Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Raising Sand Goes Platinum

Robert Plant & Alison Krauss' CD Raising Sand has been certified platinum it was announced Tuesday. Certification is done by the RIAA and platinum is given for the sale of one million copies.

The duo begin a tour in Kentucky in 3 weeks in support of the million selling disc.

Raising Sand Goes Platinum

Robert Plant & Alison Krauss' CD Raising Sand has been certified platinum it was announced Tuesday. Certification is done by the RIAA and platinum is given for the sale of one million copies.

The duo begin a tour in Kentucky in 3 weeks in support of the million selling disc.

Saturday, March 22, 2008

Robert Plant & Alison Krauss Get Canadian Nod For Top Folk Album

Canadian Eggs, a Canadian folk music magazine has named Raising Sand as the critics choice for top folk album of 2007.

View image of the awards here.


Plant has received numerous awards through the years, but it may be a safe bet that critics choice for top folk album is not one of them, until now.

Robert Plant & Alison Krauss Get Canadian Nod For Top Folk Album

Canadian Eggs, a Canadian folk music magazine has named Raising Sand as the critics choice for top folk album of 2007.

View image of the awards here.


Plant has received numerous awards through the years, but it may be a safe bet that critics choice for top folk album is not one of them, until now.

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Jimmy Page Interview: Part 2

Last week saw a Jimmy Page interview from Japan in late January make it on to YouTube. It's a two part interview, with questions in Japanese, answers in English. The questions Jimmy answers in part two are, according to Blabbermouth.net:

Q1 : Recently,young people buy a CD and DVD of LED ZEPPELIN. Why do you think that young fans increase?
Q2 : How do you think that the young fan thinks about music of LED ZEPPELIN as one of the art?
Q3 : At the time of first visit to Japan of 1971, it played it for 3 hours 30 minutes. Why would there be such energy in those days?
Q4 : Please tell me about "The Song Remains The Same".


Jimmy Page Interview: Part 2

Last week saw a Jimmy Page interview from Japan in late January make it on to YouTube. It's a two part interview, with questions in Japanese, answers in English. The questions Jimmy answers in part two are, according to Blabbermouth.net:

Q1 : Recently,young people buy a CD and DVD of LED ZEPPELIN. Why do you think that young fans increase?
Q2 : How do you think that the young fan thinks about music of LED ZEPPELIN as one of the art?
Q3 : At the time of first visit to Japan of 1971, it played it for 3 hours 30 minutes. Why would there be such energy in those days?
Q4 : Please tell me about "The Song Remains The Same".


Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Jimmy Page Interview: Part 1

Last week saw a Jimmy Page interview from Japan in late January make it on to YouTube. It's a two part interview, with questions in Japanese, answers in English. The questions Jimmy answers in part one are, according to Blabbermouth.net:

Question 1: Tell us about the reunion concert?
Question 2: What do you think of Jason Bonham?
Question 3: You have a lot of famous tunes. How did you select tunes for the show?
Question 4: Was "For Your Life" a present to the fan?
Question 5: How was there such a splendid performance after not playing together for years?

Velvet Revolver Plan to be Zepplein's Opening Act

The Led Zeppelin rumour mill, which died off completely after reports Robert Plant has emphatically stated he will not tour again with Led Zeppelin, may be reviving as Velvet Revolver bassist Duff McKagan reports that Velvet Revolver is slated to be the opening act for any Zeppelin tour.

I understand that we have it, although I imagine there will be plenty of bands prepared to kick and punch us out of the way for the privilege!" said McKagan. "I would so love to have been at their London gig before Christmas, but we had dates of our own that obviously took precedence."
Readers will recall that it was being reported last November The Cult had announced on stage that they would be opening for Led Zeppelin. We seem to be farther from a tour now than we were then, but it is instructive the number of big-gish acts that seem prepared to open for Led Zeppelin. Now if somebody would explain why they suddenly need an opening act...

Jimmy Page Interview: Part 1

Last week saw a Jimmy Page interview from Japan in late January make it on to YouTube. It's a two part interview, with questions in Japanese, answers in English. The questions Jimmy answers in part one are, according to Blabbermouth.net:

Question 1: Tell us about the reunion concert?
Question 2: What do you think of Jason Bonham?
Question 3: You have a lot of famous tunes. How did you select tunes for the show?
Question 4: Was "For Your Life" a present to the fan?
Question 5: How was there such a splendid performance after not playing together for years?

Velvet Revolver Plan to be Zepplein's Opening Act

The Led Zeppelin rumour mill, which died off completely after reports Robert Plant has emphatically stated he will not tour again with Led Zeppelin, may be reviving as Velvet Revolver bassist Duff McKagan reports that Velvet Revolver is slated to be the opening act for any Zeppelin tour.

I understand that we have it, although I imagine there will be plenty of bands prepared to kick and punch us out of the way for the privilege!" said McKagan. "I would so love to have been at their London gig before Christmas, but we had dates of our own that obviously took precedence."
Readers will recall that it was being reported last November The Cult had announced on stage that they would be opening for Led Zeppelin. We seem to be farther from a tour now than we were then, but it is instructive the number of big-gish acts that seem prepared to open for Led Zeppelin. Now if somebody would explain why they suddenly need an opening act...

