Led Zeppelin to tour?

I think it would be suicide for them to tour under the old name with a new singer. The level of ridicule it would bring would be immense. I feel sorry for the other three, they are between a rock and a hard place. Plant means biggest tour of 2009. Some other dude means medium sized venues in selected countries.

This sounds like sourgrapes from Jack Bruce (ex-Cream) in regards to Led Zeppelin:

Jack Bruce picked up the Classic Album gong for Cream's "Disraeli Gears" at last night's Marshall Classic Rock Roll Of Honour held at London's Park Lane Hotel.

After the ceremony, Classic Rock magazine's Dave Ling grabbed Bruce for a quickfire interview — and was stunned when the legendary bassist launched into an extraordinary anti-Led Zeppelin tirade.

An excerpt from the chat follows below.

Classic Rock: The million dollar question: Are Cream going to do anything again?

Jack Bruce: Oh yeah, I'm sure we will. But we'll have Todd Rundgren [who's just walked by] in the band by then.

Classic Rock: It's good news that there might be more from Cream.

Jack Bruce: Well, the trouble is that I'm doing so many amazing things on my own. Cream is just a band from many, many years ago, and we did do something [referring to the reunion shows in 2005]… Everybody talks about Led Zeppelin, and they played one smurfing gig — one smurfing lame gig — while Cream did weeks of gigs; proper gigs, not just a lame gig like Zeppelin did, with all the [vocal] keys lowered and everything. We played everything in the original keys. [Becoming animated]: Smurf off, Zeppelin, you're crap. You've always been crap and you'll never be anything else. The worst thing is that people believe the crap that they're sold. Cream is 10 times the band that Led Zeppelin is.

Classic Rock: That's a bold opinion.

Jack Bruce: What? You're gonna compare Eric Clapton with that smurfing Jimmy Page? Would you really compare that?

Classic Rock: To be fair, they're different kinds of player, aren't they?

Jack Bruce: No! Eric 's good and Jimmy 's crap. And with that I rest my case.

You know, that's so sad it's funny...or so funny it's sad...I can't quite decide.

It looks like Jack is still the same old hothead that he was back in the day.

xyz wrote:

It looks like Jack is still the same old hothead that he was back in the day.

That's why Clapton doen't want to work with him anymore since the last tour.

I agree 100% with Jack on this one.

Schbopo wrote:

I agree 100% with Jack on this one.

Schobo I like you but what Jack Bruce said are the rantings of a bitter old man who feels Cream didnot get their proper due, Cream was a great band but his statement regarding Led Zeppelin is 100% pure bullsh!t .

Well, maybe not 100%. Mostly I just agree on the "Cream is better" part and the "Clapton is better" part.

Schbopo wrote:

I agree 100% with Jack on this one.

What, you think LZ sucks? Better clean out your ears boy.

troublezone wrote:

What, you think LZ sucks? Better clean out your ears boy.

Not saying they suck, but Cream is better and Zeppelin is over hyped and overrated and that Clapton is better than Jimmy.

Please don't kill me.

Schbopo wrote:

Well, maybe not 100%. Mostly I just agree on the "Cream is better" part and the "Clapton is better" part.

I disagree, for one both bands were blues based hard rock bands, the differences are IMO are 1) Led Zeppelin wrote better songs, sure Jimmy Page's songwriting sometimes neglected to mention the original sources but he like Iommi is a master riff writer. 2) Ginger Baker excellent drummer, but John Bonham was a better drummer, and was Led Zeppelin's secret weapon. The guy was a monster. 3) Eric Clapton has a guitartist is not as sloppy and as unfocused as Jimmy Page can sometimes be, and techincally he is a better guitar player, but Jimmy Page never wrote or recorded songs as horrid as " My Father's Eyes" or "Lay Down Sally". Jimmy Page didnot abandon is roots to sell albums to bored housewives, also Jack Bruce excellent bassist but he is no John Paul Jones.

On the negative side for Led Zeppelin is that they have overplayed their songs to the point of some tracks being unlistenable to me.

Both great bands and both would influence the creation of heavy metal.

Quote :

Clapton is better than Jimmy.

Technically yes but he was not as good at riffs as Page. Bonham is "The" rock drummer of all time. Notice is said rock not metal for those who may comment.

I hate to say it, but Clapton really doesn't float my boat, never has (especially the solo material). I don't hate it, but I'm not inspired by it.

Page (in my humble estimation) is one of the most brilliant "RHYTHM guitarists" in the history of rock, the amount of killer riffs he came up with is staggering. Plus he's also an amazing player on acoustic and used many alternate tunings to create a very personal sound to his compositions. He may not be the most technically gifted solo guitarist on the planet, but the stuff he played was REAL and you feel it.

Page and Clapton are both deservedly legendary, but Page painted on a much larger canvas.

detuned wrote:

I hate to say it, but Clapton really doesn't float my boat, never has (especially the solo material). I don't hate it, but I'm not inspired by it.

Page (in my humble estimation) is one of the most brilliant "RHYTHM guitarists" in the history of rock, the amount of killer riffs he came up with is staggering. Plus he's also an amazing player on acoustic and used many alternate tunings to create a very personal sound to his compositions. He may not be the most technically gifted solo guitarist on the planet, but the stuff he played was REAL and you feel it.

Page and Clapton are both deservedly legendary, but Page painted on a much larger canvas.

Well put.

While this thread isn't about Clapton, I have to show the opposing viewpoint on the Clapton/Page thing. Clapton is a much better guitarist, IMO. His work with The Yardbirds, John Mayall, Cream, Blind Faith, and the Derek & The Dominoes album is nothing short of amazing. I agree his solo stuff leaves alot to b desired, but those albums I mentioned; put up against Page's Zeppelin catalogue, dwarfs it, IMO. Clapton surely isn't God, but he definitely is better than Page in Brian World.

