Led Zeppelin press conference? Sounds fishy

The reunion rumors just get larger and larger.

The latest report is now from Billboard, saying a press conference will be held Wednesday that ought to shed some light on everything.

OK, when was the last time there was ever a Led Zeppelin press conference? Was it 1970 in New York, the clip included on Led Zeppelin DVD as a bonus feature? Does the Drake Hotel robbery aftermath in 1973 with Peter Grant giving the middle finger count?

Anyway, the thought of Led Zeppelin having a press conference is very foreign to me. It's rather unprecedented in the post-Zep era. The suggestion that there will be one sounds a bit fishy to me -- just when everything else was pointing to the reunion rumors being right.

I'll believe it when I see an official word. And if that happens Wednesday, Sept. 12, great. And if not, well, I'll just keep on being joyful that the band was as great as it was during its years of performing, which did begin 39 years ago today lest we forget.

John Paul Jones' busy year

John Paul Jones has had an active year. Having produced the album Waterloo, Tennessee for Uncle Earl, he began the year with several appearances with the group. In London, he appeared on BBC Radio 2's "Bob Harris Country" show alongside Uncle Earl and accompanied them onstage on Jan. 27 at their premiere London performance. Jones and his wife, Mo, allowed them to stay at their home while they were in town. The "g'Earls" were also able to meet all three daughters of Mo and John Paul Jones.

Waterloo, Tennessee was released March 13 while the group was in the middle of a U.S. tour. Jones flew from London to New York to join Uncle Earl onstage on March 14. They caught up again at the end of the following month at the Merlefest bluegrass festival in Wilkesboro, N.C. Throughout the four-day festival held April 26-29, Jones sat in with several acts: Uncle Earl, the Duhks (Video of their "Whole Lotta Love" cover on April 28 can be seen here and here, and audio of the entire set can be purchased here), Donna the Buffalo and the John Cowan Band. Audio of a four-song set he played on April 28 with Uncle Earl's Rayna Gellert can be found online here.

Jones' first billed appearance of the year was in June at the Bonnaroo festival in Manchester, Tenn. There, his name was included as part of the scheduled SuperJam alongside solo star Ben Harper and Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson of the Roots. Jones commented in a videotaped interview a few hours before going onstage for the SuperJam that he had not yet met either performer – much less discussed what material they would play or rehearsed anything. It was truly to be an impromptu jam session. In the meantime, however, Bonnaroo held plenty of other activity for Jones, including two sets on the afternoon of June 15. He sat in with Uncle Earl during their 12:30 p.m. spot and with Gillian Welch during her 3:45 p.m. spot (A 10-minute video can be seen here).
Jones then played Bonnaroo's SuperJam set beginning at midnight. As Uncle Earl explained in a newsletter in July:

Well, the truth is, if we went to festivals like Bonnaroo every weekend, we just might be in danger of trying to be actual rock stars. We saw The Police, and Sting took off his shirt at the end of their set. But even better, we got to see our dear John Paul Jones there in his truly native element, rocking out in a midnight "superjam" with Questlove and Ben Harper. The crowd went wild. John took a full ten minutes to walk across the stage and pick up his bass, and he needed that much time for the applause to chill out enough so the band could play music. It was intense and very humbling. To think we had been playing Cluck Old Hen with the man just hours before!!

A one-minute video capturing the beginning of "Good Times Bad Times" can be seen here, although a much better-sounding clip contains the middle of the song including a fine guitar solo from Harper. Michael Ward joined on bass to allow Jones to play lap steel for "When the Levee Breaks," video of which can be seen here. Ten minutes toward the end of "Dazed and Confused" can be seen here while another source captures it all in parts one and two. Ben Harper was interviewed afterward, commenting that he was "dazed and confused" to find himself playing onstage with Jones.

For good measure, Jones also sat in at Bonnaroo with Gov't Mule the following night for the tail end of a set that ended up heavy on Led Zeppelin numbers. (Videos show their set list as including "Moby Dick" riffs at the end of a drum solo before settling into "Livin' Lovin' Maid (She's Just a Woman)" – which can be seen both here and here – followed by "Since I've Been Loving You" and, finally, "No Quarter" – the beginning of this song is here, and more toward the end is here.)

During the week that overlapped July and August, Jones made no less than three concert appearances with Robyn Hitchcock and his band, which also includes Peter Buck of R.E.M. The first two took place in Italy on Monday, July 30 (footage of this show can be seen here and also here), and Wednesday, Aug. 1. The third was at the Down on the Farm festival in Halden, Norway, where – in addition to the Campfire Stage set with Robyn Hitchcock – Jones also played a set on the Main Stage with Gillian Welch and David Rawlings.

This busy year of jamming continues next week as Jones is set to perform again with Robyn Hitchcock on Sept. 14 at the End of the Road festival in Dorset, England.

What really rocks?

