In the new issue of Rolling Stone - on stands and online in the
digital archives <../../../plus/> now (subscription required) — Robert
Plant <../../../music/artists/robert-plant> explains to writer Stephen
Rodrick why he was unwilling to keep performing with Led Zeppelin
after their 2007 reunion concert.
"It was an amazing evening," Plant says. "The preparations for it were
fraught and intense, but the last rehearsal was really, really good,
for all that it represented and all that we were trying to capture.
But I've gone so far somewhere else that I almost can't relate to
it...It's a bit of a pain in the pisser to be honest. Who cares? I
know people care, but think about it from my angle - soon, I'm going
to need help crossing the street."
Other highlights from the piece:
- Plant and Alison Krauss began crafting a follow-up to their 2007
surprise smash LP Raising Sand, but it didn't go well. "The sound
wasn't there," says Plant. "Alison is the best. She's one of my
favorite people. We'll come back to it."
- Plant recently flew to Morocco and recreated a legendary trip he
went on with Jimmy Page in 1978 where the duo wrote "Kashmir." "I
wanted to go back and take that road," Plant says. "It just heads all
the way down the coast. It was fucking amazing."
Robert Plant Previews Upcoming Band of Joy Album
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- Tony Blair's religious awakening horrified Plant to the point that
he stopped writing new songs. "The last time I lifted a pen was when
Tony Blair became a Roman Catholic," he says. "We were supposedly
going into the Gulf, determined to sort the world out in the name of
tyranny. Then, once he had to leave the throne, he became a Roman
Catholic and became a peace envoy in the Middle East. That's when I
knew the world was completely upside down."
Robert Plant Plays Intimate Club Gig
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- Plant is endlessly annoyed by his musical peers (he won't name
names) who do little besides replay their old hits. "There's nothing
worse than a bunch of jaded old farts, and that's a fact," he says.
"People who have written their story — they've gotten to the point
where nothing moves. I don't deal in that, and I don't deal with
anybody who deals in that."