Jimmy Page & Robert Plant-Walking Into Clarksdale (1998)


 

Artist: Jimmy Page & Robert Plant

Title: Walking Into Clarksdale

Label: Atlantic

Format: CD

Cat #:83092-2

Year of Release: 1998

Country and Year of Edition Issue: US 1998 promo stamp on booklet, sticker on jewel case

Listed Condition: VG+/VG+

Sell Date: 11/5/21

Sell Price: $2.99

Discogs Last Sold: 9/22/21 $2.99 VG+/VG

Low: $2.00

Median: $4.25

Average: $5.14

High: $14.99

Current low price: $1.50

Current Number on Sale at Discogs: 53

Have/Want: 1011/35

Where Sold: Plantation, FL

Time it took to sell: 10 years

Where and When Bought: Sounds NYC used $8.99 range upon release

Gwiz-gau Letter Grade: A-

Sad To See It Go: No

The closest Zep sounding release since Plant's Pictures At Eleven out of the gate, Walking Into Clarksdale got Plant & Page together on the road.  I witnessed this tour at Madison Square Garden and at the time I though the album was "Zep worthy."  At least this time there were new songs instead of the reformation revision of No Quarter a few years prior.

Steve Albini engineered this.  The American underground takeover of the 80's was complete by the end of the 90's and all forward thinking classic rock artists bowed to the aesthetic.  Or did they?  23 years later this sounds more like the Albini that was hired by Bush than Nirvana.  It sounds "radio ready" circa late 90's more than any Led Zeppelin recording being dated to it's era.  Timelessness can only be judged out of time, so I had to bump it down a peg in my mind from where I thought it was in 1998.  In 1998 I was just glad to have Plants voice and Page's guitar in a primarily guitars/bass/drums setting with a few unobtrusive keyboard strings here and there.  I trusted Albini not to let any garbage in, and felt Page wouldn't dare sully this eventful moment. Plant was gonna be Plant.

So being reduced to merely good and not godlike, one can begin to assess the music on it's own merits.  "Shining In The Light" is a strong opener.  "When The World Was Young" has the same issues that I had with "Downtown" by Neil Young yesterday.  Working with the Gods of Grunge, the Gods of ROCK had nostalgic moments.  It must be noted that Page kept his production seat on this.    The power of Led Zeppelin made for echoes of the past.  Strings of "Upon A Golden Horse" recall "Kashmir"  "Blue Train" has a feel of "The Rain Song."  Vocal chaos on the closer "Sons of Freedom" remind one of "The Crunge."  "Please Read The Letter" sounds like a speeded up demo in comparison to Plant's more successful version around a decade later with Allison Krauss.  I can see why he wanted another crack at that one.  Plant proved that experimentation can work which made Raising Sand a better "comeback" on mass scale for ROUNDER not Atlantic.

A one-off confounded bridge.



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