said.

Since its inaugural festival, the event has grown into three days, with a show added on Thursday, and it will continue to hold events such as the baseball game between Marfa and Austin on Saturday, and have numerous vendors selling art, clothing and food. ...

People who attended the show said they were aware Plant would be at the show, but did not know for sure if he was really going to take the state.

Will Robert Plant sing again between projects?

Campers arriving next Thursday night in Marfa, Texas, for the 6th Annual Trans-Pecos Festival of Music and Love, may find out that one of the unnamed "special guests" appearing with Patty Griffin during her set is Robert Plant!

Robert Plant, Band of Joy to tour Europe

After finishing their North American run of shows with three festival appearances -- Merlefest in May and Bonnaroo and Telluride in June -- Robert Plant and the Band of Joy will embark on a European tour.

The Band of Joy has announced 10 shows in July and August. After two Italian shows, the tour runs through France, Switzerland, Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Germany and Belgium. More shows are expected to be added, including some shows in the UK.

The following dates are confirmed, with tickets on sale now:

• July 19: Rome, Italy - Capannelle Fiesta
• July 20: Milan, Italy - Arena Civica
• July 22: Nimes, France - Festival de Nimes, Les Roman Arenes (tickets)
• July 23: Nyon, Switzerland - Paleo Festival
• July 27: St. Petersburg, Russia - New Arena
• July 29: Moscow, Russia - Crocus Hall (tickets)
• July 31: Kiev, Ukraine - Palace of Sports
• Aug. 2: Warsaw, Poland - Torwar (tickets)
• Aug. 3: Berlin, Germany - Zitadelle (tickets)
• Aug. 5: Lokeren, Belgium - Lockersee Festival (tickets, more information)

Well-tuned Band of Joy to appear on PBS

Fresh on the heels of Robert Plant's last televised in-concert special, PBS announced it would be featuring Plant and the Band of Joy on an upcoming episode of the series "Live from the Artists Den."

PBS cameras filmed the group's second concert in Nashville earlier this month as Plant and the Band of Joy went on a two-month break before further U.S. dates resume. No airdate has been announced for the episode, but it will be one of the episodes in the third season of the "Artists Den" series, kicking off this April. Update: The episode premieres April 22. For more audio and photographs from the concert, click here.

Incidentally, Band of Joy singer/guitarist Patty Griffin performed a solo concert for the first season of "Artists Den." The third season is set to get underway in April with a performance from Elvis Costello and the Sugarcanes, which features T Bone Burnett, who produced 2007's Raising Sand for Robert Plant and Alison Krauss before accompanying them on their 2008 tour.

The current six-member Band of Joy began touring in July 2010, in advance of Plant's Band of Joy CD release in September. As the tour progressed, so did the interplay among band members. A London gig of theirs shot last September aired this past weekend on the cable network HDNet.

It's safe to say an even more captivating performance can be expected out of Nashville, which is home for most of the Band of Joy musicians. The aptly nicknamed "Music City" was also the location of their recordings beginning in December 2009 and last summer's tour rehearsals.

Robert Plant unsure of Led Zeppelin reunion odds; singer tells BBC, 'I don't bet'

By Brian Gardiner

Robert Plant spent an hour sitting in with Chris Evans on the "Chris Evans Breakfast Show" on BBC Radio this morning. The singer is in London between legs of his American tour -- a schedule that is dictated by the Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club. You have to "plan your career, set our priorities right," Plant quipped.

Led Zeppelin was, Plant also offered, a lot like the Wolves: really good some nights, really bad others.

In good spirits, Plant even pontificated on that question he hates answering. The Led Zeppelin reunion:

"All those big guys saw it as being the next big roll out. Led Zeppelin was worth far more than that ... it was great to do it once properly."

And then, unprompted, he went further:

"What happens in the future really is based on kinship, camaraderie. Whether or not there's life in the old beast."

If you're a betting man? Evans asked. "I don't bet," Plant answered.

Evans also asked Plant to pick the better guitarist: Jimmy Page or David Gilmour?

"Listen to Pagey. Jimbob. He's wild. He's brilliant."

It was, no contest, Plant said. He also suggested he talked to Jimmy Page yesterday, and would see him again Wednesday.

