Author Topic: Robert Plant - Now and Zen  (Read 1575 times)

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Offline KevShmev

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Robert Plant - Now and Zen
« on: March 14, 2017, 09:45:52 PM »
How good is this record?  I loved it back in 1988, and I still love it today.  Sure, it has a very 80s feel at times, but there are great melodies all over the place, and I think it was around this time when Plant's voice was at its peak (it was more controlled and not as rough as it was in the LZ days).

Offline PowerSlave

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Re: Robert Plant - Now and Zen
« Reply #1 on: March 14, 2017, 09:54:12 PM »
I love this album. It's been awhile since I've listened to it because my ipod completely screws up the track order. I need to fix this, and soon.
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Re: Robert Plant - Now and Zen
« Reply #2 on: March 15, 2017, 06:36:23 AM »
It's an album that I still have in my rotation all the time.  I loved that Plant always did what he wanted and the kids he got playing on this album are fantastic.
I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down'.” - Bob Newhart
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Re: Robert Plant - Now and Zen
« Reply #3 on: March 15, 2017, 06:42:03 AM »
I honestly never gave it a chance. I hated the Zep samples on the single at the time, I forget its name.


That said, I love Pictures At Eleven, have it on CD and still play it often.
would have thought the same thing but seeing the OP was TAC i immediately thought Maiden or DT related
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Offline RodrigoAltaf

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Re: Robert Plant - Now and Zen
« Reply #4 on: March 15, 2017, 06:42:27 AM »
I loved Plant´s post-Zep career up to a certain point. Probably until Manic Nirvana. Then it became too folksy for me. But his first rfive or six solo albums are great.

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Re: Robert Plant - Now and Zen
« Reply #5 on: March 15, 2017, 06:44:49 AM »
I honestly never gave it a chance. I hated the Zep samples on the single at the time, I forget its name.


That said, I love Pictures At Eleven, have it on CD and still play it often.

It's definitely not your style Tim. 
I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down'.” - Bob Newhart
So wait, we're spelling it wrong and king is spelling it right? What is going on here? :lol -- BlobVanDam
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Offline bl5150

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Re: Robert Plant - Now and Zen
« Reply #6 on: March 15, 2017, 06:50:38 AM »
I'm not a big Zep fan but I do remember liking Heaven Knows...........had a real atmosphere that song.  I do have the album somewhere or other.
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Offline jingle.boy

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Re: Robert Plant - Now and Zen
« Reply #7 on: March 15, 2017, 07:26:06 AM »
I loved that it resurrected Plant back to the mainstream.  As much as I like it, I LOVED Manic Nirvana and Fate of Nations.
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Offline RodrigoAltaf

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Re: Robert Plant - Now and Zen
« Reply #8 on: March 15, 2017, 07:34:31 AM »
I loved that it resurrected Plant back to the mainstream.  As much as I like it, I LOVED Manic Nirvana and Fate of Nations.

I think I stopped caring after Fate of Nations.

Offline jingle.boy

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Re: Robert Plant - Now and Zen
« Reply #9 on: March 15, 2017, 07:45:38 AM »
I loved that it resurrected Plant back to the mainstream.  As much as I like it, I LOVED Manic Nirvana and Fate of Nations.

I think I stopped caring after Fate of Nations.

As did I.
That's a word salad - and take it from me, I know word salad
I fear for the day when something happens on the right that is SO nuts that even Stadler says "That's crazy".
Quote from: Puppies_On_Acid
Remember the mark of a great vocalist is if TAC hates them with a special passion

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Re: Robert Plant - Now and Zen
« Reply #10 on: March 15, 2017, 07:47:26 AM »
I lost interest after Principles Of Moments.
would have thought the same thing but seeing the OP was TAC i immediately thought Maiden or DT related
Winger Theater Forums........or WTF.  ;D
TAC got a higher score than me in the electronic round? Honestly, can I just drop out now? :lol

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Re: Robert Plant - Now and Zen
« Reply #11 on: March 15, 2017, 07:53:32 AM »
I loved that it resurrected Plant back to the mainstream.  As much as I like it, I LOVED Manic Nirvana and Fate of Nations.

I think I stopped caring after Fate of Nations.

As did I.

I did as well but a decade later I caught up.  I think his 80's/90's output is better.
I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down'.” - Bob Newhart
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Offline RodrigoAltaf

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Re: Robert Plant - Now and Zen
« Reply #12 on: March 15, 2017, 08:12:42 AM »
On a side note: have you guys heard Jimmy Page´s Outrider? Plant sings on one track. I love that album!! I wish Jimmy had put out more albums after he left Zeppelin.

