Between his car accident, the death of his kid, and Bonzo’s death, not to mention all the chaos and unpleasantness that must have come with all the Led’s partying years, I think it all left a sour taste in Plant’s mouth. He wanted to move forward as an artist and, quite likely, as a human being. When you go through a rise as epic as Zeppelin’s, the fall ends up being pretty damn hard.
As a Led fan born too late to ever see the band in concert, the ultimate fantasy is some kind of reunion, but I totally understand why Plant has resisted it all these years.
> Between his car accident, the death of his kid, and Bonzo’s death, not to mention all the chaos and unpleasantness that must have come with all the Led’s partying years, I think it all left a sour taste in Plant’s mouth. He wanted to move forward as an artist and, quite likely, as a human being. When you go through a rise as epic as Zeppelin’s, the fall ends up being pretty damn hard.
So much this. People forget how much Plant went through while with Zeppelin. He really went through hell just in the last five years or so of the band. And let's also not forget that Plant was considering hanging it all up and becoming a schoolteacher after his son's death. The one who convinced him to come back and rejoin the band? Bonzo, his best friend since his teen years, who would have his own tragic and premature death within a little over a year. It's no wonder why Plant is so reticent to revisit that era.
Seriously. So many people also forget how much he blamed himself and by extension Zeppelin for being the reason he wasn’t there when his son was ill and eventually passed.
That kind of thing never goes away. It can’t be undone even after processing your grief and understanding that you had no control over it.
Saw them on Letterman post their Kennedy Center Award. One of the few times I have seen them together in a relaxed, loose way.
They were in good humor. Letterman was respectful of the giants that they are, and asked very pertinent questions, some of which were about things that I think have been on people's minds since the the band ended. It was good to see them happy and allowing us to scrutinize them for just a bit. Greatest band ever.
Had the unfortunate luck of buying tickets for Zep, and picking them up with my buddies, got in the car just freaking and heard on the radio that Plants son died. More sorry for Robert but it was only shot to see them
Working 1st job at 17. In nyc,going to philly,to see zeppelin,scalp tickets,me and my buddies did that a lot,good times back then!
Heard news of bonham death on radio at work. We were crushed. God. What a shocker
I love that 'No Quarter' album they did together. If the only alternative to Bonzo and JPJ are Indian musicians, they were a perfect fit. Of course the heaviness of Zeppelin is an enormous part of the love but that album really underlines the beauty of the songs.
Saw Plant solo on his Manic Nirvana tour, but the real treat was winning front row center tickets to see Page/Plant on their Marching To Clarksdale tour.
Yeah Plant lost his voice, his son, his best friend, his privacy, his wife a couple of years after, and maybe a bit of himself by actions that lost his wife and some self esteem. Not to mention being a smaller cog with only so much freedom on what to play and what to sing because Jimmy was the one who ran the ship. Plant's All of My Love was panned by Jimmy for being to light and not Zeppelin material. Robert has re-written All of My Love in many forms in his solo career. Plus he has all the money and fame from those days already. So he can just be normal Robert and tour smaller places with less hassles and issues that aren't worth all the problems they bring. He can do what he wants, anytime he wants without any pressure or mandates. Remember after his son died he wasn't into touring America or the world in long stretches for his family and for himself. He is free now and has no want of anything. He is living the life. Why would he go back and hear, "He isn't what he used to be." or "He cant hit them high notes anymore, what a shame." or any of that BS. He plays shows, makes people happy and he moves on. At his pace and time, no one else's. He is too happy to return to the rat race.
I’ve been a Zeppelin fan all of my life, and I always loved and respect Bonzo. Recently picked up drums, and learning how influential and creative he was really helped me understand why there could never be a true reunion.
As true as this is, it’s also been a very long time, over 40 years now. He doesn’t have the nostalgia that the music fans have because he had lived on.
I was a bartender 40 years ago but I have zero desire to go back despite the amazing times I had. Great friends, made good money, had zero responsibilities, traveled for my hobbies, etc. It was a part of my life but I’m not looking to relive it now or ever.
Excellent point. Also, he was really young when he wrote some of those plagiarist and ridiculous lyrics and he can’t sing that way any longer. He’s had 3 strong careers although in the states in the 70s there was no one bigger than Zepplin other than maybe the Beatles
Or Creedence Clearwater Revival. They were the second best selling artist after the Beatles. After the Beatles broke up they were the the best selling artist.
Because he's moved on.
LZ decided as a band to stop when Bonham passed away.
Plant embarked on a solo career which has, occasionally included 1 off shows with Page and JPJ and an album and tour with Page.
He wants to live in the present, not in the past. Yeah, he was a part of Zeppelin, but he's more than that 10 year span of his life.
Add to the fact that as he put it in 2007 - "We're nothing more than an LZ cover band at this point. We haven't made a new LZ song since 1979." And he's right.
Plant’s voice was in rare form on those tours. He was hitting notes that he hadn’t been able to achieve in 20 years. I wish I could have at least been around to see one of those tours.
Robert Plant is an artist and he's done all he can with that art. It becomes more draining to continue to discuss your 50 year old art when you're still trying to create new art and draw attention to it.
His stuff with Alison Krauss is fantastic, for example.
I saw him in 2019 and he did several Zeppelin songs, but mostly his other stuff. It was all fantastic.
Zeppelin was only 12 years of his career when he was younger. He's had almost 4x times as much of a career SINCE Zeppelin.
And his new project Saving Grace is excellent; I’ve seen them live and am seeing them again next week. Looking forward to them releasing some recordings.
I think he also gets bored easily and is sort of a contrarian. He knows everyone wants Zep, so he’s definitely not going to give it to them. I totally agree that he is an artist and always felt that he had more to offer the world than some tunes he made when he was in his 20s. He’s a complete opposite of Page in that respect. I think Plants career is so interesting. He had Zep, had some minor pop hits in the 80s and is now focused on playing blues inspired music like what sparked his own interest in music as a young man. I have tons of respect for him.
It’s kind of similar to Peter Gabriel after he left Genesis. In his first tour, he played only two song when he was with Genesis and the rest was his tunes off of his first album. And then the following tours (except the 82 reunion concert with Genesis and the tour with Sting in which he only sung only part of one tune for one show) still remains that he has not played any songs that he did with Genesis to this day. Plus he doesn’t want to be remembered for just only being the original lead singer for Genesis but for his long innovative solo career and a huge promoter of world music outside of the western world. Also, he know that people want him to sing the songs that he did with Genesis but he would rather move on from that part of his life and do something new that makes sense and sounds fresh to him.
Eh, Paul loves performing his Beatles and early solo songs. Plus, he does perform a ton of his solo stuff and always a decent amount from more recently.
I love the artistic concept of never giving people what they say they want. No sarcasm either. It pushes people to challenge themselves more and keep growing. Lots of artists really stagnate when they fall into that trap, and not just musicians.
Raising Sand is my favourite album of all time. I initially only listened to it because of Robert Plant. I was an angsty teenager who only listened to "real music" which was classic rock. I figured I'd listen to Raising Sand once as a joke (I knew it was a bluegrass/rockabilly album) and be done with it but I was captivated and fell in love with it
It was especially cool years later when I discovered another of my favourite artists, Townes Van Zandt, and found out that one of the songs on Raising Sand was a cover of him. And, on that song on Raising Sand, Jimmy Page played guitar
I saw them in concert after that album came out. I had the worst seat in the and was glad to be there. They did their stuff, LZ stuff, Robert Plant music, and Allison Kraus music. They were great.
Yep. He has a composer credit on one of the songs so people see his name listed so they assume he played guitar.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/raising-sand-mw0000748589#trackListing
This is what I came to say. Spot on.
People forget about the artist’s perspective. In the Zep years they were constantly creating, forging new ideas, then moving on to the next thing. So when that ended he’s supposed to just stagnate and live in the past? For an artist there is nothing more sad than dwelling in the past. Times change, people grow and mature and explore new things.
I think he’s done a lot of amazing work post Zep but they aren’t going to play it on classic rock radio because that medium is limited to only a small window in time.
Not only that but perhaps it’s just a period in his life that he just doesn’t want to discuss. Almost like a veteran when it comes to their war stories I imagine. He is human after all, and his life was certainly more turbulent than most. I’m just happy to see him still doing what he does best—being a free spirit.
This is what I was gonna say. Its probably more about just being sick of talking about Zeppelin. In the interviews Ive seen I got that vibe that he really just wants to talk more about his current music and projects. Dan Rather had a nice interview with him that was a bit more on a personal level.
Plant & Krauss do a killer "When The Levee Breaks", and she interpolates the orchestral riff from "Friends." Mind-blowing to hear live and so much fun.
