Reply #9: When you listen to it again consider these factors..

[LynneSin]

First, it was not a Page/Plant influenced album but a John Paul Jones one. Page was beyond wasted and Plant had lost his kid to a virus (and probably was worn out from years of heavy drug abuse). So for those who expected the hard in-your-face music of the early years usually are a bit surprised by what they get with this last release.

I think there is alot of brilliance in the album but not a brilliant album as a whole. But what I do see is what was the beginning of the end for Led Zeppelin. At some point every great band 'Jumps the Shark' and goes from what made them amazing to what helped them sell records. LIZ was on the bike and revving up the gears ready to jump that shark and then midway in the air John Bonham dies. From that point forward the remaining band members felt it was better to end the band now then to possibly keep continuing on but producing a lesser sound then what fans had expected from Led Zeppelin albums.

One thing Page did was have very diligent control over the Led Zeppelin library. What he has done with the music post Zeppelin probably ensured that LZ would be one of the greatest bands ever. It's also why mid-90s when Page and Plant did tour they made it a point to not call themselves "Led Zeppelin" or included John Paul Jones. The reason - if the tour failed then it would sully the Led Zeppelin name. The two tours were a hit but the album Page & Plant did ("Walking to Clarksdale") was pretty much a failure other than providing a huge hit for Plant when he did the album with Allison Krauss.

It's a shame though that Plant refused to do the tour after that one-off concert that Page,Plant,Jones and John Bonham's son did back a few years ago. I think Plant always wanted to reform LZ but Page was such a control freak. Now that Page is ready to tour Plant is finally saying 'Fuck You' Hell Plant finally won a Grammy and proved he doesn't need Led Zeppelin to be recognized as a Talent. In fact Plant and Jones are now both Grammy winners (Jones won with Them Crooked Vultures, a supergroup he did with David Grohl and very good album). I think Page has not won one.