He has been accused recently of not getting along with the other members of Led Zeppelin, so it's good to hear he's on terms with Jimmy Page, even if they won't be working together soon.

About the Band of Joy, Plant said he was pleased for Patty Griffin winning a Grammy. But:

"You gotta be sharp with this lot, because they do soundchecks, which I never knew about. Then they go and eat broccoli."

And while it occurred to Plant a person had to look after themselves, he still likes a drink, which is OK because "a lot of musicians are drinking again."

For an early morning radio show Plant sounded in good form, and offered quips about many people. Paul McCartney, for instance, was the first person to hug him after his Grammy winning night for Raising Sand. And who gave him the shortest hug? Alison Krauss.

Listen to the show here.

Alison Krauss trades compliments with Robert Plant in Rolling Stone

By Brian Gardiner

Last month, Robert Plant told Rolling Stone magazine that a second album with Alison Krauss was started, but "the sound wasn't there."

He was referring to sessions on the followup to their Grammy winning album, Raising Sand. Plant went on to record Band of Joy instead of continuing with the Krauss collaboration. Alison Krauss returned to her band, Union Station, and recorded their sixth studio album.

In a piece in Rolling Stone this week, Krauss agreed with Plant that the sound wasn't there. However, she wants to be clear that's not the fault of the musicians they were working with:

"I don't want to make it sound like we're saying that someone else's performance wasn't there - the band was fantastic, the same as the first record."

The two traded compliments in their respective Rolling Stone stories as well, Plant saying:

"Alison's the best. She's one of my favorite people."

Krauss is more backhanded in her return compliment:

"He's a delightful person, and I'll never meet another like him."

Krauss's new Union Station album, Paper Airplane, is due April 12. It is their first album since 2004's Lonely Runs Both Ways.

Robert Plant has robust U.S. festival schedule: Wanee, Jazz Fest, Bonnaroo, Telluride, and more?

By Steve Sauer

Robert Plant's robust U.S. festival schedule in the coming months may now include Bonnaroo in June, if a post-encore comment delivered two nights ago is to be believed.

A complete artist roster from the Bonnaroo Music Festival 2011 is forthcoming, but some artists have chosen to spill the beans early, making their own Bonnaroo confirmations public. As of Tuesday's sudden onstage announcement by Plant, his Band of Joy can now rank among acts who've gone that route, including Bruce Hornsby and the Gregg Allman Blues Band.

"We'll see you in summer, Bonnaroo. Come on down," Robert Plant invited his Washington audience from the stage of D.A.R. Constitution Hall around five minutes to 11 p.m.

(Unfortunately, Bonnaroo can't be considered a "summer" festival since it ends over the second weekend of June. Unless the Zodiac did something to the seasons, too ...)

(Oh, and then Plant made a geographical blunder, misdirecting D.C.-area concertgoers "across the Mason-Dixon Line," which would send them to Pennsylvania or farther north, whereas Bonnaroo takes place down south in Tennessee. Oh well, he gets a pass given where he's from!)

Since Tuesday, no other official announcement has been made about a Band of Joy appearance at Bonnaroo, although diligent online media have begun spreading word of Plant's proclamation. There is precedent for Plant making it to Bonnaroo; he and Alison Krauss performed in 2008. (Their Raising Sand tour also hit the Austin City Limits Festival in September that year.)

The addition of Bonnaroo (June 9-12) would keep the already-busy Band of Joy occupied a genre-crossing array of U.S. festivals this summer. They've already been booked to play the Telluride Bluegrass Festival in Colorado (June 16-19) as well as earlier appearances at the Wanee Music Festival in Florida (April 14-15) and Jazz Fest in New Orleans (April 29).

The Band of Joy's current U.S. tour, underway since Jan. 18, is now between shows in the South, with North Charleston in South Carolina on Friday, Atlanta on Saturday, Charlotte on Monday, and two final shows in Nashville on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Tour dates then continue for at least half the band as Buddy Miller and Patty Griffin take to the seas. Both are booked to play sets aboard the annual Cayamo cruise, departing Feb. 13 from Miami. Aboard the Norwegian Pearl headed returning from the Bahamas one week later, they'll be playing alongside such musicians as former Fairport Convention guitarist Richard Thompson, whose song "House of Cards" has become a Band of Joy concert standard.

