Doing time for bootlegging

A guy against whom Jimmy Page testified in court pleaded guilty last month to charges stemming from his selling bootlegged recordings of Led Zeppelin and other bands. Now the guy has been sentenced to 20 months in jail.

Not long ago, a Zep fan who attended the trial in Scotland compiled his recollection of the questions and answers with Jimmy on the stand. If accurate, this account provides some insight into Jimmy's misunderstood stance on bootlegs.

What can't be mistaken is Jimmy's statement that some tapes of his went missing over 20 years ago, taken from his personal stash at home. One must assume this was the source of some Zep studio outtakes that have circulated through the years, plus soundboard recordings from live shows now common to collectors. At any rate, it gives Jimmy the opportunity to elucidate on the ethics of bootlegging.

The main argument against it is that unsanctioned bootlegs aren't really worth the prices they're charging due to their questionable quality. It is Jimmy's argument now, and it was the same one Zep manager Pete Grant had back in the '70s. Now, many bootlegs are of good quality, but Jimmy has noticed bootleggers release the same shows over and over again, each time improving the sound quality a little so as to capitalize on each sequential release.

It's capitalism at its most egregious because no matter what the price, people will buy it. The veracity of Zep fans translates to a big demand for these recordings. It's a compliment to the band, for sure, and a testament to how electrifying the band was in its shows and how important they are to the history of rock 'n' roll.

But who profits from it? People who don't have the right to release these recordings in the first place, that's who. And not Jimmy. Hence the frustration he experiences. Other people are controlling the name and image of Led Zeppelin when they release these bootlegs, and they're reaping the benefits too. Peter Grant made it so that only the band could do those things: They would retain control over their image and music, and they would get 90% of the gate at their shows. Peter allowed it no other way. Jimmy is evidently doing Peter's work..

Recording shows for your personal enjoyment? Fine, says Jimmy. Sharing recordings among fans? Yes, short of financial gain, he says. Get money involved, and that's when he objects.

But doesn't Jimmy have a habit of visiting Japanese bootleg shops? True, he visits those shops and even gets his photo taken with fans. He doesn't deny that. And he even smiles in the photos. He doesn't want to be a jerk to fans, does he? But what about the bootlegs he collects there? He doesn't pay for them. Why would he? They're his. Who has the right to own them? He does. In Japan, they don't challenge him.

Twenty months. Does the punishment fit the crime? Sound off.

TBL in the mail

Issue 18 of the fan magazine Tight But Loose (tblweb.com) has arrived in my mail hot off the presses in the United Kingdom. There's a whole slew of news on Robert Plant activity in 2007, including discussion of some recent and upcoming concert appearances (a new Strange Sensation song is said to have debuted live!), some previously reported info on his album with Alison Krauss to be released in October (pre-orders onsale now), and something that was new to me.

Namely, Plant contributed two tracks that will be included on a compilation to be out in September that will benefit Fats Domino's foundation, established to help rebuild some portions of New Orleans that are still in poor shape from Hurricane Katrina two years ago. TBL details the track names plus where and when they were recorded and with whom. Also, Plant performed a set including both songs and some Elvis Presley songs as well as some Zep material onstage just after recording the album. I'll leave it to Dave Lewis to provide those details rather than repeating them here.

The Plant-Krauss coverage in TBL, while mostly stuff I'd seen elsewhere and even reported myself in the Aug. 20 edition of my newsletter, does reveal one detail that was new to me, although precise details are still pretty sketchy. There is talk of a single to be released from the Raising Sand album, probably prior to its release. Again, I won't reveal here which track Dave Lewis cites as most likely. TBL promises the next issue will go behind the scenes with the making of Raising Sand, and personally, I can't wait!

I did get some song samples from rounder.com and also on the album listing at amazon.com. From what I've heard, I'm particularly excited about the Everly Brothers track, "Gone, Gone, Gone."

