Re: Reality Check Please

[MICHAELJMORETTI@xxxxxx]

Steve,

I have always believed that it is possible to have disagreements on this list 
without making it personal.  Thank you for your civil, well written response.

Steve Thomson wrote:
>I wasn't the one who brought up Pete Townshend's browsing habits or legal 
>troubles, 
>nor did I bring Plant "into the thread." The thread was about Plant in the 
>first 
>place! I suggest you reread it. While you're at it, reread everything else 
>I've 
>written. I have consistently praised Plant's vocal performance in mid-period 
>Zeppelin and some of his solo work. I've also stated that as a lyricist, he 
>matured 
>a lot as a solo artist. I was a dedicated Plant fan until the mid-90s, 
>suddenly a 
>combination of my maturity and Plant's emerging vocal mannerisms caused me to 
>re-
>examine my dedication. However, I was always able to step back and view him in 
>the 
>context of popular culture.

Steve, I know you didn't start this thread.  I apologize if that is what was 
implied.  Yes it did start as a Plant thread that went off on a NZC Townshend 
tangent.  But in true form you brought it back with one of your typical Plant 
zingers, in order to (paraphrasing you) "get a reaction out of the raving Plant 
fanatics".  I was just calling you on it.  Steve, I'm sorry you no longer 
consider yourself a Plant fan.  I happen to think you're misguided, but that is 
just my opinion.

>Since becoming active on FBO, I have criticized the inconsistency and lack of 
>credibility in his statements and actions concerning Led Zeppelin and his 
>working 
>with Jimmy Page or John Paul Jones. One year he's making statements about how 
>Jimmy 
>brings out the best in him musically and then a couple of years later, he 
>walks out 
>on Page during a break in a world tour, just as their partnership was 
>beginning to 
>gel. I recently stumbled across a magazine interview on www.manicnirvana.com 
>where 
>he implies that he wanted Zeppelin to continue after Bonzo's death, but 
>someone 
>else made the decision to end it. This completely contradicts what he and the 
>others have always said. I've criticized his magisterial, condescending 
>attitude in 
>interviews, where he comes across sounding like he created/discovered the 
>entire 
>world music scene as well as the blues roots of all popular music. I've also 
>criticized his vocal stylistic choices from 1993 on, etc. Check out the 
>reports on 
>his Royal Albert Hall concert on www.tblweb.com. There's a well-written little 
>comment in one of the reviews about how he tends to misuse mundane Arabic 
>expressions as if they were something profound. When I read this, I realized 
>how 
>well it summarizes the problem. Plant is still capable of good vocal work, yet 
>he 
>insists on quirky vocal stylings that diminish his other work.

If we have learned anything about Robert Plant in 35 years, it's that he is so 
very often tongue in cheek that it is difficult to know what to take seriously. 
 He also uses sarcasm extensively to make a point.  Some people can't 
understand this and don't like it.  I feel that is part of his charm.  He 
cracks me up.  I have found that if you listen carefully, and pay more 
attention to his actions than his words, you get a better picture of where he 
is coming from and what to take seriously.  On the contrary, I think Robert 
Plant has more credibility than most artists.  In the twenty-five years since 
Led Zeppelin, Plant has done exactly what he wants to do for himself.  With a 
few exceptions, I have been quite entertained by what he has put out.  Robert 
Plant obviously didn't create/discover the entire world music scene or the 
blues, but he has been a tireless messenger in times where we have been and 
continue to be surrounded by a whole lotta commercially contrived garbage.  
There are a small handful of people in rock music that I think have earned the 
right to be magisterial and condescending at times when dealing with some of 
these fluff and stuff media types, and I would definitely put Robert Plant in 
this category (along with Jimmy Page, and John Paul Jones, of course).  I think 
that it is fair to consider Plant an elder statesman in this regard (oh my God 
listen to me, I'm becoming my dad and how he refers to Sinatra).  As far as his 
shift away from working with Jimmy Page, here is my take on it.  If you caught 
the backstage interviews from the "Austin City Limits" or "VH1 Story Tellers", 
I can't remember which, Plant makes a comment about some of his critics 
relative to the attitude that Plant's (paraphrasing) "not a man anymore if he 
can't hit all of the high notes".  I believe this was his way of admitting that 
he physically can't do it any more.  I personally think that Plant recognizes 
he no longer has the range to perform an extensive set of Zep material night 
after night, and doesn't want to b!
 e subjec
t
ed to the obvious comparisons to his younger self in that respect.  Any work 
with Jimmy Page, brings along all of the Zep baggage, and all of the obvious 
comparisons to what came before.

>As for my citing other references, why should I do all the work for you? Do it 
>yourself. Read all that you can. Outside of ga-ga, hardcore fan circles, you 
>won't 
>find many references to Robert Plant the songwriter. You'll find that Plant is 
>generally remembered for his voice in Led Zeppelin, and then as a postscript 
>there's mention of a couple of radio hits (In the Mood and Big Log) from the 
>80's, 
>a one-off novelty project (Honeydrippers), a reunion with Page in the 90's, 
>and 
>then an album of covers in 2002 that was somewhat of a critical success but a 
>commercial failure. Yes he co-wrote most of the material from Led Zeppelin II 
>onwards, but the only mentions of his songwriting generally refer to Stairway, 
>perhaps Kashmir, and occasionally Going to California.

Of course you know I really didn't expect you to cite all the references.  
Listen, since the beginning, Led Zeppelin really never got much positive 
acclaim from most of the music establishment.  Remember that great genius of 
music appreciation, Lester Bangs.  At least Lester listened to the whole record 
and gave an honest rendering of his opinion [however ill-inspired and off-base 
;-)]. I have read all of these same articles over the years.  The best way to 
sum this up is to quote Plant himself, "You know all of these trade magazines 
are run by a bunch of middle age guys who can't get a h__rd-_n."  (Yes that's a 
quote).  Any publication that post scripts with "In the Mood" and "Big Log" 
obviously hasn't spent more than five minutes researching any one group or 
artist.  These are the same publications that cite "Whole Lotta Love" and 
"Stairway to Heaven" as Zeppelin's major contribution to the rock world.  I 
laugh when I read these things.  I think it is a badge of honor not to be 
praised by these people (re: my earlier posts regarding the Grammy).  My point 
was that the longevity of the Led Zeppelin catalogue speaks for itself and 
Robert Plant shares writing credits on most of this material.  Any attempt to 
minimize his contribution is simply off base.  To compare any Zeppelin lyric 
with say "Tommy" is comparing apples to oranges, and is not a fair comparison.  

>Michael I know you're a major Robert fan, you've made that clear. However, 
>your 
>comments about Townshend's work having potential for crossover in the literary 
>and 
>artistic world show that you're no simple, myopic fan. Surely you can stand 
>back 
>and look at the big picture with some objectivity.

I'll take that as a compliment... :-)

Steve, I enjoy your posts.  I just think at times you go a little overboard on 
the "Plant bashing for the sake of baiting raving Plant fanatics" commentary.  
There's room for both our views on this list, just as long as you don't mind if 
I take you to task from time to time.  

Regards,
-Michael