CD REVIEWS
If your CD player has been collecting dust
since you won that iPod Touch on pre-
mierguitar.com, here are two new discs
you can spin (or rip to your iPod).
Landreth is busy wrangling scratches and
muted harmonics into a cohesive rhythm
guitar part on the right, perfectly backing
Arlen’s tasty playing while also playfully
e gging him on. Once Sonny”s turn comes,
you figure all bets are off – until Arlen
a nswers him and ups the ante. Moments
l ike these are why CDs like this are made.
Salute centers around recreating twelve
canonical Zeppelin tracks with what has
to be a record-setting number of guitars.
Producer Brian Tarquin has gone all out to
ensure that rock fans will be properly satiated, compiling a diverse group of artists;
Leslie West of Mountain, Hal Lindes of Dire
Straits and Doug Doppler, a furious player
currently calling the Favored Nations label
home, all lend their chops to the album.
And that’s just three of the tracks.
Arlen Roth
Toolin’ Around Woodstock
Featuring Levon Helm
It also demonstrates that, when chal-
lenged, in the case of “Tumblin”,” or
inspired, in the case of “Unchained
Melody” or “Ballad of a Thin Man,”
Arlen is a force to be reckoned with and
deserves to be mentioned in the same
breath as other Telecaster greats. A per-
fect example is “Sweet Little Sixteen,”
which manages the impossible by com-
bining tasteful, Berry-flavored double
stops with subtle yet otherworldly pedal
steel-inspired bends, all while retaining
the freshness of a first take.
Toolin’ Around Woodstock is typical among
guitar-centric CD releases. Apart from some
incredible guitar work and a few standout
moments, notably Levon Helm’s lead vocals
on the tasty and fresh sounding “Sweet
Little Sixteen,” and “Tumblin’,” which showcase Arlen and Sonny Landreth’s amazing
slide work, the CD never really gets off the
ground to become a recording anyone
other than a guitarist could enjoy.
When that inspiration is lacking, however, tracks like the all too aptly named
“Sleepwalk” are the result, transforming
the classic into the aural equivalent of
Ambien. Bill Kirchen’s contributions also
seem squandered here, with his stringy
riffs and scratchy vocals on “Gas Station
Frustration” welcomed, but not enough to
save an ultimately lackluster tune. – JE
What’s striking about Get The Led Out! is
the variation among the arrangements –
some are marked departures from the original Zeppelin tunes, while others just ratchet
up the gain level. “Moby Dick,” which
features Randy Coven and Leslie West
trading high-powered, Page-esque licks,
stays fairly true to the original blueprint,
while “Immigrant Song,” featuring the perpetually moving fingers of Greg Rapaport,
brings a nu-metal sensibility to an already
heavy song. There’s a lot of artistic freedom
here; the album’s take on “Kashmir” trades
in the original’s plodding, ominous groove
for some tastefully intricate acoustic work.
If you’ll dig this depends on whether or not
you’re a believer in musical reinvention;
people looking for classic Zeppelin may be
disappointed, but those interested in artistic exploration will find plenty to like here.
There are some truly spectacular moments here – a version of
“Unchained Melody” dedicated to
Danny Gatton capably demonstrates
Arlen’s deserved spot in the Roy
Buchanan/Danny Gatton lineage. He
also manages to throw in a nice tip
of the hat to Clarence White, and by
the time his daughter Lexie’s vocals
float in from above a glass eye could
easily shed a tear. Another standout
is the instrumental take on “Ballad
of a Thin Man.” An odd choice to
be sure, but an inspired one, full of
brilliant, drunken bends that show
Arlen’s nearly-incomprehensible,
Gatton-like chops combined with
decidedly non-Gatton-esque, play-for-the-tune restraint.
The lack of vocals is a mixed bag – some
songs, like “Kashmir” and “The Battle
of Evermore” absolutely shine in their
acoustic sensibilities, but other tunes
would benefit from a Robert Plant
wannabe wailing over the top, as his
voice was an essential ingredient in the
Zeppelin stew. Tarquin makes sure to
r ecreate the vocal lines instrumentally,
b ut tracks like “Babe I”m Gonna Leave
You” and “All My Love” originally shined
b ecause of Plant”s delivery. As it stands,
the absence of vocals puts a heavy
e mphasis on the blazing guitar work
h ere, which is definitely strong enough to
c arry the disc.
As an added treat, Get the Led Out!
packs in four bonus tracks from Jimmy
Page himself, dating from 1968-70. It”s
a fascinating conclusion to this tribute
and alone worth the price of admission.
If you’ve been looking for some quality
instrumentals to jam with, look no further.
– CK/AM
Various Artists
Get the Led Out! Led Zeppelin Salute
Arlen’s slide duet with Sonny Landreth,
“Tumblin’,” also hints at what could have
been. Arlen’s more traditional slide work
comes at you from the left, while Sonny
The concept of reinventing classic songs for
a tribute compilation is certainly nothing
new, but Get The Led Out! Led Zeppelin
