Thoughts on Robert Plant

[Civic]

One of my cousins was a huge Led Zeppelin fan back in the day. Several years ago, he purchased a DVD with concert footage, interviews, etc. I watched about an hour and half of it this afternoon. It was a nice trip down memory lane since they broke up when I was in college.

It's funny how time can alter perception. I still think Robert Plant was a stunning man with an amazing voice during his Led Zep days. I still count "Stairway to Heaven" and "Kashmir" among my favorite rock songs. What has changed is my perception of Plant's stage persona with Led Zeppelin. It veered very close to camp at times but for whatever reason, I didn't notice this when I was a teenager.

It's not just the skin tight, hiphugger jeans that left little to the imagination, the bare chest or his long, wavy blond hair. It's the way he moved on stage. The way he rocked back and forth with his hands on his hips, tossed back his hair and made fluttering hand gestures. It was like "I am a rock god. My band sells millions of albums. I've had more groupies than I can count. The normal rules of gender behavior simply do not apply to me."

[BigB08822]

.....and???

[TygerLily]

I love his work with Alison Krauss?

[triple_toe]

I lurve Led Zeppelin. That is all.

[pumba]

For me RP is much more than "just" LZ
It's like Brian Johnson is more than just AC/DC.

Robert has outstanding albums and masterpiece songs aside from LZ.
His last blues album is fabulous. And probably his collaboration with Krauss is the only album that left me cold.

[overedge]

I know exactly what you mean. I never saw Led Zeppelin live, but I saw Robert Plant on his first solo tour of North America. And I still remember being absolutely shocked at how this hard rock sex symbol was so....feminine!! I couldn't believe it, and wondered whether all the guys in my high school who took auto shop classes and drove big muscle cars, and for who LZ = God, had ever actually noticed how girlishly he pranced around on stage and waved his hands

FWIW, I met him at that same show, and I was really impressed. He is very down to earth, normal and friendly, and not pretentious or arrogant at all.

I have also been hugely impressed with his solo career. Some artists who were in a popular act feel they have to keep making records in the style of that act but he hasn't. He's gone out and explored, and been serious about doing whatever kind of music he happens to be working in (as in actually learning about it and not just doing it because it's trendy). He's also really great about talking about other artists he likes, and supporting their work too.

[genevieve]

definitely from the side of [strike]age[/age] maturity, a lot of performers that I loved so much when I was younger look far more like "performers" than they did then. I think when we're younger we are looking for people who are different, and authentic, and we take what we see at face value. Later we can see that it's about costumes and personas.

I still remember the moment I realized that the Village People were not serious (ok, that one didn't take me until adulthood to realize, but I was under 10 when they were popular).

[Rex]

"Kashimir" was one of the most awesome songs ever. I love that song

[beepbeep]

I really like Robert Plant on his solo career.

"29 Palms" and "Big Log" are two of my favourite songs ever.

[pumba]

I really like Robert Plant on his solo career.

"29 Palms" and "Big Log" are two of my favourite songs ever.

mine as well

Ship of Fools, Slow Dancer are super cool also - he is simply a great musician, even if girlish in his LZ times

[Allskate]

I saw him in concert with Allison Krauss. (I love their "Raising Sand" album.) They were great. Their vocals are just as good live. The two of them had very similar hair.

[Wyliefan]

I love his work with Alison Krauss?

My first thought, too. I didn't even know who he was until he sang with her. (Classic rock = not my thing.)

[Jot the Dot Dot]

"Sea Of Love" was wonderfully done, as was "Thank You".

[Latte]

He is a rock God. And I liked the way he pranced around.
But of course I was just a few years younger then!

[nubka]

I was a teenager back during Zepplin's heyday, and Robert Plant never appealed to me. I didn't like his wavy hair, and I guess his skin-tight pants just didn't do anything for me. Luuuuv their music, though. My favorite songs are Rock & Roll, Misty Mountain Hop, and Dyer Maker...

[Allen]

When I opened this thread, I thought it was about Robert Palmer

[Civic]

For me RP is much more than "just" LZ
It's like Brian Johnson is more than just AC/DC.

Robert has outstanding albums and masterpiece songs aside from LZ.
His last blues album is fabulous. And probably his collaboration with Krauss is the only album that left me cold.

I should look up some of the stuff he's recorded in recent years on YouTube and give it a listen. I haven't followed his career since LZ broke up but I did see one of his solo music videos on MTV back during the early 1980s. I can't remember the song title but it started with him driving up to a gas station in the middle of a desert. I remember this because I didn't recognize him at first without his trademark blond mane. He was sporting a brown mullet in the video.

[beepbeep]

I should look up some of the stuff he's recorded in recent years on YouTube and give it a listen. I haven't followed his career since LZ broke up but I did see one of his solo music videos on MTV back during the early 1980s. I can't remember the song title but it started with him driving up to a gas station in the middle of a desert. I remember this because I didn't recognize him at first without his trademark blond mane. He was sporting a brown mullet in the video.

My love is in league with the freeway...

[siouxdonym]

My favorite Zeppelin record

[Latte]

My favorite is Stairway To Heaven.