An interesting discussion is taking place right now at The Onion's A.V. Club, asking readers to identify "the most rockin' song of all time." The post's author, Steve Hyden, stipulates that it must be a motivating and recognizable song created between 1955 and 1980 and that "it has to be bluesy, but not too bluesy." However, he says it can't be too recognizable. He considers Led Zeppelin's "When the Levee Breaks" for the title but drops the thought because he unfortunately can't separate it from the snore-inducing classic rock radio with which he associates it.

After he makes his choice of the song, he opened it up to readers. Nearly 100 have responded already, including many who suggested other Led Zeppelin songs. In my opinion, whoever suggested "The Bomber" by James Gang may be on to something. Go ahead, toss in your few cents either here or at the original post.

Oh, and while we're on the topic of The Onion and knowing what really rocks, this farcical article was published back in March.

One away from forty: An appeal to memorabilia collectors

This year marks the 39th anniversary of the formation of Led Zeppelin with today being the 39th anniversary of the two first-ever Page-Plant-Jones-Bonham concerts – which means next year's 40th anniversary celebrations ought to be bigger.

Annie Hollinshead is a contact of mine in England who has an idea for a fitting tribute. She would like to see an archive assembled of collectors' fine Led Zeppelin memorabilia and perhaps store it at Knebworth House, a particularly appropriate choice given the band's stellar 1979 performances on a stage at the Knebworth field.

"The exhibit will run for several weeks in the summer at Knebworth, and possibly later in the year in London," says Annie. "ABC Trust [the charity benefiting Brazilian street kids and for which Jimmy Page is a benefactor] is working on combining it with a photographic exhibition for Zeppelin, also for charity."

She is sharing the idea with several supportive folks and is attempting to contact the management for each band member and trustees of John Bonham's estate. For now, Annie says, "I need to spread the word to collectors. Even if they only have one item it would be much appreciated if we could borrow it. ... I told Knebworth and the ABC up front that if I couldn't get enough items we would just have to cancel it, but they think with Knebworth as a venue and the backing of the band and the charities, it will be successful."

Annie stipulates that all photographs shared for the cause must be approved by their original photographers and that no bootlegs will be included.

"I will be very pleased to speak with anyone who is interested in loaning us their memorabilia," says Annie, who can be reached at:

Annie Hollinshead
24 Rusts Lane,
Alconbury,
Huntingdon
UK PE28 4DN
Tel (+44) (0) 1480 896030
E-mail: ayhollinshead [at] hotmail [dot] com

Roy Harper album with Jimmy Page guest spot remastered

Roy Harper's 1971 album Stormcock, which features the lead guitar of Jimmy Page on one track, is to be reissued next month on CD.

Page's contribution to the second of the LP's four tracks, "The Same Old Rock," was a fine acoustic guitar track credited on the original album artwork to the pseudonym S. Flavius Mercurius.

The four-song studo set was released on CD through the Science Friction label in 1994, but liner notes prepared for that edition promised, "Greater sleeve-notes will be written with a special edition."

This remastered version, now said to be ready for release in October, is said to make good on that promise, offering 20 pages of liner notes with new observations from Harper and plenty of photographs.

In addition, the sound is greatly improved over the previous CD release, according to a quote attributed to Harper in a posting at a fan discussion site.

"Certain lines and certain words will not chop your ears off at high volume any more," said Harper. "Bottom end is taken care of properly."

He also alluded to at least one hidden surprise fans might appreciate, but he wouldn't specify exactly what they are. "There are one or two secrets. You may eventually spot them," he said. "It won't matter much to the general public that much, but it sure does matter to me."

No official release date has been touted as of yet, but it will be related here as the information becomes available.

Last August, Page was scheduled to join Harper at the 2006 Rhythm Festival as part of a live performance of Stormcock in its entirety, along with David Bedford, who provided the orchestral arrangement that closes the album. Page canceled, however, saying recuperation from arthroscopic knee surgery made him unable to play, and Harper's son, guitarist Nick Harper, replaced him. It would have been Page's fifth performance in all since giving up regular stage appearances in August 2000 due to a back injury.

Discovery lends credence to Led Zeppelin reunion rumor, still unconfirmed

So now the word according to Blabbermouth.net is that a hold has been placed on the O2 Arena in London for the night of Nov. 26. The venue and date match up with the details that have been reported about the possible Led Zeppelin reunion. As others point out, it doesn't mean that the reunion is assured to take place, but just that people have been planning it just in case.

NME says fan says Plant said reunion is on

Now the New Musical Express Web site is reporting that Robert Plant told a fan he was going to a meeting with former Led Zeppelin bandmates Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones to discuss reforming the band for the concert discussed in the media. So if you believe the mag-said-fan-said-he-said hype, and if you believe Robert was serious at the time, then we are a little over two months away from a Led Zeppelin reunion!