Poll

Do you consider Robert Plant one of the greatest rock vocalists?

Yes
43 (84.3%)
No
8 (15.7%)

Total Members Voted: 51

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Offline WildRanger

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What would you say?

Offline The Walrus

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Re: Do you consider Robert Plant one of the greatest rock vocalists?
« Reply #1 on: June 05, 2018, 04:14:08 PM »
Not only was he one of the greatest (emphasis on was), but even his current voice on the stuff he's done post-Zeppelin is amazing. The guy just has 'it.' I think Stadler will agree with me :)
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Offline Anguyen92

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Re: Do you consider Robert Plant one of the greatest rock vocalists?
« Reply #2 on: June 05, 2018, 04:27:51 PM »
Well, for me, it's obviously yes.  Is there a reasonable case for him not being one of the greatest rock vocalist?

Offline Accelerando

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Re: Do you consider Robert Plant one of the greatest rock vocalists?
« Reply #3 on: June 05, 2018, 05:14:10 PM »
Not just one of the greatest ROCK vocalist. Just one of the greatest vocalists in general

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Re: Do you consider Robert Plant one of the greatest rock vocalists?
« Reply #4 on: June 05, 2018, 05:16:30 PM »
He has a very nice singing voice.
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Offline TAC

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Re: Do you consider Robert Plant one of the greatest rock vocalists?
« Reply #5 on: June 05, 2018, 05:18:29 PM »
Jeesh, who doesn't?
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Offline bl5150

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Re: Do you consider Robert Plant one of the greatest rock vocalists?
« Reply #6 on: June 05, 2018, 05:23:16 PM »
There's your cue to enter the thread Paul  :lol
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Re: Do you consider Robert Plant one of the greatest rock vocalists?
« Reply #7 on: June 05, 2018, 06:18:43 PM »
:lol

As for me, yup! Just this morning I heard Kashmir on the radio and was thinking how great his voice is.
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Offline LudwigVan

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Re: Do you consider Robert Plant one of the greatest rock vocalists?
« Reply #8 on: June 05, 2018, 06:29:00 PM »
He might just be the most iconic rock vocalist (Elvis? Jagger?) of all time.
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Re: Do you consider Robert Plant one of the greatest rock vocalists?
« Reply #9 on: June 05, 2018, 06:46:11 PM »
Yes


Yes


Yes


Yes


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Offline Peter Mc

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Re: Do you consider Robert Plant one of the greatest rock vocalists?
« Reply #10 on: June 06, 2018, 06:28:12 AM »
Not a fan of Led Zeppelin but even I would say that he is one of the classic singers of the genre.

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Re: Do you consider Robert Plant one of the greatest rock vocalists?
« Reply #11 on: June 06, 2018, 08:02:46 AM »
Umm, yeah...

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Re: Do you consider Robert Plant one of the greatest rock vocalists?
« Reply #12 on: June 06, 2018, 08:03:32 AM »
There's your cue to enter the thread Paul  :lol

Was just coming here to see Paul's response.   :lol

Perhaps the better poll for him would be whether he prefers on hour of kidney stones or 1 hour of Robert Plant.

Top 5 all-time favorite vocalist for me.
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Re: Do you consider Robert Plant one of the greatest rock vocalists?
« Reply #13 on: June 06, 2018, 09:45:23 AM »
Not only was he one of the greatest (emphasis on was), but even his current voice on the stuff he's done post-Zeppelin is amazing. The guy just has 'it.' I think Stadler will agree with me :)

Yeah, I'm with you 100%.   I think he's really shown a depth and breadth of career to justify being considered one of the greatest of all time.  Hell, he hung with Page, Jones, and Bonham for ten + years.   

My top five, off the top of my head:  Mercury, Rogers, Plant, John, Hewson.   

I don't know if any of you are interested, but he did a fair amount of press in the wake of "Carry Fire", more than usual, and he's a FASCINATING guy.  FASCINATING.   Stern even commented on this:  he's done SO many interviews, and been asked SO many questions - both personal and professional, both insightful and inane - that he is a very difficult interviewee; he has the "entertaining, engaging but ultimately shallow and meaningless" answer down pat.  He knows how to deflect questions he doesn't want to answer without sounding like a dick or being recalcitrant.   But both Stern and Dan Rather were able to sort of pick down below the surface and get to a more real answer, and in doing so, showed him to be really interesting and far more substantive than your typical "rock star".   He's very knowing, and very aware. 

