[www.torontosun.com]

October 16, 2007

Led Zeppelin world tour?
Three surviving band members reunite, not ruling anything out
By JOHN KRYK, Sun Media

The three surviving members of Led Zeppelin are reuniting next month for their first full concert since disbanding 27 years ago.

What everyone wants to know, though, is this a precursor to a world concert tour? Or a new CD of original material? Or both?

Neither guitarist Jimmy Page nor bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones ruled out anything Tuesday, in separate telephone interviews with Sun Media.

Page, Jones, singer Robert Plant and drummer Jason Bonham — son of the fourth member of Zeppelin, John Bonham, who died in 1980 — are playing a two-hour set Nov. 26 at the 02 Arena in London, England, as part of a tribute concert in aid of the Ahmet Ertegun Education Fund. Ertegun was the forward-thinking Atlantic Records executive who signed Zeppelin to a record deal in 1968.

So is this show actually a, well, trial zeppelin for a full-blown reunification?

“Basically, we are concentrating on this show,” Jones, 61, said. “That’s where all the energy is going. I mean, who knows, but one step at a time.”

Page, 63, was much more circuitous in answering the tour question. He said that all three surviving band members, as well as Jason Bonham when he tours with Foreigner, always play Zep material whenever they perform live.

“So you’ve got the four individual members playing Led Zeppelin in four different capacities,” Page said. “When they unite, you’ve got the key members. You can’t play it any better, as they’re the people who actually played it and wrote it in the first place ... “(The Nov. 26 concert) is what we’re working toward. At the moment, we’re still on our way toward that, although we feel very confident about it. That’s what we have on our horizon at this point. I know you want to hear other answers, but I’m afraid that’s all I can give you.”

Page, though, was less vague as to the prospects of new material from the new Zeppelin lineup.

“Look, I’d be really surprised if there wasn’t — you know, I mean I just know the way we are,” the riffmaster said. “We’re musicians. It’s a good observation, and very true, that as we’re playing we’ll probably be coming up with all manner of things. And that will be fun. And that’s part of being musicians on a collective scale. I mean, that’s what it’s all about. But as far as it going any further, I don’t know. Let’s do the 02 show, shall we? And then we’ll speak to you afterwards.”

It was at a jam session back in June — yes, those reports back then were accurate after all — that the four musicians gathered to see if they could make a go of it.

“We had a very, very secret tryout in June — just to see if a) it was possible, and b) if anyone wanted to do it, to see if the will was there,” Jones said. “And it was pretty exciting, I have to tell you. We made all the musical cues, and we were pretty hot.”

Page said it was the crucial moment.

“The hardest step — or the most tentative step — was to actually be able to get together, the four of us, in a rehearsal room to actually play with the instruments, to kick it over, and just fire up that machine, play the music — and keep the whole damn thing under wraps. Which can be kind of tricky, because the minute anyone even sees two of you together on the street, there’s stories of reunions or tours. And there has been for (decades). So this was the trickiest part of the whole operation.

“(Then it was) really hoping that for each of us, individually, that it was going to be a really, really good experience. And if it wasn’t, then we’d all shake hands and nobody would hear about it ... As it was, we did manage to pull it off, and we didn’t have to shake hands and say, ‘Well, at least we sort of know that it might not be a good idea.’ It was quite the opposite. It was really exhilarating, it was really thrilling to be playing together again.”

New Zeppelin reissues will soon hit stores: a two-disc best-of CD titled Motherlode (Nov. 13), and bolstered CD and DVD reissues of their 1976 film The Song Remains the Same (Nov. 20). This week, the band also announced that its entire catalogue will be available for full-album or singe-track download on Nov. 13, and that ring tones and wallpapers through Telus are available now.

This sounds very promising.
I'd pay as much for a Zep ticket as I did for a Stones ticket, which seems ridiculously high.
Bring It On Home!!!

Well allright now!!......Yep,it seems almost inevetible that their will be some kind of Zep reunion. basicly it seems like it all depends on Plant. He has always been the most reluctant. But if he is willing to give it a go,than it should happen.

"It's just some friends of mine and they're busting down the door"

As always, it depends on Plant, he has been the killjoy since 1980, and this interview will make Plant the "Bad Guy" if no tour follows.

Why wasn't Plant contacted for the interview?
And for that matter, what does Jason (John Jr.) Bonham have to say?
I'm sure he'll say yes to a tour. Page and Jones have already given the thumbs up.
Hopefully Plant doesn't rain on the parade...

