Re: Squash the rumor, on with the show!!

[Steve Thomson <zeppelin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> Yeah, maddening indeed. But It did give
> me a quick rush when all of a sudden,
> I was getting bombarded with emails,
> and even got phone calls!!!

Yes, I have to admit that I got a bit of a rush out of this whole thing 
as well. We all sit around expounding our logical thoughts on why a 
reunion wouldn't be a good thing, yet when it seems like something's 
about to happen, we revert to the fan who can hardly wait to see the 
heroes in action. These people have touched our lives so much, in many 
cases for four decades now, so it's much more than just some musicians 
getting together. This is almost like close family members we hope will 
reconcile their differences. Plus, the buzz of an impending reunion 
feels a hell of a lot better than the brutal reality of the denials.

I thought about this a lot recently when I read what Plant said (in Mojo 
I think it was) about the points of reference for the three of them 
always being the past whenever they do meet. After all, Led Zeppelin was 
something none of them have really done in nearly 30 years, almost 
another lifetime really. Imagine some musicians from a 40's big band, 
maybe the Glenn Miller Orchestra or something like that. Maybe they get 
together to reminisce about old times way back when. In a sense, this is 
what I get from Plant's comments. Remember at the time of the DVD 
release, he said something about their looking so young. Then every now 
and then, I'll pop on the TV and channel surf. Suddenly, there's one of 
those PBS marathons on with a special show featuring old Motown acts 
performing their hits. In many cases, they look and sound like a bunch 
of senior citizens doing one last little nostalgia thing. They're not 
much older than the three surviving members of Led Zeppelin.

At least we had the Page-Plant thing. Granted the wrong bass-playing 
Jones showed up, but it was something. What pissed me off the most about 
Plant bailing out on Jimmy at the end of '98 was the missed potential. 
The whole Unledded thing had that same buzz you mentioned, that our guys 
are getting back into it. By the time they reached Osaka, the rehearsed, 
stiff, staged "improv" sections were starting to loosen up and turn into 
the kind of thing Zeppelin used to do. The '98 tour saw Jimmy stretch 
out and work his chops up to tremendous levels. Maybe Walking Into 
Clarksdale was tentative but it still had its moments. As Steve Albini 
commented, they were just getting used to working together and they 
needed a couple of albums to really gel. I think the follow-up to WIC 
would have been a tremendous album, especially if Page finally convinced 
Plant to let Jones back in, as Page has said he was trying to make 
happen. Maybe Jonesy would have pushed Lee to some decent drum work. 
Page with the Crowes was another take on where this might have gone. For 
example, their version of In The Light would have been stunning with 
Plant doing the vocals (I might dump on his vocals style in the past 
decade or so but he is still capable of singing when he tries).

Anyway, it's all about what might have been. It isn't. It most likely 
won't.

Maybe on PBS.