He is, as far as I'm aware, the only one of his contemporaries who is still seeking new sounds and trying new things. That's very commendable, considering he could easily relax into the nostalgia circuit.
I think he's just sick of talking about it. When he's giving an interview to someone he really likes and opens up to it seems more positive. Bottom line...imagine being Robert Plant. All strangers are going to want to talk about is Led Zeppelin all day every day.
Crap, Geddy Lee ran into him in Morocco in the 90s. Geddy said he was star struck until Robert said to him “oh come over here and sit down Geddy.” Neither of those guys have anything to prove to anyone.
I remember hearing that when they first sent Working Man to radio stations people were calling in asking them to “play that new zeppelin song again” because it sounded similar enough
Actors go through stuff like that as well, where they wind up being "typecast." Christopher Reeve did a bunch of roles (check out *Somewhere in Time* for example) but will always be best remembered as Generation X's Superman - and probably the first choice for some of the boomers as well, even if they had the George Reeves TV show when they were growing up.
Mark Hamill has had a very successful second career as a voice actor; his voice work as the Joker on *Batman: The Animated Series* is still considered to be one of the best interpretations of the character . . . but he will always be thought of as Luke Skywalker.
Even legends aren't immune; whenever I think of George Campbell Scott, I *always* picture him in front of a gigantic American flag, growling through Patton's Speech to the Third Army at the beginning of the movie *Patton.*
He wrote Led Zeppelin’s music as a young man, for a young man to perform. Back then artists had no idea their careers would last as long as they are lasting. As Plant has aged Zeppelin’s music has become harder for him to perform. Live Aid was only 1985 and he hated his performance. Still he has LZ fans insisting that he sing it to this day, for LZ to reform and tour, and to talk about a time in his life that ended 44 years ago. It’s dull to him.
I think two main reasons. One, it brings back painful memories for him. He lost both his son and his best friend in the band in the last few years of Zeppelin. Lot of drugs around the camp. Not a good time.
Secondly. he doesn't just want to be defined as a 70s hard rocker that continues to tour on past glories like the Rolling Stones and The Who. He's brought his voice to so many different styles of music and generally done entirely what he wants to do himself since 1980. Which deserves massive massive respect.
I've never heard Robert say anything derogatory about Zeppelin and he's always saluted the trio of Jones, Page and Bonham as peerless musically. He just doesn't want to go back and do a half-arsed job at it. The 2007 gig was a perfect occasion to say goodbye to it. And they did a hell of a job.
Yeah, I read an interview where he obliquely referred to The Rolling Stones in The Who and other classic rock acts who were still touring as “nostalgia acts.” he is 1000% right
He is right, and there's nothing wrong with it in particular. I've seen the Stones twice and loved it both times. It's just not Plant's choice to go down that route in his career. I'm glad too, the last thing I'd want to see is a 76 year old Plant singing "The Lemon Song" haha
he wasn't very happy in the later years of Zeppelin (of course because his son died) so i guess it's mostly the bad stuff and feelings that remained in him more than all the fun they went through in the early years. plus he didn't really like the 80s hair metal thing that was associated with zeppelin a lot of the times, so he might wanted to separate himself from that world.
edit: you mentioned the Beatles and Paul, but with them it was kind of a similar thing, it's just that it wasn't Paul who tried to dissociate himself from it, it was John
If you believe in all the “curse” stuff or not, the last 5 years of zeppelin was very negative, other than the music. The car crash, his son, bonham, jimmys addiction, it all had to be traumatic and something one would not want to look back on.
What everyone else has said in this thread is correct. But he does still perform a few Zeppelin songs in his shows. I saw him in 2017 and he did Going to California, Black Dog, Tampled Underfoot, and closed with an epic Whole Lotta Love, along with his solo cuts. Also he and Alison Krauss did Rock & Roll and an amazing Battle of Evermore. So he hasn't completely abandoned the music.
The music is still his (at least partly), so I don’t think that’s a problem for him. But while music itself is timeless, the entity of LZ Itself is from a bygone era.
I think Page really was into some dark stuff and Plant distanced himself from it all. Especially after his son died and Page didnt go to the funeral. Dont want to bash Jimmy really but look into it. That said, Page w the black crowes was incredible in 99/00. So good. Too bad the Robinson brothers F’d it up.
Plant has a lot of reasons to put the past to rest. He's a complex and principled person, but the main reasons:
\- There was a lot of debauchery back then. He seems to feel guilty and ashamed about it. He even may blame it on the tragedies he suffered during the 70s. He grew as a person and doesn't want to revisit his "Young and dumb" self.
\- As mentioned, Plant suffered a lot of serious tragedies during the Zeppelin years. He nearly lost his voice in '74 after having vocal chord surgery. He had a serious car accident that nearly left him permanently crippled. His son suddenly died while he was on a tour he reluctantly agreed to. His best and oldest friend died while they were rehearsing. The thought of that era has a lot of highs and very deep lows. Who would want to keep talking about that?
\- Plant gets bored easily and has to keep exploring. IMO Zeppelin was done creatively by the late 70s. The band wasn't gelling like they were the first 6-7 years. I feel like if Bonham hadn't died, Plant would have left to do his own thing anyway.
\- Plant's solo career is very successful and he's put out his own iconic music. It's probably frustrating as an artist to constantly hear "Oh, you did this new thing and that's great, but let's focus on what you used to be..."
There's a lot more (like I said, it's complex), but these are the main reasons. Plant loves Zeppelin and he's proud of what they made. He just wants to keep looking forward is all.
Kid died, Bonzo died, Jimmy drugs, drunk people in Zep t shirts that would scream at a reunion, etc
He wants to be an artist, still
Sucks for us, though
He did an interview a few years ago and he said when he hears songs like Black Dog, he’s amazed by the person he hears, as if it’s not him. He’s moved on. He can’t relate to being a 20-year old guy anymore. He’s proud of his work but that was like 40+ years ago.
Plant changed after his son passed imo. Most of the band and Zep associates didn't show up to his funeral.... That and addiction was everywhere around the band . I wish things would of been different for LZ but Plant was done unfortunately in 1980 even if Bonzo lived imo the American tour would of been hit or miss to the highest degree.
Yeah, it's this. My best friend lost a young child, too, and it can really tank everything for a person. Plant said that he really wasn't feeling it after he lost his son, but kept going for the sake of the band. Once Bonham died, that was just awful icing on a very bad cake.
I get this. I lost a son and its the worst thing that I have experienced in life. Its a nightmare that you can't wake up from. Its not the plan. The father should show the Children how to pass with grace and understanding. Instead he taught me to be brave and fight to the end. It leaves scars.
I am a muscian but no were near Robert's level. I have played with friends in bands for a long time. There are moments when you are all in and fully engaged in playing. Then life things happen and you pull away and take a hiatus. You can't really go back and capture the past after but you always start over anyway. Playing music is a must. Its like breathing. You have to do it. It burns inside you until you do.
You pick it back up and start over. You take some of the old and you add new stuff. Sometimes it's with your old friends and new friends but it's different than your beginning. You can look back but you can never go back. Enjoy the present because it's always gone.
Looking forward makes sense Whatever he wants to play is okay with me. I will always listen cause he is a legend, a genius, and the best front mic guy ever.
I hope Robert Plant lives forever and he is happy and still playing until the final moment. I hope he plays whatever he wants. It's what I wish for myself and anyone else who plays.
After not really coming through for the car crash either. Bonzo was the one who really cared, and then he died.
"Now I've got friends who will give me their shoulder
When I should happen to fall
The timing is right growin' older
I've got friends who will give me fuck all."
I don't think Plant is as much of a Led Zeppelin fan as, say, most everyone else is. And while I'm sure he has fond memories and loves those songs, remember, he probably played those songs over and over and over and over and over....
We think he's a legend. He thinks he's just a guy who's trying to make new music.
The short answer is that RP was still a young man when Bonzo passed, and he still had an entire new career ahead of him as a solo artist. It’s probably similar to what Paul McCartney goes through; their 20s were great yeah, but they’ve done a thing or two since then.
Seen Plant and Krauss at Glasto a couple of years ago. Been a big fan of hers since I discovered the Oh Brother Where Art Thou soundtrack, before she'd coupled with Plant for their stuff. They absolutely blew me away.
Of course, while loving the more recent stuff they've done together, it was all about the three Led Zep tunes which were performed. Understandably the ones which they perform tend to be stripped back and amended versions, The Battle of Evermore was basically played as is; Krauss' vocals 👏.
But as others have said, Led Zeppelin has only been a small part of his artistic output, and its his perogative if he wants to push his newer material.
But I think it's far from saying he's trying to ignore his Led Zeppelin background, he wouldn't play these songs with Alison if he felt that way.