Our exclusive on-the-spot concert report from D.C. first appeared online Tuesday night.

Any changes in the set list tonight, Roy? "Only all the time," answers Robert Plant's sound man. He says they rehearse the afternoon of every gig.
Tuesday at 8:49pm

Between the set from the opening act and the headliner, onstage is none other than Darrell Scott, soundchecking his lap steel on headphones. Meanwhile, this is the second Howlin' Wolf song played over the P.A. during the break.
Tuesday at 9:04pm

Before the show, someone asked me if Robert still uses incense at his shows like he did with the Strange Sensation. I wasn't sure, but now I am. The answer is yes. A crew member was just lighting them.
Tuesday at 9:10pm

They're opening with their dirty funky raw country-fried version of "Black Dog" tonight.
Tuesday at 9:14pm

HDNet to air last year's Robert Plant show in London

By Brian Gardiner and Steve Sauer

Cameras were rolling last September when Robert Plant and his new band premiered songs from their new album to a London audience.

This month, HDNet promises to show highlights from the concert to its viewers in the United States and Canada. Its debut on HDNet is scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 20, at 8 p.m. Eastern. (If you miss it, stay up a few more hours and it will air again at 1:30 a.m.)

The show was taped Sept. 2 at the HMV Forum in London's Kentish Town. In October, England's Guardian newspaper ran a series of five videos from the show, one each day.

The 70-minute broadcast is set to include live versions of several Band of Joy tracks: "Monkey," "House of Cards," "Harm's Swift Way," "Satan, Your Kingdom Must Come Down," "Central Two-O-Nine," "Angel Dance" and "Cindy, I'll Marry You Someday."

Also slated for inclusion are "Gallows Pole," "Rich Woman," "Please Read the Letter" and "I Bid You Goodnight."

Robert Plant says his 'eyes and ears have been opened'

By Brian Gardiner

Robert Plant eyes up Patty Griffin
during "Rich Woman" in New York:
Mine eyes have seen the glory!

Robert Plant, it seems, does everything differently these days. When an artist plays Toronto one weekend, and New York the next, it is normal that New York is the one everyone talks about, even while the artist is in Toronto. For Robert Plant, who is playing New York this weekend to a wall of silence, last weekend's Toronto shows are again being talked about.

The Observer's Ed Vulliamy spent last weekend with Plant in Toronto talking in depth with Plant about his motivations for performing, how he gets to the shows, and the Wolverhampton Wanderers.

"There's no plan," Plant tells Vulliamy, "this band has a life of its own." Those are key words. When wondering what will Plant do, he is just as much in the dark as you are. Last week, I penned a piece chronicling his desire to write with Band of Joy after telling Rolling Stone he was done writing. The real answer to the question of what's next for Robert Plant lies in that answer: "There's no plan." And if that means Robert Plant is moving on from where his fans are musically, drifting out of significance, he understands that:

"The further I get into it, the harder it will be to get a gig in the Top Rank. I won't fit. If I continue doing this, it will mean obsolescence for me ... I'm just incredibly fortunate that my eyes and ears have been opened. I have to be honest with myself and remove as much of the repetition and fakery as is humanly possible."

Unlike other interviews, other comments, Plant is also more conciliatory, less dismissive, towards his time in Led Zeppelin:

"We were great when we were great. I was part of something magnificent which broke the Guinness Book of Records, but in the end, what are you going to get out of it? Who are you doing it for? You have to ask these questions: Who pays the piper, and what is valuable in this life? I don't want to scream 'Immigrant Song' every night for the rest of my life, and I'm not sure I could."

Comments like "who pays the piper" probably say more about why Robert Plant turned down huge money for a Led Zeppelin reunion. A tour the size of Zeppelin would be a machine grinding away at Plant's creative impulses. Besides, how would a reunited Zeppelin get to the gigs? Not, I suspect, by Plant's preferred method:

"It's all by bus. It's a great way to see America and a great way to meet interesting people. But most of all, I want to be on these kinds of terms with these kinds of people. There's no point in doing it any other way, and if I did, I'd feel uncomfortable. I've got a big name, but I've always wanted to be in a band, one of a band ... I do not want to arrive to join the band in a limo."

