Customer Reviews

Coverdale Page

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'm not sure why so many people, myself included, consider this album a guilty pleasure. Maybe it's because prior to its release, there were so many Whitesnake/Led Zeppelin (Coverdale/Plant) comparisons over the years, that something like this seems almost taboo. Plus, I recall reading that both Robert Plant and Jimmy Page were very critical of Adrian Vandenburg's liberal "borrowing" of Jimmy Page's violin bow and guitar technique for the "Still of the Night" video. So it was a surprise to see David Coverdale and Jimmy Page get together.

Upon first hearing of this pairing, the assumption was that we'd be treated to Led Zeppelin-Lite, so there defintely reservations about what the final product would sound like. Would David Coverdale try to emulate Robert Plant? Did Jimmy Page still have the guitar chops to make a relevant album?

The answer is yes. And as some other reviewers have stated, this is some of the best material Page has put out since leaving Led Zeppelin. It makes me wish Plant and Page picked up where this album left off when they reunited for the somewhat disappointing "Unledded" album.

Had Coverdale/Page been a Plant, Page, and Jones project, it would have made a much bigger splash on the music scene. Instead, this great album seemed to fly under the radar and fade away. there was a tour of Japan, but to my knowledge, no tour of the States. And that's a shame, because it would have been a treat to see these two in concert.

The stand-out songs for me are "Easy Does It," "Shake My Tree," and "It's Over Now," but I truly enjoy the album as a whole.

If you're a Led Zeppelin fan looking for a fix, don't feel guilty -- pick it up and give it a try.

This album from two of rock's greatest giants has been around for a while now but to call it simply classic rock would be to do it a great injustice. The whiskey and tobacco weathered vocals of David Coverdale masterfully blended with the gut-wrenching guitars of Jimmy Page (and lots of lush strings) thrill from the start.
There is not a single weak track on this album; from the large and loud opening 'Shake My Tree' to the epic close with 'Whisper A Prayer For The Dying'.
Other highlights include the anthemic duo of 'Take Me For A Little While' and 'Take A Look At Yourself'.
This is one for the open road when the sun is shining.

I'll say right here that I like Zeppelin, but I'm not a HUGE fan - I prefer Tull and Purple from that era. Because, otherwise I think this might have to get 5 stars. I'm not in touch with what Jimmy Page has been up to since Zep broke up, but here he's in full Zeppelin mode most of the time - maybe with a little more kick to suit the 90's production values. The music is probably better than some of the stuff on "Presence" and "In Through The Out Door" in my opinion. Except for a kind of late 80's power ballad or two, most of the music has Page's signature mixture of blues, eastern influences,etc. and the guitar playing and songwriting is top-notch.
Coverdale (who really didn't sound at all like Plant for his first 10 studio albums) is very Zeppelin/Plant inspired here, making it sound more like classic Zeppelin than most 70's bands lineups after 1980 came to their early days. He's a bit hoarse/gravelly at times, but overall does a fine job. Admittedly, Robert Plant is one of the great all-time singers in rock, and this isn't David Coverdale at his best - but it's still great singing.
It's a shame this album seems to have fallen by the wayside - on purely musical grounds I can't see any reason this wouldn't please anyone who likes mid 70's Zeppelin.

Do any of my friends know that I have this album? Not really - not unless they pinpoint it while looking through my CD case but they usually glaze right over it without even noticing it's there. Do I ever talk about this album in everyday conversation? Definitely not...does it come up when talking about music? Nope....when talking about rock music? Nope, not then either...what about when I'm talking about Led Zeppelin? Er, rarely...Jimmy Page then, this album must be relevant whenever Jimmy Page enters the conversation...No, not even then. Do I want to bring it up? Yeah, for sure, but I never do.

This album is almost eternally overlooked - but I love it ever so dearly. "Shake My Tree" and "Pride and Joy" are the highlights but all of the songs are strong. It's early/mid 90's mainstream hair-rock without the hype that accompanies Bon Jovi and GNR. It's got great guitar chops, a few riffs that can be considered above-average but not great (until you notice the almost identical openings of "Shake My Tree" and "Nobody's Fault But Mine"), and a clone of Robert Plant leading the vocal arrangements. What could be better than that? Fits right in with the rock music of the early 90's.

Yeah, I'm LOL at the rest of the reviews because this album is a complete guilty pleasure. It's a $12.99 piece of fun, even the meaningless merge sign in the CD artwork that pops up everwhere from Egypt to the moon is worth a few chuckles. For fans of Page and Zepp, this album served to fill a void that lasted until the Page/Plant MTV reunion and gave us a taste of what might have been. It's fun and I still listen to it almost 15 years after it came out. Good Lord, has it been that long already?

If you've read Hammer of the Gods: The Led Zeppelin Saga, you know that Robert Plant considers himself to be a "great golden god."

He's not, actually. He's a rock singer. Big difference.

The fact that Jimmy Page willingly and eagerly signed up with a singer whose pipes match Plant's delights me to no end.

Plant didn't care for this collaboration, and that's a good thing. It led to the two Page-Plant albums, and...for a brief moment...reminded Percy that he's not a god, he's a man, and that there are other men who can fill his shoes.

Awesome effort by David Coverdale and Jimmy Page. All the tracks are excellent, no weak songs or throw aways! If you like Whitesnake and/or Led Zeppelin you'll like this album. My only complaint is that there wasn't a part two!

Easily this disk is the best post-Zeppelin performance by Page after Live at the Greek. Coverdale puts in the best vocal performance of his career that makes the Slide It In sound rather tame by comparision. Page burns on this disk, Denny C. is an animal on drums. This just needed some better song writing as it is uneven in spots. Too bad John Paul Jones did not do the arranging.

Best album thus far since Zeppelin, Page shines on this effort. I hope after hearing this Robert Plant reconsiders Pages offer and joins him for a reunion.