Well Page & Jones have always said yes to a tour. Jason has stayed busy working with various bands. Plant has always been the wild card. Which makes his saying yes to the o2 gig even more strange....But if he's agreed to that,than why not a tour?

"It's just some friends of mine and they're busting down the door"

Plant's said the O2 gig is strictly a one-off. We shall see .... They almost reunited for a tour after Live Aid.

They will destroy their mythos. But money rules....

I don't think it will happen

All the interviews with Plant say he's adamant it won't happen

I think he enjoys his solo career to much and it will tarnish Led Zeps legacy....

Page sounds like Keith in that interview. "... fire up that machine..."

I would like them go on the road too. I can't make the o2 show because of Holiday (Thanksgiving) commitments here in the USA.

I have a tough time considering it a reunion though without Bonzo.

I guess Plant will be the decider.

You bet your bottom dollar it won't happen.

IMO, I think a lot depends on how much time and effort is spent on rehearsals. That is the key. If they are putting in hours and days on rehearsals then I think it is totally inevitable. The 02 show is like the the Stones club show before the tour. A soundcheck.

Lets face it, the tour would sell out, as evidenced by the hits on the website for tickets, (millions I hear). Everyone wants to see them so the desire and demand are there. Those questions are answered. Only thing left is will it work for them together?

Anyone have any info on rehearsals?

I saw Plant lately on tour and he has just been GREAT. He seems pretty happy, playing small venues in cities like Rouen or Rennes, but I don't think he can't refuse any longer to play on the Big Leagues again, I mean when the Stones bring home half a billion dollars and U2 and others 300 million, I think Plant must have in the back of his mind the fact that he can too raise to those highs of the music industry.

Plant couldnt have been more emphatic in the interview in this months UNCUT that he has absolutely no intention of doing a Led Zep tour. He seems totally at ease with where he is now musically and artistically and seems to see no need in any way of a reunion tour. Nostalgia doesnt seem to appeal to him at all.

pretty commendable attitude, even if no doubt disappointing for Zep fans.

Yes, but it´s funny with Plant. Whenever there´s a Zeppelin project ahead he says in interviews that he´s totally uninterested in looking back. But then, when the DVD, CD, or whatever is finished, he always raves about how good they were and that everyone should buy the product. I think he´s a little bit ambivalent about his past.

He's not denying they were good, Svartmer - I think his point is that its a closed chapter and hes moved on and doesnt see much point in just trying to recapture it decades later.

I think you're right Gazza, but I somehow think that he's starting to wonder about hundreds of million of dollars. I think that it's a very hard situation for him that seems (or seemed) in fact at peace with how things are.

Has anybody seen the bridge?

Where's that confound it bridge?

Yes, money rules and I bet they are already planning the tour, calling venues etc. No way they'll go through all of this prep and work for one two-hour show, NO WAY! ( Unless they truly bomb!).

they dont need the money and Plant simply doesnt seem to be driven by it, in terms of his solo work. Time will tell, I suppose.

he said he wants to do this show because its important to him that they finish with a GOOD show to be remembered by - which Live Aid and the Atlantic bash in '88 weren't.

I dont think Percy's view is at all ambivilant, as Gazza says he seems at ease wher he is and thast why he can praise his past, it just aint an issue one way or the other for him these days. Thast why he is probably comfortable playing LZ song in his solo sets these days as well.

I cant recommned The recent Plant/Krauss album highly enough. along withe the recent Thurston Moore solo album it has been the most played album in Chez Phlegm for some time.

What's the story with the second Plant Page tour in 1998. I saw both the tours, the first with the Egyptian band was creative and different, the second was more like a LZ five piece. I heard (and don't know if it's true) that halfway through the 98 (I think it was 1998) tour Plant cancelled the rest of the tour because it began to sound too much like Led Zeppelin and he wanted to avoid that. It was shortly after that the Black Crows became, for a while at least, Jimmy's LZ outlet.

Can anyone tell me the real story? Gazza?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2007-10-18 23:57 by BluzDude.

I rather see the 3 guys record again and if that works out, tour with that.

I just hope they play some stuff off of In Through The Outdoor.
Also showcase John Paul Jones talents and Jason and not make all about Page and Plant.
Love for them to choose alot from the last four albums.