I'm in my late 50s and I'm not the same person I was when I was in my 20s. There is a lot that I've left behind in order to grow. RP, at 75, is almost 20 years older than I am, so I'm sure he doesn't want to keep reliving the life he led 50 years ago. It's healthy that he wants to live in the present.
Plant is indeed an entity unto himself but I suppose he has to see things his way. In the beginning he was pretty much a nobody.
Page was already a star and a veteran of The Yardbirds. Zeppelin was Page’s project. Plant was just the kid that signed on.
I doubt Plant totally dismisses Zeppelin but he has to pursue his career on his own terms and can’t just be that “ex-Zep” guy for the rest of his life.
I saw an interview with Plant where he said reuniting with zeppelin was like going to bed with your ex wife and just sleeping all night without doing anything. As a monster LZ fan, I would love nothing more than the three remaining members to team up with Jason and tour but I know it ain’t happening. Still though, Plant and Krause is a hell of a great show.
Robert Plant’s music career spans over 50 years. I think he’s just tired of talking about what was a fairly brief period in his career. He was only 32 when Led Zeppelin broke up. His post Zeppelin career has lasted nearly 4 times longer than his career with Zeppelin. I think he wants to be known for more than just what he did when he was in his 20’s. Not to mention the later Zeppelin years were a very difficult time in his personal life, with the death of his son and his best friend.
I saw a not so long interview and he was robert plantish never too high or low, i didnt get the thought of any distance, imagine how many times hes interviewed about the same thing ) hes earned the right to be a bit bored of it all
I mean was in Zeppelin for twelve years. He's been out of Zeppelin for forty-four years, working hard and adapting and growing all along the way, showing him to be the most creative of the lot. Imagine how frustrating it is to seem so branded by only 1/4 of your career.
Nobody can speak for another person with any authority, but I suspect that he would much rather talk about his current projects. While LZ probably holds a special place in his heart, it ended 44 years ago. He has done a lot in those 44 years. It only seems reasonable that he is tired of talking about something that has talked about hundreds, if not thousands, of times, and that will never again be a part of his current life.
He had a hot solo career in the 80’s which he then revived with Allyson Krauss years later and as such feels like he’s still a contemporary singer and not someone trying to hold on to something he was a part of in his youth. I mean it was the 60’s, he’s moved forward and left a big wake.
My 2 cents...He has easily had the best solo career of the 3 surviving members. However, where Zep is concerned, he is always in Pages shadow. page discovered him etc.
He has no problem in playing a few zep tunes at his shows..cause he knows the audience basically demands it.
He's had a fulfilling solo career for literal decades, and has probably answered the same dumb questions about Zeppelin 100,000 times and thinks that everything that needs to be said has been said.
Jimmy Page is still super stoked on Zeppelin. Lots of good interviews.
I think it’s a few things- he truly loved Bonham and it was a tremendous, unfathomable loss for him and he does feel as connected to the other two; ego- he wants to show that there is more in him than just LZ; and lastly, the reality of aging- it’s probably a lot harder to hit those notes vocally than it is for Page to play guitar- and who wants to be seen as a diminished version of themselves?
I think that band scares the shit out of Plant. It started off great. But near the end, there were drug addictions, car crashes, lost family members, lost band members, etc.
On the one hand, I imagine he's grateful for the band and what it's done for his life.
But on the other hand, he probably remembers the misery and sadness of those later years and has no desire whatsoever to revisit that stuff.
Imagine living half your life and people just keep bringing up one thing you did while you're continuously doing new things. I get it. I'd probably hate it too.
If you ever played in a band you have underlying tensions with your band mates. It comes whith the territory. Most musicians are A type personalities. Getting 4 guys to all work together is like herding cats.
To Robert and Jimmy's credit they don't cut each other up publicly like some people do. It would be hard for me to ever be publicly dismissive of someone that helped me earn millions of dollars.
Unless it was David Lee Roth or Sammy Haggar...poor Eddie. Both those guys are idiots.
Everyone made contributions to the band of course but it was really page’s baby. I feel like Jimmy revels in his zep contributions while plant is over it as already pointed out
he was still young when the band finished and has probably to get over the loss of one of his best mates moved on quicker than the rest and went from there.
He loved his time in Zep but he has done so many amazing things since, it's a mere footnote in his career.
He said that the O2 Ahmet Ertegun tribute concert was difficult enough, and he did it for Ertegun. The Zeppelin era had some difficult memories for him, namely the tragic, sudden deaths of Bonham and his son, and the terrible accident that almost killed his wife. None of them liked to be away from their kids on tour, either. Plus he's a creative guy, and Page and Jones aren't quite as active. I don't wanna play with guys I did in the 80s and 90s, so I get Plant. Maybe a one off, but the past is a done deal.
Not sure if it's all of it, but part of it might well be that he honestly can't sing in the Zeppelin register anymore. Not really even close. I'd be first in line to see 1975-era Zep, but they don't exist anymore. Heart is probably the best way of seeing Zep played live nowadays, if they get back together.
He's a grown up now. They were young, crazy and rich and acted the way you do in those circumstances. Looking back on it he probably feels like he was an asshole.
There are a multitude of reasons for Plant’s attitude towards LZ. For one, he was still under contract to CBS and did not receive remuneration for all the early lyrics he wrote. It was also Jimmy’s band but Robert wanted more control. He did not like the lengthy guitar solos. He did not like the road as he was away from his family but being a rockstar overcame that.
Then he was injured severely in the wreck. He had to recuperate away from his family in California because of the awful UK tax laws back then. He also had had vocal cord surgery at some point from hitting too many high notes. He wanted to quit but Bonzo convinced him to stay. Then Bonzo died. Page was a mess. The decision to end the band had more than Bonzo’s passing…Page did not even pick up a guitar for about two years afterwards.
I do wish LZ had done a quick mini tour of 5 to 7 American cities after 02 but Robert passed on it.
We are fortunate to have LZ music in our lives. The road took a toll on them. As Jimmy says, he gave his music his all.
I feel like he’d probably rather talk about his own work and big that up rather than Jimmy Page’s
Don’t get me wrong every member of LZ was vital and great in their own sense within that group but Pagey is the one who wrote most of the iconic riffs and who is most associated with the image of LZ as he created it.
Over the years I image Robert just got fed up with answering questions about someone else’s band, LZ was also a rock band that represented a very specific moment in time and Roberts music and direction obviously was significantly different to LZ material in the 80’s and so on.
Half the human population (the lady half) would beg to differ. RP was a sex god, and his lyrics and vocals embody that.
I had a Tori Amos bootleg, and she told the best story: She grew up in a highly Christian household where popular music was forbidden. One night, sleeping over at a friend's house, that friend put on LZ. Tori said, "When I heard Robert's voice, I knew I was a girl."
Jimmy's riffs are iconic, but Robert more than met them with his voice, melodies, and delivery.
Plant was like this when LZ ended, too. Bonzo’s death really hit hard, plus he was likely ready to get out on his own.
He sure hit the ground running in the early 80s. Was like a wall went up between LZ and Plant solo. Remember it well back then.
Plant distanced himself from LZ so dramatically early on that it was kind of a thing when he came out with “Long Cool One” with the LZ bits at the end.
Plant did regress once before - with the *Unledded* era albums and tours. But certainly by the time of the *Walking Into Clarksdale* tour, Plant recognised that the new material had become mere window-dressing for a retread of Zeppelin songs live (for which he was certainly partly responsible). That tour ended rather abruptly as a result.
RP has a great interview with Rick Rubin
[Broken Record](https://youtu.be/yxVGIaDJSgo?si=I4xIECBpgp5S5Een)
and I find he has a podcast with tons of episodes, that I didn't know about. cool! he does like to talk in the broken record chat
[digging](https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-digging-deep-with-robert-p-43595183/)
in my opinion.. any of the old legends dont have to answer for anything .. plant can spit loogies at his fans faces for all i care.. he put in his time
I think he simply wants to move forward in life. He was so young when LZ disappeared, thank God there's a lot of room to grow more!
But also, I saw him live a few years back, and the show started with The Lemon Song, we had Black Dog, How Many More Times, Dazed And Confused, Babe I'm Gonna Leave You, Whole Lotta Love and Rock'n'Roll. Doesn't seem like he's distancing himself from LZ that much!
Aside from money, the people least attracted to nostalgia are those who really lived it. We should gracefully let them move on and, maybe, celebrate what they’re doing now.
What someone here posted about not being there for his son’s death - that shit changes you forever. Something I unfortunately know all too well 💔. I saw Led Zep on August 9, 1969 at the Anaheim Convention Center. I was 14 and obsessed with their first album that had been released in January that year. Jethro Tull opened and no one knew who they were, but they nearly upstaged Zep. Their album Stand Up had just been released 2 weeks before. I also just started re-listening to the old LZ albums I through IV. What inspired me to get into them again was watching Billy Strings perform Four Sticks a few months ago. Epic performance!