Offline bosk1

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Re: Do you consider Robert Plant one of the greatest rock vocalists?
« Reply #14 on: June 06, 2018, 09:47:15 AM »
I hate his voice.  Always have.  I find myself often REALLY enjoying hearing Led Zep covers.  But I have never been a Led Zep fan, and his voice is the primary reason.  I just can't stand to hear him.
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Offline Lowdz

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Re: Do you consider Robert Plant one of the greatest rock vocalists?
« Reply #15 on: June 06, 2018, 10:24:19 AM »
There's your cue to enter the thread Paul  :lol

Is Belcher in here? 😀

Whilst I accept his huge influence his voice (Nd mannerisms) are like nails on a blackboard to me. Sorry Chad, you know I love you.

Offline Lowdz

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Re: Do you consider Robert Plant one of the greatest rock vocalists?
« Reply #16 on: June 06, 2018, 10:25:49 AM »
There's your cue to enter the thread Paul  :lol

Was just coming here to see Paul's response.   :lol

Perhaps the better poll for him would be whether he prefers on hour of kidney stones or 1 hour of Robert Plant.

Top 5 all-time favorite vocalist for me.

Kidney stones and hospital radio every time pal 😀😁

Offline pg1067

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Re: Do you consider Robert Plant one of the greatest rock vocalists?
« Reply #17 on: June 06, 2018, 10:40:35 AM »
I think the answer to the poll is yes.  However, Plant is a bit Jekyll and Hyde for me.  His recorded performances with Zeppelin are generally exceptional, but almost of all of his live performances that I've heard leave a lot to be desired.  Since I didn't start listening to rock music until after Bonham died, I can't really speak to the overall effect of an early 70s Zeppelin concert, but I acknowledge that the whole was apparently greater than the sum of its parts.  I also have no real opinion about Plant's post-Zeppelin work, except that I didn't like the first couple of releases as a solo artist that I heard ("Big Log" and "In the Mood," the latter of which I actively dislike(d)).
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Re: Do you consider Robert Plant one of the greatest rock vocalists?
« Reply #18 on: June 06, 2018, 11:28:29 AM »
I think the answer to the poll is yes.  However, Plant is a bit Jekyll and Hyde for me.  His recorded performances with Zeppelin are generally exceptional, but almost of all of his live performances that I've heard leave a lot to be desired.  Since I didn't start listening to rock music until after Bonham died, I can't really speak to the overall effect of an early 70s Zeppelin concert, but I acknowledge that the whole was apparently greater than the sum of its parts.  I also have no real opinion about Plant's post-Zeppelin work, except that I didn't like the first couple of releases as a solo artist that I heard ("Big Log" and "In the Mood," the latter of which I actively dislike(d)).

Well, I'm not at all trying to convince you of anything, but just as conversation:

- find the Led Zeppelin DVD; there is a video of them - I'm working from memory here - in Denmark in 1969.  It's in black and white, and looks like they're playing in a gymnasium in the afternoon, and it's INCENDIARY.  On that same DVD is a full show from London in 1970 that's killer too.   "How The West Was Won" is also a pretty good, and not very doctored, example of their live greatness in the mid-70's.   
- none of his solo albums - except maybe the first two - sound the same.  Even the later ones, more folky and bluesy, are not really similar once you dig in.    I like the first two solo records, but the guitar is so singular - Robbie Blunt is good, but very one note - that they are of a kind.   Once he came to grips with his legacy in Zeppelin (around the time of Now and Zen) he changed a lot and his solo career adopted a real depth.   I'm probably reaching here, but once he accepted his place, and wasn't shy about incorporating the influences that drove Zeppelin, but in his own way, his music really took on a life of it's own.  I put the solo records from 2000 to the present up against any artist, including maybe even Zeppelin (though there is no "Jimmy Page" in the Plant solo canon). 
- Phil Collins' work on the Plant solo stuff is really, really good. 

Offline ChuckSteak

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Re: Do you consider Robert Plant one of the greatest rock vocalists?
« Reply #19 on: June 06, 2018, 11:43:51 AM »
I consider him a studio singer. Live he sucks.

And no, he's not one of the greatest rock singers.

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Re: Do you consider Robert Plant one of the greatest rock vocalists?
« Reply #20 on: June 06, 2018, 11:54:27 AM »
I voted Yes.

