Robert Plant and Alison Krauss Hasten the Death of "Rock and Roll"

[dale w miller]

It goes to show great players can ruin great things.

 

[Pat A Flafla]

I know cover bands are frequently disparaged here (I'll take good covers over bad originals any day), but if, like me, you're unfortunate enough to live in the city instead of the country, I bet there will be some good musicians kicking this tune square in the butt at a bar near you this weekend.

 

[bigbonzo]

I prefer good originals.

 

[Ryukyu]

I love this. In a previous band, it’s exactly the kind of thing we did and it went over well.
Rearranging and adapting songs to a different style from the original is a lot of fun.

 

[underratedcowbell]

Late to the party! But this version was awesome! I only wish Zepellin could get me as exited!

 

[GiveMeYourSmallestSticks!]

“The initial complaint also reveals an over-simplification of Led Zeppelin's accomplishments.”

Again, the song we’re talking about is titled “Rock and Roll”!

Sheesh!

Fair enough, but I wonder if there are other Zeppelin tunes which you would have been happy to see performed in this way/style, without being "disrespectful to Bonham" or "an absolute desecration". I may have made an assumption and a leap, but your melodramatic response made it seem (to me at least) that the issue was taking Zeppelin and Bonham's aesthetic, as represented in a song like Rock and Roll, and reinterpreting it in an altogether different style.

Is it safe to say you'd be OK with them playing Tangerine or Going to California then, but they should leave the classic rock radio staples alone? If so, how is that less disrespectful to Bonham? I guess it just depends on your attitude towards artists reinterpreting their back catalogue, but I have more respect for a rearrangement and new interpretation than trying to replicate and repeat a 50 year old song note for note. Especially when the drummer with the distinctive style who played on the original has long since passed.

 

[WLVN]

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss Hasten the Death of "Rock and Roll"​

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Personally, I find the thread title hilarious! I love the double entendre. Kudos!

 

[ThomFloor]

Old rock stars are sad.Their permed wigs are sad. Wearing leather pants is sad when you nearly 80. Playing 40 year old songs is sad. That's entertainment, not music. I want to hear expression and art. Not a $100,00,000+ band raking in the cash and phoning it in. That isn't music. It's nostalgia banking on boomer money.

Doctor, I was going to reply with cogent argument.... but then I think (maybe I'm wrong) you were the fellow who said the Beatles were nothing but a few pop songs. So its not worth the ink.

But I am curious who you would say is currently doing a great job of "expression and art"? Are we talkin Bruno Mars, or Larkin Poe or...?
Educate me. No vocoder stuff please.

 

[EvEnStEvEn]

I only checked this topic to see if JD McPherson would be mentioned - and he was!

So he's not only playing guitar in Robert Plant's band - he's also opening every date of this tour with his own band!

Not bad for an Okie boy!

 

[DrFrankCoco]

Doctor, I was going to reply with cogent argument.... but then I think (maybe I'm wrong) you were the fellow who said the Beatles were nothing but a few pop songs. So its not worth the ink.

But I am curious who you would say is currently doing a great job of "expression and art"? Are we talkin Bruno Mars, or Larkin Poe or...?
Educate me. No vocoder stuff please.

Scott walker, aphex twin, Stravinsky, king crimson, art blakey, slayer, tori Amos, Shannon Wright, songs ohia, James brown, ladysaw, black milk, del reeves..I could go on, but why? Your attention span is limited. You find Beatles songs entertaining.

 

[DrFrankCoco]

Scott walker, aphex twin, Stravinsky, king crimson, art blakey, slayer, tori Amos, Shannon Wright, songs ohia, James brown, ladysaw, black milk, del reeves..I could go on, but why? Your attention span is limited. You find Beatles songs entertaining.

Bruno Mars is talented. Can't deny that. He's no bob plant tho.

 

[Commodore]

It was revelatory to watch this, and it's impressive to see how hard Little Richard was rocking 60-plus years ago -- with a BPM very similar to Led Zeppelin's "Rock and Roll."

It's sad to see the spirit and the energy of that early rock hit stripped from the Robert Plant/Alison Krauss version ... I'm not that familiar with Little Richard's performances late in his career, but from what I do remember, he didn't replace guitars with a violin, he didn't sing more softly, he didn't slow down the tempo, he didn't try to re-adapt it for XM/Sirius' "adult" channels or the Tiny Desk crowd.