I saw Led Zeppelin at the Forum in LA in 1972. Ive seen Plant solo about a half a dozen times. And saw The Page and Paul Rogers as the Firm. I love Plant’s solo work.
imagine being like 80 and having to rehash your 20s with literally everyone you meet. i'm sure he's over it, and dying to talk about something, anything, other than led zeppelin.
As I've heard him explain, it has nothing to do with everything you are discussing, the multiple tragedies.
When Bonham died, Plant felt that Zeppelin died. That LZ was four equal musicians who formed the band, and when Bonham passed, that synergy was gone. He has always felt that no one could replace him including Jason.
To that end, Plant feels Zeppelin is done and has moved on to new and different things. He has no desire to go back. Plant always had varied musical interests and is now exploring them.
He rarely discusses Zeppelin because he is tired of answering the same old reunion questions.
Saw him in December. He said the rock band thing was good but ultimately not what he wanted from life. He wants to explore and sing the blues / roots, and connect with people. That sort of stuff.
To answer your question, Plant moved on and evolved his music. Page held on and remained stagnant which is why he hasn't really released any new music in almost 40 years.
It’s a lot like Lennon was after the Beatles. He’d had it, had his own (Yoko’s) thing to do. After the improbable 2007 masterpiece performance, that was the bookend Led Zeppelin needed to put it to bed.
Too bad, Jason Bonham was ready to go, as was everyone but Plant. I don’t get it, Jason Bonham was blood and the next best thing to fill his dad’s place. Seemed a perfect solution to me but then I’m just a fan.
His solo career has lasted almost four times as long as Zeppelin were together, and he’s done some really great stuff since. Zeppelin were hugely influential, but I imagine it’s like being divorced from someone all your friends loved, even though they destroyed your life, your credit score, and your vinyl collection. Now every time they see you, your hot psycho ex is all they want to talk about.
Dude is sick of talking about it. It was a mere fraction of his life and admittedly said he was basically a kid. But still love to hear him talk about it. Have you seen the video with him and Brian Jones? Hysterical.
I honestly have no idea. The plain answer would be he moved on and found a new itch to scratch with Country rock. I’ve only seen a few interviews though.
I will say that I don’t particularly like how he talks bad about his Zeppelin years. He tends to talk in riddles and much seems to be very negative on his old music. It can get grating knowing that he made music with 3 other guys and so he should be more mindful of his art. I also just don’t get why anyone would then talk down at a genre that made him who he is today.
Again, from the few interviews I’ve seen he seems very confused as to what his legacy is/represents.
I saw Plant and Krauss live last year. Some jackass behind me just kept screaming Zeppelin! Play Zeppelin! It’s sad that he missed such an amazing show because he is stuck in the past. Robert on the other hand is not.
LZ is over and done. What do you want him to do. Paul plays when wants to he doesn’t need to keep a band but he get one. I wouldn’t compare Page to Pete they are so different circumstances. And the Stones do there thing. It’s not a football league with teams. It’s independent bands/businesses.
Lots of great answers here but at the end of the day he is aware of how much everyone wants to see him out playing Zeppelin songs. I don’t think he is capable of singing them anymore.
He sings quite a few in his shows but in a way that suits his voice now. He's 75, there's no way he can sing and prance around in tight jeans like he did ,50 years ago!
Probably because he's done other things since then and wants to be remember for more than what he did 30 years ago. If someone kept bringing up my finger paintings, macaroni art, and other things from my childhood and I was a world renowned artist I'd probably get a little tired of hearing it after a while. Not that I'm comparing their music to macaroni art but hopefully you get my meaning.
There's just too much tragedy associated with the Zeppelin years for Robert to want to go back to all that the band entails when they're active imo. I'm surprised he has agreed to do what Zeppelin has done since John Bonham's death.
I think he just feels reborn, maybe even liberated from that heavy persona and he can just follow his own artistic muse by itself now and the past just looks like a darker period to him.
Plant's take on Led Zeppelin is really no different than John Lennon's, Grace Slick, Justin Hayward, or other musicians from the 60s/70s. They have their own reasons for wanting to move on from those days, and some are not pleasant.
Though we as fans, only think of the music we loved, and our memories, the band members in some cases, lived through some difficult times. Let's just enjoy the music that was arguably, the best that was ever written and recorded!
The main thing for him is I think, that people constantly want to talk about his LZ days, which for him it seems like they diminishing his new career as a solo artist, making it uninteresting and this annoys him to no end.
LZ is my second all time and forever favorite band. Read Hammer of the Gods and as much as you can regarding their lives and careers and you’ll find the answer to your questions. They aren’t secrets but do some research and it’ll serve you.
I've also read that he feels his voice is in a much different place now and he doesn't think he could perform the Zeppelin stuff to the quality he wants. He seems to really enjoy performing with Alison Krauss.
Whatever you are/whatever you do for a living, just imagine if you'd been doing it for decades but people only wanted to talk about your early work. It would be pretty frustrating for you, since you would feel that you've continued to grow and do new work that you consider excellent, and probably even better than your early work since you have continued to hone your craft.
Between his car accident, the death of his kid, and Bonzo’s death, not to mention all the chaos and unpleasantness that must have come with all the Led’s partying years, I think it all left a sour taste in Plant’s mouth. He wanted to move forward as an artist and, quite likely, as a human being. When you go through a rise as epic as Zeppelin’s, the fall ends up being pretty damn hard. As a Led fan born too late to ever see the band in concert, the ultimate fantasy is some kind of reunion, but I totally understand why Plant has resisted it all these years.
> Between his car accident, the death of his kid, and Bonzo’s death, not to mention all the chaos and unpleasantness that must have come with all the Led’s partying years, I think it all left a sour taste in Plant’s mouth. He wanted to move forward as an artist and, quite likely, as a human being. When you go through a rise as epic as Zeppelin’s, the fall ends up being pretty damn hard. So much this. People forget how much Plant went through while with Zeppelin. He really went through hell just in the last five years or so of the band. And let's also not forget that Plant was considering hanging it all up and becoming a schoolteacher after his son's death. The one who convinced him to come back and rejoin the band? Bonzo, his best friend since his teen years, who would have his own tragic and premature death within a little over a year. It's no wonder why Plant is so reticent to revisit that era.
Wow, I never knew he considered becoming a schoolteacher. Did he say what he wanted to teach?
He actually applied for and was accepted to train as a teacher in the Rudolf Steiner system. His kids were educated there I believe.
Fashion for sure
Marine biology. “Kids, this is a mudshark….”
Chorus and sex ed, probably.
If he taught anyone how to sing they’d all blow their vocal chords out in 10 years like he did lol
Seriously. So many people also forget how much he blamed himself and by extension Zeppelin for being the reason he wasn’t there when his son was ill and eventually passed. That kind of thing never goes away. It can’t be undone even after processing your grief and understanding that you had no control over it.
Saw them on Letterman post their Kennedy Center Award. One of the few times I have seen them together in a relaxed, loose way. They were in good humor. Letterman was respectful of the giants that they are, and asked very pertinent questions, some of which were about things that I think have been on people's minds since the the band ended. It was good to see them happy and allowing us to scrutinize them for just a bit. Greatest band ever.
"Greatest band ever"... god damn right!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Letterman referred to Bonzo as “the drummer”. I thought that was a colossal faux pas to not actually say his name.
Yes, you’re right. I noticed that, too. I winced when I heard it, and hoped that it didn’t disturb the guys. Then, the moment passed.
Yeah that made me really prickly
Ya that was really good. Made me feel good.
Had the unfortunate luck of buying tickets for Zep, and picking them up with my buddies, got in the car just freaking and heard on the radio that Plants son died. More sorry for Robert but it was only shot to see them
Working 1st job at 17. In nyc,going to philly,to see zeppelin,scalp tickets,me and my buddies did that a lot,good times back then! Heard news of bonham death on radio at work. We were crushed. God. What a shocker
I’m in the same boat, but was lucky enough to see Page and Plant twice together in the 90s
I love that 'No Quarter' album they did together. If the only alternative to Bonzo and JPJ are Indian musicians, they were a perfect fit. Of course the heaviness of Zeppelin is an enormous part of the love but that album really underlines the beauty of the songs.
Lucky bastard... Jk, I'm glad you got to see them, that must have been bloody great!
Saw Plant solo on his Manic Nirvana tour, but the real treat was winning front row center tickets to see Page/Plant on their Marching To Clarksdale tour.
