Re: Dreamland...

[Steve Thomson <steve.thomson@xxxxxx>]

Yes, Strange Sensation is a fine band, certainly the most interesting of 
Plant's 
solo backup bands. Skin has a lot of untapped potential, but I doubt Plant will 
ever let him unwind because it would prompt too many comparisons with Page, 
plus it 
would force him to share the spotlight a bit too much. This is unfortunate.

Overall, the vocals on Dreamland sound weak, as if Plant's on-again/off-again 
smoking habit was definitely been on for awhile before the ablum was recorded) 
plus 
the vocals are recorded to sound very "intimate." Unfortunately, this kind of 
technique exposes every little flaw and crack. Song to the Siren could have 
been 
such a wonderful, transcendent Plant performance rivalling his best work 
(imagine 
what this could have been had he tackled it around the time of Little by Little 
or 
Sixes and Seven). Instead, he throws in these annoying attempts at 
middle-eastern 
vocal trills that sound like some 80 year-old at a nursing home attempting to 
hum a 
tune! Yet he was able to pull off credible performances of Hey Joe and Skip's 
Song, 
so you know he can still do it. In the end, while he's certainly lost a lot of 
vocal power, the biggest problem is his stylistic choices. The three tracks 
I've 
heard from Mighty Rearranger don't offer much hope. The chorus sections of all 
three remind me of Manic Nirvana-era Plant, tuneful, Zeppelin-like, and with 
enough 
effect treatment/studio wizardry to cover up any flaws, but the verses on all 
three 
new tunes are these repetitive, endless clones of that dirge-like Dreamland 
sound. 
I kind of wonder if dumping Justin Adams and giving Skin free rein would remedy 
this. Plant needs a strong musician to push him a bit. Page did this (except 
for 
WIC where he gave Plant too much influence), even Phil Johnstone did this in 
the 
beginning (witness the strength of Now and Zen), but I don't think Adams is 
strong 
enough to tell Percy when something sounds like utter ca-ca!

On Fri Mar 18  4:11 , Nigel_Butterworth@xxxxxxxxxx sent:

>...heard this start to finish twice now in last 24 hours, instrumentally it
>seems OK, vocally I thought poor and has led me to the conclusion that
>Robert Plant is the least important member of his own band.
>
>BTW....Great guitarists - DOYLE BRAMHALL II
>