Walking Into Clarksdale

Amazon.com
Pity the aging rock star. All those declarations about sugar mountains and hoping to die before he got old don't leave much room for middle age. Jimmy Page and Robert Plant understood this in 1997 as they began work on Walking Into Clarksdale, the duo's first album-length collaboration on all-new material since Led Zeppelin blew apart in 1980. Despite inevitable comparisons with the music of their youth, their work here (recorded by punk deity Steve Albini) is no embarrassment. Too many of the tracks are frustratingly dry and somber, but the duo find shades of "Kashmir" on the epic "Most High," while Plant croons a beautifully Zeppelinesque chorus on "When the World Was Young." Dancing days are here again. --Steve Appleford

Rolling Stone
Of course, the ghost of Led Zeppelin still lingers. Walking into Clarksdale resounds with rich echoes from the band's aesthetically ambitious midperiod--primarily Houses of the Holy (1973) and Physical Graffiti (1975).... [Producer] Steve Albini lends raw, contemporary force to this meticulous recreation of Led Zeppelin's classic sound.

Walking Into Clarksdale

Walking Into Clarksdale,Jimmy Page,Robert Plant,Atlantic / Wea,Pop,Rock,Rock/Pop

Walking Into Clarksdale

Average customer rating:

Less than Zeppelin
Doesn't hold up to the test of time!
It is what it is... A very true progression of their past together
One Outstanding, Phenomenal & Bangin' Performance
Give It a Chance

Walking Into Clarksdale
Jimmy Page & Robert Plant
Manufacturer: Atlantic / Wea
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B0000062S0
Release Date: 1998-04-21

Tracks:

Shining In The Light
When The World Was Young
Upon A Golden Horse
Blue Train
Please Read The Letter
Most High
Heart In Your Hand
Walking Into Clarksdale
Burning Up
When I Was A Child
House Of Love
Sons Of Freedom

Amazon.com

Pity the aging rock star. All those declarations about sugar mountains and hoping to die before he got old don't leave much room for middle age. Jimmy Page and Robert Plant understood this in 1997 as they began work on Walking Into Clarksdale, the duo's first album-length collaboration on all-new material since Led Zeppelin blew apart in 1980. Despite inevitable comparisons with the music of their youth, their work here (recorded by punk deity Steve Albini) is no embarrassment. Too many of the tracks are frustratingly dry and somber, but the duo find shades of "Kashmir" on the epic "Most High," while Plant croons a beautifully Zeppelinesque chorus on "When the World Was Young." Dancing days are here again. --Steve Appleford

Customer Reviews:

Less than Zeppelin.......2007-05-01

I was very disappointed with my purchase of this album when it was first released. It was heavily promoted when it first came out and, as a Led Zepp fan since the days of my youth, and one who also greatly enjoyed the latter solo releases by Robert Plant I had great expectations for this album. Sadly it in no way were those expectations met. My copy got played twice, the second time in the hope that I had somehow missed something when I first played it. It has for years sat in a box of old cassettes that never get played. This album seems to me to be more an attempt to cash in on their reputations of a than as a true artistic effort. Both Plant and Page simply do not expend the energy or show the interest to create an album worthy of their talents. There seems to me to be a sense of hostility between the two of them that could be blocking the creative process. Don't spend your money on this one. Go for some classic Zeppelin or something by Plant that has some energy and effort in it. This album is souless and lazy.

Doesn't hold up to the test of time! .......2006-12-15

I pulled out this album today and gave it a listen. I remember that I was so excited to hear these guys creating new music that I got the Japan version of this CD three weeks before this album came out in the US. I love these guys for the wonderful music they have created over the years but this album is the rarest exception. The first two songs are great and the next two are quite good. Blue Train has a disjointed yet very beautiful solo by Page which highlights the album for me. Pure Page at his best. However this is where it ends for me as the rest of the album is a true bore. Plant sounds tired and Page is just going through the motions. Most High sounds pedestrian and Heart in your Hand sounds like Dick Dale gone wrong. Finally asking Steve Albini to mix this album resulted in a distorted mess of sound. The vocals are hissy and you can't hear that beautiful acoustic guitar on the opening track. I have bootlegs that sound better than this album. In conclusion this a valliant but ultimately disapointing album from two men who have brought so much joy to my life. Robert's latest album is fantastic and I know we haven't heard the last from Page.

