Customer Reviews

Pictures At Eleven

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As some reviewers put here - Pictures At Eleven IS arguably Plant's best album. Somewhat forgotten after more than 20 years, the production still sounds crisp and the band is tight. Many of the songs were co-written with Robbie Blunt, who turned out to be an excellent and distinctive guitarist in his own right - with a sound pleasing to Zep and Page fans.

What did Plant do right here? Well, he went for a solo sound that didn't try too hard to break new musical ground ("pretentious" as one reviewer puts it here). He put out a mature somewhat progressive AOR album, where different styles and arrangements come into play with each track.

"Like I've Never Been Gone" and "Moonlight In Samosa" are classic Plant tracks and highlight his ballad skills. I've always felt that "Like I've Never Been Gone" was the successor to "Since I've Been Loving You" - listen to it and you'll know what I mean.

"Slow Dancer" sees Plant recalling Kashmir and hammering it home while "Worse Than Detroit" is classic blues rock with some Zep nuances. Both of these could have easily been Zeppelin tracks from another time and place, giving them some special resonance.

"Pledge Pin" is another interesting Plant track which features a great sax solo. Driving this album is its excellent rhythm section, which never lets up.

Worth getting if you're curious about Plant's solo work, like Zep, and want to hear what might've been - had Plant kept the path of the blues. This is the closest tangent from Zep that exists, besides The Firm's "Mean Business" album with Jimmy Page. In subsequent albums, Plant would move further away from his rock and blues roots into synth territory.

In all, Pictures at Eleven makes you nostalgic for the Plant that had just left Led Zeppelin and was finding a new future. Although he's continually evolved as an artist, Pictures at Eleven was a debut album that amazingly still sounds good after all this time.

**Postscript: Strangely, none of the tracks were selected for his Sixty Six to Timbuktu album. The extra tracks on the reissue are nice to have but not indispensable. The sound mixing is a little better but as others point out - it's not a quantum leap. Go Percy!

Pictures at Eleven is a pleasing debut solo album from Robert Plant. All eight of the tracks are listenable and have something to offer. The material is mostly in a straightforward rock musical direction. Also, two of the eight tunes are ballads--"Moonlight in Samosa" and "Like I've Never Been Gone." This release features skilled musicianship, good songwriting, and a taut production. Plant does a nice job with the vocals, too. I also find Robbie Blunt to be a talented guitarist. The drum duties are handled by Phil Collins and Cozy Powell--Collins performs on six songs, while Powell plays on two of the others. Keyboards (nicely played by Jezz Woodroffe) are also used sparingly on seven of the eight tracks; they add a light, attractive seasoning that enhances the material. The tunes that I like the most are "Moonlight in Samosa," "Slow Dancer," and "Fat Lip." The ballad "Moonlight in Samosa" is a charming, well-written song that features really good guitar work from Blunt. The gratifying and atmospheric "Slow Dancer" sounds somewhat different from the rest of the album--it's a smooth, interesting straight-ahead rocker (almost eight minutes long) that sports a progressive edge and exotic-sounding keyboard work. Powell's drumming on "Slow Dancer" is prominent, tight, and forceful. I also like the serene and catchy "Fat Lip." "Pledge Pin" is another likeable straightforward rocker that contains some nice saxophone playing. The CD insert doesn't include the song lyrics. The disc is just over 42 minutes in duration. Pictures at Eleven is enjoyable, consistent, and energetic.

This is Robert Plant's first solo work and maybe it's his best post-Zep effort. I love every song on this album as much as any Led Zep song. Plant' vocals are superb and every song is written and performed so perfectly that you'll never get tired of this music. I even can't mention any highlights of the album because the whole album is a big highlight :)

On PICTURES AT ELEVEN, Robert Plant's first solo album, he picks up where his former band's last one, IN THROUGH THE OUT DOOR, left off, showing that when drummer John Bonham died in an alcohol-related choking incident in 1980, a lot of work remained unfinished. This album successfully takes the classic Zeppelin sound and style to the next level, and what you get here is where Zeppelin might have gone had Bonham lived. As a result, this CD provides comfort to Zeppelin fans brooding over the demise of their favorite band.

PICTURES AT ELEVEN is a must for the person wishing to find out about Robert Plant, post Led Zeppelin. His 1st solo effort is refreshing and bridges 1970's monster rock with a more progessive 1980's sound. Although Robert's voice is not the same as it was when he was a strapping 20-23 year old, he still has his moments. BURNING DOWN ONE SIDE was the 1st single I heard from the album in 82' and it unfortunately showcases the increased limitations of Robert's vocal range. He sounds strained and the song is too herky jerky, but, albeit listenable. MOONLIGHT IN SAMOSA is one of Robert's best solo pieces with beautiful Spanish guitar work by Robbie Blunt and a nice baratone vocal which has suited Robert well in his later years. PLEDGE PIN is Robert's jump into the 1980's. Very Un-Zep, it's a peppy pop-rock tune with more fine guitar work. A great example of how Robert has really been overlooked for his courage to jump out and experiment. Robert's major nod to his past is SLOW DANCER, which could have been on "Physical Graffiti". It's hypnotizing Indian riff and pounding drums take you to another place, plus it is around 9 minutes long. WORSE THAN DETROIT is probably the worst song on the album. A "B" side shmaltzy throw-away. FAT LIP finds Robert straining to hit or hold onto the higher notes again. LIKE I'VE NEVER BEEN GONE is a hidden near-masterpiece. Gorgeously haunting, there is no escuse for this song never getting attention or radio play. It would have fit nicely on "In Through the Out Door" and would have been a Zep classic had it been. Again, Robert's voice heads downward where it's most comfortable. MYSTERY TITLE sounds like something that was a throw-away from "Presence", but, has a few good moments. The ringing endorsement I have for PICTURES AT ELEVEN is that I've listened to it hundreds of times and never grown tired of it. Despite it's flaws!!!