Plant is also less dismissive than he has been about other artists continuing to play their old songs, touring with 40-year-old music:

"It would become progressively more difficult to talk about music at a whist drive. All my colleagues that I've known and loved -- our lives have been lived in parallel for 40 years -- and you have to say: each to their own. People get off on what they want to get off on -- I'm not going to tell anyone how to live ..."

Band of Joy in Ann Arbor, Mich.: Robert Plant, Buddy Miller,
Byron House, Marco Giovino, Darrell Scott, Patty Griffin.
Photo by Wyatt Brake

Leaving aside his comments, direct or indirect, about Led Zeppelin, Plant has a lot to say about his Band of Joy as well.

"I wonder sometimes, how did I get into this family of people? Sometimes I feel as though I'm not contributing so much as getting away with it ... this band has a life of its own. It's breaking down all the terminologies; all the terms that apply to different genres are being torn asunder. ...

"It's about contribution. Everyone is throwing themselves into this abstraction called Band of Joy, and no one knows what it is. But we know how to find it, and we go looking. I asked [manager Nicola Powell] if my rambling between songs on stage is getting too obscure. She says no, it's just about mad enough to capture the spirit of the thing."

Why, at his age, does Robert Plant keep doing it at all when he could easily retire to the Black Country, watching the Wolverhampton Wanderers and minding the legacy of Led Zeppelin?

"I would say it was restlessness if it was not something else, which is inquisitive curiosity and the need to challenge myself. It's a two-dimensional gig being a singer, and you can get lost in your own tedium and repetition."

Plant's inability to get lost in tedium and repetition is what fans both love and hate about him. It explains the great moments in his career, and it also explains why Led Zeppelin didn't stop progressing after Led Zeppelin II -- or after their fourth album.

It also explains why he is riding the buses with Buddy Miller and Patty Griffin and not jetting around the world with Led Zeppelin; why he is doing two nights at the Beacon Theatre and not seven at Madison Square Garden; why "Rock and Roll" is now a bluegrass number.

The Band of Joy is getting better as well, Plant tells Vulliamy. "Something went up a notch in Ann Arbor," the singer says, referring to the Michigan concert immediately before the pair of Toronto shows. It continued into the Toronto show, Vulliamy writes:

... in Toronto, somewhere during an old Uncle Tupelo song [sic] called "Satan, Your Kingdom Must Come Down", a spell of sorts descends on the Canadian theatre, too, an alchemic moment, and the musicians Cheshire cat grin at one another, because they know.

Wall Street Journal tracks Robert Plant's progress with Band of Joy

By Brian Gardiner

"The concerts are an eclectic mix pulled together by the charm and force of Mr. Plant's personality, the wonder of his voice and his spirited band ..."

One of the better stories and interviews I've seen with Robert Plant landed today in the Wall Street Journal. Heading into New York for two shows this weekend, Plant talked to the newspaper's Jim Fusilli about the progress of his Band of Joy.

Photo by Wyatt Brake

Recordings of the first Band of Joy show in Memphis immediately hit the Internet last July. Listening to it, I thought, Not for me. But by December, when I watched part of the BBC Electric Proms broadcast, it was clear either the show was much better or I had acclimatized to what Plant was doing.

It turns out the shows were better. Says Plant:

"I think we were masking a whole lot of nerves. It was great, though. It started becoming a bit more mysterious on the second and third nights."

The "project," as Plant refers to it, is ever evolving. During soundcheck the band sits in a circle and toys with arrangements. It's all part of the "workshop feel" of the American music scene at present, says Plant. Making the obvious reference that many reviewers -- including myself -- have made, he compares Band of Joy to Led Zeppelin III:

"The two projects have some similarities over 40 years: the spirit of the '70s."

What's next for Robert Plant?

Note: This is the first article from Brian Gardiner to appear on this site. This guest columnist, who's been authoring his own Ramble On blog, will be posting here from time to time.

Enjoying their critically acclaimed tour, Robert Plant and the Band of Joy are predominantly playing music from their self-titled album. Each of those songs is a cover version, an interpretation of someone else's music.

The question Plant fans always have in the back of their mind is what's next for Robert Plant. In an interview airing recently on The Pulse of Radio, Plant hints that new, original music is coming from the Band of Joy:

"We're talking, we have to write songs now. It's all very well celebrating other people's songwriting ... But we've got to head that way soon."