It is what it is... A very true progression of their past together .......2006-11-22

This is a album that is not heavy rock like Zeppelin was. What this album is is a very loose and at times bluesy twangy jamming of their past time searinching their roots and their discovories of what they found in that sound of what they were searching for. No alot of fans wont like this but if you like a more mellow and relaxed feeling record of these two legends then this is for you.

One Outstanding, Phenomenal & Bangin' Performance.......2006-03-20

Strange as it seems, I just want to give a hand to Jimmy & Robert for staying alive! I was a mere teen (15) when "Houses of the Holy" became my daily listening along with Goat Head Soup (Rolling Stones) & DSOTM (Pink Floyd). If these guys can make an album that sounds as good as "Walking into Clarksdale" 25 years down the road then I am standing behind them 100%. I love you both!

Give It a Chance.......2006-03-02

Yes, Page and Plant are older. Yes, the sound is more mature and less "bombastic" as another reviewer described Zep's sound. But the music itself stands on its own.

There are many excellent songs on this CD, all burning with emotion, lyrical depth (if understated delivery), and less reliance on fretboard wizardry. "Shining in the Light," "When the World Was Young," "Blue Train," "Most High," "When I Was a Child," are all fantastic. There is an attempt to recapture the magic, but the songs are organic in that they are honest efforts and not an attempt to rely on former glories.

Page's efforts are showcased best in the songwriting. His soloing is not at the same level as it once was...there are only one or two instances on this record where he hits a relevant target. He doesn't try often, and the songs don't suffer. To be honest, when he does try it is sometimes painful. Plant's voice has not been the same since Led Zeppelin IV and his singing is similar to that of his other solo efforts. Still, he reaches the emotional depth and delivers comperably excellent pitch, if not the range of his early 20's.

I rediscovered this CD this month, after it sat on the shelf since I bought it right after its release. I now like it a lot, enough to wholeheartedly recommend it.

Average customer rating:

Underrated Gem
An outstanding performance

Walking into Clarksdale
Page & Plant
Manufacturer: Polygram Int'l
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00000889A
Release Date: 2000-04-25

Tracks:

Shining The Light
Walking Into The Clarksdale
Burning Up
When I Was A Child
House Of Love
Sons Of Freedom
Whiskey From The Glass
When The World Was Young
Upon A Golden Horse
Blue Train
Please Read The Letter
Most High
Heart In Your Hand

Album Description

Japanese edition of the 1998 & second collaborative outingby the former Led Zeppelin bandmates with 'Whiskey From TheGlass' added as an unmarked bonus track. 13 tracks total,also featuring the single 'Most High'. Steve Albini (Pixies,Nirvana, Cheap Trick,

Album Details

Japanese Release featuring a Bonus Track: Whiskey from the Glass.

Customer Reviews:

Underrated Gem.......2006-05-29

Page and Plant could have easily released this under the Led Zeppelin name, and it would have come off as a lot more satisfying and legitimate than a lot of "reunion" projects from dinosaur bands of the 60s and 70s. Nevertheless, I'm glad they didn't, both because Jonesy wasn't involved and because it shows their willingness to let the music stand on its own, millions of other copies this would have sold had they simply printed "Led Zeppelin" on it somewhere be damned. Tracks like "When The World Was Young" and "Most High" can hang with pretty much any Zeppelin material, and the whole album is a great listen. Highly recommended, especially if you've got all of Zeppelin's stuff and wish there were more.

An outstanding performance.......1999-08-27

This CD is a very good charactirization for Page and Plant of nowadays. Page's composer's skills still show his possibility to break through the common music style and perform a really new kind of music.