The new Rolling Stone arrived today, with a white-haired Jimmy Page on the cover...

Cover story here: http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/17448308/the_return_of_led_zeppelin

Saw Page/Plant in 1998 i think it was. They did well.

And it's certainly nice to see John Paul Jones back in.

Jimmy Page was at the top of his game. Robert Plant was...Robert Plant.

Jacksonville. We Had all kinds of fun.

I enjoyed Pagey playing the first few chords of Stairway then stopped:) He took a bow with a shit eating grin on his face and went on with some other tune.

They just need to play the classics, that what we all went to hear. I remember the audience I was in, we had to really coax 'em to put on an encore for which they played 'Rock and Roll.' It really was one of the few Zep tunes they performed.

Playing drums.

:hide:

The answer to the question "When did Jason Bonham jump the shark" is clearly "When he left UFO to join Foreigner."

It's hard for me to imagine him in Foreigner...another band with maybe one original member left (Mick Jones on guitar) and a new singer trying to hit all of Lou Gramm's notes while warbling "Hot blooded...check it and see...got a fever of a hundred and three..." and there's Jason sitting behind the drum kit thinking "Man, we're really SMOKING tonight"...

:rofl:

On one hand, they may be able to pull off a comeback without sounding pathetic. Page in particular is still pretty sharp. They can turn songs around to make them interesting. And if blues players can play till they're elderly, and there's an audience, eh, what the hell.

Then there's another side. The side that has to watch Tommy performed on Broadway. That watches Sly Stone's 'Everyday People' used as a backdrop for a car commercial. Just let it go. You do a disservice to your own past by coming back and being terrible. Nobody's going to remember 'Physical Graffiti', they're going to remember a bad Vegas act that didn't know when to stop.

I guess I'll have to listen to see which side wins out, but I'm leaning to the second one.

with a reunion tour to follow.

People were critical of the Page/Plant reunion back in the mid-90s, but I think Jimmy, who is the control freak of anything Led Zeppelin, didn't want to taint the Led Zeppelin name should the work that he and Plant do was turned out to be sub-par. Sure, they did a few tours and sang a few LZ songs, but they also put out an album of new material (Walking into Clarksdale) and even the Unledded album had 4 new songs on it. I think Page/Plant did well in the 90s but had that totally sucked it would have tarnished the value of the LZ name. And if you have Jonesy in that mix it doesn't matter who the drummer is - it's a Led Zeppelin reunion.

As for commericialization, LZ has been pretty good with it. Sure, Jimmy took the $15mil offerered to him from Cadillac (btw Plant was always a big fan of Cadillac cars) but they really have limited the use of their music in commericial purposes. Heck you rarely have LZ songs show up in soundtracks except a rare occastion ("Almost Famous" and "School of Rock").

It should be a good reunion, they've been practicing and Jimmy lowered the vocal ranges of all the songs so Plant can get the notes. I hope that they record the concert at O2 and sell it for all of us who tried to get ticktes but weren't picked. And I hope they do a tour.

I remember the second Led Zep reunion...Atlantic Records 40th anniversary show in 1988...Page was stiff as a board...his fingers simply weren't finding their way around the fretboard, he looked like crap, and it seemed that smack was playing a pivotal role in his life at that time.

So now he looks clean and sober, Plant is riding a high wave with the Alison Krauss CD and tour, and it gives both of them a chance to mend fences with Jones.

But I think they should do it once, at the Ertegun tribute, and then hang it up until the next significant one-time opportunity presents itself. Some people are getting ready to stand in line for their tickets and others are hoping it doesn't happen. Maybe it's just a case of What Is and What Should Never Be...

:spray:

I do encourage you to don the flameproof suit when making a statement like "if you have Jonesy in that mix it doesn't matter who the drummer is - it's a Led Zeppelin reunion." Bonham had one of the most loyal and rabid followings of any musician in rock and roll history, and many think that a reunion without him is impossible. I thought that Who fans were adamant about Keith Moon...take that feeling and double it for Bonzo.

I'm not one of those people...but they're definitely out there.

:evilgrin:

I mean, they're all around 60+ years old (actually Plant is 59 and I believe the youngest outside of Jason). All three of them have spent some serious time doing hard core partying, heavy smoking and other things that can be destructive to ones health.

