Written By Braddon S. Williams
Robert Plant: Now And Zen
I saw Robert Plant live for the first time while he was touring for his 1988 Now And Zen album. Consequently, I bought the album and still feel it is one of his strongest solo outings.
The mix is definitely a product of the digital ’80’s, but the songs hold up well, and Plant’s vocals were uniformly superb. In addition to Plant’s killer band, Jimmy Page himself contributed to a pair of songs (bringing the Zeppelin spirit to the proceedings…never a bad thing!).
My personal favorites were The Way I Feel, Heaven Knows, Ship Of Fools, Tall Cool One, Billy’s Revenge, and White, Clean, and Neat.
I remember a few of these from the live show and they sounded incredible in the arena. Robert Plant is one of my Mount Rushmore of rock singers, and I have been continually impressed at the way he has used his vocal chords to adapt to all the myriad musical styles he has explored in his Hall Of Fame career.