Today’s Vinyl: Robert Plant
Before we dive into the vintage Zeppelin archives, it’s worth visiting some of the cheesier ephemera that I collected during my decades-long obsession with everything Zep. In this case, that obsession encompassed the solo career of vocalist Robert Plant and the odd supergroup he assembled after Zeppelin’s demise, which included Phil Collins on drums. This Japanese 7-inch was probably picked up at a Dallas record convention and features two tracks from his second solo record, The Principle of Moments, which cracked the Top 40 with the single Big Log (don’t worry, I’ve got that on Japanese vinyl as well for a future post).
The A-side here is In the Mood, a track which – much like Big Log – is so mellow and atmospheric that you almost wonder if Plant was entering an ambient phase. Whether this sound was a reaction to years of testosterone-charged cock-rock or just an aging screamer trying to figure out how to fit into the sounds and styles of the eighties is up for debate. What is undebatable is that fabulous hair - by trimming back the mythic locks of the Zeppelin of yore and splashing purple and light blue swaths of color on the album art, Plant took on the eighties with as much enthusiasm as he recently embraced the alt-country movement with Allison Krauss. While this stuff doesn’t hold up anywhere near as well as anything Zeppelin released, you’ve got to give Plant some credit for being adaptable….