I think all 3 of them look great, they're pretty much all living clean, but for how much longer will we have all 3 of them. Led Zeppelin is a band that was successful because of all 4 members and I've always respected the fact that LZ ended the group instead of replacing it's lost member with another person - The surviving members of the band had so much respect for John Bonham's contribution to LZ that they felt a replacement drummer would only lessen the group's persona (unlike the Who that just keeps replacing their deceased members).

Sure, they did a few 1-off gigs here and there with Live Aid (Phil Collins and Tommy Thompson did the drums) and Atlantic 40th Anniversary (also they reunited for Jason Bonham's wedding but that was private) but in general they kept the name LZ strong by not diluting the band with multi-members and subpar releases.

But I think a tour right now is appropriate but provided that the concert at 02 turns out well done. I think if they suck at 02 you won't see a tour. Jimmy Page is the mastermind behind the LZ legend and would never ever allow a tour if the band plays the way they did with Live Aid (Altantic was a bit better but not by much). But if they do well I could see a reunion tour. They know there is major money out there to be made and who knows how many more years left they'll have with all 3 of them alive. But knowing Jimmy, this will be the only tour, he won't allow the band to turn out to be another Eagles or The Who.

Another reason why the tour is appropriate - 2008 is Led Zeppelin's 40th anniversary. They were formed in mid-1968 and their first album came out the beginning on 2009. So it's a milestone for the band too. I think the tour will happen, but if they do a tour, it'll be a few key cities across the globe (probably with multiple nights - Madison Square Gardens they could easily sell out 10 shows in under an hour) and not some 100-city tour.

And to their credit, in light of that Rolling Stone article, I do believe they know what they're up against...their own legacy.

For the record, as a bigger Who fan than Led Zep fan (even though I own every note played by both bands), I wasn't happy with their decision to press on until Townshend publicly acknowledged that Moon was the heart of the band (this came long after Kenny Jones' departure). I can handle Zak Starkey behind the drum kit in the same way that I can handle Jason sitting in for his dad, but when John Entwistle died, Townshend and Daltrey should have called it a day. Granted, Entwistle died on the eve of a fully-booked tour...a lot of people would have missed a paycheck if they just shut down. But they're still calling themselves The Who, and my question to Townshend is "Who the f**k are YOU?"

Also in the Rolling Stone article...Plant acknowledges the pressure and expectations at stake here. He basically says that the more fans bang the drum for a tour, the less likely it is to happen.

So yes, if they did a tour...maybe a pay-per-view date along the way...and the obligatory CD and DVD...they could retire the band on a high note if they're up to it. They'll most likely make the decision within a few moments of hitting the stage at the Ertegun gig.

I suspect that the tour would be "enormo-domes" in limited, major cities...but Van Halen proved earlier this year that you can go out one more time and make the fans happy (even with the residual bad vibes over the way they treated Michael Anthony. He basically found out he was fired by reading it on the Web).

I was suppose to go see LZ in Cleveland.

Even with the replacement of deceased band members it always irritated me the number of "Farewell Tours" that the Who has done in their lifetime. I saw them in 1989 because I thought it was their last tour. And lets face it - the music they've put out the last 2-3 decades is no where near the quality of what they put out original (and especially the same can be said of the Rolling Stones). I think U2 is probably one of the few bands that can put out high quality stuff each time out and sustain that quality for almost 25 years (ok they had a few stinkers but they always came back).

The December concert will tell the future of LZ and touring. Why would Page bother to rewrite all the music in a lower key to accomadate Plant if Page wasn't thinking of the future after O2?

(because he was one), but he was a brilliant player. Irreplaceable.

Peter Grant, John Bonham and assorted other Led Zeppelin goons pulled one of Bill Graham's employees into a trailer and beat the shit out of him because Peter Grant's kid saw a "Led Zeppelin" sign...that belonged to Bill Graham...and took it without asking. When the employee asked him to return it, into the trailer they went.

Grant then told Graham that if he didn't sign a waiver absolving Led Zeppelin and Co. from any lawsuit over the beating, the band would refuse to take the stage and he could deal with the audience. Graham consulted with his attorney, who assured him that the document wouldn't hold up in court. Led Zeppelin took the stage. It was the last time they worked for Bill Graham.

Grant was a thug and a fucking asshole. The difference between Grant and Bonham was that Bonham could play drums and Grant couldn't. Other than that they were twin sons from different mothers.

One of the things that kept me from being a bigger Led Zeppelin fan was that I couldn't stomach any of them as human beings.

