The upcoming WIC wars

[Joker 250 <Joker250@xxxxxxx>]

I saw this coming from a mile away!  Months ago I said I was sure the new
Page/Plant album would inspire bitter flame wars about its quality.  And now
J.R. hates it.  And Hugh likes it, and Thor thinks he likes it.  And I've
liked what I've heard.  As the album is released, I'm sure we'll see even more
people agreeing with J.R., as well as more people that really enjoy it.  And
here's why:

This list is for fans of Led Zeppelin, not necessarily for fans of Page/Plant.
Nearly everyone on FBO loves "Dazed and Confused", "Stairway to Heaven",
"Heartbreaker", etc.  If you don't like Led Zeppelin, you wouldn't be here.
Now, not everyone likes what Page and Plant have been up to for the past four
years.  Some people think it's a disgrace to their legacy, some people are
upset because JPJ wasn't included, some think they simply don't have the
songwriting or performance skills anymore.  And they're entitled to their
opinion.  When I listen to a show from the No Quarter tour, I hear Plant's
vocal control and range the best it's been since 1972.  While his voice has
deteriorated over the years, he has honed other aspects of it.  I listen to
"Most High", and I hear a really strong performance.  I think his vocals on
"When the World Was Young" are really excellent.  They induced vomiting in
J.R.  It all comes down to whether you like the guy's voice or not.  If you're
looking for Plant's voice a la 1971, it's long gone.  But try to appreciate
how he's using it now.  Try to get past the initial feeling of "whoa, Plant
sounds like shit", because he doesn't (in my opinion).

Likewise, people really do Page a disservice when they say "Plant is forcing
Jimmy to sound like this", etc.  Jimmy Page has developed an infinite number
of guitar styles, and he shouldn't be forever linked to the headbanging
section of "Stairway".  There aren't many riffs on this new album.  Page is
exploring other realms of his repertoire, with Plant as a springboard.  Page
always changes his style to fit his songwriting partner.  This is why we saw
him explore the heavy metal sound more than he ever had before when he teamed
up with Coverdale.  Likewise, his work with the Firm is unique.  And his work
here is going to be different.  No better, no worse, unless we're talking
subjectively.  Many people would love to see Page get back down to heavy metal
riffs with Coverdale (or someone else).  They're probably going to hate WIC.
While I love that aspect of Jimmy's playing, I've heard it before with Led
Zeppelin, and I don't think it's ever going to get any better than that.  So
I'm glad Page and Plant are trying new things, and aren't stuck reliving the
past.  Leave that in the live show where it belongs.

This has been a really long letter for someone who's only heard 15 minutes of
the new album!  If you read this whole thing, thanks for indulging me.

Brad Schauer