Robert Plant & The Sensational Space Shifters for Blues Fest 2018 double header with Van Morrison:

 Robert Plant & The Sensational Space Shifters and Van Morrison join John Fogerty and Steve Miller Band in the line up for BluesFest 2018.

Here’s the info:

Robert Plant and The Sensational Space Shifters, and Van Morrison have both been announced as playing full sets at Bluesfest London, which returns to the various venues of O2 Arena, Greenwich, from Thursday 25th to Sunday 28th October 2018. Plant and Van Morrison will appear on Friday 26th October plus special guest Colin Macleod.

Plant appeared as a guest for Bill Wyman’s 80th birthday show at BluesFest in 2016, and this time brings his Sensational Space Shifters “to perform classic Led Zeppelin material alongside tracks from his acclaimed solo projects including Carry Fire, his eleventh solo album, which was released in October 2017″. Van Morrison returns to the festival “for a career-spanning set that will include music from his new studio album You’re Driving Me Crazy, which is released this month”.

Robert Plant said“It’s been way over 50 years since I first shared the stage with Van Morrison; and his band were positioned no.2 on the charts with ‘Here Comes the Night’. His style then and now remains unique and loaded with deep soul. I’m looking forward to an exciting and dynamic night.”

BluesFest Director Leo Green said“For Bluesfest to present an evening featuring full sets from Robert Plant & Van Morrison is a huge honour. Robert Plant & Van Morrison have made some of the most important recordings in the history of music and they both continue to be as vital, relevant and brilliant as they have always been – this promises to be an incredible evening.”

Pre sale for tickets is April 19 -general sale April 20.Ticket details and more here:

https://www.livenation.co.uk/event/allevents

Robert Plant and Van Morrison will also perform full sets at Dublin’s 3Arena on Sunday October 28.

Plant brings his latest outfit, the Sensational Space Shifters to Dublin to perform Led Zeppelin classics alongside tracks from his solo albums, including music from Carry Fire, his eleventh solo album, which was released in October 2017.

Van Morrison comes to the festival for a set that will include music from his new studio album You’re Driving Me Crazy, which is released next month. You’re Driving Me Crazy follows hot on the heels of the swing-inclined Versatile and the bluesy Roll with the Punches both of which were released last year.

https://www.rte.ie/entertainment/2018/0416/954799-van-morrison-and-robert-plant-for-bluesfest/

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TBL Archive 1:

Jimmy Page & Robert Plant at the Alexis Korner benefit show at Buxton Opera House April 17 1994 – 24 years gone:

24 years ago this week, I was lucky enough to be at the Brixton Opera House. The occasion was a tribute show to Alexis Korner – it heralded the beginning of the Page & Plant re- alliance – they would go on to produce the Unledded project in the summer. Watching these old devils run though I Can’t Quite You Baby with Charlie Jones on bass and the late great Michael Lee was an incredible thrill…Jimmy and Robert were back together and it kick started an amazing four year period…and it all started in Buxton..what a night…

Here’s some TBL/ DL memories of it all…

TBL archive special: 24 years ago on Sunday April 17th 1994, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant performed together for the first time in four years at a special memorial concert for Alexis Korner. This was the first sighting of the newly reunited Page & Plant on stage -they were already rehearsing  for their MTV Unledded project which would eventually see them perform two special shows at the London TV Studios on August 25th and 26th. Robert Plant had initially been billed to appear but the rumour mill was soon in overdrive that he would be joined by Jimmy.

So it was in the unlikely setting of the Buxton Opera House we watched in some wonderment as Bob Harris introduced the pair and the long awaited reunion of the pair was on. They kicked off with a cover of Them’s Baby Please Don’t Go and then on to a very authentic I Can’t Quite You Baby ably assisted by Charlie Jones on bass and the late great Michael Lee on drums – my review of the time noting that he ‘’crashed and clattered in all the right places’’ –something he would do throughout the P & P re-alliance between now and 1998.

Alongside feeding back for TBL, I reporting on this show it for Kerrang !then the main rock music paper and  given the low key nature of the event I was billed as an ‘’undercover Big K! reporter’ .

My review went on to reveal they then played an up-tempo blues jam built around Don’t Stop Me Talkin’ and then a loose instrumental work out with definite Crunge like leanings.

Here’s some extracts:

And finally ’’At least two people haven’t played this song before’’joked Plant as Jimmy stepped on the wah wah pedal and teased out the intro to the classic Train Kept A Rollin’, a track Jimmy used to play with The Yardbirds before he formed Zeppelin and the same number that Zep used to open their set on their last tour in Europe 1980. Inevitably this one was met with a huge roar of appreciation and was performed with an irrepressible swagger that recalled so many past glories. And with that Page and Plant were gone..

This comeback proved conclusively that Page and Plant are more than happy to be back in each other’s company rekindling a partnership that was responsible for so much great music in the past. And judging from a delightful telling moment when Jimmy skipped around the stage chugging out a fierce blues riff against Robert’s incessant scat singing – the potential for this new alliance is awesome. Buxton might just have signalled a whole new beginning for the post –Zep era’.

Pleasingly that latter statement proved to be somewhat prophetic. By the end of August the pair had recorded in various locations and performed the memorable Unledded concerts which formed the contents of the No Quarter Unledded film aired on MTV in October and accompanied by the release of the soundtrack album.  The next year they hooked up with the Egyptian Ensemble and orchestra for an ambitious world tour that delighted audiences across the globe.

The initial spark of all this reunion activity occurred on this remarkable Sunday evening in the Derbyshire countryside all of 24 years ago. …who knows where the time goes…but it does and all too soon.

