Top Qs
Timeline
Chat
Perspective

Now and Zen

1988 studio album by Robert Plant From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Now and Zen
Remove ads

Now and Zen is the fourth solo studio album by Robert Plant, released 29 February 1988 by Es Paranza Records, Plant's own label. The album made the top 10 in the US (No. 6) and UK (No. 10). It was certified triple platinum by the RIAA on 7 September 2001. The album was produced by Tim Palmer, Robert Plant, and Phil Johnstone.

Quick Facts Studio album by Robert Plant, Released ...
Remove ads

Background and recording

The tracks "Heaven Knows" and "Tall Cool One" feature Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page. (On the liner notes, Page's participation on the songs is noted with a Zoso symbol.) In response[citation needed] to the Beastie Boys' unauthorized sampling of some Led Zeppelin songs on their 1986 album Licensed to Ill, Plant also used samples from Led Zeppelin songs ("Whole Lotta Love", "Dazed and Confused", "Black Dog", "Custard Pie", and "The Ocean") on "Tall Cool One", additionally singing words from "When the Levee Breaks".

Remove ads

Release and reception

Summarize
Perspective
More information Review scores, Source ...

The original released copies of the CD and Album version contained a wolf motif mini-flag in satin red. This is a tribute to his favorite association football team, the Wolverhampton Wanderers (Wolves by fans). This mini-flag is also a rare collector's item. "Walking Towards Paradise" was originally as a bonus track available only on CD versions of the album and as the B-side of the single "Heaven Knows". Rhino Entertainment released a remastered edition of the album, with bonus tracks, on 3 April 2007.

Now and Zen was received positively by both Plant's fans and professional music critics.[8] In a contemporary review for Rolling Stone, Kurt Loder hailed Now and Zen as "some kind of stylistic event: a seamless pop fusion of hard guitar rock, gorgeous computerization and sharp, startling songcraft."[6] Robert Christgau found it superior to his previous two attractive but forgettable solo albums, writing in The Village Voice that "at its best, it's far from forgettable. Overall effect is a cross between his former band and the Cars."[7]

In an interview he gave to Uncut magazine in 2005, Plant commented that "by the time Now and Zen came out in '88, it looked like I was big again. It was a Top 10 album on both sides of the Atlantic. But if I listen to it now, I can hear that a lot of the songs got lost in the technology of the time."[9]

Remove ads

Track listing

More information No., Title ...

All tracks are written by Robert Plant and Phil Johnstone, except where noted.

More information No., Title ...
More information No., Title ...

Appearances in other media

Remove ads

Personnel

Musicians

Additional musicians

  • David Barratt – programming
  • Robert Crash – programming
  • Jimmy Page – guitar solos (1, 3)
  • Charlie Jones – bass (bonus tracks 11–13)
  • Toni Halliday – backing vocals
  • Kirsty MacColl – backing vocals
  • Marie Pierre – backing vocals
  • Jerry Wayne – voice-over (9)

Production

  • Phil Johnstone – producer
  • Tim Palmer – producer
  • Robert Plant – producer
  • Dave Barrett – engineer
  • Rob Bozas – engineer
  • Tim Burrell – engineer
  • Jonathan Dee – engineer
  • Michael Gregovich – engineer
  • Martin Russell – engineer
  • Icon – design, art direction
  • Richard Evans – design, art direction
  • Davies and Starr – photography
Remove ads

Charts

More information Chart (1988), Peak position ...

References

Loading related searches...

Wikiwand - on

Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.

Remove ads