Walking Into Clarksdale

Jimmy Page & Robert Plant, Page & Plant, Robert Plant, Jimmy Page

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 21, 1998)
• Original Release Date: April 21, 1998
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Atlantic / Wea
• ASIN: B0000062S0
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (96 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #22,537 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Pity the aging rock star. All those declarations about sugar mountains and hoping to die before he got old don't leave much room for middle age. Jimmy Page and Robert Plant understood this in 1997 as they began work on Walking Into Clarksdale, the duo's first album-length collaboration on all-new material since Led Zeppelin blew apart in 1980. Despite inevitable comparisons with the music of their youth, their work here (recorded by punk deity Steve Albini) is no embarrassment. Too many of the tracks are frustratingly dry and somber, but the duo find shades of "Kashmir" on the epic "Most High," while Plant croons a beautifully Zeppelinesque chorus on "When the World Was Young." Dancing days are here again. --Steve Appleford

Product Description
Japanese edition of the 1998 & second collaborative outingby the former Led Zeppelin bandmates with 'Whiskey From TheGlass' added as an unmarked bonus track. 13 tracks total,also featuring the single 'Most High'. Steve Albini (Pixies,Nirvana, Cheap Trick, --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Legends Survive Trip to Clarksdale -- Pictures at Eleven, March 14, 2001

By	TexRex96 (Chicago) - See all my reviews

When I first heard Jimmy and Robert were producing original material together for the first time since the break-up of the mighty Led Zeppelin, I winced. After all, we've seen the old-rockers-try-again formula before, and it usually doesn't work. But Plant and Page avoid that pitfall with a meticulously crafted album that shows they still care. Radio hit "Most High" takes the long-standing interest in Middle Eastern sounds to new heights, while "Please Read the Letter" and the title track experiment with very cool arrangements and innovative structures. "When the World Was Young" is one of the more vibrant and complete tracks. "Upon a Golden Horse" and "Burning Up" rock, though Robert's voice shows a little wear here and there. Most Zeppelin moment: The first touch of the guitar shortly into "Blue Train" - my favorite track -- is unmistakable Page, and the ensuing effort could be "Tea for One" Part II. Second Zep moment: "Shine in the Light" sounds like a cross between "Friends" and "Poor Tom," yet stands beautifully on its own. Overall this is not Led Zeppelin, but of course it could never be. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts though, and like Plant's own first solo effort, "Pictures at Eleven," this CD is not a classic but it's quite solid. I'd put "Clarksdale" above anything Page has done post-Zep, and right up their with Robert's best solo jaunts.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Give It a Chance, March 1, 2006

By	scomoore "scomoore" (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews

Yes, Page and Plant are older. Yes, the sound is more mature and less "bombastic" as another reviewer described Zep's sound. But the music itself stands on its own.

There are many excellent songs on this CD, all burning with emotion, lyrical depth (if understated delivery), and less reliance on fretboard wizardry. "Shining in the Light," "When the World Was Young," "Blue Train," "Most High," "When I Was a Child," are all fantastic. There is an attempt to recapture the magic, but the songs are organic in that they are honest efforts and not an attempt to rely on former glories.

Page's efforts are showcased best in the songwriting. His soloing is not at the same level as it once was...there are only one or two instances on this record where he hits a relevant target. He doesn't try often, and the songs don't suffer. To be honest, when he does try it is sometimes painful. Plant's voice has not been the same since Led Zeppelin IV and his singing is similar to that of his other solo efforts. Still, he reaches the emotional depth and delivers comperably excellent pitch, if not the range of his early 20's.

I rediscovered this CD this month, after it sat on the shelf since I bought it right after its release. I now like it a lot, enough to wholeheartedly recommend it.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Beauty and the Beast, October 27, 2005

By	sonicarchitect - See all my reviews

The first thing you notice about the record is the way it has been recorded. It is certainly not a slick, polished, radio-friendly production, and in a sense is perhaps an audiophile's nightmare. Frequencies sometimes sound indistinct, and many of the vocal takes are recorded very dry, whilst the instrumentation is enhanced by merely room ambience, rather than excessive use of plug-ins, digital reverbs, compressors, EQs and the like. In reality though, it is this dynamic and organic approach to cutting tracks that the record benefits from. Frequently the band swing from passages so quiet and gentle you fancy you can almost hear Plant breathing into his mic, to powerfully loose sections in which Page is often inspired to produce fretwork that is magnificently understated, beautifully executed and very moving. The rhythm section combine to subtly underpin the melodic passages and drive the harder sections with a dynamic aggression; they've never sounded better, and Page and Plant have never been more ably supported. Throughout the recording Page makes subtle use of effects to enhance his guitar playing - a touch of tremolo here, a dash of tape echo there - and it sounds as though most his overdrive comes from careful use of his guitar's volume control rather than pedals or rack effects; once again it's this natural approach to playing that makes it rank amongst his best on record.

The songs themselves are amongst the finest that Page and Plant have written together. Plant's lyrics are straightforward and resonate with an honesty that is refreshing and rewarding to listen to time and again. His more poetic side is beautifully balanced, for the most part not drifting into pastiche. The melodies are interesting, and often a song will traverse several moods with musical twists and turns along the way, never becoming formulaic. What they do require is time and effort - time to actually sit, listen and enjoy. There are one or two exceptions - Burning Up, House of Love and Sons of Freedom sound to me as though a few riff driven rockers were urgently needed and had they been consigned to the b-sides collection, I wouldn't be complaining.

A reviewer below questions Albini's involvement and suggests his presence is hardly felt. In so saying, he has completely missed the point of Steve Albini and good producers in general. Albini was not brought to the sessions to make Page and Plant sound like Nirvana, (for which we are all no doubt, very thankful), but what he has done is what every good producer strives to do - get the best out of the band and onto tape. If a record sounds like a producer has left their muddy footprints all over it, then it becomes the producer's record, not the band's. This is the sound of a band playing together in a room, and Albini has captured it well.

I understand why some people haven't taken to it. It doesn't have the immediacy of some of their earlier recorded output, nor the weight and urgency. It is understated and reflective, and that's exactly what I love about it, and what many, it seems, hate about it. Well, that's OK, I guess, each to their own! But, overall, in my opinion, this is an excellent record, expertly performed, beautifully recorded and well worth the money.