Track Listing

1. Nobody's Fault But Mine
2. Thank You
3. No Quarter
4. Friends
5. Yallah
6. City Don't Cry
7. Since I've Been Loving You
8. Battle Of Evermore
9. Wonderful One
10. Wah Wah
11. That's The Way
12. Gallows Pole
13. Four Sticks
14. Kashmir

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #14106 in Music
• Released on: 2001-03-19
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .22 pounds
• Running time: 80 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Fourteen years of speculation from their fans and occasional sniping between the two former members ended when Jimmy Page and Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin reconvened their former musical partnership to produce No Quarter. Having long resisted offers from MTV to reform to do an Unplugged show, they finally accepted as part of a deal that also allowed them to visit Morocco to record new material. The album combines the results of both of these projects. The Led Zeppelin material features new arrangements and new instrumentation, including strings, Egyptian musicians and the haunting vocals of British-Asian star Najma Akhtar. The selection of songs is notable for including some of their lesser-known classics and all of the re-arrangements are well thought-out and executed. "Nobody's Fault But Mine" and "No Quarter" are almost completely revamped, and the latter in particular sounds terrific. The four new tracks are not always fully developed as songs--the three recorded with native musicians in Morocco, of which "Yallah" is a highlight, appear to be tantalising fragments of longer jams. Nevertheless, they are always interesting. The fourth track, "Wonderful One", is a moving ballad on which Plant's voice, which throughout the album appears better than ever before, gets yet another chance to shine. --James Swift

Customer Reviews

Led Zeppelin songs blended with Eastern rhythms and sounds
Calling this album by the video title of "Unleded," as a takeoff on "Unplugged," sorely misses the point of why "No Quarter" is not just Jimmy Page and Robert Plant doing acoustic versions of Led Zeppelin songs. The primary attraction of this album is the infusion of Eastern rhythms and sounds into their old songs. The Egyptian Ensemble's percussion section uses instruments you just do not hear on rock 'n' roll albums: Dobolla, Duf, Bendir, Reque, Merwas, Nay and Finger Cymbals (for good measure the back up band includes a Bodhran and Hurdy Gurdy). As soon as you hearing the opening of "Nobody's Fault But Mine" you know that there is an exotic twist to these songs this time around. "No Quarter," "Friends," "The Battle for Evermore," "Gallows Pole" and "Four Sticks" all benefit from this fresh approach. Then, just to make things really interesting, we get the string section of the London Metropolitan Orchestra to come in on the awesome version of "Kashmir" that ends the album. Consequently, the songs were we do not really get the full flavor of this exotic twist, such as "Thank You," That's the Way" and "Since I've Been Loving You," seem a bit out of place. It would be hard to argue that Plant's voice is everything it once was, but ultimately he is just another instrument on this mix. I have always appreciated the mixing of musical styles, whether it is Paul Simon and Peter Gabriel using South African influences or Loreena McKennitt blending Celtic and Eastern music together, so I certainly consider "No Quarter" to be in that successful vein. The fact that these are Led Zeppelin songs just makes this album that much better.

Brilliant
I believe this is one of the best CDs I have in my collection. The blend of Led Zeppelin and that Egyptian orchestra creates an incredible sound. These new versions of Led Zeppelin songs are as superb as the originals. Highly recommended. It is just a must!!!

Retrospective with style
Much better than Walking into Clarkesville, this album includes fresh recordings of some Zeppelin greats plus new material, often in collaboration with musicians from a range of backgrounds - even Kashmir recorded with classical Egyptian players. And it works!

Best of all, Gallows Pole sounds like it was always destined to be played on banjo and hurdy gurdy. Pure joy to behold.