Robert Plant and the Strange Sensation

In "Tin Pan Valley," a song from his Mighty Rearranger CD that's also performed in this 2005 PBS-aired Soundstage concert, Robert Plant proclaims his refusal to live off past glories: "My peers may flirt with cabaret, some fake the rebel yell/Me—I'm moving up to higher ground, I must escape this hell." Considering that five of the 11 songs performed here (including two bonus numbers) originated with Plant's former group Led Zeppelin, those lyrics come off as a mite disingenuous. But Plant and his young, versatile group (including members of Portishead, Massive Attack, and other Brit bands) deliver genuinely thrilling versions of "Black Dog," "Gallows Pole," and "Four Sticks," and surely deserve some kind of medal for breathing new life into "Whole Lotta Love." Overall, the song textures are fairly exotic, featuring a percussion-heavy bent reflecting Plant's explorations of North African and Middle Eastern styles (previously visited on the Plant-Jimmy Page collaboration No Quarter), with less reliance on melody and harmony and more on rhythm and feeling, especially in newer material like "The Enchanter" and “Tin Pan Valley," while the commingling of lowdown blues grooves and the subtle atmospheric use of electronics brings a different sound to the Zep tunes. Plant is a low-key showman these days, a far cry from the blond-maned rock king who once fronted the biggest band of the '70s (those screeching high notes are a distant memory as well), but this high-definition filmed, Dolby Digital 5.1 recorded concert is an admirable testament to the singer's determination to stay in the game. Recommended. Aud: P. (S. Graham)