Robert Plant - Dreamland

brilliant

a beautiful and wonderfully arranged music that robert plant has compiled. i am always on the look out for his music, and i would recommend this cd to every one who is a plant fan. and for new listeners give this one a try. June 4, 2008

Dreamland Remastered

Former Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant never disappoints when it comes to varying his approach with each studio release. Dreamland retained some of the hard rock that was found on former albums, but if anything it exploded with the Eastern styles and soft, timeless melodies that were, until now, less recognizable but nevertheless valuable.

Funny in My Mind takes off as a straightforward, semi-mystical song that immediately gives us slight memorable reminiscing of his Plant's days with Led Zeppelin. The fact is, many of these songs are blues covers, and coupled with the fact that this was Plant's first outing with his now steady touring band "The strange sensation", this album could have had the opportunity to turn off many long time fans.

If anything, it does the opposite, garnering Plant's interests in Eastern styles which are executed in formats of rock, blues and folk, while still allowing him to croon and wail like its 1975 again. The song "Morning Dew" has the mystical flutes and distant Congo drum sounds that allow for a very soft, ethereal tone throughout. The song "Song to the Siren" is every bit as slow, almost seeming to stall while waiting for Plant's magical lyrics to catch up. The song "Red Dress" definitely spices things up a bit, with an aggressive blues lick and a buildup of daunting singing that opens up for a Southern style of sass and attitude. The cover of the Hendrix hit "Hey Joe" is heard here as well, but it is nothing like the Joe you knew from the Hendrix days. Plant applies a much different rhythm to it all, and the scary sounding guitar sounds at the opening minute of the song adds a totally new way of enjoying this timeless Hendrix classic. The song "Skip's Song" is another that will feel very Zep like to a listener, with sad melody that elegantly skips along with crescendos that roll along before vanishing into the distant horizon.

The Remastered album is well worth the cost of admission, opening a doorway to another enjoyable outing with Robert Plant. Included are two bonus tracks, one which is "Dirt in a hole", which features fast moving guitar licks that lean back to reveal a song that starts out about a preacher but soon covers a multitude of things about life.
October 18, 2007

The New Percy

Like many other reviewers, I'm not into the covers album thing, but Robert Plant's effort is so different. Gone are the high pitched shrieks of the 60's and 70's, and replaced with a deeply mature voice, almost bordering on crooning. Robert's voice is just beautiful from beginning to end, especially on his take of Tim Rose's Hey Joe and Darkness Darkness. The latter, showed Percy very emotional but strong with his delivery. He made the sound his own with his now familiar Eastern influence, and at over 7 minutes it was in a word, gorgeous. This is by far his best album since Principle Of Moments. June 3, 2007

Times change, keep up or get left behind....

First of all, if you're expecting Led Zeppelin era Robert Plant-or even the 80's & 90's Robert Plant, you're going to be sorely disappointed with this CD. These songs are a departure from his previous work and really can't be considered "rock". It's a blending of many different types of music that Plant has dabbled with in the past, both in his solo work and with Led Zeppelin. You're going to hear a stew of Blues, Country, Rock, Middle-Eastern and Modern Acoustic influences here--most of which is done in a style designed to evoke a "dreamlike" state ( hence the title ). What you won't hear is a 54 year old Plant trying to belt out hard-driving nods to "Communication Breakdown" or "Immigrant Song". Plant has clearly moved above and beyond trying to be what he was when he was 19. This is an album for musically mature listeners. If you're looking for a return to the Glory that was Led Zeppelin, look elsewhere, you won't find it here. Plant is one of the few aging rockers that realizes how ridiculous it looks when you try to relive or bring back a bygone era. Overall, a good purchase for someone looking for something a bit different. November 8, 2006

Re-Review

When I first got this CD I wrote a bad review of it. But after listening to it for a while more closely It's not that bad. I guess I had heard such great things about it that when I got it my expectations were so high that I was disappointed when it turned out to be just a CD. There are some really outstanding cuts here Darkness Darkness, Another Cup of Coffee and Funny in My Mind to name a few. I'm still not happy with the production and sound quality though. Maybe it's suppose to have that retro feel or Robert in the raw touch? I understand that they have remastered it and improved the sound quality and have added two additional tracks, get that version if you can. Also if you re write your review you cannot change the star rating I would probably give it a 4 or higher now... August 5, 2006

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