Something Plant said in an interview for Rounder's electronic press kit struck me as particularly cool: that it was with this project that he was first paired with a singer of equal talent who could follow him. Look back through his history: Who all else has dared to sing harmony with Robert Plant? It's a short list. But probably nobody has done it as well as Alison Krauss did. Oh, I'm getting ahead of myself here. I haven't heard the full album yet! Thirty-second song clips and testaments from those who have heard the album, however, tend to support this statement.

Somebody just politely prodded on John Paul Jones' official discussion group that he's overdue for another update. They are pretty infrequent at that site; the last was in December 2006. Jonesy told me in December 2001, in a four-hour interview conducted in Philadelphia during the "budget tour" with King Crimson that preceded the release of his album The Thunderthief, that he wanted to interact with fans much more often than he was doing at the time. Jonesy soon handed off his Web design and maintenance to Canadian fan Sam Rapallo, the guy behind the Electric Magic site at led-zeppelin.com (yes, I was jealous, but he had a better résumé, and I still no nothing about making Web sites). They launched a new site, and JPJ's resolve to post more often quickly waned. Granted, maybe it's partially because he updates readers almost entirely on his solo activities, like progress on a new studio album that's been in the works for a long time but keeps getting shelved for other projects.

Jonesy has had his hands full, though, no doubt. There was producing Uncle Earl's album, there are bluegrass festivals, there's improving his skills on a mandolin and other assorted string instruments. But he did show up at Bonnaroo, the jam band festival in Tennessee earlier this year. A former coworker of mine texted me from Bonnaroo and told me he was watching JPJ play "Dazed and Confused" onstage. I thought my buddy was just messing with me! But I checked it out, and it's all over Youtube (in two parts). JPJ looked young -- way younger than he should, by comparison to Page and Plant anyway -- and he really appeared to be enjoying himself while revisiting this song he might not have played in front of a crowd since 1975 (verification/corrections, anybody?). Full coverage of this and his other Bonnaroo onstage guest spots in TBL.

The magazine also has a nice rundown of what to expect from the Mothership and TSRTS releases in November. As far as Mothership, I will go out on a limb and agree with Dave Lewis that the real prizes will be on the limited edition versions, especially the collector's edition. I might just happen to have a little inside information on this project myself. Stay tuned to my newsletter for anything I can reveal about that.

While there was nothing particular in this TBL about the ever-elusive Page other than a brief at-press-time mention of his role in testifying in trial against a man in Scotland who subsequently pled guilty to a charge of profiting from the sale of unauthorized live recordings of Led Zeppelin and other bands, TBL promises the next issue will have an interview with Page and info on a biography. Very ambiguous. Do they mean autobiography? It would be very interesting to read Page's own words on himself.

Finally, Dave Lewis discusses those Led Zeppelin reunion rumors and even points to the seemingly errant one-off rumor of a reunited Beck/Page Yardbirds. As for Zep, Lewis feels -- as do I -- that getting together for a once-only tribute show for Atlantic Records' Ahmet Ertegün is not far-fetched; anything further than that, on the other hand, is unlikely. For one thing, Plant will be touring with Alison Krauss to support Raising Sand! This much is sure.

Robert Plant at 59: A look back, and a glimpse forward

This news originally appeared in an edition of the newsletter "On This Day In Led Zeppelin History."

On this day in 1948, Robert Anthony Plant was born in West Bromwich, Staffordshire, England. Leaving his home in his teens, he promised his parents he would return to enter into accounting in the event that his desire to make a living off of singing would not be realized by his 20th birthday. What fulfilled that goal was his eventual calling to front a band featuring John Bonham, John Paul Jones and Jimmy Page. With the group that came to be known as Led Zeppelin, Plant's career choice was no longer in question, and he is still singing today as a result.

Now at age 59, he appears to be a much more toned down version of the golden god he was when his image was first displayed on LPs and posters in the bedrooms of nearly every hip teen-ager in the civilized world. While the Robert Plant of today may not be heaving as many televisions from hotel lofts or hitting as many high notes as he once did, the breadth of his voice and passion for music have perhaps never before been better realized than in recent years, mainly with his current band, the Strange Sensation.

