the tune comes to you at last
The reviews are in from last night’s Led Zeppelin reunion in London, and the consensus is clear: The Hammer of the Gods still thunders.
They may not be the big-haired, bare-chested, lithe, slithering icons in leather pants who shook the world in the late ’60s — well, some of them have big hair — but they were able to rekindle the old magic and reclaim their place among the titans of rock.
The band hadn’t performed a full set together in 20 years but came out roaring from the opening blasts of “Good Times, Bad Times,” appropriately the show’s first song.
The 16-song, two-hour-plus set list was a catalog of classics: “Ramble On,” “Black Dog,” “Dazed and Confused,” “Whole Lotta Love,” and, of course, “Stairway to Heaven,” pleasantly reinterpreted to avoid cliche.
The second of two encores, also fittingly, was a stomping “Rock and Roll” that evidently left no doubt that Zeppelin is back.
David Fricke of Rolling Stone extols the “joyous vengeance” with which the band attacked the show. NME has a blow-by-blow set list. “Led Zeppelin Finds Its Old Power,” says the New York Times.
The three surviving original players — singer Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones — teamed with Jason Bonham, son of the late drummer John Bonham, for the gig. The four began rehearsing in June.
According to various reports, the reunion showed: 1) The music was good; 2) The band members were into it; and 3) Let’s face it, there’s a ton of money to be made.
More than a million people entered an online lottery to win the 20,000 tickets for the show, which was a tribute to Ahmet Ertegun, the late co-founder of Atlantic Records and an early Zeppelin mentor. A Scotsman reportedly paid $170,000 in a charity auction for a pair of seats.
A reunion tour can’t be far behind. The rock world is dying to party like it’s 1975. A well-placed industry source says Bonnaroo will be a likely U.S. venue next summer.
Makes you wonder …
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