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I giorni dello sgargiante Percy sono finiti. Il tempo lo ha segnato, nel fisico e nella testa. Il sogno di immortalità si è spezzato con la tragica e prematura scomparsa dell’amico di sempre, John Bonham. Insieme avevano cavalcato l’onda per più di un decennio, passando dall’anonimato nelle Midlands alle ovazioni delle più importanti platee del globo. E già sembravano lontani quei tempi in cui le folle del mondo intero, “The Ocean” come le chiamava Robert, erano tutte ai piedi dei Led Zeppelin. Per anni avevano danzato sull’orlo dell’abisso, mescolando il blues più sulfureo al rock’n’roll più elettrico. Una vita passata tra scariche adrenaliniche ed eccessi. “Walking side by side with death”, come cantava Robert. La Morte che già aveva preso suo figlio Karac, il bambino senza paura. E che ora si prendeva anche Bonzo. Non restava che osservare lo Zeppelin, alto nel cielo, in fiamme. Il crepuscolo degli Dei. Il fantomatico patto con il Diavolo era sciolto. Quell’entità suprema e magica aveva cessato di esistere, tanto rapidamente come era nata.
Ci sono voluti un paio d’anni per placare quel disperato senso di colpa, per riprendersi dallo smarrimento e trovare la forza di ricominciare. Dalle ceneri del Dirigibile nel 1982 nasce “Pictures At Eleven”, il primo disco solista di Robert Plant. Al suo fianco Robbie Blunt, abile chitarrista ed amico di gioventù. Il lavoro vede anche la collaborazione alla batteria di due mostri sacri come Phil Collins e Cozy Powell. La voce del nostro da tempo non è quella degli esordi. Quel suo canto acuto e viscerale, quel gemito primordiale che lo aveva reso il più grande cantante della storia del rock, ora si è fatto più riflessivo. Pur mantenendo la medesima personalità ed espressività. La musica stessa è diventata più pulita e raffinata, un rock moderno ed accattivante, impregnato di influenze esotiche.
Robert ci canta della liberazione e del sollievo. Poesie malinconiche che rievocano i paesaggi sonori del passato, ma si tengono lontano dalla furia febbrile ed incendiaria degli Zeppelin. Si passa dalle cavalcate rock come “Burning Down One Side” e “Mystery Title” ai richiami orientali di “Slow Dancer” e “Pledge Pin”. I brani più ispirati risultano però essere le due splendide ballate, la mistica “Moonlight in Samosa” e l’intimistica “Like I’ve Never Been Gone”.
“Pictures At Eleven” è un lavoro equilibrato e genuino, probabilmente il più significativo della carriera solista di Robert. Il disco vende bene sia in Inghilterra che negli States e anche la critica, spesso molto dura con i lavori degli Zeppelin, ne è entusiasta. Insieme a “Coda”, il disco postumo del Dirigibile, sarà anche il canto del cigno dell’etichetta del gruppo, la Swan Song. Come a segnare il definitivo strappo con il passato. I giorni dello sgargiante Percy sono finiti. Inizia una nuova vita, lontana dalle luci della ribalta e dalla frenesia dei tempi andati. L’amore per la musica invece è sempre lo stesso. Una continua ricerca di emozioni alla maniera dei vecchi trovatori. Il nuovo attraverso l’antico. Nel ricordo del gruppo più grande della storia del rock.
Elenco tracce testi e video
02 Moonlight in Samosa (04:01)
Time and again I see you walking down the street
Over and over, just like before
Once in a while you stop and say hello to me
Just like you used to do before
Time and again, it's like we were in love and then
Over and over - nobody keeping score
Once in a while I think you notice when I smile
That love still lingers in my eyes
It can't go wrong, it can't go wrong
It lingers on, it lingers on
Day after day I turn it over in my mind
Dream after dream it's hard to tell you how I find
Out of the blue I'm suddenly so close to you
Despite the years that I've been gone
Will you stop - will you wait a minute - please remember
Can you stop - can you just give me one minute to explain
I will not cause a fuss, I will not rock the boat - believe me darling
Oh what is, what was, it's all the same
03 Pledge Pin (04:03)
Watch them go 'cause one by one they rise to fall
Hearts in tow, it's just a game - she's only having fun
She laughs and turns away
Surprised, she mocks, its all the same
Tonight's the loss tomorrow's gain and in the end it's so
Stand in line as one by one they march in time
In the wings I stand and watch these foolish things go by
Just preparing for the play aloof she moves
The confidante, with practiced step
Married now, she executes her role
As the cavalcade begins to thin, do you stop and look around
Free to choose but not to win - you're just too late
Your show is at an end - now you're the victim of your game
Through your fingers watch them slip
Familiar rules just hit and miss for the one who never shows
04 Slow Dancer (07:45)
Slow.....