Monday, March 3, 2008

Should Led Zeppelin Fans Support Plant/Krauss

With this weekends report that Robert Plant has said no to a Zeppelin tour, ostensibly so he can concentrate on his work with Alison Krauss, Zeppelin fans have to ask themselves: is it in their best interest to support Robert Plant and Alison Krauss?

While it's become quite clear, and has been for a long time, that money is not the issue with Robert Plant, other motivations seem less clear. When Plant's solo endeavours were faltering in the early 1990's, he joined forces with Jimmy Page for the Page and Plant records and tours. His more recent work with Strange Sensation also seems to be winding down, and possibly less successful than Plant was hoping for. It is in this environment that Plant agreed to the one off show with Led Zeppelin in London last December.

The success of Raising Sand, Plant's CD with Krauss was somewhat unexpected, both from the parties involved and the public. It is, in truth, a surprisingly good CD. But it makes a person wonder, would Plant be more inclined to tour with Led Zeppelin if it enjoyed more modest success? And with that thought in mind, if the summer tour is less successful than hoped for, if say, the Led Zeppelin fans stayed away, would Plant be more inclined to change his mind about a fall tour or even a 2009 tour? What begins to seem clear, is that Robert Plant is not doing Led Zeppelin as long as he is working with Alison Krauss. How long can he work with Krauss? As long as they're selling is the best guess. With each having other work they could be doing, likely not any longer than that.

All of which means, if you are a Zeppelin fan, who wants a Zeppelin tour, then you may want to consider whether you will support the Plant & Krauss work, and specifically if you want to spend money on a tour that is keeping Plant away from Led Zeppelin.

Should Led Zeppelin Fans Support Plant/Krauss

With this weekends report that Robert Plant has said no to a Zeppelin tour, ostensibly so he can concentrate on his work with Alison Krauss, Zeppelin fans have to ask themselves: is it in their best interest to support Robert Plant and Alison Krauss?

While it's become quite clear, and has been for a long time, that money is not the issue with Robert Plant, other motivations seem less clear. When Plant's solo endeavours were faltering in the early 1990's, he joined forces with Jimmy Page for the Page and Plant records and tours. His more recent work with Strange Sensation also seems to be winding down, and possibly less successful than Plant was hoping for. It is in this environment that Plant agreed to the one off show with Led Zeppelin in London last December.

The success of Raising Sand, Plant's CD with Krauss was somewhat unexpected, both from the parties involved and the public. It is, in truth, a surprisingly good CD. But it makes a person wonder, would Plant be more inclined to tour with Led Zeppelin if it enjoyed more modest success? And with that thought in mind, if the summer tour is less successful than hoped for, if say, the Led Zeppelin fans stayed away, would Plant be more inclined to change his mind about a fall tour or even a 2009 tour? What begins to seem clear, is that Robert Plant is not doing Led Zeppelin as long as he is working with Alison Krauss. How long can he work with Krauss? As long as they're selling is the best guess. With each having other work they could be doing, likely not any longer than that.

All of which means, if you are a Zeppelin fan, who wants a Zeppelin tour, then you may want to consider whether you will support the Plant & Krauss work, and specifically if you want to spend money on a tour that is keeping Plant away from Led Zeppelin.

Sunday, March 2, 2008

Robert Plant Say's No To Tour

It is being widely reported this morning that after months of discussions, Robert Plant has expressly ruled out a Led Zeppelin tour of any kind. The band was reportedly guaranteed £100M (approx. $199M) each to tour. Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones were interested, Robert Plant has turned down the offer, suggesting he wants the Dec 10 show at the 02 arena in London to be the bands "legacy."

Singer Plant is currently set to tour with Alison Krauss in support of their disc "Raising Sand," and has apparantly decided the Alison Krauss project will be his priority for the foreseeable future.

Exactly what is being reported is that a source has told the Sunday Mirror:

"Despite the enormous offer, the decision did not come down to money. Jimmy (Page, guitarist) had enjoyed the concert in December enough to want to tour again. He argued they still had something to offer. John (Paul, bassist) sided with Jimmy. He loved making music with the others again."

"But Robert wanted to leave last year's concert as their legacy. They had proved they could still do it and that was enough."

Robert Plant Say's No To Tour

It is being widely reported this morning that after months of discussions, Robert Plant has expressly ruled out a Led Zeppelin tour of any kind. The band was reportedly guaranteed £100M (approx. $199M) each to tour. Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones were interested, Robert Plant has turned down the offer, suggesting he wants the Dec 10 show at the 02 arena in London to be the bands "legacy."

Singer Plant is currently set to tour with Alison Krauss in support of their disc "Raising Sand," and has apparantly decided the Alison Krauss project will be his priority for the foreseeable future.

Exactly what is being reported is that a source has told the Sunday Mirror:

"Despite the enormous offer, the decision did not come down to money. Jimmy (Page, guitarist) had enjoyed the concert in December enough to want to tour again. He argued they still had something to offer. John (Paul, bassist) sided with Jimmy. He loved making music with the others again."

"But Robert wanted to leave last year's concert as their legacy. They had proved they could still do it and that was enough."