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Re: Robert Plant - Now and Zen
« Reply #13 on: March 15, 2017, 08:21:06 AM »
On a side note: have you guys heard Jimmy Page´s Outrider? Plant sings on one track. I love that album!! I wish Jimmy had put out more albums after he left Zeppelin.

Page actually toured that album. I had like a 10th row center ticket for that show, but for some reason I didn't end up going. It's a huge Concert regret of mine.
would have thought the same thing but seeing the OP was TAC i immediately thought Maiden or DT related
Winger Theater Forums........or WTF.  ;D
TAC got a higher score than me in the electronic round? Honestly, can I just drop out now? :lol

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Re: Robert Plant - Now and Zen
« Reply #14 on: March 15, 2017, 08:49:38 AM »
I LOVE Now and Zen.  I played the crap out of that and Manic Nirvana, and saw the MN tour.  Love that era.  I actually like the folkier stuff that he's doing now.   His catalogue is WAY stronger than people give him credit for, even if it's not Zeppelin. 

As for Page, Outrider is okay, but I skip every song that Chris Farlowe sings.  His voice annoys the crap out of me and I can't do it.    The instrumentals are excellent, though.   A little bit Firm-like (which I like). 

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Re: Robert Plant - Now and Zen
« Reply #15 on: March 15, 2017, 08:51:21 AM »
I thought The Firm was way too weak.
would have thought the same thing but seeing the OP was TAC i immediately thought Maiden or DT related
Winger Theater Forums........or WTF.  ;D
TAC got a higher score than me in the electronic round? Honestly, can I just drop out now? :lol

Online hefdaddy42

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Re: Robert Plant - Now and Zen
« Reply #16 on: March 15, 2017, 09:06:17 AM »
Now and Zen is really good, although I haven't listened in a while.

But I have liked pretty much all of Plant's post-Zeppelin output.
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Offline cfmoran13

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Re: Robert Plant - Now and Zen
« Reply #17 on: March 15, 2017, 09:16:07 AM »
On a side note: have you guys heard Jimmy Page´s Outrider? Plant sings on one track. I love that album!! I wish Jimmy had put out more albums after he left Zeppelin.

Page actually toured that album. I had like a 10th row center ticket for that show, but for some reason I didn't end up going. It's a huge Concert regret of mine.
I loved this album when it came out (and just recently pulled out the vinyl about a week ago).  As a birthday gift, I was given a ticket to his concert at The Meadowlands on this tour.  It was a great show.  The final song was an instrumental version of "Stairway To Heaven" with a spotlight shining down on the mic stand for the entire song.

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Re: Robert Plant - Now and Zen
« Reply #18 on: March 15, 2017, 09:38:38 AM »
On a side note: have you guys heard Jimmy Page´s Outrider? Plant sings on one track. I love that album!! I wish Jimmy had put out more albums after he left Zeppelin.

I was and still am totally underwhelmed by this record. I expected maybe not zep greatness but at least something special. I mean Page is a guitar legend but this totally left me cold and I find it uninspired and bland, but then, that's just me.

For shame that such a former great guitarist and song writer put out so few records after LZ and that the only thing he released that wasn't connected to LZ and that was good was Coverdale/Page, imo.
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Offline bl5150

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Re: Robert Plant - Now and Zen
« Reply #19 on: March 15, 2017, 10:11:06 AM »
Aside from hearing Stairway on the radio I sort of passed Zep by as a kid and only really knew of Page because of my interest in the guitar.  The first two albums I owned of Page's were Outrider and Coverdale/Page and both bored me to tears - I was left wondering what all the fuss was about based on those two.
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Re: Robert Plant - Now and Zen
« Reply #20 on: March 15, 2017, 10:12:03 AM »
Coverdale/Page was half killer/half filler, but had a number of good tunes.
would have thought the same thing but seeing the OP was TAC i immediately thought Maiden or DT related
Winger Theater Forums........or WTF.  ;D
TAC got a higher score than me in the electronic round? Honestly, can I just drop out now? :lol

Offline bl5150

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Re: Robert Plant - Now and Zen
« Reply #21 on: March 15, 2017, 10:15:04 AM »
Coverdale/Page was half killer/half filler, but had a number of good tunes.

