Artist:Jimmy Page Robert Plant f/Najma Akhtar
Song:The Battle of Nevermore
Album:No Quarter
After Led Zeppelin split up in 1979, lead singer Robert Plant and guitarist Jimmy Page were under constant pressure to reform or reunite the band. Though they did this occasionally, most notably at FarmAid, they tried to resist doing that until this 1994 album. Plant had an active solo career. He had just released the 1993 album Fate of Nations when MTV called him to do Unplugged. Page had just released an album with David Coverdale and was in Japan on tour when Plant's management asked him to meet Plant in Boston. So that was the premise. They were going to cover Led Zeppelin songs for an episode of MTV Unplugged. They taped a couple of performances in England with a string orchestra and an Egyptian Ensemble that you will see on this cover of The Battle of Evermore featuring singer Najma Akhtar. Other musicians included Charlie Jones on bass, Michael Lee on drums, Pearl Thompson of The Cure on guitar, Nigel Eaton on hurdy gurdy and Ed Shearmur on keyboards. He also wrote the arrangements. Shearmur is normally a film composer. The album was certified Platinum. They also released a DVD. And they recorded a second album Walking into Clarksdale in 1998 which was new material. They toured to support it. They could have continued but Plant knew that if he continued touring with Page they would have to play big stadiums and he wanted to perform in a more intimate setting. And that's what Plant has done since then. Page was supposed to record and tour a few years ago. But it doesn't look like he did that. I guess he's semi retired at this point. Here's Jimmy Page Robert Plant f/Najma Akhtar performing The Battle of Nevermore from the DVD No Quarter: Unledded. The entire concert can be streamed on YouTube.
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