DL – April 17 ,2018

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TBL Archive 2:

TBL Archive – it was 30 years ago this week…
SUNDAY APRIL 17 1988
LONDON, ENGLAND
HAMMERSMITH ODEON

TBL Archive – Walking Into Clarksdale:

Here’s some feedback from journalist/TBL contributor Stephen Humphries to last week’s Walking Into Clarksdale TBL archive piece…

I enjoyed reading your then and now take on Walking into Clarksdale on TBL. And also the recent reminiscence about Page & Plant at Shepherd’s Bush Empire. I was at that show and it remains one of the best-ever concerts I’ve seen. (I remember how, a night later, Chris Evans on TGiF commented that some people told him it was the best gig they’d ever been to.) I’m listening to the bootleg of the show again now, in fact.

My impression listening back to that show now is that Robert actually sounds better now, and sounded better at the 02 reunion, than he did on this show in 1998 – and that’s saying something. Perhaps it’s because his voice had thickened and has more power now even if he can no longer reach the stratospheric note he hit in “How Many More Times.” It’s a shame that the duo hardly ever played “House of Love” again after those early shows. It’s one of my favorite songs on WiC, though I think it could use a new mix to sharpen the dynamics and highlight the chorus. The studio version doesn’t “pop” as much as it should. (I have always wanted to ask Robert about whether he sees “House of Love” on lullaby and…the Ceaseless Roar, which has some of the same lyrics, as a remake or a sort of sequel to it.)

My take on Walking into Clarksdale is that it’s both underrated and also not as good as it could have been. Too rushed. They needed to spend more time working on the often undercooked songs and the arrangements. The dry production could have benefited from Page stepping up to the fore. There are some great songs: “Please Read the Letter,” “Blue Train,” “Most High,” “When I was a Child,” and the title track. To my ears, the very best song of this period is “The Window.” So bizarre that it was relegated to a B-side because it sounded so different and so fresh and bold (despite the lyrical lift from Moby Grape). My theory is that the song was recorded after the Steve Albini sessions and perhaps to late to make the album. It should have replaced “Burning Up” or “Sons of Freedom.” It has a much richer sound than most of what Albini produced.

A few years ago, I lobbied the Plant and Page contact at Rhino/Warners to reissue Walking into Clarksdale with a remix/remaster and to include the B-Sides “The Window,” “Whiskey in the Glass” and perhaps also a bonus disc of the Shepherd’s Bush Empire show, which was recorded, or some of the live video from that era. But nothing has (yet) come of that. The Zeppelin reissues are clearly the priority, especially this year.

Stephen Humphries

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Led Zeppelin News Update:

Many thanks to James Cook

The complete Led Zeppelin News email goes out every weekend. To receive it each week sign up here:http://tinyletter.com/LedZepNews

Led Zeppelin News Website: Check out the Led Zeppelin news website at

http://ledzepnews.com/

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Robert Plant on the Andrew Denton show:

Here’s a full round up via LZ News of Robert’s recent appearance on the Andrew Denton show in Australia:

http://ledzepnews.com/2018/04/17/here-are-the-highlights-of-robert-plant-australian-tv-interview-with-andrew-denton/

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Record Store Day – April 21, 2018:

Record Store Day is once more upon us  and once again, come early Saturday morning the TBL/RSD gang  will be be in the queue hoping to snap up some limited edition goodies.

This year there’s the added attraction of the first official Led Zeppelin Record Store Day Release – namely the Rock And Roll/Friends single – that one is sure to be in big demand.

Aside from that gem I have my eyes mainly on the following:

Beverley Martyn – Where The Good Times Are album – this features session appearance by Jimmy and JPJ.

Nico – I’m Not Sayin’ / The Last Mile single – the 1965 single produced by Jimmy Page

The Dream Syndicate – How We Found Ourselves…Everywhere  – 12 inch single (which features John Paul Jones]

Lulu – Heaven And Earth And The Stars album

Pink Floyd – The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn album

Small Faces – Lazy Sunday Afternoon (Early Mix) / Ogdens’ Nut Gone Flake (Alternate Take – Phased Mix) (stereo) single

Steve Ellis – Everlasting Love / Lonely No More single  – the lead singer with Love Affair and later Widowmaker – a great singer he is too

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The Beatles Mojo Special:

Just when you think there is nothing new to write about The Beatles – along comes this new Mojo special – a very clever idea linking it to the famous red and blue compilations (which I bought the day they came out 45 years ago this month) in a slip case cover.
This Red Issue 1962 – 1966 has superb features by the likes of Mark Lewishon,Jon Savage, Phil Sutcliffe (who once spent an evening here researching a Zep III Mojo story) and David Fricke. It had me digging out the original double album and appreciating it all over again. Superb stuff all round. The Blue Issue 1967 – 1970 follows in June. Bring it on…

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DL Diary Blog Update:

Friday treats at the Vinyl Barn – at the always excellent Vinyl Barn last Friday I was well pleased to pick up a copy of the classic King Crimson In The Court of The Crimson King album – a US copy on the Atlantic label  – very nice indeed. Thanks Darren!

Book Latest:

The pic below was taken at StudioMix last Saturday with the latest fruits of our labour –namely more pages designed for the in progress Evenings With Led Zeppelin – this is the 575 page volume chronicling all known Led Zeppelin gigs from 1968 to 1980. Co-author Mike Tremaglio , designer Mick Lowe and myself are totally immersed in this – there’s still a way to go with final design, checking and re checking and photo research etc. It’s been, and continues to be a monumental task – easily the most challenging book project I’ve ever been involved in. We think we have something pretty special here and the quest for it to be as good as we can possibly make it continues…more news on the books progress as it unfolds…

Dave Lewis – April 18, 2018

Until next time, have a great weekend

Website updates written and compiled by Dave Lewis

with thanks to Gary Foy, Mike Tremaglio and James Cook

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