Photo courtesy of Wyatt Brake

Getting excited about what Robert Plant is going to do down the road is a fool's bet, in this case possibly more so than usual. In a Rolling Stone interview released just two weeks ago, Plant says he's done with songwriting:

"I've kind of given up writing. All my writing is sort of meandering. The last time I picked up a pen was when Tony Blair became a Roman Catholic."

In the same article, Plant talks about the abandoned recording sessions with Alison Krauss in 2009, for what would have been a possible followup album to their Grammy-winning Raising Sand. "The sound just wasn't there," Plant notes, explaining why the sessions didn't result in another album.

Led Zeppelin fans who were anticipating a reunion in 2008 will recall Plant at times suggested a reunion could happen, and certainly Jimmy Page and Jason Bonham anticipated that it could.

Which is to say that pinpointing what's next for Robert Plant can be a moving target -- even, I have grown to suspect, for Robert Plant. Is the Band of Joy going to write new material, or is Robert Plant finished writing? Nobody knows, but time will tell.

Buddy Miller, trendsetter: Band of Joy follows guitarist's lead in donning cold-weather hats onstage for Michigan encore

Photos by Wyatt Brake

Trendsetter alert.

It was wear-your-funny-hat at last night's Robert Plant show in Ann Arbor, Mich. The theme of the evening was brought on by Band of Joy guitarist Buddy Miller, whose choice of cold-weather cap was shaped like a Viking helmet.

Wonder if any Michiganders immediately thought of the Land of the Ice and Snow, or "Immigrant Song"!

Buddy Miller is a trendsetter because the rest of the band, including Plant, returned to the stage for the encore set similarly attired. More photos below, all courtesy of Wyatt Brake.

Also, here's the set list according to Wyatt:

January 21, 2011
Hill Auditorium
Ann Arbor, Michigan

Angel Dance
Please Read The Letter
Down To The Sea
Rich Woman
House of Cards
--Patty Griffin sings ____ [not "Move Up"]
Central Two-oh-Nine
--Darrell Scott sings "Satisfied Mind"
Tangerine
Silver Rider
--Buddy Miller sings ____
You Can't Buy My Love
Houses of the Holy
Satan Your Kingdom Must Come Down
Oh What a Beautiful City
Tall Cool One
Ramble On
Gallows Pole
--Encore Break--
Harm's Swift Way
Rock and Roll
I Bid You Goodnight

Playing the part of Larry, Darryl and Darryl are,
from left, Buddy Miller, Robert Plant and Byron House.

Marco Giovino on drums 

Robert Plant, Patty Griffin and Darrell Scott

Also see Wyatt's complete album of photos from the show.

Robert Plant extends tour with Band of Joy through April

Robert Plant has added some dates to his current North American tour with the Band of Joy. The schedule will now see the group get back on the road in April for some shows spanning both coasts and some big cities in between.

Their ambitious touring schedule in April is to include:

• April 8: Louisville, Ky. - The Palace [Tickets]
• April 9: Chicago, Ill. - The Auditorium Theatre [Tickets]
• April 11: Milwaukee, Wis. - The Riverside Ballroom [Tickets TBA]
• April 12: Minneapolis, Minn. - The State Theatre [Tickets]
• April 15: Hollywood, Fla. - Hard Rock Live Arena [Tickets TBA]
• April 17: Vancouver, B.C., Canada - The Queen Elizabeth Theater [Tickets]
• April 19: Portland, Ore. - The Schnitzer [Tickets]
• April 20: Seattle, Wash. - The Paramount [Tickets TBA]
• April 22: Berkeley, Calif. - The Greek [Tickets]
• April 23: Los Angeles, Calif. - The Greek [Tickets TBA]
• April 25: Santa Barbara, Calif. - The Santa Barbara Bowl [Tickets TBA]
• April 27: Denver, Colo. - The Fillmore [Tickets TBA]

Plant, who last week was nominated for the first BRIT award of his career, is currently on tour with his group in support the album Band of Joy, released last year just after the group's first trek through the States. The current leg of dates includes:

• Jan. 18: Asheville, N.C. - Thomas Wolfe Auditorium [Tickets]
• Jan. 19: Pittsburgh, Pa. - Peterson Events Center (University of Pittsburgh) [Tickets]
• Jan. 21: Ann Arbor, Mich. - Hill Auditorium [Tickets]
• Jan. 22: Toronto, Ont., Canada - Sony Centre for the Performing Arts [Tickets]
• Jan. 23: Toronto, Ont., Canada - Sony Centre for the Performing Arts [Tickets]
• Jan. 25: Boston, Mass. House of Blues [Tickets]
• Jan. 26: Upper Darby, Pa. - Tower Theatre [Tickets]
• Jan. 28: Mashantucket, Conn. - MGM Grand Theater at MGM Grand at Foxwoods [Tickets]
• Jan. 29: New York, N.Y. - Beacon Theatre [Tickets]
• Jan. 30: New York, N.Y. - Beacon Theatre [Tickets]
• Feb. 1: Washington, D.C. - D.A.R. Constitution Hall [Tickets]
• Feb. 2: Raleigh, N.C. - Raleigh, N.C. - Memorial Auditorium [Tickets]
• Feb. 4: North Charleston, S.C. - North Charleston Performing Arts Center [Tickets]
• Feb. 5: Atlanta, Ga. - Fox Theatre [Tickets]
• Feb. 7: Charlotte, N.C. - Ovens Auditorium [Tickets]
• Feb. 8: Nashville, Tenn. - War Memorial Auditorium [Tickets]
• Feb. 9: Nashville, Tenn. - War Memorial Auditorium [Tickets]

From Asheville to Nashville: Plant plots tour for Eastern half of America

With three dates in the Carolinas, two in North Carolina, and one each in several major markets along the Eastern seaboard, Robert Plant and the Band of Joy are set for a return to North America this January.

The 15-date tour represents the band's first dates this side of the Atlantic since the September release of the Band of Joy album.

The dates, as issued Monday in an official press release, are as follows:

• Tuesday, Jan. 18: Thomas Wolfe Auditorium, Asheville, N.C.
• Wednesday, Jan. 19: Peterson Events Center (University of Pittsburgh), Pittsburgh, Pa.
• Friday, Jan. 21: Hill Auditorium, Ann Arbor, Mich.
• Saturday, Jan. 22: Sony Centre for the Performing Arts, Toronto, Ont.
• Tuesday, Jan. 25: House of Blues, Boston, Mass.
• Wednesday, Jan. 26: Tower Theatre, Upper Darby, Pa.
• Friday, Jan. 28: MGM Grand Theater at Foxwoods Resort Casino, Mashantucket, Conn.
• Saturday, Jan. 29: Beacon Theatre, New York, N.Y.
• Tuesday, Feb. 1: D.A.R. Constitution Hall, Washington, D.C.
• Wednesday, Feb. 2: Memorial Auditorium, Raleigh, N.C.
• Friday, Feb. 4: North Charleston Performing Arts Center, North Charleston, S.C.
• Saturday, Feb. 5: Fox Theatre, Atlanta, Ga.
• Monday, Feb. 7: Ovens Auditorium, Charlotte, N.C.
• Tuesday, Feb. 8: War Memorial Auditorium, Nashville, Tenn.
• Wednesday, Feb. 9: War Memorial Auditorium, Nashville, Tenn.

Robert Plant hits Europe; Jason Bonham pro-shot video appears online; Sons of Albion tours New York clubs

Just some quick hits for the beginning of this work week.

Robert Plant hits Europe

First, Robert Plant and the Band of Joy are back in the United Kingdom again, having just hit Sweden and Norway for a pair of shows and this illuminating TV interview in which Plant discussed a lot about Led Zeppelin -- both in the old days of seeing Stockholm with ABBA in the days of recording In Through the Out Door and, more recently, reuniting the band in 2007.

Said Plant: "The guys in Led Zeppelin were spectacular players, and we lost John, but Jimmy and John Paul are still magnificent. And, really, it was a serendip-- it was an amazing phenomenon that we got together and did what we did, honestly, for honesty's sake, not for money's sake or for kudos ..."

Plant and the Band of Joy play in Edinboro, Scotland, tonight. Shows the rest of this month include the Electric Proms in London on Oct. 29, where the band is to be backed by the London Oriana Choir. It will be Plant's second performance with the 72-piece singing ensemble this year: the choir backed him at the Sound & Vision charity concert on Feb. 25.

