Blast from the Past: Led Zeppelin's IV

For most of 2008 the rumors have been swirling around England and the possibility of a Led Zeppelin "reunion". I say "reunion" because of course there is one member missing from the original lineup, though the band admirably gave John Bonham's job behind the skins to his son for their one-off reunion gig early this summer. Now the story has turned and John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page, and Jason Bonham appear to have decided to go ahead with a full blown reunion tour sans Robert Plant, which in my very humble opinion is a big mistake!

The recent onslaught of reunion tours of course has proved to be a truly lucrative market, bands like The Who, My Bloody Valentine, The Police, Mission of Burma, and many many more have found that not only are their fans eager to see the band in it's original form, they have garnered new younger fans that have devoured their records from the comforts of their homes and are desperate to see the bands perform in front of them. Of course the aforementioned bands all have their original lineups in tact with the exception of The Who who have toured behind the strength of their remaining members, Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey, for ages now. People seem to be a little more forgiving of The Who's continued tours thanks to the sad truth that half their original lineup have passed on and that Townshend is pretty much the brains behind the band and Daltrey is the face of the band. Led Zeppelin on the other hand are choosing to go forward in this endeavor with one of their main components choosing to sit on the sidelines.

Without Robert Plant Led Zeppelin would not be Led Zeppelin. His distinctive yowl has been a vital part of the success of the band and without him crooning tunes like "Stairway to Heaven" and "Going to California" will be little more then cover versions of their songs. It's a farce if you believe this to be a true reunion tour without Plant taking the front of their stage, and the band should be ridiculed into submission or until Plant relents and decides to join his former band mates on tour.

Like a lot of you I'd be really excited to see a full fledged Led Zeppelin reunion with the seed of John Bonham helming the drums, but I'm not willing to sacrifice on the fact that John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page, and Robert Plant all need to be on that stage for me to see this tour. Otherwise we're really just standing in front of some Rock Band version of what Led Zeppelin oughta be.

Oh, right this is supposed to be about Led Zeppelin's IV. The album rocks. But you knew that already!
Led Zeppelin - "The Battle of Evermore"
Led Zeppelin - "Stairway to Heaven"
Led Zeppelin - "Going to California"
Led Zeppelin - "When the Levee Breaks"