Record of the Day: Robert Plant, “The Principle of Moments”
Robert Plant
“The Principle of Moments” (Cd Atlantic/ Es Paranza 90101)
It must not have been easy for Robert Plant to start singing and recording again after the breakup of Led Zeppelin,
following the death of their drummer John Bonham.
Plant is one of the greatest rock singers in history but his musical interests are not limited to the genre that made him famous;
His insatiable curiosity led him to become passionate about Indian, African, experimental, blues, folk, r&b music.
Plant’s first solo album, “Pictures at Eleven”, continued the tradition of Zeppelin-style rock and although it didn’t make any major stylistic changes it was still a very good album, which was rightly a great success, but Plant clearly had no intention of stopping there.
Thus begins with this second “The Principle of Moments” a long process of integration, within Plant’s style, of the various musical influences mentioned above, always maintaining a common thread with his own past.
Driven by the powerful drums of Phil Collins (which interact wonderfully with the guitars of Robbie Blunt and the bass of Paul Martinez) Robert writes songs of happy inspiration that travel across genres using the song form as a container in which to collect ideas of a pop, ethnic and hard rock nature.
The album’s remarkable success was due in large part to the single “Big Log”, an intriguing ballad that mixes Spanish and blues influences, supported by a simple electronic drum rhythm that made it very popular on American radio. The rest of the album is no less, however, given that Plant has carefully taken care of the writing of the songs, avoiding useless fillers (a characteristic that is found in almost all of his solo production).
The singer’s vocal form is excellent, as always gritty and full of expression even if in this album Plant seems to want to privilege the more lyrical moments rather than the vocal lashes distributed in quantity at the time when he was in command of his airship. The refrain of “Other Arms”, the cadenced progression of “In the mood” (nothing to do with Glenn Miller), the more distorted and epic atmospheres of “Stranger Here Than Over There” and the torrid intensity of the interpretation of “Wreckless Love” are just some of the reasons to approach this album with confidence.
Carlo Boccadoro, composer and conductor, was born in Macerata in 1963. He lives and works in Milan. He collaborates with soloists and orchestras in different parts of the world. He is the author of numerous books on musical subjects.
This text is taken from “Lunario della musica: Un disco per ogni giorno dell’anno” published by Einaudi, courtesy of the author and the publisher.
