The Album Review Club - End of Round #9 Break (page 1904)

I should have added that I consider Plant as one of the finest singer of his kind in rock as well as being an amazing front for the band. A fact that he has since underlined through his extensive solo work. Listen to him with Alison Kraus and there is no doubt he can hold a note.

Bonham is the most powerful drummer I have ever heard which is perfect for zeppelin. I’m not sure he would flourish in your average jazz combo though.

Page is brilliant in the studio and at writing brilliant guitar riffs. I like his live solos a great deal less though. I once met a taxi driver in Kensington who picked him up regularly. He said he was a very nice old gentleman, polite and his favourite topic of conversation was tea. Hmmmmm. So much for the devil worshipping Crowley disciple I guess.
Devil's got his tongue.......... ;-)
 
I should have added that I consider Plant as one of the finest singer of his kind in rock as well as being an amazing front for the band. A fact that he has since underlined through his extensive solo work. Listen to him with Alison Kraus and there is no doubt he can hold a note.

Bonham is the most powerful drummer I have ever heard which is perfect for zeppelin. I’m not sure he would flourish in your average jazz combo though.

Page is brilliant in the studio and at writing brilliant guitar riffs. I like his live solos a great deal less though. I once met a taxi driver in Kensington who picked him up regularly. He said he was a very nice old gentleman, polite and his favourite topic of conversation was tea. Hmmmmm. So much for the devil worshipping Crowley disciple I guess.

I used to know someone who is very pally with Page: Ross Halfin, the rock photographer. In fact I think the last time I encountered Ross was 1985 at a Robert Plant gig. He would have got me backstage access after the gig but I couldn't hang around.

A few years ago I was walking through a rammed Oracle shopping centre in Reading on Boxing Day with one of my daughters in search of a book about One Direction (!) and hurrying in the opposite direction was a little grey haired familiar looking old guy in a long balck overcoat obviously trying to keep up with his young grand-daughter, who was also on some sort of shopping mission. Yup, it was Jimmy Page braving the sales with the rest of us mere mortals.

At one point, Page owned a property in Pangbourne just outside Reading (may still own it).
 
It took me a while to get into REM, but I feel differently to most on here. Once they'd shrugged off their college-radio mediocrity, they became much better when they added mandolins an other interesting instruments into the mix. "Out of Time", "Automatic for the People" and "New Adventures in Hi-Fi" are my favourites.

Lol, I have the exact opposite view. The three you love, I find bland and dull. I preferred their early urgent and exciting sound. Especially live. Those early gigs here in Manchester at The Gallery, The Poly and The Ritz are among my favourite ever gigs. We all see and hear things differently!
 
John Cougar Mellencamp
Lonesome
4/10

The Replacements
Let it be
5/10


Oasis
The Masterplan
7/10

Kate Bush
Before the dawn
Reluctant abstain

New Score

Led Zeppelin
Physical Graffiti
The sublime and the filler

I feel that I generally start these reviews in a relatively repetitive fashion - I once again find myself conflicted in where this lands.

As has already been observed, Side A (apologies folks I'm too sprightly to know this in vinal terms ;-) ) is incredibly strong, top riffs, eardrum bursting well drums*, a brilliant base section and terrific vocals (when he's not making those shit sex noises). They hold their own as a four piece with pretty much anything else in rock I think it's fair to say.

If you take the first side and massage in In the light and Ten years gone and possibly drop Houses of the holy, you have potentially got the strongest album that has ever been released (granted not sure how viable this would be again on the old record system).

I don't even care what they are singing about, the music is that good.

What would beat it? Very very little and even then I think everyone would need to be talked round on it.

As has been eluded to, this is potentially where someone outside of the band refining what they were wanting to sling onto the album would have helped them (granted their were probably very few people who thought they could question them at this point, but that's their own failing).

So here we are, the first side is so strong it now makes absolute mincemeat of the second. So is that a positive or a negative? It shouldn't be but it is a negative because they could have massaged those stronger songs out or just shortened the album. Stick Kashmir at the end of the album and end on a high ffs!!!!!!! Yes, that is harsh but this is what we are on the thread for isn't it?

Due to the filler on the second side, it screams 7.5 at me referring to my previous scores, but to be honest the good on the album makes me so happy it gets the 8.

Highest fucking score I've given this far (and now I'm fucked for other albums that have sheer brilliance but a fair amount of filler.

*** (Spoiler don't worry, I'm a brilliant hypocrite on music when it suits) ***

* I love Bonham, even in a band that is this talented he still stands out as brilliant (saying that, so does JPJ, he's absolutely sublime). He is pretty much everything you want in a drummer, I don't know whether it is even more of his brilliance but the way his kits are mic'd up and then displayed on their music is brilliant ( I imagine more Page and / or technicians), it's always absolutely cock on.

Sell your soul BlueMooners, the output is worth it.

Devil, take me now...............!!!!

Edit: As much as I eulogise of Bonham, I absolutely love watching this versionof Kashmir with his son Jason playing - absolutely sublime.

What a player he is!

