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CD Reviews

Jimmy Page And The Black Crowes
Live At The Greek
(TVT)

Reviewed By
Tony LaGatta

Usually, I prefer to hear my music as it was created - I tend to disdain "supergroups" and cover versions, and am quite happy with the original, thank you. But since I had heard "What Is And What Should Never Be" on the radio a few times and liked it, and have been a longtime fan of both the Crowes and Zeppelin, I decided to take the leap and purchase this CD. I'm glad I did, for a few reasons.

Led Zeppelin's music, in particular the compositional ability of Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones, is sadly underplayed and misunderstood by most music critics. Page, while not exactly a technical wizard on the guitar (his playing tends to be sloppy, especially live) has boatloads of feeling and compositional direction, which ultimately counts for much more than intense swarms of notes, however well played. The Black Crowes share are similar musical approach, which is why I was initially so intrigued by this matchup.

On to the record. There are a lot of really obscure and wonderful Zeppelin tunes performed here, as well as a few blues standards. What's most striking about this recording is being able to hear for the first time, all of the guitar parts of songs like "10 Years Gone" and "Nobody's Fault But Mine" performed at the same time on stage. The presence of three guitarists allows for this, and the result is wonderful, giving the listener a true appreciation of how good a writer Page really was. But this can cut both ways. On simpler tunes, the guitar barrage can be overwhelming, so although it's never quite overdone, it's just too many for the task at hand. "Out On the Tiles" exemplifies this; it would have served well to have the other two guitarists take a rest and let Page go to town.

My only beef with this effort are the vocals of Chris Robinson. This wouldn't be his best effort, and I am sure he is capable of better. While his singing is OK, his timing is off at times. Whether or not this is a function of injecting artistic license into cover songs, Robinson seems to lose sight of the fact that this is Jimmy goddamned Page playing in your band, with the presumable intent of playing classic Zeppelin songs.

However, it's readily apparent that the rest of the band apparently went to school for this -- the drumming and bass work are just great, and the other guitars are on point as well. As for Page, his guitar work seems not to have suffered much for age, especially when you consider that songs like "Shapes" are pushing 35 years old - Page probably played that solo when most of us were still playing with teething rings.

Ironically, some of his best work on this disc isn't on the Zeppelin songs. Page seems less mechanical when playing non-Zeppelin tunes; it's as if he doesn't have to play bandleader anymore, and you get a real glimpse of his progression as a musician. When you consider that this is a recording of a one-shot show, you realize how sharp he and the band are without benefit of honing their sound by touring. It's quite impressive to say the least.

The sound quality is good enough to discern Page's distinctive Gibson Les Paul sound and masterful tonal manipulation from the mix. On the opening "Celebration Day", you hear him lightly strum a chord, and then when he digs in, there are no effects, no jump in volume, just the sweet sustained sound of a classic guitar through a great amp -- no stomp boxes necessary, thank you very much. The other guitars could have been beefed up in the mix, especially Rich Robinson's Strat, but it's clear this is Page's show all the way. The drums and bass are never overpowering, but present enough to give real drive and meaning to the music.

In short, if you're looking for Plant-esque vocals, you'll be severely disappointed. But, if you love the music of Zeppelin, and enjoy live performances, this is a great record to own. Superstar musicians often make strange bedfellows with bands, but I couldn't think of a better match than this. Most Zeppelin fans will be pleased with Live At The Greek, and if you like the Crowes, it's a must-have.