In fairness to Jack Bruce, here are additional comments he made to clarify what he meant:

n an effort to clear up the previous comments he made about Led Zeppelin, Jack Bruce of Cream was on Detroit's rock station WCSX's morning show. Here what he had to say:

"I was just having some fun with the press gallery, really," he said. "[I was being] fairly tongue in cheek, but it's also the truth…. I mean, obviously, those gigs that we did are now three years ago, so it's ancient history now. And they did do that gig, but they also hijacked that gig 'cause that was supposed to be a tribute for Ahmet [Ertegun; the late founder of Atlantic Records and mentor to many music icons], and we were going to be playing it, 'cause it was gonna be at the [Royal] Albert Hall, and it was gona be all sorts of people — the [Rolling] Stones and all sorts of people were going to be playing — but then they kind of hijacked the gig and made it into a Zeppelin gig, and Eric [Clapton; Cream guitarist/vocalist] and me decided that we didn't want to be a part of it — 'cause it moved to the O2, which is a quite large venue in London. And we thought it had gone in the wrong direction for us as a tribute to Ahmet . . . 'Cause we were really happy to be doing it, and it was going to be fun, because Ginger [Baker; Cream drummer] was going to come from South Africa. And then Eric called me up and said, 'What do you think about doing this now that they're moving it to O2?' And I said, 'Well, I'm not very happy about doing that.' Because I don't really see Cream in a place like that. We are more of an intimate sort of a band. We don't like playing vast places. The Garden is about our limit."

Bruce continued, "The thing about Zeppelin is that obviously it's a little bit of jealousy on my part — or more than a little bit — because the audience was created by Cream and Jimi Hendrix… this sort of very large audience… Then Zeppelin came along and had a very easy ride in that way. We were the pioneers and pioneers don't always get the recognition they deserve, maybe. But, on the other hand, it was true that they didn't play [the songs at the O2 concert] in the original key, and let's face it: Jimmy Page ain't no Eric Clapton… no matter what anybody thinks. . . I mean, the only decent guy, the one good guy in that band is dead… so what are you gonna do? [Laughs]"

He added, "You know my sense of humor… I have a terrible sense of humor. . . I was just having some fun. The trouble is if you say anything about the establishment… In Britain, you mustn't criticize the Queen or Led Zeppelin, basically."

When asked for his opinion on the possibility of Led Zeppelin going out on the road with someone other than Robert Plant on vocals, Bruce replied, "Well, I always thought Robert Plant used the wrong kind of fertilizer, anyway, so I think he might be an improvement… I'm just joking. Robert is one of the all-time, if not THE all-time, great rock singers — I'm not in that league; I'm more of a blues-type singer — and good luck to him."

Earlier in the thread I thought both Trog and Shawn had great points about them touring again. I am all in favor, but as the others said, if it is without Robert Plant call it something else (the way H and H did); and if it is with Plant (and Jason Bonham, the living legacy of Bonzo) then call it Led Zepellin. Peace.

I've read interviews with Ginger Baker and he's said that Jack was always basically a twat. In fact, Cream almost didn't happen because Jack jumped the gun and started spreading the news before the band lineup was even solidified.

I put Jack in the pantheon of rock gods...he's always been an incredibly solid singer, bassist and songwriter, but his quotes above are just ridiculous. Like many guitarists I know, he should only open his mouth when singing pre-written lyrics and otherwise just play his instrument.

http://www.metalhammer.co.uk/news/page-we-wont-tour-as-led-zeppelin/

check this statement out

Thanks for the update Gooch, I am glad that if they are going to move forward without Robert Plant that will not be calling it Led Zeppelin

i am glad also. i would like to go see this but the absence of robert plant puts me off slightly

I saw Jimmy Page on his solo tour in 1988 with a vocalist I didn't care for named Chris Farlow, Page was brillant and even did an instrumental version of " Stairway to Heaven", I also saw Jimmy Page with The Firm the less about that the better.

That being said you should go if they do tour, when Jimmy Page is on fire you will witness magic.

yeah the main reason i would go would be to see jimmy page. but page and plant go togeher like perry/tyler or jagger/richards or slash/axl

have you read that news ?

A spokesperson for LED ZEPPELIN guitarist Jimmy Page has told RollingStone.com that a new band featuring Page, bassist John Paul Jones and drummer Jason Bonham would not go by the name LED ZEPPELIN.

The three musicians have confirmed that they are contemplating going on the road without ZEPPELIN singer Robert Plant, and have jammed witih several potential replacements. Sources have indicated that the leading candidate for the job is Myles Kennedy of the band ALTER BRIDGE.

When asked about the collaboration, an unnamed spokesperson for Page's management company, QPrime, told RollingStone.com, "Whatever this is, it is not LED ZEPPELIN. Not without the involvement of Robert Plant."

Rumors have been circulating for weeks that LED ZEPPELIN, minus Plant, have been rehearsing with other singers for a potential tour. ZEPPELIN reunited last December for a charity concert in London, and speculation about a full tour has been high ever since. But Plant has indicated that he has no desire to do any live work with anyone for at least the next two years.

John Paul Jones confirmed to the BBC that the band has been rehearsing with other vocalists, but he did not mention any names. AEROSMITH guitarist Brad Whitford told a radio show that Steven Tyler had jammed with the group "for fun," while other names in the rumor mill have included Jack White, Sammy Hagar, Dave Grohl and Chris Cornell. White denied that he was approached, while Cornell said he has not been contacted either.

dave grohl would be good i think. wont happen though