Robert Plant Talks Led Zeppelin Reunion
February 4, 2009 by Dave Parrack
It feels like the Led Zeppelin reunion hoohah has been going on for far too long now. And that’s because it has. It seems everyone is getting sick of the will they, won’t they machinations, and even I’m starting to veer that way.
Up to now, I’ve been wanting Led Zeppelin to reform and tour as much as anybody. But I think the time may now have come to admit defeat, stop waving the flags, and move on as Robert Plant seems to have.
Already in 2009 we’ve heard from Jimmy Page’s manager, Peter Mensch, that Led Zeppelin are over – the band is done, finished, dead. And now Robert Plant, who already made clear he wouldn’t be involved in any kind of reunion, has done the same while giving his views on the whole thing.
In an Absolute Radio interview with Ben Jones, Plant said:
“The reason that it stopped was because we were incomplete, and we’ve been incomplete now for 29 years.”
“I think the thing about it is really, is that to visit old ground, it’s a very incredibly delicate thing to do, and the disappointment that could be there once you commit to that and the comparisons to something that was basically fired by youth and a different kind of exuberance to now, its very hard to go back and meet that head on and do it justice.”
The “incomplete” Plant mentions is referring to losing the original drummer, John Bonham, in 1980. John’s son, Jason, did a great job filling in for the one-off gig Led Zep reformed for in December, 2007, but Plant obviously feels that no John equals no Led Zeppelin.
Moving on means I’ll never get to see Led Zeppelin play live now, and that’s a crying shame. But maybe it’s best to keep the memories of the past where they are, the body of work as it is, and the Led Zeppelin name not tainted by a potential lack of being able to relive the glory days.
[Photo Source: PetroleumJelliffe on Flickr via Creative Commons]
I don’t think anyone expects the reunion would be as great as the original. The thing is, we would all love to see what’s left of the original band get together and play (with the son of the lost member, none-the-less) so that for one brief moment we could all remember, and feel we were a part of, the original glory. Everything fades. Everything passes. Soon, these rock-N-roll legends will be gone and the world will be a poorer place for their passing. It’s a shame Mr. Plant can’t set aside his ego, quit clinging to his feelings of loss, and just pick up the hammer of the gods and swing it once more: even if he’s incapable of generating all the sound and fury of his youth, we would all still love him for it.