(and it was very appealing), and it kills me that now through the mists of time (gawd, that sounds like one of Percy's lines!)people remember them as some type of benevolent holy geniuses. That was not the reality of Led Zeppelin. Neither personally or aesthetically.

However, I would still love to have a drummer like Bonham or a manager like Grant. Brutes who could really take care of business. I just wouldn't want to interact with them in any other way.

And Grant was probably the best manager a band could ask for. He definitely took care of business.

You've really hit the nail on the head with the "benevolent holy geniuses" comment. Between Page's black magic bullshit and Plant's "does anybody remember LAUGHTER" crap and Bonham's barroom brawler shit, Led Zeppelin was basically four guys who got together and made rock & roll music like no one else. BEYOND that...well, it's a matter of opinion.

Some people celebrate Tommy Lee and his spinning drum kit and his horse c**k, but it really comes down to two drummers who changed rock & roll forever: Keith Moon and John Bonham. I lean toward Moon because 99% of his destruction was turned inward. I respect Jason Bonham's assertion in the new Rolling Stone that he had a great dad, but from where I stood, Bonham was an asshole with a drum kit.

is because of the cretins in the recording industry. They probably didn't want to wind up like so many recording artists from the 50's who wound up broke after making a fortune for the industry. So they got a countervailing force. But like the saying goes, absolute power corrupts absolutely. And Grant, took the whole thing way too far.

I try not to look too close at the musicians I like. One, because I'm by and large not interested in their personal lives, and two, they're often assholes. Every once in a while you come across a John Fogerty or Peter Gabriel, someone whose behavior is admirable as well as their music gifts, but usually it's just their music I find appealing, and separate their actions into the sad/tragic bin.

It is kind of funny to think of these characters who'd taken on some of the superficial persona of the California hippie (especially Plant), as being pretty much the opposite of that ethic in real life.

and so much other horrible shit that weekend in Oakland. Teeny girls were just lead to slaughter...John Bindon crawling out onstage to kiss Page's boots...

I saw LZ five times and only once were they very good (seattle Coll 74or 75)..the rest of the time, their legend was way more impressive than they were. Their fans were some of the drunkest, doped up fucks I have ever seen too, puking on themselves, fighting....

Then there was th ARMS concert where Page could not play Stairway....AT ALL. It was horrible. I knew High School kids that could play that song better than he did on those nights.

The Page/Plant tour in 95 was great though. The band with other players filled out the sound that they could create in the studio but not in the live setting. But still the biggest fight I have ver seen at a Rock show broke out during the end of that show. HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE, I was afraid for my life.

BTW, Plant has stated many time publically he will never sing Stairway again.

Hat tip to Lou Reed, in case anyone read the subject line and went "WTF?"

Page was a gifted session musician who turned into a fucking junkie and then into an elder statesman. 25 words or less, the Jimmy Page story. He's not a seer or sage or visionary or black magician. He's a fucking recovered junkie guitar player.

Plant is a diva in the same way that Mariah Carey and Celine Dion and Cher and Diana Ross Whitney Houston are divas. The only difference is that Plant has a penis and the other aforementioned divas do not.

Bonham was a thug.

Ladies and Gentlemen...LED ZEPPELIN!

If anything, more than his flirtations with Crowley, or his manic guitar solos, or his stage presence, or the inhuman amount of substances someone so skinny could put away, it was his production skills that made him and Zep a phenomenon. Sure, he could also come up with a riff like Black Dog, but lots of bands had great riffs. He came up with a certain sound that drew you in.

the ability to stack up a dozen or so very simple guitar parts on top of those drums and end up with something that sounded so fucking majestic. And THAT sound is why they endure.

I must confess that I found his black magic schtick to be very amusing (in a boneheaded kind of way) :)

are now recovering junkies

At least Jimmy looks better than some of them (ie Keith Richards)

...so he gets bonus points for that.



:evilgrin:

These guys were four of the biggest badasses (well, the son of one of them, anyway) music had ever seen.

I think it would be incredible just to say I saw them now. Although I know it's not the same because Bonham is gone.

I don't know why, but it flipped me out seeing him with white hair. I shouldn't be surprised, considering his age, but it still seemed so weird.

...because his hair didn't turn that color overnight. However, the most recent photos I've seen of him are from the "Jimmy Page & The Black Crowes Live At The Greek" CD from 2000.

It makes me realize that the clock is ticking when I look at some of these figures from my youth.

