The album opens with "Shinning in the Light;" a track that touches you like an old friend in the night, and then slowly fades away, leaving you wondering who you’re listening to. Then
, the masters of rock crack their whip, and the power once known as Led Zeppelin, is reborn in the track "When the World Was, Young." There is a point about two minutes into this song when you know you’re listening to Page and Plant. They once again get you entranced by the same power of music they’ve always had. From that point on, you’re theirs and they never let go until the end of the last song.Songs like "Most High", "Burning Up" and others remind you that this still part of Led Zeppelin. At the same time songs like "When I Was a Child" prove that Jimmy and Robert didn’t go into the studio to make the next Zeppelin album, but to rock out and make another beautiful piece of work to add to their already illustrious portfolios.
Page’s vocals are as powerful as they ever were, only they now echo with a tinge of wisdom and maturity that he never had before. This new album brings the already amazing voice of Robert Plant to a whole new level. The guitar master Jimmy Page proves as crafty as ever, mixing his creative and sometimes "Off the Wall", sounds from his Zeppelin days with more simplistic and dare I say, adult sounds to create a unique blend that "the entire family will enjoy."
This album comes as a refresher in a time when hip-hoppers are making millions re-grooving classic rock. It is great to see classic rock recreating itself. This may not be the gigantic rock classic that Zeppelin was, but in a time of one hit wonders and cheap imitations, it is a truly wonderful album; a must have for Zeppelin fans of all ages.
If Walking into Clarksdale is the retirement album for legends Jimmy Page and Robert Plant
, it is truly a powerful note to go out on. It proves that some good things never really get old, they just age like a fine wine. - Robert Walker II***1/2