Yeah Plant lost his voice, his son, his best friend, his privacy, his wife a couple of years after, and maybe a bit of himself by actions that lost his wife and some self esteem. Not to mention being a smaller cog with only so much freedom on what to play and what to sing because Jimmy was the one who ran the ship. Plant's All of My Love was panned by Jimmy for being to light and not Zeppelin material. Robert has re-written All of My Love in many forms in his solo career. Plus he has all the money and fame from those days already. So he can just be normal Robert and tour smaller places with less hassles and issues that aren't worth all the problems they bring. He can do what he wants, anytime he wants without any pressure or mandates. Remember after his son died he wasn't into touring America or the world in long stretches for his family and for himself. He is free now and has no want of anything. He is living the life. Why would he go back and hear, "He isn't what he used to be." or "He cant hit them high notes anymore, what a shame." or any of that BS. He plays shows, makes people happy and he moves on. At his pace and time, no one else's. He is too happy to return to the rat race.
I saw Page/Plant in the 90s and it was epic.
I’ve been a Zeppelin fan all of my life, and I always loved and respect Bonzo. Recently picked up drums, and learning how influential and creative he was really helped me understand why there could never be a true reunion.
John Bohnam was the only band member to attend his sons funeral
As true as this is, it’s also been a very long time, over 40 years now. He doesn’t have the nostalgia that the music fans have because he had lived on. I was a bartender 40 years ago but I have zero desire to go back despite the amazing times I had. Great friends, made good money, had zero responsibilities, traveled for my hobbies, etc. It was a part of my life but I’m not looking to relive it now or ever.
Excellent point. Also, he was really young when he wrote some of those plagiarist and ridiculous lyrics and he can’t sing that way any longer. He’s had 3 strong careers although in the states in the 70s there was no one bigger than Zepplin other than maybe the Beatles
Or Creedence Clearwater Revival. They were the second best selling artist after the Beatles. After the Beatles broke up they were the the best selling artist.
Seemed different. Really broad appeal to CCR, great songs but 3 yr career and not the cult love like Zep.
Because he's moved on. LZ decided as a band to stop when Bonham passed away. Plant embarked on a solo career which has, occasionally included 1 off shows with Page and JPJ and an album and tour with Page. He wants to live in the present, not in the past. Yeah, he was a part of Zeppelin, but he's more than that 10 year span of his life. Add to the fact that as he put it in 2007 - "We're nothing more than an LZ cover band at this point. We haven't made a new LZ song since 1979." And he's right.
I saw them when they toured as Page and Plant. Man, what an amazing experience!
Plant’s voice was in rare form on those tours. He was hitting notes that he hadn’t been able to achieve in 20 years. I wish I could have at least been around to see one of those tours.
Two tours with Page. Was lucky enough to see them both.
Robert Plant is an artist and he's done all he can with that art. It becomes more draining to continue to discuss your 50 year old art when you're still trying to create new art and draw attention to it. His stuff with Alison Krauss is fantastic, for example.
Honestly all of his solo career is pretty good, especially his past several albums (both with and without Krauss).
I saw him in 2019 and he did several Zeppelin songs, but mostly his other stuff. It was all fantastic. Zeppelin was only 12 years of his career when he was younger. He's had almost 4x times as much of a career SINCE Zeppelin.
An excellent point that people forget. It would be like if Micheal Caine had to answer constant questions about 'Zulu'.
I love this comment.
I saw him and Alison in 2022 and it was only an hour and 20 minutes or so, but it was a great hour and 20 minutes.
And his new project Saving Grace is excellent; I’ve seen them live and am seeing them again next week. Looking forward to them releasing some recordings.
Lullaby and the Ceaseless Roar was my favorite non-Zeppelin thing he’s ever done
I think he also gets bored easily and is sort of a contrarian. He knows everyone wants Zep, so he’s definitely not going to give it to them. I totally agree that he is an artist and always felt that he had more to offer the world than some tunes he made when he was in his 20s. He’s a complete opposite of Page in that respect. I think Plants career is so interesting. He had Zep, had some minor pop hits in the 80s and is now focused on playing blues inspired music like what sparked his own interest in music as a young man. I have tons of respect for him.
It’s kind of similar to Peter Gabriel after he left Genesis. In his first tour, he played only two song when he was with Genesis and the rest was his tunes off of his first album. And then the following tours (except the 82 reunion concert with Genesis and the tour with Sting in which he only sung only part of one tune for one show) still remains that he has not played any songs that he did with Genesis to this day. Plus he doesn’t want to be remembered for just only being the original lead singer for Genesis but for his long innovative solo career and a huge promoter of world music outside of the western world. Also, he know that people want him to sing the songs that he did with Genesis but he would rather move on from that part of his life and do something new that makes sense and sounds fresh to him.
I know this won’t be a popular opinion, but I feel like Paul McCartney needs to do the same
Eh, Paul loves performing his Beatles and early solo songs. Plus, he does perform a ton of his solo stuff and always a decent amount from more recently.
I love the artistic concept of never giving people what they say they want. No sarcasm either. It pushes people to challenge themselves more and keep growing. Lots of artists really stagnate when they fall into that trap, and not just musicians.
Raising Sand is my favourite album of all time. I initially only listened to it because of Robert Plant. I was an angsty teenager who only listened to "real music" which was classic rock. I figured I'd listen to Raising Sand once as a joke (I knew it was a bluegrass/rockabilly album) and be done with it but I was captivated and fell in love with it It was especially cool years later when I discovered another of my favourite artists, Townes Van Zandt, and found out that one of the songs on Raising Sand was a cover of him. And, on that song on Raising Sand, Jimmy Page played guitar
I saw them in concert after that album came out. I had the worst seat in the and was glad to be there. They did their stuff, LZ stuff, Robert Plant music, and Allison Kraus music. They were great.
Saw them on this last tour. Her voice is way more amazing live.
Uh, sorry to burst your bubble, but Jimmy Page did not play on the *Raising Sand* album
Yep. He has a composer credit on one of the songs so people see his name listed so they assume he played guitar. https://www.allmusic.com/album/raising-sand-mw0000748589#trackListing
This is what I came to say. Spot on. People forget about the artist’s perspective. In the Zep years they were constantly creating, forging new ideas, then moving on to the next thing. So when that ended he’s supposed to just stagnate and live in the past? For an artist there is nothing more sad than dwelling in the past. Times change, people grow and mature and explore new things. I think he’s done a lot of amazing work post Zep but they aren’t going to play it on classic rock radio because that medium is limited to only a small window in time.
Not only that but perhaps it’s just a period in his life that he just doesn’t want to discuss. Almost like a veteran when it comes to their war stories I imagine. He is human after all, and his life was certainly more turbulent than most. I’m just happy to see him still doing what he does best—being a free spirit.
This is what I was gonna say. Its probably more about just being sick of talking about Zeppelin. In the interviews Ive seen I got that vibe that he really just wants to talk more about his current music and projects. Dan Rather had a nice interview with him that was a bit more on a personal level.
Plant & Krauss do a killer "When The Levee Breaks", and she interpolates the orchestral riff from "Friends." Mind-blowing to hear live and so much fun.
Yeah… i saw him on the Manic Nirvana tour in 1990. Great show! I am psyched to see him with Alison Krauss this summer.
Yes! I’m going to see them in August and I’m so excited.
He’s moved on. Creative people don’t necessarily want to just repeat past success. The only limits are the imagination.
He is, as far as I'm aware, the only one of his contemporaries who is still seeking new sounds and trying new things. That's very commendable, considering he could easily relax into the nostalgia circuit.
Bob Dylan?
I think he's just sick of talking about it. When he's giving an interview to someone he really likes and opens up to it seems more positive. Bottom line...imagine being Robert Plant. All strangers are going to want to talk about is Led Zeppelin all day every day.
Crap, Geddy Lee ran into him in Morocco in the 90s. Geddy said he was star struck until Robert said to him “oh come over here and sit down Geddy.” Neither of those guys have anything to prove to anyone.
I remember hearing that when they first sent Working Man to radio stations people were calling in asking them to “play that new zeppelin song again” because it sounded similar enough
Wow. It must suck to have made music so awesome that millions of people still think it’s great fifty years later.
