#'90s

So where do they go from here? It’s now been nearly nine months since Jimmy Page and Robert Plant reunited for the first time in 15 years for their historic MTV UnLEDded performance. And it’s been four months since these legendary rockers hit the road to bring updated versions of their classic Led Zeppelin tunes to the rock-starved masses. Much to the surprise of many, the pairing has worked like a charm. The myriad previous difficulties that had kept the two apart for so long have been successfully counteracted by a veil of friendship and musical good will. But where do they go from here?

Will their successful road jaunt, and the platinum certification of their No Quarter disc signal the start of another long professional relationship between the flaxen-haired vocalist and the bow-toting guitarist? Or will their recent partnership prove to be little more than an artistic aberration, with both veteran rockers once again going off to pursue their own greener pastures at road’s end? It’s a question both Page and Plant have begun to reconsider.

“I don’t know where this path will lead,” Plant stated. “Certainly the relationship I have with Jimmy is stronger now than it has been in years. There was a period of transition for both of us when we first started working together again. But the magic that was there for so long quickly became apparent. The communion was perhaps a little more fluent now than it was way-back-when. We found that now we arrived at decisions very quickly, without much pussyfooting around. This time we’ve been forced to use our imaginations, and that’s been wonderful. I hope it does bode well for the future.”

“The time was just right for Robert and I to work together again,” Page added. “I’d been wanting to work with him again for a long time, and it was a long time coming - 15 years. But all we’ve really done so far is take some of our old pictures and make them ready for new frames. Perhaps we will try and create some new pictures in the years ahead. I think we both would like that.”

Whether or not the future will find the pair painting exciting new rock landscapes together, it seems certain that their recent accomplishments have served as a dream-come-true for millions of music fans around the world. An entire generation of hard rock fans have grown up under the guiding light of Led Zeppelin’s sonic barrage over the last 15 years, yet those fans were never able to see the two most important cogs in that band’s metal machine perform together.

Except for two brief appearances at special events such as Live Aid, since that fateful day in 1980, when following the death of drummer John “Bonzo” Bonham Led Zeppelin called an end to their historic career, Page and Plant have followed radically different career agendas. Since then their career paths have remained apart…though forever intertwined.

So when they stood on stage in Pensacola, Florida, last February 26, launching their U.S. tour, it was a special sight, a sight that many long-time fans believed they would never again witness. There were Jimmy Page and Robert Plant - two of the most influential and respected figures in rock history - working side-by-side, laying down the blistering chords and burning lyrics that belonged to the songs of Led Zeppelin.

“The music of Zeppelin has always held such a special place in our hearts,” Plant said. “For so long it just never seemed right for any of us to perform those songs. Led Zeppelin was a unit comprised of four very special people. When Bonzo died, it brought an end to Led Zeppelin. But over the years, we came to realize that while the band may be no more, the music does live on. And with so many other bands vainly trying to capture some mystical element of what once was Zeppelin, we realized that perhaps we should be the ones to reintroduce the music in a new and somewhat updated manner.”

Just listening to the words of Page and Plant might lead one to believe that neither wants to tackle the daunting Zeppelin legacy head-on in the future. While they’ve already shown a willingness to rearrange some of their most famous compositions such as Gallows Pole, Thank You and Kashmir, that is still a long way from creating new material that will inevitably be compared to Zeppelin’s classic late-60s and mid-70s albums. The three new compositions presented on No Quarter, City Don’t Cry, Yallah, and Wah Wah were included mainly to serve as counterpoints to the pulsating rhythms of their older material - they were not intended to show the new direction any future Page/Plant compositions might take.

While a strong middle eastern influence has long been a trademark of the Zeppelin sound, the pair know that any future recordings would need to harken back in both style and spirit to Zeppelin’s halcyon days.

“The music of Morocco, where we recorded the three new songs, is very exciting,” Plant said. “The music reflects the living, pulsating entity which is changing rapidly all the time. It’s amazing, it’s exciting, it’s furious, it’s anxious, it’s happy and it’s far more real than anything you’ll ever experience in a western city. But that doesn’t mean that all my future music will reflect that influence alone. It is, however, a part of what I am and who I am.”

So what are the odds that Page and Plant will continue working together once their world tour is completed? And if they do, in what direction might their future music travel? The general consensus among rock “experts” is that the pair will at least try to create a new album that lives up to their past accomplishments. It’s no secret that they’ve tried before… and failed. Prior to the recording of No Quarter, Plant had often stated that before going back on the road with Page, the two would need to see if they could still write songs together that captured the power and majesty of their earlier era.

Previous attempts, in studios throughout Europe, were unable to match expectations, and at that time the proposed reunion went nowhere. But now, they’ve spent months together on the road, and worked as a team again on the creation of new material. Can there be any further doubt that the legendary duo will once again journey into the recording studio in an attempt to capture the musical magic that is uniquely theirs? The answer, from all parties, seems to be that they will indeed do just that - when and if the time is right.