PAGE & PLANT - UNLEDDED 2ND NIGHT AUGUST 26TH 1994

It was strange. Waking up after the euphoria of the night before, it dawned on me pretty quickly that I was going to see a second intimate Page & Plant show, the rebirth, the return. Questions and smiles. What a night. 

Of course, the shock and wonder of seeing the first performance of the collaboration could never be repeated, we knew (mostly) what to expect. But in a way that made it all the more exciting and added to the mouthwatering anticipation.  A morning back at work before changing into (different than the gig before) clothes for the second Page & Plant gig in as many days. How often can you say that?!

Alan Cousins and I arrived well before 5 at the Pier opposite Festival Hall.A larger crowd was gathering, even more familiar faces smiling in the sunshine. Dave Lewis, Howard Mylett (RIP), Gary Foy, Billy Fletcher, Tim Ellock, Luis Rey, plus the motley bunch I managed to get onto Jimmy's personal guest list thanks to him and felicitated by Rex King. And many more faces, friend's I'd got to know from record fairs, collecting, my Early Days & Latter Days magazine, my bands, assorted gigs and experiences. Being a friday, the guest list was bulging, it was the hottest ticket in town. The Dancing Days London Convention crew reunited for all the best reasons. 

The tension and nerves some 24 hours before was gone, those here for the first (only) time were feverishly asking how Thursday night was, but don't tell me what they played. But did they do Kashmir? The usual dance! Getting in took longer, the checks and security was tighter. One thing comes to mind, no bootlegs have emerged from these shows, even 25 years later. 

Spotted Hugh Cornwall, ex-Stranglers guru near Aerosmith's Joey Kramer before things kicked off. As I and many others suspected, noone had any idea where they were sitting the night before or what they were wearing. Tonight I'm 2nd row far right, Simon P next to me. I spotted myself 3 times on the DVD edit, once from Thursday and twice from the second night! It feels like tonight is the real thing, by that I mean that they're confident with what's recorded but this is when it lifts somewhere else again.

The basic set is the same, What Is And What Should Never Be is swapped as opener with Thank You and some PA howls disturb the mood and finesse. It was when Najma appeared for the east meets west glory of The Battle Of Evermore that the evening broke open. Without the inital shock of the previous night it was easier to take in, enjoy and celebrate. Beautiful arrangement, even better tonight. Gallows Pole was strident and powerful, lifting as Michael Lee kicked it up a gear or two. And, as with last night, we then get a breather. 

The next part of the set was as Thursday and equally magical. Rain Song was the summer of our smiles, delicate and glorious. The newly stately blues of Since I've Been Loving You filled the studio and reminded us of their immediate British roots, those long lost days of Duster Bennett, Fleetwood Mac and John Mayall, that Led Zeppelin took those pure, simple days and moved the mood and style so much further. 

I remember Jimmy's tasteful ad libs, those out but in time and key flurries drawing forth a roar of approval and ringing cheers and applause. These are the moments that make it so right.

The closing triplet, the Bombay two step and Kashmir close the main set. Kashmir is astounding. Simple. 

The version on the DVD is so from this night. Comfortable and happy the first night is in the bag, they stretch and bend, move and shift. Before the extended coda, Jimmy's incessant blats of sound push the band to extraordinary cross rhythms before Robert throws in some Black Dog ad libs and the Egyptian Ensemble challenge the western strings and solid rhythm section to a mad frenzy that causes utter chaos. It's the perfect moment, the nadir of the collaboration and, as all these things tend to be, a unique inspired flash of genius. 

They depart, and we can't quite believe it. One of those moments, inspired and sublime, in front of our very eyes. Then a few minutes later they're back for another bring it all down lovely That's The Way. Now the actual business is done there's a feeling of being among friends, of celebrating their music and all that has brought all of us to this point in time and space. No one wants it to end. Just when we think it's all over there's a dimming of lights and scurrying onstage and the premiere of Wonderful One, a new lilting composition underpinned by a deft drum loop. It's a lovely song, drifting back into an otherworldly time, full of English symbolism and deference. We get two runs at it, both light but neither really spot on judging by their collective glances and eye contact. Still near magical mind you.

Off again and that MUST be it, surely. But,as is the way of these recordings, there's more. A second That's The Way is just lovely, sounding just how it would have done on that Snowdonian hillside up where they call it Golden Breast. And to cap it all a back to its' roots Nobody's Fault But Mine, just filmed in that slate quarry, to close a remarkable brace of performances. 

We filed out, almost startled by the fresh air and headed for a pub to stare, laugh and try and make sense. It was that fresh, that amazing, that celebratory. 25 years on I feel such affinity and affection for those days, those recordings and all of us that were lucky enough to share the experience. 

Tempered by the missing John Paul Jones, it was still a positive and remarkable way forward. Strange as it may sound, the fully fledged tour that followed may have been amazing in its' own way (I certainly witnessed some brilliant performances and moments) but these two nights in Studio 2 were unique and unrepeatable. The DVD and broadcast are only the tip of the iceberg, believe me!