Slow dancer, ooh no answer for you
new moves to see
Oh, fast talker, in darkened corners, for you
new words to hear
Oh sly glances, half-chances for you
the eye that sees
When the sun slips from the day
and the coolness brings relief
there's no torment 'neath the stars
in the stillness of the night
when the swirling has to cease, behind the safety of the veil
Now...
In high places, ooh darkened faces, so indifferent in days to be
Oh lost race, no losers only winners return to see
New orders can't be altered, when the eyes refuse to see
and the sun slips from the day, and the coolness brings relief
there's no torment 'neath the stars in the stillness of the night
when the swirling has to cease behind the safety of the veil
ah ah ah ah, ah ah oh (2x)
Now
Soft spoken, never could be broken awaiting the call that frees
slow burning, soon will learn, complacence bears down on me
hearts leaping, hopes been reachin' to the heights - to the heights
the signs to see
05 Worse Than Detroit (05:58)
Operator, give me Central Central
Help me try to get my baby on the line
Information, hear me calling, calling
Find that number, give it to me one more time
It's been so long since I saw her
Anything I'd give to hear the little girl of mine
Whatever it takes, got to make it, make it
Please connect me now before I lose my mind
Because I don't know, no I don't know what I'm gonna do
No I don't know, no I don't know what I'm gonna do
Tastes so good, sweet as honey, honey
All she carries is impossible to use
It's built for speed man, watch her coming, coming
Moves so fast in someone else's shoes
Looks so fine lord, watch them running
Anything she wants you feel obliged to do
Keep your hands in your pockets
She can shift more gold than the king of Peru
But I don't know, no I don't know what I'm gonna do
No I don't know, no I don't know what I'm gonna do
Somebody, somebody, somebody, somebody yeah
Somebody, somebody, somebody, somebody yeah
Man drinks whisky, drive him crazy in time
Woman sits and cries as day will follow day
Man need lovin', keep him happy sometime
Woman gets some when the honeydripper's on his way
But I don't know, no I don't know
What I'm gonna do
But I don't know, but I don't know
No I don't know, no I don't know, no I don't know
Yes, no, yes, no, yeah yeah yeah
yeah-yeah yeah-yeah yeah-yeah
yeah-yeah yeah-yeah yeah-yeah
She can do it, she can do it, she can do it babe
Oh, yes, she's sweet as honey, sweet as honey
Sweet as honey, ooh yeah
She's sweet as honey - oh yeah!
06 Fat Lip (05:08)
I can't believe it, it happens each day
It's ill conceived, just throw it away
To watch the waiting time slipping away
It won't be long now
I hold the moment, the hour is sublime
It's hard believing, dancing with time
To watch the waiting time slipping away
It won't be long now
Down at the landing when the boats come in, people stand in line
Close by the water where the fishes swim, round and round to pass the time
But you know it's gonna get there
Around and around it's gonna spin
Out at the airport where the planes come in, people buzzing like flies
Out at the airport where the planes come in, see the hours go flashing by
But you know it's gonna get there
Around and around it's gonna spin
Down at the station where the trains come in, never make it on time
Down at the station where the trains come in, see my friends all walk the line
But you know they're gonna get there
Around and around they're gonna spin
View it all with suspicion, view it all and despise
View it all with suspicion, view it all with my eyes
08 Mystery Title (05:16)
Had to leave in a hurry, couldn't wait to get away
It's not a case of being sorry, it's the price I have to pay
And confidentially I think it's sad but there's nothing I can do
If the road leads to the highway, well I'm hot and I've got to move
Ah-ha I've got to move
Got to change my arrangements, had the word I'm on my way
I couldn't stand it much longer, got the move, I'm on my way
I didn't mean to let you down but there's nothing I can do
If the road leads to the highway, well I'm hot and I've got to move
I'm hot and I've got to move
Talk of strain in relations, of the days of being confused
You told me never to worry, I'll never ask you to choose
Categorically I have to say it's as much as I can do
To sit around here waiting, when I'm hot and I've got to move
Oh, sometimes it's lonely oh but it's the only
Way I know and the road is leading me on
Ooh baby, I've got to move, yes
Oh, now baby baby, I've got to leave
And when I think back I smile and know that
Win or lose it's the road that's calling me on
Ooh, baby baby I've got to move, yes
Ooh, baby baby I've got to move, yeah
There's a man in a suitcase standing in a darkened room
Message light is burning, and the blinds are always drawn
It's been a while since the last time, never should come back to soon
Behind, the door is slamming, when he's hot he's got to move
When he's hot he's got to move
Yes, he's got to move
Yes, I've got to leave, yeah
Sometime, I've got to leave, yeah
That's right, yes, that's right, yes that's right
Ooh, yes, you know it's right, you know it's right,
You know it's right, you know it's right
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