European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 7, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse The voice of led Zeppelin still rocks by Ron Jensen staff writer i n the 1970s, a Carload of farm boys drove the Dusty country roads of West Central Illinois sipping illegal Beers and playing led Zeppelin on the eight track player loud enough to crack the dashboard none of those Farmers sons till the soil these Days but the voice of led Zep is still producing dashboard splitting Rock n Roll. Robert Plant has the same Good looks Long curly locks and distinctive Strong voice that were signatures of Zeppelin s giant Success two decades ago. But he no longer has Jimmy Page and John Bonham behind him. Before opening a tour of West Germany in Dusseldorf s Philips Halle Friday to promote his new album manic nirvana Plant confessed that the crowd of 1,500 in the Hall was a mystery to him. Quot nobody knows what to expect a he said speaking of the band and the audience. Quot i Haven t been Here for years and when i was Here last i was part of god Quot that is a reference to led Zeppelin which casts a Long Shadow the band was some think the greatest Rock n Roll band Ever. Groups today like Whitesnake and kingdom come Are simply imitations of Plant and his former cronies and mostly they Are bad ones like copies sent by lax machine across a bad Telephone line. But Plant need t have worried about the crowd s reaction in Dusseldorf. The fans responded enthusiastically to a show that was Vintage Rock n Roll. Wailing vocals grinding guitars. Booming Drums. Lights. Smoke even those people wearing led Zeppelin to shirts enjoyed the show. To see Plant in front of a band other than you know who provides one with an additional appreciation for him. He knows his Way around a Lyric and a stage. He can seduce a crowd with a smile and a shake of his Bushy head. The fact that he s still doing it 21 years after Zeph a first album is no Surprise to him. Quot i never thought id want to be doing anything else Quot he said. Quot its the Only excuse in be got to smile at Young women. Or older women for that but escaping his past association was difficult. His first Solo attempts were not commercial successes Quot i wanted to avoid the obvious quo but Quot very satisfying for me Quot he said. Manic nirvana is Plant s fifth album since going Solo and his second with this group of musicians. Keyboardist and songwriter Phil Johnstone says he became associated with his idol in the simplest Way a he sent him songs. Plant had distanced himself from Zeppelin Johnstone said and was looking for something new. Record companies wanted Plant to come out sounding like Whitesnake or kingdom come. Quot they wanted him to copy people who copied him a Johnstone said. Quot that s Johnstone said there was no concerted Effort in the songwriting not to sound like Zeppelin but added Quot its not a concerted Effort to sound like led Zeppelin the band does have a Zeppelin sound about it mostly of course because of plants voice. And the musicians Are confident enough to do some Zeppelin songs. In Dusseldorf they played a handful of familiar songs from that Long ago age including going to California the immigrant song and misty Mountain hop. And they touched on some of plants Solo career work including songs from now and zen a popular 1988 album recorded with most of his present band. Besides Johnstone Plant is performing with Doug Boyle on guitar Chris Blackwell on Drums and Charlie Jones on Bass altogether a band Likely to impress hard Rock fans worldwide. A amps Michael Abrams Robert Plant is on the Road with a manic nirvana. A no they re not led Zeppelin. But see that s the Point. Robert Plant continues his tour with performances in the following locations Germany Stuttgart Liede Halle May 7 Mannheim Mozart Saal May 8 Frankfurt Hochst May 9 Hamburg Congress centrum May 30. United kingdom Newcastle City Hall May 31 Edinburgh playhouse june 2 London Hammersmith Odeon june 4 and 5 Birmingham Nec june 7.John Farnham a age of reason John Farnham is the top Selling artist in Australia but he does t sound foreign. Done to expect Crocodile Dundee swashbuckling sounds Kangaroo Paw thumping or underwater gurgling from the Coral reefs. On age of reason Farnham presents straight ahead pop Rock a hold the trimmings please. Except for his voice. From Farnham a Vox Box jumps a now soaring now wailing now crooning instrument. Mostly it s big a As Are the music and lyrics. This up has an expansive feel like the australian Outback that s about the Only characteristic that might be considered australian. If there is an australian sound America does no to know about it. Down under a Best known exports a inns acc men at work Olivia Newton John Midnight Oil a Are a mixed Bunch. Like Midnight Oil Farnham grasps big ideas but his Are More allegorical. It starts from the first tick tick tick times Runng out sound of the first and title Cut age of reason Quot what about the world around us How can we fail to see and now that our fathers have gone and we be been left to carry on what about the age of unlike his previous up Farnham did no to write any of these songs but he sings with sincerity. More bigness suffuses on you re the voice. The song might have been written for Eastern europeans yearning to be free. Quot we re not Gonna sit in silence we re not Gonna live with fear Quot goes the sing along chorus. One could easily see Farnham leading a Flag waving which Flag we Don t know foot stomping crowd through this song and through beyond the Call another Anthem. On we re no Angels the theme gets bigger still a god and Man. Farnham is passionate coming close to the fire of u2 s Bono. Age of reason has lofty lyrics but it s an accessible Catchy up. It ought to be. Farnham has won a jeep Load of music awards in Australia and even was named Quot australian of the year Quot in 1988. Now its time for America to lend an feat a representing the Mambo it would be hard to have imagined a More perfect revival than the one Little feat managed with let it Roll the groups 1988 comeback Effort. So Why is it then that the new band s second Outing representing the Mambo seems such a disappointment because the writing just Isnit there. However sure the playing might be on the likes of Texas twister daily grind or woman in love the lyrics Are witless and Ham listed others such As the sublimely awful those feat la steer a wrong sometimes verge on the unsinkable. Proof that bands do not live by Groove alone. A . Considine Baltimore Sun Calloway a All the Way even though Calloway s All the Way is technically a debut album this in t the first we be heard from these Brothers. Not Only did Reggie and Cino Vincent Calloway Mastermind most of Midnight stars hits but they also wrote and produced such winning efforts As Levertus Casanova. No wonder then that the Best tracks Here a such As the irresistibly Catchy i Wanna be Rich a seem almost textbook examples of How to meld Melody with rhythm. And should these Guys Ever learn to write ballads that Are As affecting As the faster tunes Are infectious the Calloway Brothers could end up owning the pop charts. A Reed John Cale a songs for Drella the last time Lou Reed and John Cale worked together it was As members of the velvet underground an abrasive iconoclastic Rock group that made its biggest splash As part of Andy Warhol s exploding plastic inevitable. It seems fitting then that these two musicians got together again to write a quietly moving yet utterly unsentimental elegy for the late pop artist. Although songs for Drella lacks the cutting Edge of the velvets Early work it nonetheless captures much of its spirit from the understated rage of Small town to the matter of fact portraiture of work. We should All be so Well a and so appropriately a remembered As Warhol is Here. A .c.various a Jive hits of the townships Ever since Paul Simon a Graceland introduced Western listeners to the sounds of Black South african pop a steady Stream of anthologies has poured Forth offering everything from the jangly guitars of a Batanga or Quot township Jive Quot to the stately chorales of Ebube groups like Ladysmith Black Mam Bazo. But for an overview of what has happened in Black South african pop since Graceland made the music internationally marketable it s hard to beat Jive hits of the townships. Whether through the jazz inflected pulse of Timela featuring Simon sideman Ray Phiri the african reggae Groove of Lucky Dube or the More traditional sound of Mahla Thini and the Mah Otella Queens this album not Only covers it All but does so with singularly appropriate selections. Worth seeking out. A .c hat s what s record review Giselle Price a Page 16 a a a the stars and stripes monday May 7,1990
