The Toy Box: Robert Plant

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Retro Spins: Robert Plant - Now And Zen

When Robert Plant released his previous album, 1985's Shaken 'N' Stirred, it was met with critical backlash for its changed musical style, which Plant himself admitted was because of his fondness for Talking Heads. The singer had convinced himself he would be opening for the new wave band, though this would never come to fruition.

After a botched Led Zeppelin reunion performance at Live Aid that same year, he headed out on a solo tour. However, this wouldn't be a full-blown series of shows. Rather, select dates throughout the years. It wouldn't be until three years later that he'd return to the studio to record the tracks that would become Now And Zen.

Returning to form, Plant focused on a more direct rock and roll album, and with it came his biggest selling solo album of his career. Now And Zen would go triple platinum in the USA, and gold in the UK, peaking in the top fifteen, and in most cases top ten, across six countries. Singles, Tall Cool One, Heaven Knows, and Ship Of Fools would become major hits on the mainstream rock charts, with the first two taking the number one spot, and Fools peaking at number three. Tall Cool One and Ship Of Fools would also hit the Billboard Hot 100, but not fare quite as well, landing at twenty-five and eighty-four, respectively.

Personally, I bought this album for the hits, but I was glad to see this wasn't all it had to offer. I really dug The Way I Feel, Helen Of Troy, and Why. Overall, it's a solid rock album, and it's great to see that Robbie has gotten back to his A-game.

A fun aspect of Tall Cool One is the influence that the Beastie Boys had on it. With their 1986 breakthrough debut, Licensed To Ill, the trio sampled Led Zeppelin songs across three tracks. Taking inspiration from this, Plant would in turn do the same thing, sampling multiple Zeppelin hits on the song.

The fun doesn't stop there. If you owned the original CD or vinyl release of the album, you could have scored yourself a boss red satin flag packaged inside. This was included as Plant's own tribute to his favorite association football team, the Wolverhampton Wanderers.

These days, the flag isn't too common of an item, and as such, has become a forgotten piece of memorabilia.

At this point, I would normally close with my, "Where are they now" information, but I mean, come on. We're talking about Robert Plant. If you think he faded into obscurity after the 80's, dig yourself out from under the rock you've been living under. He's a legacy act, an icon, and a major influence on the world of music. He kept going, and he's still going. Probably the only thing that surprises me at this point is that he's only seventy-seven years old. I really expected him to be in his eighties by now.

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Retro Spins: Robert Plant - Shaken 'N' Stirred

By 1985, Robert Plant was looking towards a different musical direction. In his mind, he was bound and determined to become the opening act for Talking Heads, and as a result of this started crafting more oblique pieces of music. The stylistic pivot, particularly on tracks like the single Too Loud, was largely rejected and ridiculed by his mainstream audiences at the time, and he never actually secured the opening slot he sought.

Regardless, his third solo effort, Shaken 'N' Stirred garnered him another gold record, and the Mainstream Rock chart number one hit, Little By Little. It would further reach number thirty-six on the Billboard Hot 100. Sixes And Sevens would also make its way to the mainstream charts, peaking at number eighteen.

On thing is for sure. This album is different from his previous work. It starts off with the strangely intriguing Hip To Hoo and only goes deeper down the rabbit hole from there.

Too Loud reminds me of the experimental shifting sounds that Prince dove into between 1986 with his Camille persona. It almost has that quirky charm that you would get from something like Housequake.

I think its overall uniqueness is what makes it stand out, and mind you, that's in a good way. I actually kind of dug it. Mainly because it was so different. With that said, I honestly only grabbed one more track for the shuffle list, that being Easily Lead.

You definitely have to come into this one with a clear mindset. If you're expecting a traditional rock and roll album, you're not going to get that. Though you will get moments of it, such as on the track, Trouble Your Money. However, if you're interested in hearing an experimental Robert Plant trying on different hats, then you'll be in for a treat.

Personally, I'd like more from him like this. While I'd love that to be what happened on future albums, sadly, I'm already aware that by 1988's Now And Zen, he had retracted back to his rock roots.

Following its release, Led Zeppelin reunited for an appearance at Live Aid. Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, and John Paul Jones, joined by guest drummers Phil Collins and Tony Thompson, alongside bassist Paul Martinez performed Rock And Roll, Whole Lotta Love, and Stairway To Heaven.

The performance would be widely panned by critics, and Plant himself would later call it horrendous. Throughout it, the dual drumming of Collins and Thompson was out of sync, Page's guitar out of tune, and Plant's voice strained. It was considered so bad that the band have blocked its release from subsequent home video releases, including the 2004 four-disc DVD release.

