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Zep Lives On Mar 05, 2009
Jason Bonham is definitely a chip off the old block. I've seen a previous incarnation of his band live and though he is much more than just a clone of John Bonham, he does a great job of capturing John's playing style on this release.
I have not yet devoted enough time to listening to this CD to give it the in-depth commentary it deserves, but I have listened to every song at least once and I can already say that this is a must-have for existing fans of Led Zeppelin. It does not seem to reinterpret Zep's music, but to bring it back to life the way it once was. That's a great thing for those who have never witnessed the original. This is about as close as you will ever get.
The vocalist, Chas West, does as good a job of covering Robert Plant as anyone I have ever heard. Whether you are a Plant fan or not, that is high praise for West's vocal chops.
Tony Catania on guitar does a fine job of covering Jimmy Page's riffs, but I'm not a big fan of his guitar tone on this CD. It's not that it's bad, but it doesn't sound like Jimmy's guitar to me. By the way, you should never expect a guitarist to play Jimmy Page's riffs exactly identically note-for-note because it was all derived from the blues and the whole point was to express something new in each performance. You would not have heard Jimmy play it identically on any given night either. But Catania's playing demonstrates his excellent grasp of Jimmy's riffs which did, after all, blaze a path for rock guitarists to follow.
I'm torn. On one hand I would like to hear the band take Zep songs and make them their own. On the other hand, I really miss Zeppelin and it's great to hear this band really bring them back to life. I hope they make more releases like this, especially since they didn't cover the Immigrant Song here.
But the bottom line is that you need to buy this CD if you were ever a Zep fan.
P.S. Though I usually refuse to shell out for some of the ridiculous concert prices of today, I would still pay big money to hear Jason on tour with the actual members of Led Zeppelin. Play some more cities, gents! CMON!
 clean does not equal raw Jul 03, 2006
I listened to every tune, and I feel like the effort was worthy, but the elements that brought the music together were too clean. The songs are squeaky clean, every note is in its place, and the singer is too contrived for my liking. I think most of my problem with this disc is the singer, trying to be like Robert Plant, rather than singing the songs, not with Robert's rawness, but with his own, and it didnt happen, ever. I believe if you try too hard on something, the majic of it gets lost in the translation. The reason I give it a 3 is because musically, it was good, but it was too tight without much room to breathe, but vocally it sucked because the singer was so bent on trying to be Robert Plant, it was like tracing over his picture and calling it himself. I feel like Jasons earlier albums had more virtuosity and feel to them than this one- but I wouldnt blame this one on Jason entirely.
5 of 5 found the following review helpful:
 programmer_guy Feb 07, 2004
Jason Bonham is the son of the late John Bonham of Led Zeppelin. On this CD the band does "cover tunes" of Led Zeppelin. They do an excellent job. If you like Led Zeppelin then you will like this CD. In fact, sometimes instead of playing a Zep CD I will play this CD instead. The singer even sounds a lot like Robert Plant. The guitarist definitely has Jimmy Page's chops down pat ALTHOUGH he does seem to have his own slight variations on Jimmy's licks. Anyway, they ALL do a really good job on ALL of the tunes. It seems that their intent was to play the tunes as close to the originals as possible. The final track on this CD starts out with an excellent rendition of "Whole Lotta Love" BUT then finally weaves in a medley of other Zep tunes. There is NOT one single "ho-hum" tune on the entire CD - ALL the tracks are good. In conclusion, if you like Led Zeppelin then buy this CD - you will love it.
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
not as good as zep but still awsome Apr 10, 2000
This CD is very heavy on the drums but the vocals are lacking much, because he dosn't compare to Robert Plant. Guitarist isn't bad, niether is the bassist, but jason bonham is the best drummer alive! It is one of the better Led Zeppelin tributes that I have heard.
4 of 4 found the following review helpful:
A fitting introduction to...another great band. Jan 25, 2000
This is an excellent ,even if indirect,intro(and tribute)to the great works of Led Zeppelin,especially for those not so familiar with their music.Also the powerful and faithful renditions complement the musicians involved-Jason Bonham is no stranger to cloning his father's band style,with his previous outfit,Bonham.
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