A fake review from a real fan ?

[Nech <tytlane@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

OK so I got me this disc and I give it a whirl. I purged my mind of all 
negative influences and delve into it as open minded and as footloose 
and fancyfree as I can be without getting fired. I turn it up to 11. 
Which isn't much for my PoS pc speakers.

Thumpa thumpa strumma strumma and then there it is. THat voice ! The 
voice of Led Zeppelin. The Golden God. Oh my what have they done ?
What in Lord's name is that *effect* ?  The voice is familiar, but that 
flat thin compressed breathe in breathe out sound immediately sets me 
back. I shall call it the breathalyzer from here on in. A rather catchy 
tune, somewhat reminiscent of WiC's Shining in the Light. In fact , too 
much so as for a first listen ( oh yeah all of the following is based 
strictly on my first listen notes and observations ! ) I find myself 
doing the same thing I did when I first put on WiC...c'mon where's the 
oomph I keep imagining is coming round the corner? Unfortunately, it 
didn't come. I feel cheated, like slipping on a condom I didn't need.
A nice track, but am I being too critical?? Gotta stop thinking LZ1 and 
the gonads against the walls opener and listen on......

Next track, the one that's been floating thru the ether and even made it 
onto some radios. Not here in NY....yet.  I dig the groove. I dig the 
funky keys. I can't stand the effect. The voice is good. In fact great, 
the chorus shows us he can hit it. But who the frig convinced Robert 
that that breathalyzer effect is in ? When it drops out and he gives us 
a wholehearted delivery outta his golden throat, He's still da man. 
Shine it all around - thumbs up so far.

Freedom Fries - Some good musicianship on this puppy. Crank it up and 
have your freinds ask you if this is a Manic Nirvana outtake. I kid you 
not. That's what happened...a head peeped up over my cube ( aka hellhole 
) wall and asked "Manic Nirvana ?" Great for fans of that era. 
Definately better live.

Tin Pan Valley up next. 2 minutes of that God forsaken breathalyzer 
leading up to 30 secs of 'Aw right Like This!!' Exactly, do it like 
THAT!!! Rock me mama...oh wait back to breathing...Thank God it comes 
back to life again and Dammit Robert you almost sound like Presence's 
Thor Voice. Why the straglehold I think....why ? Shit this one even ends 
with him throwing in his patented banshee moanwail trailing off a la 
Wanton Song.

All the kings Horses is a nice ballad although, for me at least, all way 
too reminiscent of Dreamland's Song to the Siren. I mean at times I'd 
swear I'm hearing it in my head more than this one as it traverses 
through the synapses of my mind.  A very nice mellody nonetheless I must 
say. The slight touch of strings here and there really compliment it 
nicely. It's just that strange Focusrite pre amp gone mad sound that 
hinders my appreciation for this.

The Enchater left me disenchanted. Just plain to dirgish for my tastes 
and the breathalyzer has been turned up to 12 for this one. The minute 
and a half space age trail off ...ehhhh. Probably cool on headphones 
after a heavy party, just not something I'd expect from RP&SS.

Takamba - Can't figure this one out completely. It's as disjointed as a 
warped hunk of vinyl and dosen't find it's legs until 1:20 or so into it 
and shows promise, then falls back into this strange formula of dry 
humping riffs interspersed with clickity clacks and yelps with a 
moroccanish guitar that seems stragely outta place.

Dancing in Heaven - Damn, that first chord reminds me so much of another 
tune by another guitarist in another band. And get this, Roberts voice 
is as good as it gets. Gone is that effect and I think I found my 
favorite track on this cd for now. Someone paid close attention to the 
guitar works of my stringed master and added a bit o Byrds flair to it. 
I like it. Two thumbs up for this one.

Someone Knocking - I guess someone could appreciate this one. Gave me a 
headache. Between that forsaken echoed tin pan voice effect and the 
jingle jangle with drums marching to their own rythm and that eeeeeek 
c'mon c'mon c'mon this one is filler IMO. Obviously someone really liked 
the Bombay Session outtakes.

Let the 4 Winds Blow - Kinda reminds me of a Doors-ish Golden Earring 
Pretenders blend. I kinda dig it. For such a dark and haunting sounding 
number it had my foot tapping. My thumb is peeping up.

Mighty Rearranger- ahh the title track. I like the thumping bass on 
this. Another one that made my foot tapping as I paid more attention to 
the music than to Roberts voice. I guess that's the key. Forget trying 
to listen for the old Plant. You'll hear him come through loud and clear 
on this one if you get past the engineer's heavy hand on the 
breathalyzer knobs. When it's off Robert's on. I wish he'd stop using it 
altogether.

And finally the song that does Robert most justice. The simple closer 
Brother Ray.  Shit, sounds like someone just left a mic running while 
Robert was having fun. No effects, no gimmicks, no lyrics to decipher 
and here we get to hear THAT voice again. It's good. If the rest of the 
album had been recorded this way I'd give it a mighty hug.

I think I'm gonna be playing this one way more than Dreamland as since 
my first listen I've already had it repeat 3x and other than the tunes 
were I think went nowhere or just seemed to rely too heavily on that I 
just can't seem to dig it vocal effect it's a keeper.

So Robert, drop the NQ, BD, and other need to be put to rest Zep tunes 
that weigh you down and throw in Dancing in Heaven, a jazzed up Another 
Tribe and a couple of other nuggets from your solo carreer and I'll be 
in line at the Beacon pal.

Nech
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