In the band's defense, Plant's appearance at Live Aid was initially planned to be with his side project, The Honey Dippers. However, this quickly spiraled into a full-blown reunion, putting the members on stage, but having not played together since 1980. Essentially, little practice and rehearsal time garnered the end results.

With that said, this wouldn't be the last time Robert Plant would be part of a massive concert, only to perform so poorly that he's block future releases. Such was the case at the 1991 Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert, where he absolutely butchered his cover of Innuendo. So, you know, say what you want, but I think at the end of the day, this is a Robert Plant issue. Either from not being prepared or not having the talent his legacy professes. Regardless of which it is, it's unprofessional.

As noted above, Plant would go on to release 1988's Now And Zen, a return to form album for him. It would become his biggest selling solo album of all time, and his final release in the decade. It's where I pick up tomorrow and wrap things up.

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Retro Spins: Robert Plant - The Principle Of Moments

It always makes me scratch my head when I see an album that performs worse than its predecessor in both sales and overall charting, only to then see that it spawned singles that were more popular and peaked relatively high. That math just never adds up for me, but that's exactly the case for Robert Plant's second solo studio album, 1983's The Principle Of Pleasures.

As I noted in closing of yesterday's post, this album was one I actively tracked down for a few songs I wanted. Those would be the two Billboard Hot 100 singles, Big Log (which peaked at number twenty), and In The Mood (with peaked at thirty-nine). However, the most popular tune from the album would turn out to be, Other Arms, which would peak at number on the mainstream rock charts.

While I can't remember when I first heard Robert Plant as a kid, be it his solo work or opus career with Led Zeppelin, I do remember vividly when I re-heard In The Mood. I was driving down the toll road from work to home in the early 2000's when it came on the radio. My mind immediately woke up, shouting, "Hey, I remember that song!" Since then, it stayed tucked in my brain nice and neatly among the thousands of other 80's tunes rattling around.

Once again, Phil Collins joins Plant in the studio to provide drumming. It's interesting to me how Collins is able to produce a signature sound that is easily recognizable, at least to me. Despite his own successful career, both with Genesis and as a solo artist, he would stay with the band for their North American leg of the tour that followed.

The challenge in writing this post at this point is that I wrote the above but then didn't get back to it for several days. Time has not been kind, and I've forgotten the majority of it.

I do recall that it was a solid rock album, but that the above noted hits were the only standouts. Still, with that said, I wasn't a bad album by any means, but still, this didn't stop the remaining tracks from falling into obscurity. I mean, at this point I couldn't even tell you anything from The Principal Of Moments beyond Big Log and In The Mood.

Unfortunately, and mainly because of my memory lapse, there's not much more I can say at this point.

Plant went on to release his third solo album, Shaken 'N' Stirred in 1985, and by then, things were changing mentally for him. Not in a bad way, kind of interesting actually, but more on that tomorrow. For now, let's just put a pin in this very poorly written post.

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Retro Spins: Robert Plant - Pictures At Eleven

With the unexpected, and accidental death of founding member, John Bonham, who died on September 25, 1980, Led Zeppelin made a decision most probably didn't expect. The already legacy band disbanded, stating it was out of respect for their former drummer. Vocalist, Robert Plant would eventually launch a successful and probably expected solo career. This was kicked off in 1982 with his debut, Pictures At Eleven.

Upon its release, it would perform moderately well, but probably not as good as expected. The two singles, Burning Down One Side, and Pledge Pin would only prove to be minor hits, peaking at sixty-four and seventy-four, respectively. It was also cool to hear Phil Collins on skins, and cool to learn that Cozy Powell also provided drums on the album.

Admittedly, my exposure to Plant as a youngster was relatively limited. In fact, I couldn't honestly say when or how I first heard anything from him, be it his solo work or catalog with Led Zeppelin. Regardless, I somehow came to own all of the band's discography, and all of Plant's 80's discography. Mind you, I've listened to none of them, well, with exception of today's album.

To approach this from a positive perspective, it's a solidly crafted rock and roll album. This is by far his first rodeo, and Robert knows what he's doing in the studio. In that regard, you're going to get something worth listening to backed by top notch vocals. Further, the two noted singles are pretty okay, with Pledge Pin being the more favorable among them to me. I'll also give an honorable mention to Like I've Never Been Gone.

However, what you won't get is really anything memorable. There are no iconic riffs or classic choruses to really keep this at the forefront of your mind. Perhaps this was a result of the three-to-four-year hiatus between Zeppelin's 1979 album, In Through The Out Door, and Plant's solo debut. There may just have been some cobwebs that needed to be shaken off.

With all of that stated, I'm down with diving into his 1983 The Principal Of Moments. This is actually one I do know a few songs from, and an album I actively sought out to add to my collection when I started putting it together. So, basically, I'm also a bit excited to get into it.

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