I am struggling to take my mind back to 1994 and recall my reaction to hearing that Jimmy Page and Robert Plant had reunited. Was I drooling at the chance of hearing more Led Zeppelin-esque riffing & wailing? Or did I hope for something new? Songs that didn't just mimic their work in the 1970s, but rather music that reflected where they were then, some 15 years since they'd done an album together.
As it turned out, No Quarter: Jimmy Page and Robert Plant Unledded gave us lots of Led Zeppelin, but also a few new songs. However, it was more keen on fulfilling the world music promise of "Kashmir" and the October 1972 recording sessions the 2 rockers had in Bombay, India. This was no simple hard rock album. Instead it featured songs recorded in Marrakech, Morocco with local musicians, songs recorded in London with the Egyptian Ensemble led by the legendary Hossam Ramzy, and even more tunes recorded with a group featuring members of Plant's solo band. This last configuration didn't produce straight-ahead rock, though. The usual rock instrumentation was abetted by banjo, mandolin, hurdy-gurdy, and bodhrán. The result was that some Zeppelin classics were given a Celtic makeover.
I bought the album and soon found out that various additional songs were available as b-sides to singles. But, even buying the U.S. CD singles didn't get me everything as I learned that one song was only available on versions of the album outside of North America. It's stunts like this that made me happy to see record companies scared as hell and taking a beating when Napster was introduced.
Hearing "Wah Wah" got put onto a lengthy list of other songs to seek out but was way down. As with Page's Lucifer Rising soundtrack, time went by, and the Internet became accessible and popular. But it wasn't until just a year or so ago that I decided to make a Youtube playlist of the original material on No Quarter which meant I'd be able to hear "Wah Wah" for the first time. Assuming it was actually on Youtube, of course.
Of course it was.
Although the song was not on any domestic release of the album, it was readily available on the DVD of the same name, which is where the Youtube videos I've found are sourced from.
As it turned out, a song I waited somewhere on the order of 28 years to finally listen to ended up being the best of the bunch of new songs on No Quarter. Recorded in Marrakech, it features for local musicians that contribute voice, a frame drum that looks not unlike a bodhrán, what I think are tablas, and a stringed instrument that may be a guembri. These in addition to Page's acoustic rhythm guitar and Plant's singing.
The drums provide a restrained but steady beat for the guitar to play over while the guembri doubles Page's line but in a bass register and in something akin to a lead role. The guembri has this mercurial, hollow kind of sound that is instantly alluring.
Plant sings English lyrics while the Moroccan players add what I presume is some Arabic singing, including, "wah wah", in response to his words. I don't know if "wah" means anything in Arabic or is used for its sound but their singing is a highlight of this song. I also don't know the backgrounds of the Moroccan musicians but here their playing has a homespun feel. It sounds wonderful yet ragged. Tight but loose, perhaps. I can't find anything to indicate whether these guys were street musicians that Page and Plant met or if they're some of the most accomplished recording artists in all of Morocco.
Whatever the case, this song just locks into a groove right away and doesn't let up. It even quickens towards the end for a fantastic finish.
No comments:
Post a Comment