Jason Bonham pro-shot video appears online

Jason Bonham's Led Zeppelin Experience has finished its first seven-show pass through Canada. Now the band prepares to hit Minneapolis for the first of three U.S. shows. That concert is tomorrow, followed by Milwaukee on Wednesday and Merrilville, Ind., on Thursday.

As of only a few hours ago, some professionally shot multi-camera footage from the Oct. 14 show in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, appears online. In it, the band performs "Good Times Bad Times" in an arrangement similar to the first song of the 2007 Led Zeppelin reunion concert. There are three other full songs as well: "Since I've Been Loving You," "Black Dog" and "Kashmir." Does this mean a DVD release of Bonham's tribute concert may be in the works? Lemon Squeezings will let you know.

Few fan-shot videos of the group online capture full songs, but there are several from the Oct. 17 show in Winnipeg. Check out "I Can't Quit You Baby," "Dazed and Confused" and "Stairway to Heaven."

Sons of Albion tours New York clubs

Another band with a genetic link to Led Zeppelin hit the United States recently for a slew of shows in Manhattan. Katie Higgins, a fan who saw Sons of Albion multiple times, writes her account in the following summary:

Sons of Albion recently wrapped up a two week stint in NYC. I was lucky enough to catch a few of their shows, the last of which was Thursday night at Fontana's in the Lower East Side. Yhey did not disappoint. They played some familiar songs which they've already released, "Take a Look," "I Feel You" and their most recent, "Blackened Heart." Download them from iTunes if you haven't! There were a couple of newer songs which they've hinted about -- "Killing the Machine" and "Primal Scream," as well as a heartfelt softer ballad sung beautifully by Logan -- this is my new favorite.

The band played with a massive amount of energy which grew stronger every night, as did the crowds. Francisco's drumming was amazing, pounding so hard on the drums, his finger bled. Gones (bass) and Nuno (guitar) seemed to escape into worlds of their own while playing with a tremendous passion, creating a sound which is unmistakably their own. Logan sounded great and was at home on the stage; however, the stage was much too small for them and at times he seemed a little like a caged animal looking to break free. He will ... they all will ...

New York-based DJ Carol Miller, host of the nationally syndicated "Get the Led Out" for which I consult, mentions Sons of Albion in her latest blog entry at LedZepOnline.com. She writes:

The band has been making some new music produced by Paul Logus, who is a contributing producer for GTLO, so it's "all in the family"!

So happy with the level of support Sons of Albion have been getting here in New York... All I can say is look out for big things! More to come on this...

Zeptember arrivals from Robert Plant, Jason Bonham hit No. 1

Two of the musicians who played onstage with Led Zeppelin in December 2007 released their first new albums since that concert this month, and both discs hit No. 1 on one chart or another.

Second-week sales of Robert Plant's Band of Joy were down by almost half in the United States. Statistics indicate the disc sold 49,000 copies over the week of its Sept. 14 release and 25,000 the following week.

That has been enough to place the album at the top of Billboard's Tastemaker Albums chart for the week of Oct. 2. This chart represents "the week's top-selling albums based on an influential panel of stores comprised of independent retailer coalitions and smaller regional chains. Titles are ranked by sales data as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan." It's hanging on at No. 3 in the updated listings posted today, for the week of Oct. 9.

Meanwhile, Jason Bonham's latest album release, the debut album by Black Country Communion, landed at the top spot in its debut on BBC Radio 1's UK Top 40 Rock Albums chart. (Incidentally, the same Sept. 26 chart listing also has the debut disc from another Zep-related supergroup, Them Crooked Vultures, lingering at No. 26 in its 42nd week since release. Oh, and Led Zeppelin's 2-CD set Mothership from 2007 ranks at No. 30! It's still charting high in its 114th week.)

As an independent album, Black Country Communion is doing well. It debuted at No. 2 on the UK Top 40 Indie Album chart. Its debut among independent albums on the Billboard chart was at No. 6.

Other chart listings follow.

Band of Joy - Album Review

Steve Sauer has graciously invited me to post my review here as a guest contributor. I thank him for the opportunity to share my thoughts on Robert Plant's new album, Band of Joy. Steve has done a fantastic job of providing background information and analysis of the original songs that Plant covers on this disc, so I don't feel too badly about not mentioning all of the original artists in my review.

