The venerable Englishman and 74-year-old rock icon returns to the Montreal International Jazz Festival with his muse Alison Krauss. Bluegrass, country-folk and rock on the soft pedal, the evening promises to be divine. We did try to talk to him; no big deal, we’ll talk about him the same way as a preview of the 43rd edition. Nobility obliges.
Don’t get stuck in the past. Extensive program.
“Massive applause no longer satisfies my need for stimulation,” he told the LA Times in 2018.
Robert Plant, the ex-singer of Led Zeppelin, has laid 17 albums since the end of the activities of the mammoth rock band.
When asked about Greta Van Fleet, the cheeky emulators of his former band, Plant told journalist Scott Alderman in 2018, “They’re Led Zeppelin 1. Their lead singer is handsome and I hate him!” Plus, adds Plant, he borrowed the voice of someone I know very well…”
Revealed in all its lasciviousness on the big screen with the concert film The Song Remains The Same (1976) – seen 35 times – the ultimate rock star, the mane, the voice that pitches to the ceiling, all that is distant. Except that, just to prove that rock remains above all an animal drive, Robert Plant has achieved a stroke of genius by achieving one of the most beautiful crosses there is.
His mystical, philosophical and spiritual texts with Led Zep, influenced by J.R.R. Tolkien among others who inspired the songs Ramble On, No Quarter and Over The Hills and Far Away, references to The Lord of the Rings were evident; Plant now sticks to American folklore and its roots.
In all the jumble of preparations for the rockers’ reunion at the O2 Arena in 2007, Plant already had the American Midwest in mind, the outline of a tandem with Americana musician Alison Krauss is very real: violins, acoustic guitars, mandolins and double basses…
Raising Sand, directed by T-Bone Burnett, won the Grammy for album of the year in its category. It comforts her man in his choices; moving away from the lead blimp was the right decision. Mel Tillis, Townes Van Zandt, Doc Watson and the Everly Brothers are revisited under the lead of the singer. Rebelote on Raising the Roof (2021).
On tour around the world, Plant walks around with his bag slung over his shoulder, eager for record stores where he rummages through LPs. Perhaps he is hoping in his quest to find a Jesse Roden or a Frankie Miller, two of his favorite British singers?
Unless he spots the bootlegs Orange Crush (1972), Earl’s Court (1975) or The Destroyer, 4 7/10 quality bootleg vinyls chronicling the 1977 tour, for the humble scribe who owned them all, these Concert testimonials were coveted objects at the time. Even the reptilian manager and former wrestler Peter Grant, so protective of the brand, could do nothing against this black market of live.
Not an opportunity is missed to visit and follow in the footsteps of his formative heroes in the humidity of Mississippi, Sonny Boy Williamson, Bukka White, Skip James, the burial places of the bluesmen of his childhood.
In 2011, with Band of Joy and super guitarist Buddy Miller, he left a strong impression on André Ménard and Alain Simard, the co-founders of the Jazz Festival. During a small ceremony organized behind the scenes of Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier, Simard presented him with the Spirit Award for his musical influence on the periphery of jazz. Bob Dylan has already received it. The Press is here. The charismatic frontman accepts the statuette with heartfelt thanks.
“I went to pick him up at his dressing room to accompany him to the green room,” says André. I expected to be disappointed. He opens the door and greets me with his best smile from the top of his six feet and two. Affable and charming, he answered with subtlety the question of Alain de Repentigny (pillar of music journalism, now retired from La Presse) on a possible reunion of the alumni: ‟There is no point competing with your youth”.
When The Levee Breaks, Rock’n Roll and The Battle of Evermore, so beautifully sung by the late Sandy Denny, are three selections from Led Zeppelin 4 that are played in every city, in addition to Please Read The Letter, conducive to the harmonies of voice.
André Ménard, who saw the show in Saratoga last year, is ecstatic: “The vibe is extraordinary and JD McPherson [who is doing his first part] is invited to join the group. »
Between the Delta and Louisiana, the music of the Maghreb and the Tinariwen group, his love for Ali Farka Touré and the propagators of American roots music, Robert Plant has always known how to be on the move in the bends. His greatest merit was to question himself with lucidity and objectivity at the right time.
In an earlier version of this text, FIJM co-founder Alain Simard was renamed Alain Ménard. Our apologies.