Review of the Malta Wine and Blues Festival Show, July 18, 2007

Originally appeared on di-ve.com

by Alan Fenech

Former Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant rocked the crowd gathered at the Valletta Waterfront on Wednesday as he sang to a set which alternated between old Zeppelin classics and the new psychedelic feel of his latest album.

The Robert Plant concert brought an end to the three day wine and blues festival which also included performances by John Mayall and Smokie amongst others.

Coming on stage sporting a t-shirt with crossbones printed on it, the Rock legend made the crowd sway and mesh to the likes of “Black Dog”, “Strange Sensation” and “Whole Lotta Love”.

The sound of Plant’s music has shifted from the classic metal sounds to a newer feel with the introductions of mandolins and Far Eastern cadences as well as a re-arrangement of Whole Lotta Love which kept the riff and yet saw a gypsy-punk tinge added it. This however rocked the crowd nevertheless.

What the audience seemed to expect unsatisfactorily was a rendition of “Stairway to Heaven”, although if one had to have a close look at the set lists of the Plant concerts in the past years he would certainly notice that the rock classic was never present.

The Band led by Robert Plant on vocals also featured Billy Fuller on bass, Clive Deamer on drums, John Baggott on keyboards and synths, Justin Adams and Skin Tyson on guitars.

The concert given by Plant at the waterfront will definitely go down as one of the alltime greats on the island and this is also thanks to the way the Rockstar managed to revisit old favourites and nevertheless move ahead into new territory. This is undoubtedly no little feat and a clear sign of a living legend whose musical geniality lives on.

The impression left by Plant is that while still not denying his former days, which after showered him with successes and led him to stardom, he has managed to move on evolving along the way.