Band of Joy begins with "Angel Dance" - a strong opener with a great groove. Unfortunately the ringing sound (tambourine, I'm guessing) that pops up regularly every so often is very annoying to me - kind of like I suppose a dog whistle would be, if I were a dog... If I could only remove that, it would not just be a good track, but a great one.

"House of Cards" could be improved by making the production a little less muddy. I understand that it was a choice, but to me it just sounds like I'm listening to a static-y radio broadcast. Around 1:44 into the song, the static recedes for a bit for the "and the birds are wheelin'..." section and it sounds fantastic. I love the "and cracked and it's shaking" line - it's delivered perfectly - but then the static aspect returns around 2:15. This song works better live from the recordings I've heard.

I enjoy "Central Two-O-Nine". It's a fun little foot-stomper that would fit in well with a latter-day Zep acoustic set that might also include "Poor Tom".

"Silver Rider" is a dystopian epic - almost up there with "Darkness Darkness" as an enduring favorite cover by Plant. I bought Low's The Great Destroyer a couple months ago to hear this track and "Monkey" in advance of Band of Joy's release. The original "Silver Rider" is a little too achingly restrained for my taste, but Plant's version lets loose just the right amount. A standout track. Buddy Miller plays excellent, haunting guitar, and Patty Griffin's vocal accompaniment might be better here than anything else she does on the album.

Byron House's bass on "You Can't Buy My Love" is satisfyingly dirty and makes the song work much better than it otherwise would. The vocals are fine - there's a trademark Robert moment around 1:50. Not a substantial song, but fun. It probably should not have followed "Silver Rider" on the album and might have been better off appearing later on this disc.

"Falling in Love Again" is a very nice vocal showcase for Plant at this point in his career - his voice sounds rich and smooth. The steel guitar around 1:50 is a little too country/twangy for my liking; a short, sharp electric guitar solo might have improved it, but that's just me.

Unfortunately, "The Only Sound that Matters" begins with more of that extra-twangy steel guitar. The vocals are pushed forward a bit more in this song and sometimes the articulation isn't where it should be - the words sound a little 'thick'. This gets better around 2:15, but then there's more of the twangy guitar.

"Monkey" is perfectly ominous. The rumbling bass and drums, the distorted guitar, the perfectly matched dual vocals... another Low cover, and another standout track. A very good original that is taken to a higher level by Robert and his band. The only thing that detracts is more of that high-pitched ringing that was heard in "Angel Dance". Thankfully there's not quite as much and it's not as noticeable.

"Cindy, I'll Marry You Someday" features some pleasant banjo picking. The vocals are understated, whispered until around 1:40 when they become more forceful. Not my favorite track, but it picks up nicely in the last minute or so.

Plant, Buddy Miller, and Marco Giovino team up to make "Harm's Swift Way" one of the better tracks on the album. There is a confidence and strength to this song that contrasts with the plaintive and vulnerable nature of Plant's singing elsewhere on the disc.

"Satan, Your Kingdom Must Come Down" could have been a Fate of Nations B-side with Rainer Ptacek like "Dark Moon". Spooky...

I've been struggling to figure out what past Plant album that "Even This Shall Pass Away" sounds like it belongs on, but it's somewhere between Shaken 'n Stirred and the previously unreleased 1987 Now and Zen-era track "Upside Down" that appeared on Sixty-Six To Timbuktu. Either way, it's kind of funky and a little odd, but it works as the final track of the CD, probably about as well as "Brother Ray" did on Mighty Rearranger.

A pretty good album overall - I give it a 7 out of 10 and place it somewhere in the middle in terms of Robert's post-Zeppelin work, below Pictures at Eleven (which has grown on me and really benefited from the remastering job for Nine Lives), Fate of Nations, and Mighty Rearranger, which are all big favorites.

I hope that Robert gets inspired to do some more writing of his own for his next album. Mighty Rearranger was very strong lyrically and musically following Dreamland, which was almost entirely a covers album, so perhaps history will repeat itself and we'll get a strong new collection of Plant originals in a couple years.

_________________
Review by Wyatt Brake