Friday, July 24, 2009

The Dead Weather - From the Basement. And Led Zeppelin comparisons, because everyone else does it

For my correspondent, Julie of the Jimmy Page Doll 360 Project, here's the wonderful and high quality on-line set From the Basement : Live : The Dead Weather.

Nice stage set, and I love Alison's clothing style in particular. Everyone wearing black, check, desaturated video, check, black amps, check. Some moron has allowed a red light to glow on their amps, but I'm sure he or she's been fired and the light has been replaced with the correct black light that lights up black to let you know when it's juiced. (I'd also recommend Jack to change his name, but since Jack Black is taken, he'd have to go with with Black Jack.)

Enjoy this for as long as From the Basement have it on the web.

Many reviews have compared TDW to LZ. I wasn't convinced, but then I've been a Led Zeppelin fan since 1971. It's not like I just looked them up on iTunes last month, and I'm very familiar with the Led Zeppelin that doesn't sound like Dead Weather. Tangerine, for instance, or about uh, 80% of their songs.

If I had to explain The Dead Weather in Zeppelin terms to a long-term LZ fan, I'd say The Dead Weather is what Led Zeppelin would have been like if they'd never met Robert Plant, Jimmy Page was a cracking lead singer in full Dark Lord mode and they had a rather prettier and more rhythmically-inclined Peter Grant on drums. (Though JW would be a Grant who never met his Richard Cole, for which I am truly grateful.) John Paul Jones in this new band would have to give up writing riffs that boggle the mind (like Black Dog, although I admit that song has a great Dead Weather-style name) and instead stick to big-ass riffs that alternate two or at most three notes from a regular blues scale. And be the guitarist/organist. And the bassist would be Lori Maddox with a flat iron, glasses and bass guitar chops.




The most deadweathery expression on Jimmy Page I could find

4 comments:

Casey said...

Lori Maddox on bass would be enough for me.

Thought you might be interested in this review of "It Might Get Loud":

http://www.thecontrarianmedia.com/2009/07/it-might-get-dull/

Lyle Hopwood said...

Hi Casey, yes, I've read it! Your article is already famous, in fact, having featured not only on Google Alerts but also on http://www.planet-zeppelin.com's thread on the film. I've tried to comment on yr site twice but can't seem to get the right mix of moods into the lil comment box thing. What the hey, I'll have another go when I've finished making covers for my new crop of Dead Weather boots.

I agree that "The Summit" was not quite as mindblowing as anyone, particularly Guggenheim, hoped. He must have emitted a little inner scream of frustration when he saw how that was going to play out. Overall, though I liked it a lot more than you did.

Here's a picture of The Dead Weather's reimagined bassist and singer for your Phwoar! files.

http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb193/Peromyscus/JimmyandLori.jpg

KaliDurga said...

Holy hell, woman, I just read your comments at that IMGL review. Between that and the "meaty treat" reference, I think you're due for some time-out. Altogether too inappropriate. (Though I guess it is my mind that's going the places that you direct, so perhaps I should be on time-out...)

And I now hear your Yorkshire accent when I read your writing.

Lyle Hopwood said...

I really, really, really was thinking about pork ribs when I said that about meaty treats.

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