Coming Down Again

It is the You-died-like-James-Dean-at-the-right-time-syndrome versus The-Rolling-Stones-we-are-still-alone-out-there-without-a-compass-syndrome. That's the clue to all Beatles releases and that's the explanation to Mick's Best of. Oh, sorry, this a Led Zep thread: Some good albums (the early ones sound unbearably oldfashioned - worse than Cream), always disappointed about live recordings throughout their career. But maybe I speak different if they cut down their good songs to under 5 minutes live - the then "short" ones, on the other hand, were too long...

Based on everything Plant has said in every interview since Zeppelin broke up in 1980, no way do they do a reunion tour. Then again, it seems kind of pointless to go through all that rehearsing for just one show.

My guess is there will be no tour. Page and Jones have been pressuring Plant for years to reunite the band, I bet he finally told them "ok, we'll do one show and see how it goes" just to placate them, but in reality he has no desire to reunite the band no matter how well the 02 show goes.

BluzDude Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> What's the story with the second Plant Page tour
> in 1998. I saw both the tours, the first with the
> Egyptian band was creative and different, the
> second was more like a LZ five piece. I heard (and
> don't know if it's true) that halfway through the
> 98 (I think it was 1998) tour Plant cancelled the
> rest of the tour because it began to sound too
> much like Led Zeppelin and he wanted to avoid
> that. It was shortly after that the Black Crows
> became, for a while at least, Jimmy's LZ outlet.
>
> Can anyone tell me the real story? Gazza?


No idea, mate, sorry. I'm sure theres plenty much bigger LZ fans than me who would have an idea. Never really paid it much interest.

This might put the Kabash on a Zep tour:
Robert Plant | Alison Krauss

Raising Sand (Oct. 23rd) Among the Most Anticipated Releases of the Season


Robert Plant and Alison Krauss' upcoming Raising Sand (Rounder Records - October 23rd) is one of the most highly anticipated releases for the fall 2007 season. Raising Sand was recently featured on CBS Sunday Morning's fall music preview. They raved "...a brilliant CD...Plant Krauss might seem like an unlikely duo but they share a keening, a longing in their voices that strips these rock and country songs right back to their haunted souls."

Leading up to and including the week of release is a frenzy of media activity - including exclusive appearances on the Today Show on October 24th and Charlie Rose as well as major features that will run in select publications across the nation.

A chorus of early praise for Raising Sand includes:

"...The most remarkable collaboration since Norah Jones and the Foo Fighters is also one of the best albums of the year...the musical relationship between Krauss and Plant is gentle, attentive and respectfully intimate..."(5 Stars) - Mojo

"On 'Raising Sand' the improbable collaboration between Led Zeppelin's lead singer and the sweet-voiced string-band innovator, there's a third factor: the producer T Bone Burnett, who places their voices in an unhurried down-home realm somewhere between the 1950s and eternity." - The New York Times

"Unlikely pair creates unexpected gem." (4 Stars) - Paste Magazine

"I have no idea who came up with the idea of getting Led Zeppelin front man Robert Plant into a recording studio with bluegrass fiddler Alison Krauss, but I would just like to take this chance to thank that individual." - Charleston, SC Post Courier

Already showing major signs of sales success, the album has been on Amazon's top sellers charts for over two months, and is currently in the Top 5. The album will be carried in every Starbucks location as well as all major retailers, and the album's first single "Gone, Gone, Gone" is currently in the Top 10 on the AAA charts in its 3rd week of release. Robert and Alison are currently working on a music video for "Gone, Gone, Gone" to debut in the coming weeks, as well as taping an episode of CMT's "Crossroads" to air in January. A tour to support the album is being planned now for 2008.

Raising Sand is the astonishing new collaborative album from Robert Plant and Alison Krauss -- two of the most distinctive vocalists in modern music. The album was produced by T Bone Burnett and recorded in Nashville and Los Angeles with a stellar cast of supporting musicians, including guitarists Marc Ribot and Norman Blake, multi-instrumentalist Mike Seeger, drummer Jay Bellerose, and bassist Dennis Crouch. Though they come from entirely different traditions, Alison Krauss and Robert Plant create an amazing, unexpected, and entirely new sound when they sing together.

For more information on Robert Plant and Alison Krauss please contact Nick
Baily ([email protected]) at Shore Fire Media -- 718.522.7171

The CD comes out next week, maybe the duo will tour next year for about 3 or 4 months...then What?

Zep does a show next month, a few months later the DVD comes out (if it's worthy), and the Zep talk will start all over again.

This way Plant can save face. After the duo thing he could say, well now I think the time is right, I've accomplished what I've set out to do.

I'm not saying I think it will happen, I'm just predicting that if it does, this is how it may go down.