Robert Plant: Zeppelin Man Takes the High Road to Nirvana, The Ti mes, June 1990

["Montgomery, David" <dmontgomery@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Robert Plant: Zeppelin Man Takes the High Road to Nirvana 
Steve Turner, The Times, June 1990

This month's tour by Robert Plant, which reaches England tonight, has been
his first European jaunt since his days with Led Zeppelin, the band which
dissolved ten years ago after the death of drummer John Bonham.

"I missed touring, but touring was such a drama with Zeppelin that it wasn't
much fun," says the 41-year-old singer who, with his pre-Raphaelite hair and
tight blue jeans, looks remarkably unchanged since the seventies.

"I rather like it now because everything is so fresh. There are no drugs and
there's no boss, apart from my manager. It's a very healthy working
situation."

Led Zeppelin inspired a generation of imitators. Plant says that they are
out to make easy money knowing that Zeppelin maintains one of the music
industry's most lucrative back catalogues.

"These new bands shower me with respect," he notes, "but at the same time
they're glad we're not still doing it because it has left some space for
them."

Manic Nirvana, Plant's current solo offering, shows him in tough
Zeppelinesque form himself, and reached the top ten in America. Plant
believes it would have made a worthy successor to Led Zeppelin's Physical
Graffiti, a record he rates "the best collection and selection" the band
ever made.

If he wanted to, he could re-form Led Zeppelin and earn the sort of
mega-dollars recently pocketed by the Who and the Rolling Stones. "But it
would just be an exercise in how to re-create," he says.

They did get together for Live Aid, appearing at Philadelphia's JFK Stadium,
but many critics wish they hadn't bothered. Earlier this month they
performed with Jason Bonham (son of John) as drummer at Bonham's wedding.

"Zeppelin's motivation was never financial and shouldn't become financial
now," Plant argues. "However, if Jimmy Page and I could comfortably write
together, there would be nothing wrong with that."

The current tour is scaled down from the Zeppelin caravan, and the fanfares
don't sound quite so loudly. Does he miss it all?

"I still have it now," he says, "I just don't have it on such a huge
commercial level. But what I have is much more focused.

"I think my last album, Now and Zen, which was made with American radio
programming in mind, was ultimately too much of a compromise, although it
became my most successful solo album. With Manic Nirvana I wanted more
definition."

Despite his wild-man-of-rock reputation and his influence on the flair and
hair of heavy-metal singers, Plant is much more musically eclectic than his
Spinal Tap imitators, with favourites including acts as diverse as Ray
Charles and the Cure.

The influences on Manic Nirvana are equally varied. He says 'Watching You'
reflects his interest in North African berber music, 'Big Love' was written
after hearing Aerosmith's 'Love in an Elevator' and 'Nirvana' is his attempt
at psychobilly.

'Hurting Kind', his first single from the album, is the most reminiscent of
Zeppelin, but Plant credits Gene Vincent for the inspiration.

"As a kid I wanted to be Gene," he says. "He was really kind of slinky.
There was a lot of sex in his voice."

Plant is too garrulous to be slinky but he does have plenty of sex in his
voice - and in his lyrics.

"I don't need to do research for my songs," he says. "All I have to do is to
get into the situations I get into. I'm not very easy to live with and I
wear people out. To write well I find I need the conflict."

Just as Paul McCartney has been reconciled to singing Beatles songs in
concert, so Plant feels there's now enough distance between his solo career
and Zeppelin to tour with some old favourites.

"I didn't feel I could make a career out of singing 'Black Dog'," he says.
"I had to go out and do what I do."

So what makes Robert Plant want to keep on writing, recording and touring?

"I just enjoy doing the thing that I do quite well," he explains. "I really
do have a good time and I just long to see what the next project is.

"I don't need the money. What would I need it for? You can only have one car
and one season ticket to Wolverhampton Wanderers."

© Steve Turner 1990

David B. Montgomery
Locke Liddell & Sapp LLP
Houston, Texas  77002-3095