The coming months are set to unleash a new chapter in Plant's long journey. On Oct. 23, Rounder Records is set to release a new album pairing him with bluegrass icon Alison Krauss. The label says this record will be "a revelation for the listener" that "spans the intersections of early urban blues, spacious West Texas country, and the unrealized potential of the folk-rock revolution."

Artists including Johnnie Ray, Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley, Smokey Robinson, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy, Little Walter and, posthumously, Robert Johnson all made initial impressions on Plant's development as a student of music. He also imported psychedelic rock from America and incorporated the look and sounds into his own act before he ever performed outside of his home country.

Once he developed the means, Plant traveled great distances to establish kinship with likeminded musicians from across genres and borders. Most notably, he has done so by taking Jimmy Page in 1994 to rekindle some of Led Zeppelin's spirit alongside street musicians in Marrakesh, Morocco. On a return trip to the African continent in 2003, he brought his two Strange Sensation guitarists to the Sahara desert for a four-day music festival that showcased many of the most expressive performers from the region. Plant and accompanying musicians had been attending such festivals for years, and he is now adding his own unique piece to it.

His upcoming album with Krauss, called Raising Sand, approaches obscure songs by the Everly Brothers, Tom Waits and contemporary singer Sam Phillips, among others. The label tells us that this collaboration "defies genres in favor of a wide open brand of seismic soul music" and "uncovers popular music's elemental roots while sounding effortlessly timeless."

Plant's 59th birthday today reminds us that he was fortunate to have fallen into the scope of Jimmy Page back in 1968 to deliver a lifetime's worth of music that continues to confront standard classification while evoking a wide range of emotions in its beholders. May the fans be grateful today and always for Plant's enduring achievements. We all wish you a happy birthday, Robert!

'The Song Remains the Same' destined for reissue in November

This news originally appeared in an edition of the newsletter "On This Day In Led Zeppelin History."

Fourteen songs from Led Zeppelin's three nights at Madison Square Garden in July 1973 have been remixed and remastered in 2007 for release this November on new DVD and CD sets.

"We have revisited The Song Remains The Same and can now offer the complete set as played at Madison Square Garden," Page said in a statement issued on July 27, 2007, the 34th anniversary of the first of those New York concerts. "When it comes to The Song Remains The Same, the expansion of the DVD and soundtrack are as good as it gets on the Led Zeppelin wish list."

The reissued packaging of The Song Remains the Same, set for release on Nov. 20 from Warner Home Video, is to include liner notes from Cameron Crowe, whose film Almost Famous closely resembled his own journey to near-stardom when he traveled with Led Zeppelin and struggled to land an interview with Page.

The limitations of the LP format in 1976 prevented the double-album soundtrack from containing all 14 songs. In fact, six were missing from it: "Black Dog," "Over The Hills And Far Away," "Misty Mountain Hop," "Since I've Been Loving You," "The Ocean" and "Heartbreaker." These tunes will be included on the CD soundtrack for the first time this year.

"This differs substantially from the original soundtrack released in 1976," said Page, "and highlights the technical prowess of Kevin Shirley, who worked with us on How the West Was Won." That album, capturing live performances from two dates in June 1972, was released in May 2003 alongside the visually spectacular career-spanning live set simply called Led Zeppelin DVD.

As with that release, the new "The Song Remains the Same" DVD will benefit from 5.1 Dolby Digital surround sound. One deluxe edition will be in high-definition DVD. Another edition will be in the Blu-ray format. All will contain complete versions of songs featured only partially in the film's original theatrical release, as well as clips from television interviews and a radio show involving Crowe.

November will also see a repackaging of Led Zeppelin's greatest hits with newly prepared liner notes by Rolling Stone's David Fricke in the two-disc Mothership. This new collection is to be released Nov. 13 from Atlantic Records and Rhino Entertainment.

