It’s almost shocking to think how many legendary rock singers are still alive! There are literally fewer than the fingers on one hand… Robert Plant is, beyond a shadow of a doubt, one of them and indeed a living legend in every sense of the word. Having drawn a line under the Led Zeppelin chapter decades ago, he performs consistently, both on record and live, with various musical projects, depending on his current experiments and undeniable musical interests.
So, nineteen years after his appearance at Terra Vibe with Strange Sensation, he returned to Athens with Saving Grace, a project he formed with the exceptionally charismatic singer Suzi Dian from Birmingham. Armed with an exceptional album from the previous year, the six-piece band was destined to enchant the Athenian audience, which, unfortunately, did not fill the Lycabettus Theater.
After a twenty-minute delay and once the annoying drizzle had stopped, the intro and the first notes of “Win My Train Fare Home (If I Ever Get Lucky)” from the long-ago “Dreamland” (2002) left the audience spellbound; shortly afterward, they were swept up by a modern rendition of “Ramble On”, not exactly faithful to the original, of course. The Led Zeppelin era was further covered by “Four Sticks,” “Friends,” and “Gallows Pole,” with a bit of “Black Dog” thrown in, though, of course, without the riffs that have become ingrained in all our ears and minds, while the show closed with “Rock And Roll”; yes, that was “Rock And Roll” just as we know it and just as we wanted to hear it. That last song was played only in Athens on this tour! “Saving Grace” was represented by “Higher Rock”, “As I Roved Out,” and the amazing “Everybody’s Song.” Let me clarify here that if the titles mean anything to you, Plant’s work over the years has mainly consisted of covers but of songs he’s managed to make sound like his own, such as Neil Young’s masterpiece, “For The Turnstiles.”
No matter what we say about Robert Plant, it will never be enough. His voice remains crystal clear, without having lost any of its world-renowned timbre. And as a top-tier musician, it’s only to be expected that he would choose collaborators of a similar caliber.
The audience left thrilled, it couldn’t have been any other way. They gave Plant and his bandmates a standing ovation, as the 100-minute set was truly mesmerizing, bordering on the sacred.
Before I wrap up, I’d like to clarify that when I said at the beginning that he has turned his back on Led Zeppelin, I mean that he has abandoned the legendary band’s sound as well as some of their so-called hit songs. When he decides to play Led Zeppelin at his concerts, the songs will be a surprise. After all, he has proven that he never rode on the coattails of Led Zeppelin’s success, something that most, if not all, would have done in his place.
Setlist: Win My Train Fare Home (If I Ever Get Lucky), Down To The Sea, Higher Rock, Rable On, There Ain’t No Grave Gonna Hold My Body Down, Four Sticks, Orphan Girl, Let The Four Winds Blow, Calling To You, As I Roved Out, For The Turnstiles, Friends, Gallows Pole / Black Dog, Everybody’s Song, Rock And Roll.
Dimitris Kazantzis
