Jimmy Page Robert Plant - Walking Into Clarksdale (13 tracks) +Album Reviews

Legends Survive Trip to Clarksdale -- Pictures at Eleven

TexRex96 | Chicago | 03/15/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"When I first heard Jimmy and Robert were producing original material together for the first time since the break-up of the mighty Led Zeppelin, I winced. After all, we've seen the old-rockers-try-again formula before, and it usually doesn't work. But Plant and Page avoid that pitfall with a meticulously crafted album that shows they still care. Radio hit "Most High" takes the long-standing interest in Middle Eastern sounds to new heights, while "Please Read the Letter" and the title track experiment with very cool arrangements and innovative structures. "When the World Was Young" is one of the more vibrant and complete tracks. "Upon a Golden Horse" and "Burning Up" rock, though Robert's voice shows a little wear here and there. Most Zeppelin moment: The first touch of the guitar shortly into "Blue Train" - my favorite track -- is unmistakable Page, and the ensuing effort could be "Tea for One" Part II. Second Zep moment: "Shine in the Light" sounds like a cross between "Friends" and "Poor Tom," yet stands beautifully on its own. Overall this is not Led Zeppelin, but of course it could never be. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts though, and like Plant's own first solo effort, "Pictures at Eleven," this CD is not a classic but it's quite solid. I'd put "Clarksdale" above anything Page has done post-Zep, and right up their with Robert's best solo jaunts."

Let down in almost every manner

Stephanie Sandlin | Spokane, Wa | 09/30/2005

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Walking Into Clarksdale.

First, before you proponents of this record yell at me. I get it. This isn't Zeppelin and should not be treated as such.

What I will drive home is there are so many things wrong with this record.

First, with two capable musicians and having such a storied history one would expect a effort with more "kick." Other reviewers have said it and I concur - this record feels well - tired. There is no spunk, no energy and nothing that grabs you by your wrists and demands you listen. What you get it is a meandering mediocre (did I just say that? - Yup) record that takes you nowhere. I'll go one step further if two unknowns had cut an album like this I doubt it would've even been released.

Second, the mix is total crap. I have no clue why Jimmy didn't produce. We know he's incredibly capable in this department. My only thought this is another "Plantism." Which turned out to be the kiss of death. Take out the heart and soul leaving only a sterile midrangy recording with no ummphy bass and searing leads - its painful to listen to after awhile.

Third, the songwriting. We know these guys can write some great stuff. Where is it? Only a few tunes merit a passing interest. Best example of this is the hit "most high." Other than that, we're left with one listen wonders. Tunes you hear and go "My God, this is boring."

Its not say this record is bad. Its just such a huge letdown. I don't know what the lads were going for. The mature rock audience? If so, they missed badly. They should've just been themselves. Bringing in Albini to produce - they don't need to cater to the Nirvana mallrats. Be themselves, set the trend don't try emulate something they think is hot.

Bottom line here I view this record as a Plant solo record. You ask why? Its obvious to me Plant wore the pants here. He dictated the feel and much of the approach of this record. Jimmy left to his own devices would crank out something more akin to Coverdale/Page - the Guitar army in force. The Guitar army was left locked outside the studio on this one.

This is not an accessible record - even for moderately interested people. Heck being a fan of Zep I want to get into this - I try to get into it once a year. I've still been unable to. It simply doesn't connect on any level to me.

Don't buy this if just starting. This one is for diehards.

Makes you wonder if this was a case of sabotage (Plant has been accused of it before). Or a shining example that the magic of years past wasn't all Jimmy and Percy. They just got all the glory of it.

One could conclude either of those scenarios."

Give It a Chance

scomoore | Seattle, WA USA | 03/02/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Yes, Page and Plant are older. Yes, the sound is more mature and less "bombastic" as another reviewer described Zep's sound. But the music itself stands on its own.

There are many excellent songs on this CD, all burning with emotion, lyrical depth (if understated delivery), and less reliance on fretboard wizardry. "Shining in the Light," "When the World Was Young," "Blue Train," "Most High," "When I Was a Child," are all fantastic. There is an attempt to recapture the magic, but the songs are organic in that they are honest efforts and not an attempt to rely on former glories.

Page's efforts are showcased best in the songwriting. His soloing is not at the same level as it once was...there are only one or two instances on this record where he hits a relevant target. He doesn't try often, and the songs don't suffer. To be honest, when he does try it is sometimes painful. Plant's voice has not been the same since Led Zeppelin IV and his singing is similar to that of his other solo efforts. Still, he reaches the emotional depth and delivers comperably excellent pitch, if not the range of his early 20's.

I rediscovered this CD this month, after it sat on the shelf since I bought it right after its release. I now like it a lot, enough to wholeheartedly recommend it.

"

Trying to scale the heights and ending up halfway

Mike London | Oxford, UK | 07/13/2002

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Trying to Scale the Heights and ending up halfwayIn 1998, Page and Plant of Led Zeppelin fame released this album and commenced a tour, with their old bandmate John Paul Jones mysteriously missing. From the liner notes of Zeppelin's 1990 box set, it gave the impression these boys were like brothers, so why he wasn't invited to come along on this little musical jaunt into Page and Plant's musical past has puzzled many a listener. Page and Plant released a live album in 1994, largely comprised of old Zeppelin tracks with a heavy world-beat thrown in for good measure. They forgot to invite Jones that time too.I actually got to see a show from that tour, which threw some revelation on this record. Page & Plant mostly played old Zeppelin tunes with the exception of a couple oftracks from CLARKSDALE. At the time they were pushing that they were into their new music and that the fan-base should give it a chance, though they neglected to include much of it in the setlists, which is rather revealing.WALKING INTO CLARKSDALE is a rather hit and miss affair. One of the biggest problems this record faces as well is that the audience will have certain expectations which simply cannot be cut away. The album plays up to these expectations, and Plant and Page are honestly trying to musically progress and you can truly hear the effort. That's what makes this such a frustrating listen. You can here the potential, and you watch Page and Plant as they struggle to realise a successful collaboration. Ultimately they fail, resulting in a record which simply doesn't flow. In this regard, WALKING INTO CLARKSDALE is a fascinating listen, and an extremely frustrating one at that. You can tell where they're wanting to go, and perhaps had Page and Plant had Bonham and Jones around the record would have been fully realised. However, Bonham is dead and Page & Plant conveniently forgot Jones' phone number, and this is the result. While there are some ultimately great tracks on here (the two singles "Shining in the Light" and "Most High"), ultimately the album gets bogged down in potentially Zeppelenesque tracks (not so much in the actual sound by the artistic progression that Zeppelin was on before Bonham's death) that ultimately end up going nowhere. At their musical peak, Led Zeppelin took a diverse array of influences (blues, mysticism, folk, and an over-the-top bombastic sound) and made them gel into a cohesive whole, culminating in what Plant calls the definitive Zeppelin song ("Kashmire"). Here, we get that restless sense of musical experimentation, and when it works it works very well. "Shining in the Light," "When the World Was Young," "Most High," parts of the title cut, "When I was a Child," and "Sons of Freedom" more or less are successful, but especially the firs three. The rest of the album never comes together in any sort of unity, and while we get the sense that Page and Plant are trying to rejuvenate their musical relationship, ultimately we have to write off half the album as just not top of the line, or even mostly good for that matter. P. S. Clarksdale is one of the big spots where Blues really got its birth, and from the title some may expect this to be heavily drenched in that style of music. It's not. There's not a lot of blues on this one, and what there is has been strained through Page and Plant's unsuccessful attempts to be relevant again, so for the blues fans in the Zeppelin camp this record's a total write-off..."

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