Should Robert Plant have kept his gob shut?

[Andy in Sig]

I've never been a Led Zep fan but have always been aware that they were good at what they did. On Saturday I saw their BBC sessions album in the local supermarket at a bargain price and bought it as a spur of the moment thing and in the knowledge that the three previous BBC sessions albums I've bought have been brilliant.

I'm still not a Led Zep fan. It just struck me that they are far too trebly although the drummer isn't too bad (Jimmy Page mastered the album so one presumes this is how they were meant to sound). Then it hit me: it's Robert Plant's bloody voice which is such a pain in the ear. If he had been persuaded to keep his gob firmly shut every time they went on stage or in the studio, Led Zep would have been a lot better. (This is provable by listening to the Yardbirds' live version of Dazed And Confused recorded while Jimmy Page was still with them and Keith Relf sounds loads better.) I also reckon that Plant is guilty of spawning loads of imitators culiminating in what is perhaps the most irritating singer of all time: that bloke out of guns'n'roses. Jimmy Page is a very good guitarist but he doesn't always know when less is more and I think he might be responsible for a lot of heavy metal guitarists. So on the whole I have to give Led Zep the old thumbs down.

No doubt many fans will disagree ...

 

[User482]

Nothing like slagging off Led Zep or Pink Floyd to get their obsessive fans all in a lather...

 

[Paulus]

The popular story is that Deep Purple, after hearing Robert Plant, wanted a singer with a voice like his and ended up with Ian Gillan.

 

[Crackle]

Heathen. I mean if you want a voice to drone and irritate just listen to Morrisey: Pass me the shotgun.

 

[Wolf04]

Like Led Zepp and Planty but everyone is entitled to their opinion on music.

 

[GrahamG]

Totally agree, but I can clarify exactly why - he sings with an American accent. It's a real bug-bear of mine, and there are some criminal examples in more recent British bands (Lost Prophets are no1 on my shitlist). It's fake, contrived and reflects really badly on the UK music scene as it sounds like every band wants to be American.

 

[Paulus]

Had a Field Trip when I was doing my A Level Geography. We drove in the College mini-bus from Essex all the way to the Lake Distict.

Mini-bus full of 70s Heavy Metal class so-called "mates".

They played a tape of 70s effin Heavy Metal with blokes shouting in high voices all the effin way to the effin Lake District about how they were the Devil's effin Disciple.

All those souless Headmaster's sons rebelling by playing their effin souless air-guitars and shouting their effin soulless lyrics.

Did my head in.

That's what I think.

Can I deduce that you don't like heavy metal music then COG? It is not my cup of tea musically speaking, but everyone has an opinion, even if they are right or wrong.

 

[Mr Phoebus]

They played a tape of 70s effin Heavy Metal with blokes shouting in high voices all the effin way to the effin Lake District about how they were the Devil's effin Disciple.

What? They played the tape backwards?

 

[Mr Phoebus]

Sorry about the rant. But those few hours still give me flashbacks.

Couldn't you hear the subliminal satanic messages telling you to kill them?

 

[Bigtallfatbloke]

So who would have done a better job as singer /front man would you say?

I love led Zeppelin, to me they and Deep Purple were and still are the two most influencial rock bands that ever existed.

Some of led Zep's albums were recorded on simple 4 track machines...incredible really when you think that today even my digital desk with 288 tracks is considered pre historic by the young kid musicians and producers of today.

As i sit here and look around at the gear in my small studio room I can't help but wonder how much better led Zeps recordings could have been had they had access to even half of what I have in here. Thats a depressing thought for me as I cannot get even close to what they did.

 

[Fnaar]

If only Nick Heyward out of Haircut 100 had been in Led Zep

 

[Andy in Sig]

So who would have done a better job as singer /front man would you say?

I love led Zeppelin, to me they and Deep Purple were and still are the two most influencial rock bands that ever existed.

Some of led Zep's albums were recorded on simple 4 track machines...incredible really when you think that today even my digital desk with 288 tracks is considered pre historic by the young kid musicians and producers of today.

As i sit here and look around at the gear in my small studio room I can't help but wonder how much better led Zeps recordings could have been had they had access to even half of what I have in here. Thats a depressing thought for me as I cannot get even close to what they did.

Being purely subjective, I just don't like what they did with the blues and FWIW I find Deep Purple much more listenable. There's no doubt that Led Zep were original but it's whether or not you liked where they were going that is the point.

Better singer? Well like I said Keith Relf did IMO a better job of Dazed and Confused. I just think anybody who was about half an octave lower than Robert Plant would have been more listenable.

 

[Bigtallfatbloke]

..maybe some looser trousers whould have helped!

 

[Bodhbh]

But those few hours still give me flashbacks.

On that note, I remember visiting a friend at Swansea Uni sometime in the early 90s. Some 'psychedelically refreshed' wags carted a potted rubber tree into the student union, sat it down at a table and proceeded to buy it a drink every round. It may or may not have at shades on I can't remember. ofc you can see where this is going,

"What's that tree doing there?"
"It's Robert Plant."

Cue 20mins screaming laughter. I'm a big fan of the first 4 Led Zep albums, less so after that, but can't think of Robert Plant without the rubber tree. And his solo LP "Big Log", what's that all about?

 

[Chuffy]

On that note, I remember visiting a friend at Swansea Uni sometime in the early 90s. Some 'psychedelically refreshed' wags carted a potted rubber tree into the student union, sat it down at a table and proceeded to buy it a drink every round. It may or may not have at shades on I can't remember. ofc you can see where this is going,

"What's that tree doing there?"
"It's Robert Plant."

Cue 20mins screaming laughter. I'm a big fan of the first 4 Led Zep albums, less so after that, but can't think of Robert Plant without the rubber tree. And his solo LP "Big Log", what's that all about?

Didn't that come out when his career was going down the toilet?


"It's Robert Plant" if I'd been there I suspect that I'd still be laughing about that today....