Robert Plant Pictures At Eleven CD

Personnel includes: Robert Plant (vocals); Cozy Powell, Phil Collins (drums).
Composers: Robert Plant; Robbie Blunt.
Personnel: Robert Plant (vocals); Robbie Blunt (guitars); Raphael Ravenscroft (saxophone); Jezz Woodroffe (keyboards); Paul Martinez (bass instrument); Cory Powell, Phil Collins (drums).
Audio Remasterers: Dan Hersch; Raj Das; Bill Inglot.
For his debut solo album, Robert Plant doesn't exactly succumb to everyone's expectations. With a less-potent vocal style, Plant manages to carry out most of the songs in smooth, stylish fashion while rocking out rather convincingly on a couple of others. He gets some pretty good help from guitarist Robbie Blunt, who truly comes to life on "Worse Than Detroit," and both Phil Collins and Cozy Powell give Plant enough of a solid background to lean his sultry yet surging rock voice against. Plant channels his energy quite effectively through songs like "Pledge Pin" and "Moonlight in Samosa," while the single "Burning Down One Side" is a creditable one, even though it failed to crack the Top 50 in both the U.K. and the U.S. The most apparent characteristic about the album's eight tracks is the fact that Plant is able to escape most of his past and still sound motivated. Without depending too much on his Led Zeppelin days, he courses a new direction without changing or disguising his distinct vocal style whatsoever. Pictures at Eleven peaked within the Top Five on both sides of the Atlantic, successfully launching Plant's solo career. ~ Mike DeGagne
Led Zeppelin fans dazed from the 1980 death of drummer John Bonham and the breakup of the group shortly thereafter didn't have to wait long for Robert Plant's first solo album, 1982's PICTURES AT ELEVEN. Following in the more modern rock direction that Zep was headed on their final release IN THROUGH THE OUTDOOR, PICTURES AT ELEVEN remains one of Plant's best solo albums.
By downplaying his former band's penchant for stomping, guitar-based hard rock, Plant comes up with a pretty original sound and direction overall - as proven by such highlights as "Moonlight in Samosa," "Slowdancer," and "Burning Down One Side." PICTURES AT ELEVEN signaled the return of Robert Plant, who spent the rest of the 1980s issuing solid solo albums.