Offline Fritzinger

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Re: Do you consider Robert Plant one of the greatest rock vocalists?
« Reply #21 on: June 06, 2018, 12:56:49 PM »
Yes

nuff said
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Re: Do you consider Robert Plant one of the greatest rock vocalists?
« Reply #22 on: June 06, 2018, 01:10:45 PM »
Yea, his singing is pretty iconic

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Re: Do you consider Robert Plant one of the greatest rock vocalists?
« Reply #23 on: June 06, 2018, 01:29:02 PM »
There's your cue to enter the thread Paul  :lol

Is Belcher in here? 😀

Whilst I accept his huge influence his voice (Nd mannerisms) are like nails on a blackboard to me. Sorry Chad, you know I love you.

All good mate... we each have our own special little (or big) failures.  Admitting them is the first step.   ;D ;)
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Re: Do you consider Robert Plant one of the greatest rock vocalists?
« Reply #24 on: June 06, 2018, 01:56:56 PM »
Live he sucks.

Having personally seen him live three times, I can unequivocally, categorically and without pause say that this is not accurate. 

325 concerts in, plus minus, and the greatest moment I've ever experienced at a concert was "The Song Remains The Same" by the Page/Plant band   But later in that concert, they did a version of "Calling To You" (the Plant solo song).   It was extended - ala the old versions of Whole Lotta Love and Dazed and Confused - and in the middle, Plant started vamping on "Break On Through" by the Doors, in his "current" voice, and as he's singing/scatting the lights got a little lower, and the band ebbed a little, and as he moved toward the front of the stage, he moved into "For What It's Worth" by The Buffalo Springfield.   Then, he paused - and this is amazing to me to this day, the band was as tight as a frog's ass underwater - he leaned back in that rock god pose, the lights went bright and he let out "STOP, HEY! What's that sound..." in full voice and it was....   it gave me chills how powerful that was. 

Can he do four hours in full voice? Probably not.   But his instrument is still strong, still powerful, and still with great effect.

Offline TAC

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Re: Do you consider Robert Plant one of the greatest rock vocalists?
« Reply #25 on: June 06, 2018, 02:11:05 PM »
A couple of thoughts...

I've listened to many Zep boots from the 70's. Plant was brutal live. That said, the mid 90's Page/Plant shows were amazing!

I love Pictures At Eleven. But that's it. Don't care in the least about his solo career.
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Re: Do you consider Robert Plant one of the greatest rock vocalists?
« Reply #26 on: June 06, 2018, 02:17:42 PM »
Well, he undoubtedly had off nights, and with a voice like his an off night is really off; there isn't any real in between.   But there were so many good, transcendent nights that it's hard to say "he sucked!"

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Re: Do you consider Robert Plant one of the greatest rock vocalists?
« Reply #27 on: June 06, 2018, 02:22:06 PM »
Well, he undoubtedly had off nights, and with a voice like his an off night is really off; there isn't any real in between.   But there were so many good, transcendent nights that it's hard to say "he sucked!"

Are we talking Robert Plant or James Labrie? :lol



I always bring up Plant in the threads busting JLB's balls. The studio work is legendary. But live Plant was always iffy. I'm talking about the 70's. What Plant has done live since then, I cannot speak to.
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Offline Anguyen92

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Re: Do you consider Robert Plant one of the greatest rock vocalists?
« Reply #28 on: June 06, 2018, 02:26:29 PM »
Well, he undoubtedly had off nights, and with a voice like his an off night is really off; there isn't any real in between.   But there were so many good, transcendent nights that it's hard to say "he sucked!"

Are we talking Robert Plant or James Labrie? :lol



I always bring up Plant in the threads busting JLB's balls. The studio work is legendary. But live Plant was always iffy. I'm talking about the 70's. What Plant has done live since then, I cannot speak to.

It's a funny thing right?  You see comment threads in Ultimate-Guitar and Blabbermouth and whenever DT gets mention, they always mention how JLB "sucks" live the first chance they get and wants DT to find a different singer.  You see a Led Zeppelin article in those sites and the comments really avoid on how rough Plant can be at times during the mid-70s and those that actually point that out gets ignored.

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Re: Do you consider Robert Plant one of the greatest rock vocalists?
« Reply #29 on: June 06, 2018, 03:20:57 PM »
Well, he undoubtedly had off nights, and with a voice like his an off night is really off; there isn't any real in between.   But there were so many good, transcendent nights that it's hard to say "he sucked!"

Are we talking Robert Plant or James Labrie? :lol



I always bring up Plant in the threads busting JLB's balls. The studio work is legendary. But live Plant was always iffy. I'm talking about the 70's. What Plant has done live since then, I cannot speak to.

