Old dogs, new tricks.
No, it's not a Led Zep reunion, more like a Led Zep reworking. Plant can't hit the "only-dogs-can-hear-'em" notes anymore, so he falls back and regroups with Page to produce some nice versions of less-readily familiar LZ fare. Mostly, it works like a charm; recasting "The Battle Of Evermore" as part Olde Englishe and part Middle Eastern ballad was a stroke of brilliance, as was the slow blues rendition of "Nobody's Fault But Mine." In fact, it's more of a problem when Page and Plant choose to stick to the original arrangements of some of these songs. The prime offender is "Since I've Been Loving You," which wasn't so hot a tune to begin with and which Plant sounds at his shrieking over-the-top worst when singing it. But it's offset by most of the rest here, especially the three new songs where, without the Zep comparisons, it's very evident that these two rock vets still have what it takes in spades. The Egyptian musicians blend well with the Western ones and the LSO's appearance on "Friends" and on the version of "Kashmir" that closes this album give added power to the performances. So, no Zep redux, but very much worth the listen.
Led Zeppelin songs blended with Eastern rhythms and sounds
Calling this album by the video title of "Unleded," as a takeoff on "Unplugged," sorely misses the point of why "No Quarter" is not just Jimmy Page and Robert Plant doing acoustic versions of Led Zeppelin songs. The primary attraction of this album is the infusion of Eastern rhythms and sounds into their old songs. The Egyptian Ensemble's percussion section uses instruments you just do not hear on rock 'n' roll albums: Dobolla, Duf, Bendir, Reque, Merwas, Nay and Finger Cymbals (for good measure the back up band includes a Bodhran and Hurdy Gurdy). As soon as you hearing the opening of "Nobody's Fault But Mine" you know that there is an exotic twist to these songs this time around. "No Quarter," "Friends," "The Battle for Evermore," "Gallows Pole" and "Four Sticks" all benefit from this fresh approach. Then, just to make things really interesting, we get the string section of the London Metropolitan Orchestra to come in on the awesome version of "Kashmir" that ends the album. Consequently, the songs were we do not really get the full flavor of this exotic twist, such as "Thank You," That's the Way" and "Since I've Been Loving You," seem a bit out of place. It would be hard to argue that Plant's voice is everything it once was, but ultimately he is just another instrument on this mix. I have always appreciated the mixing of musical styles, whether it is Paul Simon and Peter Gabriel using South African influences or Loreena McKennitt blending Celtic and Eastern music together, so I certainly consider "No Quarter" to be in that successful vein. The fact that these are Led Zeppelin songs just makes this album that much better.
Back Again
Jimmy Page and Robert Plant have long been excellent musicians and come out ahead in their field. It is clear that Jimmy Page was just trying to have fun and sang how he felt it should be sung and I think he did a damn good job of it too. What people seem to overlook here is that they are up on stage remixing some old songs into, in my opinion, better ones and didn't care how they might have sounded a long time ago. The songs have more of a mystical feel to them now and appear to have more emotion in them than what was put forth in the original version. Yes, Plant could have picked up the solos a little bit into how he had left them in the 80's, but that was how he left them along time ago and his mood about the song and its meaning to him might have changed. In my final defence of this CD I say this: Long ago they might have had something else that was meaningful to them that they expressed but now their moods and ages have changed and with that so do their interpretations of their songs. If your looking for perfectly duplicated songs of the 80's move along. If your looking for songs that have changed into new and different songs then there is no need to look any further.
no quarter
one of the perfectist live cds ive heard...every song sounds really good, despite the fact that part of the band is missing, i probably shouldnt have started a review of this cuz its so good i cant describe it, if you like led zepplin you should like this
Mediocre -
I bought this album on vinyl with great hopes of it returning Page and Plant to the limelight. Upon listening to it, my hopes were dashed.First, Plants voice. This is a matter of contentiousness between honest Zep fans and Plant freaks. Simply put, Plants voice is slivers of its former self. His vocal tone has almost totally changed. No longer does he have the power or range to sing these numbers with conviction. Mostly glarlingly is Kashmir. Arrangement commentary (I'll address later) aside Kashmir is unlistenable from a vocal perspective. Since I've been loving you (SIBLY) also is woeful.
Second, the tendancy to play with the arrangements is real hit and miss. Nobody's fault but mine is ok. Rather boring and plain, but alright. When you get to Kashmir the real outrage happens. Kashmir is a piece of art, to slice it up and add long orchestral sections in the middle was ill advised. Thats not the worst of it. Adding the "Black Dog" riff to the end of it well, moves it from unbearable to rediculous. Some art is best left untampered with. Example - "Battle of Evermore" Now, that really works.
Finally third, I don't think Zep songs go "lite" very well. Part of the great thing of Zep was the absolute power and strength of the execution of the material. Accuse me of being close minded, IMHO Zep material just doesn't do the adult contempary Rod Stewart thing well.
Many people lapped this up in 1994. Time will show this to be the worst type of betrayal of the Zep legacy. The "we're not Zep, but were playing almost all Zep songs" was moronic. It was a halfway thing to a reunion which resulted in a muddled concept.
For lack of space and time, I really won't go into the John Paul Jones issue. The handling of that was extremely poor and will forever taint this effort with fans in addition to its musical shortfalls.
Advice? - Go buy a soundboard bootleg like Dallas '75, the Led Zeppelin DVD or BBC sessions. Zeppelin material is best appreciated in its unvarnished state. Not ill concieved half baked reunions. Skip "Walking into Clarksdale" too - unless you love Plant solo albums. WIC is essentually that with Jimmy guesting.
Mid-priced 14 track collection includes one bonus track, 'Wah Wah' that is unavailable on the US pressing which is more expensive now than the import! Highlights include, 'Battle Of Evermore', 'Four Sticks', 'Gallows Pole', 'Kashmir', 'No Quarter', 'Since I've Been Loving You' and many more!