A tribute to Ahmet Ertegun

This news originally appeared in an edition of the newsletter "On This Day In Led Zeppelin History."

Ahmet Ertegun, cofounder of Atlantic Records and close personal friend to the members of Led Zeppelin, died Dec. 14 at the age of 83. A fan of music until the very end, he had been in a coma since Oct. 29, when he slipped backstage at a Rolling Stones concert. The Turkish-born legend died at a hospital in New York with his family by his side.

It has often been said that Ertegun was more than just a label boss. He was also a companion and guide to the many musical artists he signed and whose careers he helped to nurture over his six decades in the industry. Ertegun's sustained influence on the members of Led Zeppelin was particularly evident in a number of ways, most clearly with the mutual support they fostered during the band's dozen years of existence and extending into the ensuing 26 years afterward.

Led Zeppelin's relationship with Ertegun began in 1968, when band manager Peter Grant closed a monumental record deal that November with Ertegun and his partner, Jerry Wexler, then vice president of Atlantic Records. With a simple handshake, the band was signed -- sight unseen -- to a generous five-album contract of previously unheard proportions.

Grant reflected on this time during a two-day interview in 1993 with Tight But Loose editor Dave Lewis. "The good thing was," said Grant, "in those days you weren't dealing with giant corporate companies like now. The Ertegun brothers [Ahmet and Neshui, who preceded his brother in death in 1989] owned the company and we shook on a deal. That's how it was back then."

One stipulation in the Atlantic deal gave the band complete creative control over its musical releases. This provision was tested in 1969, when Phil Carson, the head of Atlantic in the United Kingdom, wanted to issue "Whole Lotta Love" as a single in the country. The band objected. Grant told Dave Lewis in 1993 that it was Ahmet Ertegun who came to the rescue, asserting that the label had no right to issue anything without the band's approval.

Ertegun often traveled with Led Zeppelin, and in May 1973, while the band was soaring high across America on the strength of four Platinum LPs and a new one called Houses of the Holy, Ertegun threw a party for the album-oriented rockers in New Orleans. This grand reception was held at a place in the French Quarter, and many local musical attractions performed, including Ernie K-Doe, the Meters, and Roosevelt Sykes, also known as Honeydripper.

Led Zeppelin returned the favor to Ertegun the following year by inviting him to the launch party for the Swan Song record label on Halloween 1974. The band had formed Swan Song under a new contract with Atlantic, under which Ertegun's company would continue to distribute records by Led Zeppelin -- and all others on the start-up label. "Ahmet was the finest record man of all time," Grant said, "and every time we negotiated and he said, 'Peter, shake on it,' you knew it was done."

While Led Zeppelin toured Europe in 1980, the group would soon be due to sign another contract with Atlantic. Ertegun met up with Grant along the way, during a stop in Frankfurt, West Germany, and the two made a verbal agreement for renewing their contract. "We did many a deal with Ahmet on trust," Grant said in 1993, "and the paperwork would follow many months later." That plan in the summer of 1980 had been for Led Zeppelin to hash out a new deal with Atlantic within a year, but that plan had obviously fallen through by the end of 1980, after John Bonham died and the group disbanded.

The promise was not forgotten, however. In fact, Led Zeppelin still had one more album to deliver under its existing contract, and so a new plan was developed in 1982 to release a posthumous album. "Ahmet was great and paid an advance," said Grant, "even knowing that it was substandard and [if] we couldn't find enough material for a decent set, then the advance would be refunded." The surviving members got to work and assembled Coda. This album of eight tracks, representing all eras of its existence, placated Ertegun and offered what would be the final record from Led Zeppelin for the rest of the decade.

Grant went through what he called a "period of darkness" in the 1980s, which by some estimates lasted about four years after Bonham's death. In 1993, he credited Ertegun as being the sole person who wanted to lure the former Led Zeppelin manager out of his self-imposed withdrawal. Grant said, "It's interesting that Ahmet was the only one who has ever said to me that I mourned too long over John. Maybe he was right."