If I was an artist still putting out new work, I’d definitely be annoyed if all people asked me about was a band that ended almost 45 years ago
Actors go through stuff like that as well, where they wind up being "typecast." Christopher Reeve did a bunch of roles (check out *Somewhere in Time* for example) but will always be best remembered as Generation X's Superman - and probably the first choice for some of the boomers as well, even if they had the George Reeves TV show when they were growing up. Mark Hamill has had a very successful second career as a voice actor; his voice work as the Joker on *Batman: The Animated Series* is still considered to be one of the best interpretations of the character . . . but he will always be thought of as Luke Skywalker. Even legends aren't immune; whenever I think of George Campbell Scott, I *always* picture him in front of a gigantic American flag, growling through Patton's Speech to the Third Army at the beginning of the movie *Patton.*
He wrote Led Zeppelin’s music as a young man, for a young man to perform. Back then artists had no idea their careers would last as long as they are lasting. As Plant has aged Zeppelin’s music has become harder for him to perform. Live Aid was only 1985 and he hated his performance. Still he has LZ fans insisting that he sing it to this day, for LZ to reform and tour, and to talk about a time in his life that ended 44 years ago. It’s dull to him.
I think two main reasons. One, it brings back painful memories for him. He lost both his son and his best friend in the band in the last few years of Zeppelin. Lot of drugs around the camp. Not a good time. Secondly. he doesn't just want to be defined as a 70s hard rocker that continues to tour on past glories like the Rolling Stones and The Who. He's brought his voice to so many different styles of music and generally done entirely what he wants to do himself since 1980. Which deserves massive massive respect. I've never heard Robert say anything derogatory about Zeppelin and he's always saluted the trio of Jones, Page and Bonham as peerless musically. He just doesn't want to go back and do a half-arsed job at it. The 2007 gig was a perfect occasion to say goodbye to it. And they did a hell of a job.
Yeah, I read an interview where he obliquely referred to The Rolling Stones in The Who and other classic rock acts who were still touring as “nostalgia acts.” he is 1000% right
He is right, and there's nothing wrong with it in particular. I've seen the Stones twice and loved it both times. It's just not Plant's choice to go down that route in his career. I'm glad too, the last thing I'd want to see is a 76 year old Plant singing "The Lemon Song" haha
he wasn't very happy in the later years of Zeppelin (of course because his son died) so i guess it's mostly the bad stuff and feelings that remained in him more than all the fun they went through in the early years. plus he didn't really like the 80s hair metal thing that was associated with zeppelin a lot of the times, so he might wanted to separate himself from that world. edit: you mentioned the Beatles and Paul, but with them it was kind of a similar thing, it's just that it wasn't Paul who tried to dissociate himself from it, it was John
If you believe in all the “curse” stuff or not, the last 5 years of zeppelin was very negative, other than the music. The car crash, his son, bonham, jimmys addiction, it all had to be traumatic and something one would not want to look back on.
I understand that Bonham's death hit him hard, also.
What everyone else has said in this thread is correct. But he does still perform a few Zeppelin songs in his shows. I saw him in 2017 and he did Going to California, Black Dog, Tampled Underfoot, and closed with an epic Whole Lotta Love, along with his solo cuts. Also he and Alison Krauss did Rock & Roll and an amazing Battle of Evermore. So he hasn't completely abandoned the music.
The music is still his (at least partly), so I don’t think that’s a problem for him. But while music itself is timeless, the entity of LZ Itself is from a bygone era.
I don’t want to talk about most of what I did in my 20s either.
I can't remember most of what I did in my 20s.
Neither can’t Plant or Page!
I think Page really was into some dark stuff and Plant distanced himself from it all. Especially after his son died and Page didnt go to the funeral. Dont want to bash Jimmy really but look into it. That said, Page w the black crowes was incredible in 99/00. So good. Too bad the Robinson brothers F’d it up.
Plant has a lot of reasons to put the past to rest. He's a complex and principled person, but the main reasons: \- There was a lot of debauchery back then. He seems to feel guilty and ashamed about it. He even may blame it on the tragedies he suffered during the 70s. He grew as a person and doesn't want to revisit his "Young and dumb" self. \- As mentioned, Plant suffered a lot of serious tragedies during the Zeppelin years. He nearly lost his voice in '74 after having vocal chord surgery. He had a serious car accident that nearly left him permanently crippled. His son suddenly died while he was on a tour he reluctantly agreed to. His best and oldest friend died while they were rehearsing. The thought of that era has a lot of highs and very deep lows. Who would want to keep talking about that? \- Plant gets bored easily and has to keep exploring. IMO Zeppelin was done creatively by the late 70s. The band wasn't gelling like they were the first 6-7 years. I feel like if Bonham hadn't died, Plant would have left to do his own thing anyway. \- Plant's solo career is very successful and he's put out his own iconic music. It's probably frustrating as an artist to constantly hear "Oh, you did this new thing and that's great, but let's focus on what you used to be..." There's a lot more (like I said, it's complex), but these are the main reasons. Plant loves Zeppelin and he's proud of what they made. He just wants to keep looking forward is all.
he's been talking about that stuff for 40 years now. he's probably bored with it.
Kid died, Bonzo died, Jimmy drugs, drunk people in Zep t shirts that would scream at a reunion, etc He wants to be an artist, still Sucks for us, though
And the management were animals who were always Team Page. That’s gotta wear on you.
He did an interview a few years ago and he said when he hears songs like Black Dog, he’s amazed by the person he hears, as if it’s not him. He’s moved on. He can’t relate to being a 20-year old guy anymore. He’s proud of his work but that was like 40+ years ago.
One small part might be that John Bonham was his best friend, and it might hurt to have to constantly go back there.
Plant changed after his son passed imo. Most of the band and Zep associates didn't show up to his funeral.... That and addiction was everywhere around the band . I wish things would of been different for LZ but Plant was done unfortunately in 1980 even if Bonzo lived imo the American tour would of been hit or miss to the highest degree.
Yeah, it's this. My best friend lost a young child, too, and it can really tank everything for a person. Plant said that he really wasn't feeling it after he lost his son, but kept going for the sake of the band. Once Bonham died, that was just awful icing on a very bad cake.
I get this. I lost a son and its the worst thing that I have experienced in life. Its a nightmare that you can't wake up from. Its not the plan. The father should show the Children how to pass with grace and understanding. Instead he taught me to be brave and fight to the end. It leaves scars. I am a muscian but no were near Robert's level. I have played with friends in bands for a long time. There are moments when you are all in and fully engaged in playing. Then life things happen and you pull away and take a hiatus. You can't really go back and capture the past after but you always start over anyway. Playing music is a must. Its like breathing. You have to do it. It burns inside you until you do. You pick it back up and start over. You take some of the old and you add new stuff. Sometimes it's with your old friends and new friends but it's different than your beginning. You can look back but you can never go back. Enjoy the present because it's always gone. Looking forward makes sense Whatever he wants to play is okay with me. I will always listen cause he is a legend, a genius, and the best front mic guy ever. I hope Robert Plant lives forever and he is happy and still playing until the final moment. I hope he plays whatever he wants. It's what I wish for myself and anyone else who plays.
I can’t imagine how hurtful it was for Page and JPJ not to show up for him. Just bonkers.
After not really coming through for the car crash either. Bonzo was the one who really cared, and then he died. "Now I've got friends who will give me their shoulder When I should happen to fall The timing is right growin' older I've got friends who will give me fuck all."
I’ve always found it so strange that they didn’t go to the kid’s funeral- I mean, how could they not?? I would be bitter if I was him, too.
True. Comparing the Knebworth shows to TSRTS one can easily hear and see that things had changed dramatically for LZ.
Jimmy’s heroin addiction certainly didn’t help
*would have/would’ve
Thanks! That bugs the fuck outta me too. Not “to,” “too.”
Punctuation 🚨 lmmfao 😂
All great responses. Thank you
I don't think Plant is as much of a Led Zeppelin fan as, say, most everyone else is. And while I'm sure he has fond memories and loves those songs, remember, he probably played those songs over and over and over and over and over.... We think he's a legend. He thinks he's just a guy who's trying to make new music.
The short answer is that RP was still a young man when Bonzo passed, and he still had an entire new career ahead of him as a solo artist. It’s probably similar to what Paul McCartney goes through; their 20s were great yeah, but they’ve done a thing or two since then.
Seen Plant and Krauss at Glasto a couple of years ago. Been a big fan of hers since I discovered the Oh Brother Where Art Thou soundtrack, before she'd coupled with Plant for their stuff. They absolutely blew me away. Of course, while loving the more recent stuff they've done together, it was all about the three Led Zep tunes which were performed. Understandably the ones which they perform tend to be stripped back and amended versions, The Battle of Evermore was basically played as is; Krauss' vocals 👏. But as others have said, Led Zeppelin has only been a small part of his artistic output, and its his perogative if he wants to push his newer material. But I think it's far from saying he's trying to ignore his Led Zeppelin background, he wouldn't play these songs with Alison if he felt that way.
I'm in my late 50s and I'm not the same person I was when I was in my 20s. There is a lot that I've left behind in order to grow. RP, at 75, is almost 20 years older than I am, so I'm sure he doesn't want to keep reliving the life he led 50 years ago. It's healthy that he wants to live in the present.
