ROBERT PLANT MOOD’S AND MOMENTS
Now a full five years removed from Led Zeppelin’s breakup following drummer John Bonham’s untimely death in 1980, Robert Plant, in 1985, is a singer feeling his oats.
On one level, it is a fairly accurate barometer of Robert Plant’s continuing status as one of rock ’n’ roll’s most popular lead singers that in 1984, when he put out The Honeydrippers, a record made up exclusively of cover versions of old blues, pop, and R&B classics, the thing not only zoomed to the top of the charts as the first-ever mini-LP to crack Billboard’s Top 10, but did so with nary a cover credit in sight—this on a disc featuring not only Plant, but former partner-in-stomp Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Nile Rodgers and a host of other certified heavies.
On another level, though, it now seems rather clear that the Honeydrippers experiment was just the tip of the iceberg for Plant. Now a full five years removed from Led Zeppelin’s breakup following drummer John Bonham’s untimely death in 1980, Robert Plant, in 1985, is a singer feeling his oats. If his two previous solo albums,’82’s Pictures At Eleven and ’83’s Principle Of Moments found him making friendly but tentative steps away from the kind of banshee-like chaos most folks used to associate him with, then his new album, Shaken ’n’ Stirred, finds him going full tilt once more—though in a completely unexpected direction. This is a record filled with hi-tech, hip-hopping funk ’n’ roll, a dizzying foray into body music probably best described by upbeat, nonsensical song titles, like “Kallalou Kallalou,” “Doo Doo A Do Do” and “Hip To Hoo.” If all you’ve heard of it is the video-aided ballad, “Little By Little,” then be forewarned: For once, the song sure ain’t the same.