Robert Plant's first solo effort after Led Zeppelin's end found him pulling from the past and pushing into the future. Working with Robbie Blunt, Plant is able to build his own unique style with a smooth, crisp vocal performance on many of the tracks of this CD. "Burning Down One Side" starts off the disc and it is the most Zeppelinesque, along with "Slow Dancer", in my mind. Plant pulls on his vocal chords in these tracks with the old Zeppelin sound reminsicent of some of the Physical Graffitti work. Plant and Blunt stand on their own though whith "Moonlight in Samosa" and "Fat Lip" - two songs that flow as though there is no clock in the room. You can't help but just get caught up in the smoothness of those tracks. The same can be said of "Far Post" which is a bonus track on the CD. If you loved Zeppelin you can't go wrong with this first Plant solo disc. The only thing I will say is don't expect the Jimmy Page solos because Blunt is a different type of musician but a quality one none the less. Also, the arrangements are similar to Zeppelin but definitely not Zeppelin. Plant has done work following this disc that is good and worthy of excellent review but to me this is his best because he needed to grab people after leaving Zeppelin. He did just that because it proves he is by himself more than just a long-haired god to the ladies - he is what many of us knew all along - a unique voice with a stylistic flair for combining his past to build his future.

I'm going to say something that I'm sure will have me howled down by other reviewers but I gotta get it off my chest - I love this Plant album more than anything Led Zeppelin ever did!

Right from the word go this album grabs hold and won't let go. Put it on in the car and just cruise down the highway safe in the knowledge there isn't a dud track anywhere.

The backing musicians are great, especially Robbie Blunt, the vocals are excellent as Plant still had all the range required to bring out the best in these compositions. Going into track by track analysis is pointless, this is an awesome album. Production wise this disc doesn't sound like it was record over 20 years ago, it's still quite fresh, perhaps due to the restraint of the arrangements and the clarity and quality of the playing.

If your interested in getting into Robert Plant and don't know where to start, this would be my suggestion, either this or The Principle of Moments.

"Pictures at Eleven" appears like 'a solo album from that guy from Led Zeppelin' type of deal, rather than a singer trying to find a voice. Perhaps he wasn't sure if zeppelin were on hiatus or something. This disc succeeds at presenting Robert as he was at the time, not really trying to cash in on zep or move away too fast. The perfect balance between retaining an indentity as a solo artist and acknowledging your past as 1/4 of Led Zeppelin. Additionally, unlike Plant's future work, there are really no dogs or bombs or stinkers or awkward moments (e.g.-"If I were a carpentar" cover). To each his own, I suppose; but I enjoy this album. Not comfortable to admit it, but I like especially "slow dancer", "Moonlight in Samosa" and "Fat Lip"(sp?)...The best all around Plant effort. He sounds as if he wrote songs for a band with him being 1/4 member, much in the vein of Led Zeppelin's approach, which contrasts to his "solo star w/ backing band style" of later years. Good for fans of zep and other zep members too.

1982 - plant proved to have a knack when picking musicicns for his 1st post zeppelin solo effort. He of course produced the album on his own. he picked up a well known drummer with a healthy reputation, phil collins... Also, robbie blunt on guitar who had played with petty. On bass he chose paul martinez. Keyboard responsibilities were handled by jezz woodroffe, another black sabbath veteran. On 2 songs cozy powell (black sabbath - long time friend) plays drums (slow dancer / like I've never been gone...). The album has a fairly stripped down funky sound but retains a subtle rock rhythm at the same time. Plants voice is strong & full with an emotional sincerity. phil collins, per usual, sets the tone with his complex tempo changes & fast drum fills that are immediately identifiable. Cozy powell's boring snare drum fills are lackluster next to collins's intricate & articulate philosophy of modern drumming. the album is consistent with some fairly high points including burning down one side, midnight in samosa, worse than detroit, & mystery title. Plant's vocal range is as varied as usual with hints of R&B to straight rock to funky feels. Blunt's guitar licks are fairly simple with little distortion. A good moment is in "worse than detroit" when he does a mark knofler-like lick in the bridge (pretty good). The bass patterns are muted & unsubstantial but are covered well by collins awesome drumming. The keyboards are soft but have some good sounds with typical string elements. Overall a good debut album with most of the fire coming from plant's voice & collins's drums. the bands fuses well though. The entire band (except powell) returns in 1983 for principle of moments (a similar but better effort from plant)

"Pictures At Eleven" is not a classic, but it remains Robert Plant's best solo album due to it's lack of pretentiousness which went on to destroy his later efforts. The album rocks pretty hard and today, almost 18 years after it's release, it does still sound original. If you want to hear Plant at his best, stick with Led Zeppelin albums. But this is as far as you'll need to go with his solo career, at least until they put out a best-of set.