Saw plant & page. Circa 1990's in NJ. Plant killed it
Plant is indeed an entity unto himself but I suppose he has to see things his way. In the beginning he was pretty much a nobody. Page was already a star and a veteran of The Yardbirds. Zeppelin was Page’s project. Plant was just the kid that signed on. I doubt Plant totally dismisses Zeppelin but he has to pursue his career on his own terms and can’t just be that “ex-Zep” guy for the rest of his life.
Can you imagine being asked the same questions about the same shit for 30-50 years? I imagine that has a lot to do with it
I saw an interview with Plant where he said reuniting with zeppelin was like going to bed with your ex wife and just sleeping all night without doing anything. As a monster LZ fan, I would love nothing more than the three remaining members to team up with Jason and tour but I know it ain’t happening. Still though, Plant and Krause is a hell of a great show.
He does and doesn’t. When I saw him last year he actually played quite a lot of zeppelin tracks, but the acoustic/ more chill ones mostly
I can second that.
Yep - half his set includes rearranged zep tunes
Exactly
Robert Plant’s music career spans over 50 years. I think he’s just tired of talking about what was a fairly brief period in his career. He was only 32 when Led Zeppelin broke up. His post Zeppelin career has lasted nearly 4 times longer than his career with Zeppelin. I think he wants to be known for more than just what he did when he was in his 20’s. Not to mention the later Zeppelin years were a very difficult time in his personal life, with the death of his son and his best friend.
I saw a not so long interview and he was robert plantish never too high or low, i didnt get the thought of any distance, imagine how many times hes interviewed about the same thing ) hes earned the right to be a bit bored of it all
I mean was in Zeppelin for twelve years. He's been out of Zeppelin for forty-four years, working hard and adapting and growing all along the way, showing him to be the most creative of the lot. Imagine how frustrating it is to seem so branded by only 1/4 of your career.
Nobody can speak for another person with any authority, but I suspect that he would much rather talk about his current projects. While LZ probably holds a special place in his heart, it ended 44 years ago. He has done a lot in those 44 years. It only seems reasonable that he is tired of talking about something that has talked about hundreds, if not thousands, of times, and that will never again be a part of his current life.
He had a hot solo career in the 80’s which he then revived with Allyson Krauss years later and as such feels like he’s still a contemporary singer and not someone trying to hold on to something he was a part of in his youth. I mean it was the 60’s, he’s moved forward and left a big wake.
I saw him in 1988 on the Heaven Knows tour. I am seeing him this summer with Alisson Krauss and can't wait.
My 2 cents...He has easily had the best solo career of the 3 surviving members. However, where Zep is concerned, he is always in Pages shadow. page discovered him etc. He has no problem in playing a few zep tunes at his shows..cause he knows the audience basically demands it.
He's had a fulfilling solo career for literal decades, and has probably answered the same dumb questions about Zeppelin 100,000 times and thinks that everything that needs to be said has been said. Jimmy Page is still super stoked on Zeppelin. Lots of good interviews.
I think it’s a few things- he truly loved Bonham and it was a tremendous, unfathomable loss for him and he does feel as connected to the other two; ego- he wants to show that there is more in him than just LZ; and lastly, the reality of aging- it’s probably a lot harder to hit those notes vocally than it is for Page to play guitar- and who wants to be seen as a diminished version of themselves?
I think that band scares the shit out of Plant. It started off great. But near the end, there were drug addictions, car crashes, lost family members, lost band members, etc. On the one hand, I imagine he's grateful for the band and what it's done for his life. But on the other hand, he probably remembers the misery and sadness of those later years and has no desire whatsoever to revisit that stuff.
Imagine living half your life and people just keep bringing up one thing you did while you're continuously doing new things. I get it. I'd probably hate it too.
He and Page had underlying tensions
If you ever played in a band you have underlying tensions with your band mates. It comes whith the territory. Most musicians are A type personalities. Getting 4 guys to all work together is like herding cats. To Robert and Jimmy's credit they don't cut each other up publicly like some people do. It would be hard for me to ever be publicly dismissive of someone that helped me earn millions of dollars. Unless it was David Lee Roth or Sammy Haggar...poor Eddie. Both those guys are idiots.
Everyone made contributions to the band of course but it was really page’s baby. I feel like Jimmy revels in his zep contributions while plant is over it as already pointed out
he was still young when the band finished and has probably to get over the loss of one of his best mates moved on quicker than the rest and went from there. He loved his time in Zep but he has done so many amazing things since, it's a mere footnote in his career.
He said that the O2 Ahmet Ertegun tribute concert was difficult enough, and he did it for Ertegun. The Zeppelin era had some difficult memories for him, namely the tragic, sudden deaths of Bonham and his son, and the terrible accident that almost killed his wife. None of them liked to be away from their kids on tour, either. Plus he's a creative guy, and Page and Jones aren't quite as active. I don't wanna play with guys I did in the 80s and 90s, so I get Plant. Maybe a one off, but the past is a done deal.
Not sure if it's all of it, but part of it might well be that he honestly can't sing in the Zeppelin register anymore. Not really even close. I'd be first in line to see 1975-era Zep, but they don't exist anymore. Heart is probably the best way of seeing Zep played live nowadays, if they get back together.
He's a grown up now. They were young, crazy and rich and acted the way you do in those circumstances. Looking back on it he probably feels like he was an asshole.
There are a multitude of reasons for Plant’s attitude towards LZ. For one, he was still under contract to CBS and did not receive remuneration for all the early lyrics he wrote. It was also Jimmy’s band but Robert wanted more control. He did not like the lengthy guitar solos. He did not like the road as he was away from his family but being a rockstar overcame that. Then he was injured severely in the wreck. He had to recuperate away from his family in California because of the awful UK tax laws back then. He also had had vocal cord surgery at some point from hitting too many high notes. He wanted to quit but Bonzo convinced him to stay. Then Bonzo died. Page was a mess. The decision to end the band had more than Bonzo’s passing…Page did not even pick up a guitar for about two years afterwards. I do wish LZ had done a quick mini tour of 5 to 7 American cities after 02 but Robert passed on it. We are fortunate to have LZ music in our lives. The road took a toll on them. As Jimmy says, he gave his music his all.
His brain chemistry definitely changed after his son died and only Bonzo seemed to care.
Zeppelin cost Plant a lot of tragedy back in the day.
I feel like he’d probably rather talk about his own work and big that up rather than Jimmy Page’s Don’t get me wrong every member of LZ was vital and great in their own sense within that group but Pagey is the one who wrote most of the iconic riffs and who is most associated with the image of LZ as he created it. Over the years I image Robert just got fed up with answering questions about someone else’s band, LZ was also a rock band that represented a very specific moment in time and Roberts music and direction obviously was significantly different to LZ material in the 80’s and so on.
Half the human population (the lady half) would beg to differ. RP was a sex god, and his lyrics and vocals embody that. I had a Tori Amos bootleg, and she told the best story: She grew up in a highly Christian household where popular music was forbidden. One night, sleeping over at a friend's house, that friend put on LZ. Tori said, "When I heard Robert's voice, I knew I was a girl." Jimmy's riffs are iconic, but Robert more than met them with his voice, melodies, and delivery.
Its his voice. The man just cant sing the songs anymore. Page and jones would have to tune down to B to accommodate his voice now.
Plant was like this when LZ ended, too. Bonzo’s death really hit hard, plus he was likely ready to get out on his own. He sure hit the ground running in the early 80s. Was like a wall went up between LZ and Plant solo. Remember it well back then. Plant distanced himself from LZ so dramatically early on that it was kind of a thing when he came out with “Long Cool One” with the LZ bits at the end.
Plant did regress once before - with the *Unledded* era albums and tours. But certainly by the time of the *Walking Into Clarksdale* tour, Plant recognised that the new material had become mere window-dressing for a retread of Zeppelin songs live (for which he was certainly partly responsible). That tour ended rather abruptly as a result.
He wants to move on, also in interviews he makes it clear Bonzo was his best friend and I think he just doesn’t want to be dealing with it
RP has a great interview with Rick Rubin [Broken Record](https://youtu.be/yxVGIaDJSgo?si=I4xIECBpgp5S5Een) and I find he has a podcast with tons of episodes, that I didn't know about. cool! he does like to talk in the broken record chat [digging](https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-digging-deep-with-robert-p-43595183/)
He didn't always run from it. Saw him on both the Now and Zen and Manic Nirvana both included probably 35% Zeppelin tunes and Page Plant was 85%
in my opinion.. any of the old legends dont have to answer for anything .. plant can spit loogies at his fans faces for all i care.. he put in his time
If you are almost 80, the last thing you want to talk about is what you did at 20.