 
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John Cougar Mellencamp
Lonesome
4/10

The Replacements
Let it be
5/10


Oasis
The Masterplan
7/10

Kate Bush
Before the dawn
Reluctant abstain

New Score

Led Zeppelin
Physical Graffiti
The sublime and the filler

I feel that I generally start these reviews in a relatively repetitive fashion - I once again find myself conflicted in where this lands.

As has already been observed, Side A (apologies folks I'm too sprightly to know this in vinal terms ;-) ) is incredibly strong, top riffs, eardrum bursting well drums*, a brilliant base section and terrific vocals (when he's not making those shit sex noises). They hold their own as a four piece with pretty much anything else in rock I think it's fair to say.

If you take the first side and massage in In the light and Ten years gone and possibly drop Houses of the holy, you have potentially got the strongest album that has ever been released (granted not sure how viable this would be again on the old record system).

I don't even care what they are singing about, the music is that good.

What would beat it? Very very little and even then I think everyone would need to be talked round on it.

As has been eluded to, this is potentially where someone outside of the band refining what they were wanting to sling onto the album would have helped them (granted their were probably very few people who thought they could question them at this point, but that's their own failing).

So here we are, the first side is so strong it now makes absolute mincemeat of the second. So is that a positive or a negative? It shouldn't be but it is a negative because they could have massaged those stronger songs out or just shortened the album. Stick Kashmir at the end of the album and end on a high ffs!!!!!!! Yes, that is harsh but this is what we are on the thread for isn't it?

Due to the filler on the second side, it screams 7.5 at me referring to my previous scores, but to be honest the good on the album makes me so happy it gets the 8.

Highest fucking score I've given this far (and now I'm fucked for other albums that have sheer brilliance but a fair amount of filler.

*** (Spoiler don't worry, I'm a brilliant hypocrite on music when it suits) ***

* I love Bonham, even in a band that is this talented he still stands out as brilliant (saying that, so does JPJ, he's absolutely sublime). He is pretty much everything you want in a drummer, I don't know whether it is even more of his brilliance but the way his kits are mic'd up and then displayed on their music is brilliant ( I imagine more Page and / or technicians), it's always absolutely cock on.

Sell your soul BlueMooners, the output is worth it.

Devil, take me now...............!!!!

The issue they had with making it a single lp back in the day was that it would have meant leaving of material that they, understandably, wanted to release. The eight new songs they recorded would not fit on a single album and previously unreleased songs like "Houses of the Holy" deserved to be made public.
 
John Cougar Mellencamp
Lonesome
4/10

The Replacements
Let it be
5/10


Oasis
The Masterplan
7/10

Kate Bush
Before the dawn
Reluctant abstain

New Score

Led Zeppelin
Physical Graffiti
The sublime and the filler

I feel that I generally start these reviews in a relatively repetitive fashion - I once again find myself conflicted in where this lands.

As has already been observed, Side A (apologies folks I'm too sprightly to know this in vinal terms ;-) ) is incredibly strong, top riffs, eardrum bursting well drums*, a brilliant base section and terrific vocals (when he's not making those shit sex noises). They hold their own as a four piece with pretty much anything else in rock I think it's fair to say.

If you take the first side and massage in In the light and Ten years gone and possibly drop Houses of the holy, you have potentially got the strongest album that has ever been released (granted not sure how viable this would be again on the old record system).

I don't even care what they are singing about, the music is that good.

What would beat it? Very very little and even then I think everyone would need to be talked round on it.

As has been eluded to, this is potentially where someone outside of the band refining what they were wanting to sling onto the album would have helped them (granted their were probably very few people who thought they could question them at this point, but that's their own failing).

So here we are, the first side is so strong it now makes absolute mincemeat of the second. So is that a positive or a negative? It shouldn't be but it is a negative because they could have massaged those stronger songs out or just shortened the album. Stick Kashmir at the end of the album and end on a high ffs!!!!!!! Yes, that is harsh but this is what we are on the thread for isn't it?

Due to the filler on the second side, it screams 7.5 at me referring to my previous scores, but to be honest the good on the album makes me so happy it gets the 8.

Highest fucking score I've given this far (and now I'm fucked for other albums that have sheer brilliance but a fair amount of filler.

*** (Spoiler don't worry, I'm a brilliant hypocrite on music when it suits) ***

* I love Bonham, even in a band that is this talented he still stands out as brilliant (saying that, so does JPJ, he's absolutely sublime). He is pretty much everything you want in a drummer, I don't know whether it is even more of his brilliance but the way his kits are mic'd up and then displayed on their music is brilliant ( I imagine more Page and / or technicians), it's always absolutely cock on.

Sell your soul BlueMooners, the output is worth it.

Devil, take me now...............!!!!
I liked your post because it’s good and thoughtful — as usual — but am adding an * here for the mere suggestion of dropping Houses of the Holy!!! :)
 
The issue they had with making it a single lp back in the day was that it would have meant leaving of material that they, understandably, wanted to release. The eight new songs they recorded would not fit on a single album and previously unreleased songs like "Houses of the Holy" deserved to be made public.
I tried to touch on that but yeh I get that.

However, it does dilute the overall album because the second half isn't remotely as good as the first.

To be fair though the bar was set high.......
 

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