It's a funny thing right?  You see comment threads in Ultimate-Guitar and Blabbermouth and whenever DT gets mention, they always mention how JLB "sucks" live the first chance they get and wants DT to find a different singer.  You see a Led Zeppelin article in those sites and the comments really avoid on how rough Plant can be at times during the mid-70s and those that actually point that out gets ignored.

I can't really attest to the JLB stuff, because I have my experience and it's not completely out of whack with the general musings of the peanut gallery.   But with Zeppelin, it's not like EVERYBODY has a live Zeppelin experience.   Except for the excerpts from Live Aid and the Atlantic Records party, neither of which  were great (and neither of which were optimal for singers in particular) and in Plant's case, the Freddie Mercury tribute, which a) wasn't as bad as people said, and b) achieved near mythological status because of Plant's refusal to allow the footage to be put on the DVD, has anyone seen Zeppelin live on a regular tour date?    Not me. 

When I did see him - solo and with Page - the reality did not jibe with the peanut gallery.  Plant was always and often viewed as the "weak link" in Zeppelin (I believe Page even alluded to this once in an interview) and I believe that perception has stuck, even in the face of strong live material like TSRTS, HTWWW and the live DVD.   

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Re: Do you consider Robert Plant one of the greatest rock vocalists?
« Reply #30 on: June 06, 2018, 03:23:33 PM »
Yeah, but there are plenty of Zeppelin bootlegs to form an opinion.
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Offline pg1067

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Re: Do you consider Robert Plant one of the greatest rock vocalists?
« Reply #31 on: June 06, 2018, 03:50:59 PM »
But with Zeppelin, it's not like EVERYBODY has a live Zeppelin experience.   Except for the excerpts from Live Aid and the Atlantic Records party, neither of which  were great (and neither of which were optimal for singers in particular) and in Plant's case, the Freddie Mercury tribute, which a) wasn't as bad as people said, and b) achieved near mythological status because of Plant's refusal to allow the footage to be put on the DVD, has anyone seen Zeppelin live on a regular tour date?    Not me. 

When I did see him - solo and with Page - the reality did not jibe with the peanut gallery.  Plant was always and often viewed as the "weak link" in Zeppelin (I believe Page even alluded to this once in an interview) and I believe that perception has stuck, even in the face of strong live material like TSRTS, HTWWW and the live DVD.   

That second sentence made my head hurt.  :biggrin:

I think the obvious reality is that, while the volume of work Plant did with Zeppelin pales in comparison to what he's done post-Zeppelin, the interest level in Plant's post-Zeppelin work pales in comparison to what he did with Zeppelin.  Consequently, any discussion of Plant as "one of the greatest rock vocalists" is almost completely dependent on what he did with Zeppelin, and his post-Zeppelin work is of marginal relevance (at best) to that discussion.

His abilities as a live performer over the last 35 years (of material that is, I assume, for the most part, quite different from what he did with Zeppelin) may well be outstanding.  However, if Zeppelin never existed and Pictures at Eleven had been the first thing anyone ever heard from Robert Plant (and assuming -- unrealistically -- that everything he's done since 1982 enjoyed the exact same level of commercial and critical success), absolutely no one would seriously consider whether Plant were "one of the greatest rock vocalists."  One the other hand, if, instead of Bonham dying in 1980, Plant had died, I think there would still be discussion about Plant as "one of the greatest rock vocalists."
« Last Edit: June 06, 2018, 05:42:07 PM by pg1067 »
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Offline KevShmev

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Re: Do you consider Robert Plant one of the greatest rock vocalists?
« Reply #32 on: June 06, 2018, 05:01:27 PM »
One of the greatest 10? 20? 50?  He wouldn't be in my top, or even second, tier, but his voice is pretty damn iconic.

His voice got more polished later on, but the youthful rawness in his voice on the early Zeppelin albums is part of the charm. 

Offline ChuckSteak

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Re: Do you consider Robert Plant one of the greatest rock vocalists?
« Reply #33 on: June 06, 2018, 07:05:09 PM »
Live he sucks.

Having personally seen him live three times, I can unequivocally, categorically and without pause say that this is not accurate. 
There is no "accurate" when it comes to personal taste. And having seen him live three times doesn't make you "more right". You could have gone to every single Led Zeppelin concert ever played and loved his singing every evening. Still it would only prove that you like his singing.

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Re: Do you consider Robert Plant one of the greatest rock vocalists?
« Reply #34 on: June 06, 2018, 08:17:11 PM »
His solo work is amazing.   Why can't anyone understand you can't sing in your 40's & 50's what you did in your 20's?

You still an reinvent yourself.   Plant did that.
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