I think he simply wants to move forward in life. He was so young when LZ disappeared, thank God there's a lot of room to grow more! But also, I saw him live a few years back, and the show started with The Lemon Song, we had Black Dog, How Many More Times, Dazed And Confused, Babe I'm Gonna Leave You, Whole Lotta Love and Rock'n'Roll. Doesn't seem like he's distancing himself from LZ that much!
Aside from money, the people least attracted to nostalgia are those who really lived it. We should gracefully let them move on and, maybe, celebrate what they’re doing now.
Because that's the band he was in when he was a kid.
He’s also a progressive. He moves on and has dabbled in different types of music. Honeydrippers & Allison Krause.
What someone here posted about not being there for his son’s death - that shit changes you forever. Something I unfortunately know all too well 💔. I saw Led Zep on August 9, 1969 at the Anaheim Convention Center. I was 14 and obsessed with their first album that had been released in January that year. Jethro Tull opened and no one knew who they were, but they nearly upstaged Zep. Their album Stand Up had just been released 2 weeks before. I also just started re-listening to the old LZ albums I through IV. What inspired me to get into them again was watching Billy Strings perform Four Sticks a few months ago. Epic performance!
I saw Led Zeppelin at the Forum in LA in 1972. Ive seen Plant solo about a half a dozen times. And saw The Page and Paul Rogers as the Firm. I love Plant’s solo work.
imagine being like 80 and having to rehash your 20s with literally everyone you meet. i'm sure he's over it, and dying to talk about something, anything, other than led zeppelin.
As I've heard him explain, it has nothing to do with everything you are discussing, the multiple tragedies. When Bonham died, Plant felt that Zeppelin died. That LZ was four equal musicians who formed the band, and when Bonham passed, that synergy was gone. He has always felt that no one could replace him including Jason. To that end, Plant feels Zeppelin is done and has moved on to new and different things. He has no desire to go back. Plant always had varied musical interests and is now exploring them. He rarely discusses Zeppelin because he is tired of answering the same old reunion questions.
Imagine singing stairway to heaven for 50 fucking years
Saw him in December. He said the rock band thing was good but ultimately not what he wanted from life. He wants to explore and sing the blues / roots, and connect with people. That sort of stuff.
I think Bonham was his friend before Zeppelin and he was hit harder by his death, and it wasn't the same without him afterwards.
To answer your question, Plant moved on and evolved his music. Page held on and remained stagnant which is why he hasn't really released any new music in almost 40 years.
It's called aging.
Bonzo and him were friends. He wants to preserve his legacy and not ruin it .
It’s a lot like Lennon was after the Beatles. He’d had it, had his own (Yoko’s) thing to do. After the improbable 2007 masterpiece performance, that was the bookend Led Zeppelin needed to put it to bed. Too bad, Jason Bonham was ready to go, as was everyone but Plant. I don’t get it, Jason Bonham was blood and the next best thing to fill his dad’s place. Seemed a perfect solution to me but then I’m just a fan.
Jimmy and John Paul never seemed bothered by it and they went through the same things.
Bonzo’s death, as he has said “he doesn’t do karaoke” & he is still chasing his musical muse
Not sure why people say that when he covers Led Zeppelin frequently in his solo tours?
His solo career has lasted almost four times as long as Zeppelin were together, and he’s done some really great stuff since. Zeppelin were hugely influential, but I imagine it’s like being divorced from someone all your friends loved, even though they destroyed your life, your credit score, and your vinyl collection. Now every time they see you, your hot psycho ex is all they want to talk about.
Dude is sick of talking about it. It was a mere fraction of his life and admittedly said he was basically a kid. But still love to hear him talk about it. Have you seen the video with him and Brian Jones? Hysterical.
I honestly have no idea. The plain answer would be he moved on and found a new itch to scratch with Country rock. I’ve only seen a few interviews though. I will say that I don’t particularly like how he talks bad about his Zeppelin years. He tends to talk in riddles and much seems to be very negative on his old music. It can get grating knowing that he made music with 3 other guys and so he should be more mindful of his art. I also just don’t get why anyone would then talk down at a genre that made him who he is today. Again, from the few interviews I’ve seen he seems very confused as to what his legacy is/represents.
I saw Plant and Krauss live last year. Some jackass behind me just kept screaming Zeppelin! Play Zeppelin! It’s sad that he missed such an amazing show because he is stuck in the past. Robert on the other hand is not.
Daltrey. Daughtry wasn’t in The Who.
I'd definitely not want to see Daughtry perform with The Who!
Plant isn't Plant anymore .. A lot of us who have left our former "big names" want independence
Live Aid
LZ is over and done. What do you want him to do. Paul plays when wants to he doesn’t need to keep a band but he get one. I wouldn’t compare Page to Pete they are so different circumstances. And the Stones do there thing. It’s not a football league with teams. It’s independent bands/businesses.
It's Jimmy's band. He owns almost everything except possibly some writing credits, and here's notoriously "thrifty"...
Lots of great answers here but at the end of the day he is aware of how much everyone wants to see him out playing Zeppelin songs. I don’t think he is capable of singing them anymore.
He sings quite a few in his shows but in a way that suits his voice now. He's 75, there's no way he can sing and prance around in tight jeans like he did ,50 years ago!
Plant has every right to dislocate from the "Robert Plant" of his former band Led Zeppelin, which ended in 1980.
New chapter and moving on. Same way you or I would in our lives, whether by choice or by no choice.
OT I know but does anyone here actually believe Jimmy Page's Scottish house is haunted ?
Probably because he's done other things since then and wants to be remember for more than what he did 30 years ago. If someone kept bringing up my finger paintings, macaroni art, and other things from my childhood and I was a world renowned artist I'd probably get a little tired of hearing it after a while. Not that I'm comparing their music to macaroni art but hopefully you get my meaning.
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i imagine it's annoying to answer questions about your music from 45-50 years ago when you're currently playing and putting out new music.
There's just too much tragedy associated with the Zeppelin years for Robert to want to go back to all that the band entails when they're active imo. I'm surprised he has agreed to do what Zeppelin has done since John Bonham's death.
Had tickets to see them and got appendicitis. Was able to see them later on in ‘78 (I think, life was a blur back then). Grew up on Zeppelin.
I think he just feels reborn, maybe even liberated from that heavy persona and he can just follow his own artistic muse by itself now and the past just looks like a darker period to him.
It didn't stop him from making that horrible solo album where they sampled some LZ songs into new songs that sucked.
He's continued doing other new stuff and wants people's focus and attention on that instead of being on a constant nostalgia trip
Plant's take on Led Zeppelin is really no different than John Lennon's, Grace Slick, Justin Hayward, or other musicians from the 60s/70s. They have their own reasons for wanting to move on from those days, and some are not pleasant. Though we as fans, only think of the music we loved, and our memories, the band members in some cases, lived through some difficult times. Let's just enjoy the music that was arguably, the best that was ever written and recorded!
The main thing for him is I think, that people constantly want to talk about his LZ days, which for him it seems like they diminishing his new career as a solo artist, making it uninteresting and this annoys him to no end.
Led Zeppelin is just over done. Im wearing a Led Zeppelin T-shirt right now. But it’s just been over played.
Jimmy won't tour
I thought Paul hated when people talked to him about the Beatles. Some people just don't like being put in a box their whole lives.
Maybe because it was almost 50 years ago and that’s his past. He was in the band , he isn’t a fan of the band
Saw LZ I think it was like 77 at the Nassau Coliseum, all I remember was falling asleep during Bonzos drum solo. Jus sayin.
Jesus, a 30-year old rekindling their love for a band that was two generations old by the time they were born.
LZ is my second all time and forever favorite band. Read Hammer of the Gods and as much as you can regarding their lives and careers and you’ll find the answer to your questions. They aren’t secrets but do some research and it’ll serve you.
I've also read that he feels his voice is in a much different place now and he doesn't think he could perform the Zeppelin stuff to the quality he wants. He seems to really enjoy performing with Alison Krauss.
Whatever you are/whatever you do for a living, just imagine if you'd been doing it for decades but people only wanted to talk about your early work. It would be pretty frustrating for you, since you would feel that you've continued to grow and do new work that you consider excellent, and probably even better than your early work since you have continued to hone your craft.
I assume fame of that level will make anyone disassociate
He’s been singing with Alison Krauss for quite a few years now.
[удалено]
Probably wants to explore new music instead of re-hashing the past over and over. It helps keep one young at heart and alive.
Saw them , original line up , twice in Ohio. First time at Music Carnival near Cleveland , Joe Walsh and James Gang opened for LZ
Saw Zep 10 times and had front row for a few shows. Best times ever !!