Led Zeppelin have always been there or thereabout for me. Never a personal favourite, but a band I’m always happy to listen to and generally enjoy. As this exercise proceeds, there will be enough Led Zeppelin for me to comment on, so I’ll try to stick to what’s in front of me.
This was a Christmas present from a loved one, well judged to attract my interest.
A decade after the final Led Zeppelin album, Page and Plant reunited to work together on some old songs and with some new material. This set mixes the two, with interesting results. It is, however, difficult not to compare the Zeppelin songs with the originals, and the mere fact that they’re different to the familiar doesn’t always make for contented listening.
But in the opening few, Friends stands up robustly, and the two new songs, recorded with a Moroccan string band don’t disappoint. A fairly straight Since I’ve Been Loving You still sounds fresh, with an understated orchestral accompaniment enhancing rather than dominating, while Najma Akhtar’s Eastern tinged vocal accompaniment to The Battle Of Evermore (this was originally the late Sandy Denny) is a delight. There’s a couple of new songs which don’t really make an impression, before the album ends with some excellent reworkings of a couple of Zeppelin acoustic numbers, and the Moroccan string band returning to lead us through a 12 minute version of Kashmir.
There’s nothing here that’s mind blowing, but as a slightly different romp through some of the Led Zeppelin back catalogue, it’s a rewarding listen.
3* - worth an occasional outing, but won’t displace the original versions
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