Originally appeared in Billboard
by Kristina Tunzi

At 56, Robert Plant is no less the golden god that he was in Led Zeppelin. Current CD “Mighty Rearranger” demonstrates that he remains possessed by a pure rock’n'roll soul, and is as innovative and vital as ever. On second single “All the Kings Horses,” Plant and his band the Strange Sensation trade in the heavy guitars and drums for a more intimate, somber ballad on which Plant promises to be our “soldier of love.” This lovely, otherworldly tune may not achieve the same chart status as previous singles but it is certainly a treasure for fans. ||Continue reading||

Originally appeared on bbc.co.uk Berkshire Review of the July 29, 2005 WOMAD appearance
By Tom Woods

The diversity of culture and musical extremity that gives WOMAD its mass appeal, has long embraced a tropical dance culture epitomised by performances over recent years from Jimmy Cliff, The Bundu Boys and Kanda Bongo Man. Rarely though does this good-humoured family fiesta branch out into the realms of rock, but when the voice of Led Zeppelin re-appears with a band boasting varying elements of world music, the offer seems just too exciting to refuse. ||Continue reading||

Originally appeared on BBC online–Berkshire
By Linda Serck

We spoke to Robert Plant before his performance at WOMAD 2005.

Plant opened his set at WOMAD with current band Strange Sensation with Led Zeppelin’s song No Quarter. The second song he played was theenew single off current album The Mighty Rearranger, called Shine it all around. They also played Black Dog, and ended with Whole Lotta Love. So the crowd could still “get zepped” at WOMAD while listening to Robert Plant, even though he’s moved on from that period. ||Continue reading||

Review of July 24, 2005 appearance at Greek Theatre–Los Angeles, CA
Originally published in The Orange County Register
By BEN WENER

Review: Robert Plant dusts off the cobwebs of his past to offer a fresher form of nostalgia at the Greek Theatre.

The key to unlocking the current mystery about Robert Plant - how it is that, as he approaches 57, he’s suddenly in peak form - resides in a muted but scathing verse in one of his latest songs, “Tin Pan Valley.” ||Continue reading||

Originally published in Lost Angeles Times
By Richard Cromelin, Times Staff Writer

In “Tin Pan Valley,” a new song Robert Plant offered Sunday at the Greek Theatre outlining his effort to escape the pull of nostalgia, the former Led Zeppelin front man sang “My peers may flirt with cabaret, some fake the rebel yell.” ||Continue reading||

Originally published in Union-Tribune
By George Varga UNION-TRIBUNE POP MUSIC CRITIC

It’s a sad reality that too many still-active rock ‘n’ roll legends from the 1960s and 1970s are content to keep living in the past, on record and in concert, the better to please nostalgia-hungry fans and keep raking in the big bucks.

But not former Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant, who regards moving forward as an artistic and personal imperative. ||Continue reading||

Review of July 19, 2005 appearance at Paramount Theatre–Oakland, CA
Originally published in Contra Costa Times
By Tony Hicks

LET’S GET THIS out of the way.

Robert Plant, the onetime Led Zeppelin singer who played Tuesday night at the Paramount Theatre in Oakland, isn’t your typical old-guy rocker. He, at the very least, tries making fresh music. He’s traveled the world, finding new styles to wrap into his art. He doesn’t completely eschew the past, but he sure doesn’t ride anybody’s wave of nostalgia. ||Continue reading||

Review of July 19, 2005 appearance at Paramout Theatre–Oakland, CA
Originally Published in San Francisco Chronicle
Joel Selvin, Chronicle Senior Pop Music Critic

Robert Plant may be rock’s eternal hippie, with incense still wafting over the stage when he performs, but his band was all business Tuesday before a sold-out Paramount Theatre in Oakland. ||Continue reading||

Review of July 19, 2005 appearance at Paramount Theatre–Oakland, CA
Orginally published by ign.com
by Spence D

The scene at Oakland’s historic Paramount Theatre was one of stark contrasts. Okay, not really. It was jam packed with mostly 50 something year old diehards running the gamut from bespeckled white collar types to long-haired hippies, many sporting ancient Led Zeppelin t-shirts that were obviously dredged up from some mothball saturated corner of their closets. There were also a fair number of juveniles in the house, many under the watchful eye of their parents. While the opening act Little Axe was playing most folks of legal drinking age were lined up at one of the venues three bars, swigging back plastic bottled Bud, wine, and mixed drinks. At roughly 9:45 a buzzer echoed through the hallways signaling that the main attraction—Robert Plant and the Strange Sensation—would be starting shortly. ||Continue reading||

Review of July 19, 2005 appearance at Paramout Theatre–Oakland, CA
originally appeared on insidebayarea.com
By Leslie Katz, STAFF WRITER

THE BIG 1989 earthquake didn’t knock down the Paramount Theatre in Oakland. On Tuesday night, about 3,000 ecstatic Led Zeppelin fans didn’t do it, either, although their collective energy just about blew off the roof. ||Continue reading||