:toast:

...he has done good to keep so much hair for so long.

but the man is fine looking - all three of them are!

I can't wait to get my issue, hopefully it'll be there when I get home

he looks good.

I'm surprised that he looks that good.

...I've seen plenty of photos of him strung out on heroin with dark hair. I'd rather see him healthy with white hair.

Jeez.

Some Led Zeppelin fans, believe it or not, were born after Bonzo died and would like to see them perform live at least once.

I have little respect for any of these bands because they just keep doing farewell tours after reunion tours and then another farewell tour. And if a band member dies - well just replace them with another person - no biggie.

It wasn't the same band, but Kenny Jones brought something different and, at the time, right for the band. I'm one of the few people who think that Face Dances and It's Hard had some fantastic pieces on there (Another Tricky Day, Eminence Front etc.). It was a new era, Pete Townshend had cut his hair and started wearing make-up, synthesizers were becoming more prominent, and Jones' drumming worked.

Now, it's just pathetic, however. Pete is bald and stooped over and deaf. Roger (aka Pruneface) can't hit a high note to save his life. And without John, it's not the Who.

I've seen photos of him as recently as 3 years ago and his hair was pitch black.

Nice to see JPJ has aged the best of all of them.

Page is still quite the devotee!

done by a band who weren't known for their classiness.
This reunion is a terrible idea, but there are enough people out there who desperately want to believe it will capture "the magic"

Led Zeppelin is not the only band that lost a member back then, but John Bonham was such a major force within the band that replacing him was simply not feasible.

I think the reunion is a great idea - Eregan was a legend in the music industry and I think this is a perfect tribute for him. And this concert will be the tell-tale sign of whether they could pull off one last tour. If it's subpar, then you won't see a tour. Jimmy Page is the control of the Led Zeppelin image and he would never allow a tour to happen if they tank at this concert.

BTW - Page was smart enough to rewrite the songs in order to accomdate Robert Plant's lower vocals. Plant proves that he still has the voice with that CD he released with Alison Krauss, but he definately cannot hit the high notes the way he did back in the LZ glory years. At least Page is smart enough to plan this out now instead of letting the band tank because the songs no longer match Plant's vocals

but the Who did it anyway. Zeppelin made the better decision.

I'm also interested to see how this Zep reunion works out. Aren't they having Bonzo's son drum for them? I think that's great. It seems appropriate.

but I think you take a little something out of the band when you do. Sure, it's great that Jason Bonham is filling his dad's position in the band but even Jason admits that his style is not like his fathers.

Their lead singer dies in a plane crash and they wind up getting his brother. Who, btw, is not nearly the singer his brother was. They're touring too, of course.

Wait, I take that back. Maybe the award goes to AC/DC. Their lead singer had one of the most unusual and extreme voices in rock music at the time, dies in a Spinal Tap-like incident, and they manage to find someone who sounds almost exactly the same to replace him.

Johnson is much more gravelly and rough. Scott was a bit smoother, while still unpolished.

And Scott was all about cheesy, tight-jeaned, bare-chested sensuality.

Johnson has no sex appeal whatsoever.

last thing in life I expected.

Of course, I knew it was all possible in the late '70s when I heard the 101 Hollywood Strings version of "Whole Lotta Love" in an elevator somewhere. Commercialism co-opts everything.

Hell, at least they didn't have to actually be IN the commericial like Bob Dylan.

Oh, and Robert Plant has always been a big fan of Cadillacs; although it was Page that ok'd the deal.

They haven't used Rock & Roll in ages and no one can be more commericialized than fricking Rolling Stones!

:-)

I bet Plant's hair is dyed

So what?

And, BTW, this is going to be fucking ridiculously awesome.

*Almost* I said.

Anyway, overall, somewhere around age 45, these guys start looking like they'd more likely be puttering about in their gardens than playing Big Rock Star.

Here's another pic of Page - he looks like Bilbo!



Does this look very Tull?



Little XTC?



New Order always look like they've been working in the garage.

with their fleshy faces and ruddy complexions

in laurel canyon.

jimmy page and david bowie were banging dope like 10 year old guatemalan street urchins painting kabbalistic symbols on the rugs and comparing the jars of their urine that they religiously hoarded.

they wanted me to run and get some milk, but david wanted to drive this beat up vw bug some guy let him borrow, and we met up with some dealers in hollywood to buy some grass and some primo cocaine.

then off to buy more markers and new window treatments.