In 1988, the year after Ertegun was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, a celebration was organized in New York to recognize the 40th anniversary of Atlantic Records. The former members of Led Zeppelin took to the stage at the May 14 event with Jason Bonham on drums, in only the second reunion of Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones.

This year, a special tribute show just for Ertegun took place on June 30 in Montreux, Switzerland, and Plant was again in attendance; Page's planned appearance had been sidetracked by surgery.

During this tribute, which ended up being one of Ertegun's final public appearances, he was photographed onstage with a scruffy-looking Plant and guitarist Nile Rodgers. It was a reunion of sorts for the three; in 1984, they had co-produced an EP of rhythm and blues covers from the 1950s and 1960s. It was Volume One, the only studio set ever released by Plant's big-band side project, the Honeydrippers (yes, named after Roosevelt Sykes, good memory). Two of the EP's five tracks, each with Plant's golden voice, earned a fair amount of success on radio and television.

Ertegun's Honeydrippers production credit is marked by the backwards spelling of his last name -- Nugetre, the same pseudonym with which he is elsewhere credited in writing some songs. He had always longed for a sequel to Volume One, but it never surfaced, despite rumors of other existing studio tracks -- namely Roy Head's "Treat Her Right" and Screamin' Jay Hawkins' "I Put A Spell on You." Newly released live Honeydrippers material is now available on Plant's new box set, Nine Lives, which also includes footage of a recent interview in which Ertegun comments on Plant's solo career.

Robert Plant to release 'Nine Lives' box set with unreleased material

This news originally appeared in an edition of the newsletter "On This Day In Led Zeppelin History."

Nine Lives, a box set combining nine of Robert Plant's post-Zeppelin albums with perfectly tailored bonus tracks, is set to be released later this month on the Rhino Records label. His eight solo albums and the Honeydrippers' EP Volume One have all been remastered for Nine Lives, each matched with at least one bonus track from the era, consisting of unreleased songs, rarities, live cuts, and remixes. The box set also includes a DVD with 20 music videos from Plant, plus interviews with him and several friends and musicians.

The first official DVD of Robert Plant and the Strange Sensation was released last month by Rounder Records. It includes their appearance on the PBS television show Soundtage, recorded in September 2005. There are two versions of this DVD available; one is being sold on the PBS Web site, and the other, sold in stores, includes a cover of Bob Dylan's "Girl from the North Country" that is not available on the PBS version.

Plant has reportedly been busy inside studios on both sides of the Atlantic recently. For one thing, he is said to have recorded a load of new material with the Strange Sensation in England. For another, he was in Nashville, Tenn., recording late last month with Alison Krauss. I happened to be in town on Oct. 29 to read a report about Plant by celebrity columnist Beverly Keel in that day's edition of The Tennessean. "He's been recording a duets project with Alison Krauss that's bring produced by T-Bone Burnett," she writes. "Take a moment and imagine how amazing our bluegrass angel is going to sound with rock's golden god."

Tribute to Arthur Lee

This news originally appeared in an edition of the newsletter "On This Day In Led Zeppelin History."

"I feel like I've seen just about a million sunsets
She said if you're with me I'll never go away
That's when I stopped and I took another look at my baby
She said if you're with me I'll never go away
Because everybody's gotta live
And everybody's gonna die
Everybody's gotta live
Before you know the reason why"

So wrote Arthur Lee in the song "Everybody's Gotta Live," which is included on his 1972 solo debut, Vindicator.

Arthur died of leukemia this past Thursday. During his 61 years, he became a musical hero to many -- not the least of whom is Robert Plant. Arthur managed to inspire, to captivate and to influence the Led Zeppelin singer and lyricist, leading the band Love, for which he notably penned much of Forever Changes, the 1967 album Plant frequently calls his all-time favorite record.

