Being a weeklie podcaste from Madison, Wisconsin featuring several remarkable curiosities therein occurring being a compendium of live music from divers artistes
Take a Little Trip Back To High School
September 9th, 2009
On the musical front, I have been feeling a bit nostalgic as of late. I think it began when Michael Jackson died and the press, both music and otherwise, was filled with tales from the 80s – music videos, clips culled from the likes of MTV, etc. Since I did not listen to Jackson, I instead recalled other music which I did listen to at the time, which was mostly classic rock and prog, with some 1950s/60s Top 40 thrown in for good measure. This line of thought came to a head about three weeks ago when I was at Mad City Music. Shuffling through the used CD bin, I came across a copy of Sixty Six to Timbuktu by Robert Plant, a double disc retrospective set which featured material from his career before and after Led Zeppelin. The first song on it was “Tie Dye on the Highway” from his 1990 release, Manic Nirvana.
I listened to Manic Nirvana quite a lot my senior year of high school. This, coupled with the fact that I hadn’t put a Robert Plant solo album on my stereo in ages, rattled something around in my brain. A week or so later I ended up buying the remastered version from 2007 which had three bonus tracks on it to replace my old copy and found myself in the middle of a phase wherein I was trying to recall the soundtrack to my terminal year of secondary schooling.
There was classic rock – Zeppelin, The Doors, The Who, and all the rest which were given endless airplay on radio stations appealing to the nostalgic leanings of Baby Boomers. Prog was beloved to me and I believe I was the only kid in my school that listened to it. My proggy diet consisted mostly of classic 70s bands like Genesis, Yes, Gentle Giant, Magma, etc. but I also indulged in the neo-prog stylings of Marillion, IQ, Pallas, and others. I suppose that at this time I was also dipping my toes into the waters of metal with Metallica and Iron Maiden, taking the odd trip down industrial lane with Ministry, and enjoying the punk goodness of the Sex Pistols, The Dead Kennedys, and whatever else my friend Jeremy threw my way.
Despite the fact that I mostly listened to music that dated to roughly the time I was born, I must admit that the strongest associations I have with my senior year and music comes down to two albums: Manic Nirvana and another which will get its own post. Just looking at the covers of these albums brings back memories. As I think back 20 years into the past, it occurs to me that I listened to a lot more music from that time than I had previously thought. Presto by Rush, Tull’s Rock Island, Pete Townshend’s The Iron Man…sure, none of these bands were fresh & new, but I didn’t wallow purely in their 70s glories. I don’t know why it is that Plant’s and the as of yet unnamed band’s albums should be so front and center in my memories of the time. I missed Plant at Alpine Valley in the summer of 1990 and the other group had quit touring a few years previously. On the other hand, I did see Rush there in June 1990, The Who there the summer before, and Tull at the Chicago Theater, in the fall of ‘89.
The only reason I can think of is that these were albums that I had the opportunity to listen to with many of my friends. My buddy Dogger loved Presto (and it is his favorite Rush album lo these two decades later) but I don’t recall anyone else enjoying it. And my proggy tastes were shared by no one else in my school so Rock Island was purely a solitary pleasure. Perhaps these albums were 80s enough for my Top 40 listening friends yet 70s enough for my ears, if that makes any sense.
So how do they hold up some 20 years later? Let’s start with Manic Nirvana.
After John Bonham died in the fall of 1980 and Zeppelin called it a day, Plant was back in the studio the following spring to begin carving out his new career. Over the course of three albums, Plant moved away from Zeppelin with his solo stuff eschewing the big riffs of his former band. On the concert stage he refused to perform Zeppelin songs. By 1988 Plant had come to terms with his past as the Now and Zen album featured Jimmy Page on a couple tracks as well as some Zep samples. In addition Plant began to perform Zeppelin classics live.
And so the most noticeable thing about 1990’s Manic Nirvana was that the first side was full of chunky guitar riffs and Plant’s orgasmic moans and screams. These songs were, in many ways, the most Zeppelin-like of his solo career. Minus Plant’s voice, “Big Love” is indistinguishable from any cock rock band of the period with mantras like “She loves to go down”. This shouldn’t be surprising considering all the mullets band members were sporting. If he was going to do a knock-off of a current pop muso, Prince wasn’t a bad choice for “SSS&Q”. But it suffers like a lot of music from the time in that nearly every nook and cranny was filled with a bit of electronic percussion or synth flourishes. “I Cried” with its acoustic guitar and atmospheric waves of electric harkened back to Plant’s early solo material.
The second side begins with more riffing on “Tie Dye on the Highway”. Featuring a drum box approximating a hip hop beat, the song certainly sounds dated. But it has the best guitar riff on the whole album and the beat is catchy despite showing its age. The heavy riffing being done, the album here meanders from mood to mood. “Your Ma Said You Cried in Your Sleep Last Night” is an old 60s tune that Plant & Co. update with a drum machine and some heavier guitar. I find that I still love this song. Despite the new additions, the bubble gum girl vocals keep the 60s feel going and the contrast works well. “Anniversary” is a moody synth-laden affair while “Liars Dance” is just voice and acoustic guitar. The percussion-heavy “Watching You” closes out the album with a bit of drama and Middle Eastern flair.
Listening to the album here in 2009, I think it holds up pretty well overall. On the one hand, the songs sound very 80s. The whole album has a very clean and shiny mix with a slightly tinny sound. Plus the drum boxes usually stick out like a sore thumb along with most of the synthesizer parts. One reason why “Big Love” and a couple other songs are hard to tell apart musically from the likes of Warrant and Poison is the drumming. While Chris Blackwell is not incompetent, he lacks swing here. Instead he provides big, ballsy thumps that go bass-snare bass-snare bass-snare.
On the other hand, there’s a lot more going on here than just the return of big riffs with a variety of styles and influences at play. I never made the Prince connection in “SSS&Q” when I listened to the album in high school so it was nice to hear something new after all these years. Looking back, the Middle Eastern tinged “Watching You” foreshadowed Plant’s Unledded collaboration with Jimmy Page in 1995. No matter how cheesy the drum programs sound today, “Tie Dye on the Highway” still has a great riff. And “Your Ma Said You Cried in Your Sleep Last Night” is still blatantly catchy and brings back memories of cruising to Eau Claire with a friend singing all the while.
My impression is that this album has fallen out of favor with the man himself as only one song from it made the cut for Sixty Six to Timbuktu. This is perhaps understandable since it sounds very much like a product of its time. However, it’s not exactly fair as the performances themselves are excellent with Plant in fine form throughout, proving that he could still scream like the young punk who recorded “Whole Lotta Love” some twenty years earlier. And some credit is due since Plant, who was in his early 40s when he did the album, created something contemporary instead of simply retreading his Zeppelin years.
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