Maybe I should revisit.   My memory isn't of the songs but given I was a massive Whitesnake fan and struggled to get through Coverdale/Page and only played it 2-3 times I must've really disliked it at the time.   I was positively biased towards anything with Coverdale and was keen to hear Page's magic , so I certainly wasn't going in negative.
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Offline jingle.boy

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Re: Robert Plant - Now and Zen
« Reply #22 on: March 15, 2017, 10:38:29 AM »
Coverdale/Page was half killer/half filler, but had a number of good tunes.

It made the jingle Top 50.  Despite a couple of duds, I found it mostly killer.

Think I'll go spin me some N&Z.
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Offline KevShmev

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Re: Robert Plant - Now and Zen
« Reply #23 on: March 15, 2017, 06:20:54 PM »
I know Plant has done well in the last decade or so with his solo career, but none of it I've heard has grabbed me at all.

Fate of Nations is still really good.  I was a big fan of that when it came out in '93.

Big Log and In the Mood are longtime favorites of mine from the early days of MTV.

But, back to the album that inspired this thread, I never get tired of Now and Zen.  10 songs, all of them winners, even Tall Cool One. 

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Re: Robert Plant - Now and Zen
« Reply #24 on: March 15, 2017, 06:56:34 PM »
It's such a catchy album.
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So wait, we're spelling it wrong and king is spelling it right? What is going on here? :lol -- BlobVanDam
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Offline jingle.boy

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Re: Robert Plant - Now and Zen
« Reply #25 on: March 15, 2017, 07:31:58 PM »
I worked at McDonald's when that album came out, and for our softball jersey, I chose the number 1, and put the name "Tall Cool" on it.   :rollin :rollin

Yes, I was an awkward teenager.
That's a word salad - and take it from me, I know word salad
I fear for the day when something happens on the right that is SO nuts that even Stadler says "That's crazy".
Quote from: Puppies_On_Acid
Remember the mark of a great vocalist is if TAC hates them with a special passion

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Re: Robert Plant - Now and Zen
« Reply #26 on: March 15, 2017, 07:43:40 PM »
Holy shit Chad.   That's awesome.  :lol
I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down'.” - Bob Newhart
So wait, we're spelling it wrong and king is spelling it right? What is going on here? :lol -- BlobVanDam
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Offline KevShmev

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Re: Robert Plant - Now and Zen
« Reply #27 on: March 15, 2017, 08:23:55 PM »

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Re: Robert Plant - Now and Zen
« Reply #28 on: March 15, 2017, 09:26:25 PM »
I worked at McDonald's when that album came out, and for our softball jersey, I chose the number 1, and put the name "Tall Cool" on it.   :rollin :rollin

Yes, I was an awkward teenager.

Oh boy!

would have thought the same thing but seeing the OP was TAC i immediately thought Maiden or DT related
Winger Theater Forums........or WTF.  ;D
TAC got a higher score than me in the electronic round? Honestly, can I just drop out now? :lol

Offline jingle.boy

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Re: Robert Plant - Now and Zen
« Reply #29 on: March 16, 2017, 04:58:47 AM »
That's a word salad - and take it from me, I know word salad
I fear for the day when something happens on the right that is SO nuts that even Stadler says "That's crazy".
Quote from: Puppies_On_Acid
Remember the mark of a great vocalist is if TAC hates them with a special passion

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Re: Robert Plant - Now and Zen
« Reply #30 on: March 16, 2017, 10:01:31 AM »
When talking about Plant's solo catalogue, the REAL question is not "what do you think of 'Now and Zen'", but rather, "what do you think of 'Shaken 'n' Stirred'?" 

I'm listening to it right now...   

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Re: Robert Plant - Now and Zen
« Reply #31 on: March 16, 2017, 10:07:21 AM »
I like it.  It's so left field but in a good way.  I saw that tour.  The only bad part was the Honeydrippers section of the show.  I was not a fan of it.
I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down'.” - Bob Newhart
So wait, we're spelling it wrong and king is spelling it right? What is going on here? :lol -- BlobVanDam
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Offline T-ski

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Re: Robert Plant - Now and Zen
« Reply #32 on: March 16, 2017, 05:18:12 PM »
I hate when you guys start threads like these.  :biggrin:

Been going through a lot of Plants solo stuff all week.
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Offline KevShmev

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Offline ytserush

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Re: Robert Plant - Now and Zen
« Reply #34 on: April 01, 2017, 11:06:04 AM »
I'd put Now and Zen in the lower tier (Never thought cashing in on Zeppelin was his best move.) It's OK, but I put that and Manic Nirvana at the bottom probably but they aren't that bad.  It's just that I think the other albums are better.

Plant really doesn't start to get interesting for me until Fate Of Nations and after, though I did like his first three albums and the Honeydrippers album.