Music preferences are like ice cream ... Of course, some of us are going to outgrow "Tutti-Frutti" and start seeking out low-calorie variations -- you're iced yogurts, carb-smart ice milk, etc. Some of us will die with our arteries choked with clotted cream.

In the end, this watered-down "Rock and Roll" lacks flavor and the unhinged energy that launched Little Richard (and Led Zeppelin) into another trajectory.

The people who go see Robert Plant - Alison Krauss know what they're in for. It's not my particular taste (and admittedly my preferences are odd to many). There's a lot of choices out there for live music ... I've already had many great experiences this summer and have more lined up.

I'm of the opinion that it's much better to see or hear something new than hear someone wringing the last bits of value out of something very familiar.

Everybody steals from Little Richard!

 

[ThomFloor]

Scott walker, aphex twin, Stravinsky, king crimson, art blakey, slayer, tori Amos, Shannon Wright, songs ohia, James brown, ladysaw, black milk, del reeves..I could go on, but why? Your attention span is limited. You find Beatles songs entertaining.

Some of those people are dead, so can't be accused of what you've accused Robert Plant and other boomers of.
James Brown and Blakey were surely playing ' 40 year old songs' before they left us, and King Crimson are playing '40 year old songs' now too. I'm seeing a double standard.
Thanks for the tips on the others. Just wanted to know.
But you went all "ad hominem" now so I'm out.

 

[drumstuff66]

Scott walker, aphex twin, Stravinsky, king crimson, art blakey, slayer, tori Amos, Shannon Wright, songs ohia, James brown, ladysaw, black milk, del reeves..I could go on, but why? Your attention span is limited. You find Beatles songs entertaining

62% of your "artists currently doing a great job list" are dead or no longer putting out original music...

Art Blakey hasn't been doing anything current since 1990...

Scott Walker since 2019...

Stravinsky since 1971...

Slayer disbanded in 2019....(and no one cared)

Jason Molina (Songs: Ohia) since 2013...

James Brown since 2006...

Del Reeves since 2007 (2006 actually, he died on Jan. 1st, 2007)

King Crimson's last studio album was in 2003...made it to #18 in Poland.

 

[DrFrankCoco]

Some of those people are dead, so can't be accused of what you've accused Robert Plant and other boomers of.
James Brown and Blakey were surely playing ' 40 year old songs' before they left us, and King Crimson are playing '40 year old songs' now too. I'm seeing a double standard.
Thanks for the tips on the others. Just wanted to know.
But you went all "ad hominem" now so I'm out.

I can provide you with a list of current musicians if you'd like to expand your narrow scope of interest?

 

[DrFrankCoco]

62% of your current favorite artists are dead or no longer putting out original music...

Art Blakey hasn't been doing anything current since 1990...

Scott Walker since 2019...

Stravinsky since 1971...

Slayer disbanded in 2019....(and no one cared)

Jason Molina (Songs: Ohia) since 2013...

James Brown since 2006...

Del Reeves since 2007 (2006 actually, he died on Jan. 1st, 2007)

King Crimson's last studio album was in 2003...made it to #18 in Poland.

Oh snap

 

[dale w miller]

I’m glad they took a stab and ripped the arrangement to shreds. I played in an art-punk band (no guitar/piano instead) and we did just that. I’ve always felt that there’s no reason to say something already said even if you’re writing your own songs let alone doing a cover. I mean, how many times do I have to hear Rock-n-Roll played note for note? It gets boring.

With all of that said, the whole thing just didn’t seem to settle in even with the drummer being as great as he appears. The song choice itself just may have been a bad decision. Maybe the note for note version is the best it can ever be.

 

[peter]

Honestly what's going on with the drummer's toms is far more disturbing to me than the performance.

Is the smaller tom trying to be a floor tom?

Or are both floor and rack tom trying (but failing) to be Chris Slade's dual power toms?

 

[varatrodder]

Honestly what's going on with the drummer's toms is far more disturbing to me than the performance.

Is the smaller tom trying to be a floor tom?

Or are both floor and rack tom trying (but failing) to be Chris Slade's dual power toms?

It’s a pretty standard 1920s/1930s set up

 

[Jay-Dee]

I think you'll find some posters in this thread are taking this way more seriously than Robert Plant and Allison Krauss are. It looks to me like they're having a bit of a laugh with it, and it's actually pretty cool if you take it for what it is, an interesting band just having some fun with a classic.