It was in 2006 that Arthur Lee learned he had leukemia, a news account from EURweb.com states. "After three rounds of chemotherapy failed," it continues, "Lee underwent a bone marrow transplant in May, and was the first adult in Tennessee to undergo the procedure using stem cells from an umbilical cord, according to The (Memphis) Commercial Appeal."

Concert promoter Steve Weitzman put together a show in June to benefit Arthur Lee, who was facing not only an uncertain future but also overwhelming medical bills without any insurance coverage. Weitzman said he pitched the idea to Robert Plant that he should come to New York City to play at the concert. Weitzman said Plant readily and eagerly agreed to do it, insisting he would cover his own travel expenses and play with anyone who would be there. Saving production costs for the concert, including not flying over Plant's entire band from England, meant there would be more money for the cause, to benefit Arthur. As a result, Plant played with members of Ian Hunter's band and performed a full set combining five Love songs, four Led Zeppelin numbers, and a few other cover songs -- all on only two days' worth of rehearsals with the unfamiliar backing band. Weitzman said Plant and Hunter (formerly of Mott the Hoople) were old friends and that they enjoyed catching up and performing onstage together for the first time.

Weitzman said the concert raised about $50,000 toward Arthur's medical bills, which were reported to be about $100,000. Because these medical expenses still present an ongoing burden for Arthur's wife Diane and other surviving loved ones, contributions to the Arthur Lee Tribute Fund are welcome and should be addressed care of Wells Fargo Bank, 14855 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks, CA 91403. The routing number for the fund is 122000247, and the account number is 6503287200. Arthur's estate also benefits from the sales of Love albums such as Forever Changes and the multi-disc retrospective Love Story 1966-1972. In addition, Weitzman said he is working to release recordings of live performances from the four-hour New York benefit concert, to continue aiding Arthur's grieving survivors.

Plant has long been vocal about his appreciation for the music of Love. The band was a product of the psychedelic music scene on the U.S. West Coast, and it managed to make a big impression on that singer from the British Midlands. Plant often speaks fondly of that style of music, recalling, for one, a Love concert he and Roy Harper caught at the Speakeasy in London. Arthur Lee was on both Plant's mind and lips in 1995 as he and the other members of Led Zeppelin were being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In performing Love songs at his own concerts, particularly over the past eight years, Plant has treated audiences to some recollections about how close to his heart he holds Love's music. At a concert I saw in person in 2001, Plant told the Philadelphia audience he has acquired copies of Forever Changes on every new musical format as it was introduced: originally on vinyl, then on 8-track and cassette tapes, followed by CD and eventually MP3.

Listening to Forever Changes, I can hear many things that would inspire most musicians. The guitars and the drums have a lot of appeal for me as a listener. The way the songs are written impresses me. The arrangements are also astounding with their layers of strings and brass on top of electric and acoustic guitars, bass, drums, and vocals.

Still, the lyrics throughout this album are among some of the most compelling words ever set to music. On one Forever Changes
track titled "Maybe the People Would Be the Times or Between Clark and Hilldale," Arthur sings the following stanza, which today reads like a message he could have released in anticipation of his own passing:

"When I leave, now don't you weep for me
I'll be back, just save a seat for me
But if you just can't make the room
Look up, and see me on the
Moon"

The last track of Forever Changes, titled "You Set the Scene," contains one particular phrase that I believe directly inspired one of Robert Plant's lines in the Led Zeppelin III track "That's the Way." Compare Arthur's declaration that "all that lives is gonna die" with Plant's similar observation: "all that lives is born to die." Aside from this, "You Set the Scene" features what are probably some of the most poignant lyrics Arthur Lee ever scribed. I close with these words from it:

"This is the time and life that I am living
And I'll face each day with a smile
For the time that I've been given's such a little while
And the things that I must do consist of more than style
There are places that I am going

"This is the only thing that I am sure of
And that's all that lives is gonna die
And there'll always be some people here to wonder why
And for every happy hello, there will be good-bye
There'll be time for you to put yourself on"