For those dogs that like
their Led Zeppelin without any frills,
this is the bone for you.
Years after the tragic end to Led Zeppelin,
Jimmy Page released Outrider to very little
fanfare, but if guitar rock is your thing,
then this is definetly one for you, not
a single keyboard used, and don’t let
that fool you into thinking the sound
isn’t full, think again this is Mr. Jimmy
Page we’re talking about here.
Jason Bonham occupies the drum stool for
seven of the nine tracks, and a more than
adequate job he does of it to, you can
never compare two musicians fairly, but
let us just say that his father would
have been more than proud.
To these floppy ears it’s the instrumentals
on the album that really take the biscuit,
showing the likes of Eric Johnson and
Kenny Wayne Shepherd how to play with
flash but keep it interesting.
Although all the songs sound as if they
have been recorded by a band who’ve known
each other for years, actually Jimmy uses
2 drummers, 3 bassists and spread over
the 6 vocal tracks 3 vocalists, the very
underrated John Miles (he of “music” fame)
handles the first brace with his usual
aplomb. Chris Farlowe (“Tears Go By”,
Atomic Rooster and Colosseum) takes the
final curtain calls, when he engagingly
stutters his opening delivery of “I’ve
be a b-b-b-b-b-bad b-boy and I’ve been
a bad boy all night long” you can actually
hear him smirk and wink over Page’s bleeding
electric guitar, of course after this
the lyrics descend even further into bloke
rock, and the guys seem to be having the
time of their lives.
The final vocalist used is of course Jimmy
Page’s old sparring partner, Percy himself
Mr. Robert Plant, and it’s a credit to
the other two that this song is not the
stand out track of the album, I think
that has to go to the 12-bar of “Prison
Blues”, if Mott could get his paws round
a guitar neck, this is the way he’d play
guitar, with legs astride, head thrown
back, in front of 250,000 screaming women.
As in the last quote this album may be
a little self indulgent, but they sure
don’t make albums like this anymore, and
to make sure it was just right Jimmy Page
even produced the whole thing himself.
If you still not convinced, try lending
an ear to Jimmy Page’s latest release
with the Black Crowes where he revamps
his old Led Zeppelin Catalogue as well
as bashing through some old chestnuts.
Listen and Believe.
Pawed by Mott The Dog
Remastered by Ella Crew
E-mail: review@mott-the-dog.com
