Set List:
Four Sticks
Down to the Sea
Morning Dew
Going to California
Hey, Hey, What Can I Do?
Fixin’ To Die
Calling To You
A House Is Not A Motel
Tall Cool One
Babe I’m Gonna Leave You
Song To The Siren
Misty Mountain Hop
Whole Lotta Love

Robert Plant is unstoppable. He just keeps sounding better and better with each new project he does. Having come off immersing myself in a series of Priory of Brion bootlegs, it was fun to see how that venture served as a springboard for what Robert has been doing with his new band Strange Sensation.

The show opens up with a hard-hitting version of Four Sticks. I love how Robert intricately weaves middle-eastern modes with hard-edged rock and roll. It gives the song a really fresh new sound. Although Priory of Brion did not play this song, right away you can hear the differences in style between them and Strange Sensation. Both have a similar psychedelic twist (although each group approaches that quite uniquely), but part in fact due to Justin Adams’ love of North African music as well, there’s a lot more of that Arabic-Moroccan feel mixed in with the British techno approach that guitarist Skin Tyson brings in.

Down to the Sea was a great number to hear live. As far as I know, I don’t think Robert ever performed this during the Fate of Nations tour. It’s such a hauntingly beautiful song and really translated well live. Robert’s voice sounds quite powerful as he works his way through the intensity of the lyrics.

Morning Dew is a song that you can really hear the evolution of from the Priory of Brion days. Strange Sensation play it much faster and it has a rather smooth and melodic feel whereas I felt Priory of Brion approached the song from a jazzier and grittier angle. Here is a good example of Robert weaving in some middle eastern tones into the song.

Going To California is a song Robert has sung live since the second leg of his 1988 Now and Zen tour. This song keeps getting better and better with each passing year. There’s something very touching and poignant with the way Robert sings it now and the band delicately backs him with acoustic guitar. I think this is my favorite version of the song thus far.

I think Fixin’ to Die is a great song to hear live. It’s got such a driving funky beat to it and I love the whole squeezebox effect. Calling To You, another wonderful solo song from Fate of Nations sounds fantastic with Strange Sensation. This band has a really beautiful sound that’s hard to explain, but I think listening to them play songs they weren’t involved in recording is a good illustration of how well they work together and seem to understand Robert as an artist.

Another song from the Priory of Brion days is Love’s House Is Not A Motel. It’s funny to hear Robert introduce the song as “House is not a Motel in Marrakesh or Las Vegas” There’s an Arabic sound in the song as well as some fantastic vocalizations that were not present during the PoB shows.

It was great fun to hear Tall Cool One again. Gone are the more techno sounds of the 80s and in its place is a much more direct, rock and roll sound.

One of my favorite songs from Dreamland is Song To The Siren. I have the Tim Buckley version and it can’t hold a candle to how Robert sings it. This song is so incredibly beautiful and lush with the orchestral sounds in the mix. I did love that middle eastern bit Priory of Brion used to do, but this really is a stunning version. It sounds much closer to the studio version. My only complaint is that people in the audience talk way too much during the song and that sometimes gets in the way of hearing it.

It’s clear from the energy of the performance and Robert’s droll chatter throughout (I don’t quite understand the numerous references to a rabbit!) that this is a man who shows no signs of stopping. He obviously has an incredible passion for singing and performing. The overall sound quality of this bootleg is okay. Some songs come through loud and clear and others sound very distant, even with the volume turned up. It’s often a bit hard to really hear everything Robert is saying. The crowd noise is minimal so that is a plus.

By Lilip