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Robert Plant, Hammersmith Palais, London <!-- none onestar twostar threestar fourstar fivestar -->
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Your support makes all the difference.This time last week, the Arab punks Rachid Taha and his band earned five stars for their impressive performance. Now, the legend who fronted Led Zeppelin has come close with his own brand of desert rock. Long a fan of the exotic sounds of far-flung locales, from the Kush to the Atlas mountains, as first heard on the Zep's own "Kashmir", Robert Plant has returned to such influences in recent years. His current album, Mighty Rearranger, improves on the blues, folk and Arabic sounds template laid down on 2002'sDreamland.
It helps that he has pulled together an intriguing backing band. Strange Sensation come from all corners of England, though their nucleus is a Bristolian rhythm section who between them have performed with Massive Attack, Roni Size and Portishead. On record they create a welcome spaciousness, though with that earthy feel that made the Bristol sound so distinctive.
Two years ago, at a free festival in Bristol, the band were hesitant and reverential. Now 90 dates into a tour to promote songs they wrote together, Plant and band were one tight, celebratory unit. Rather than hire a bunch of session musos to skulk at the back, the 57-year-old was more than happy to give his twenty- and thirtysomethings equal space.
Indeed, the guitarist Justin Adams was as much a showman as Plant, engaging the crowd by peeling off solos at stage edge and whirling around to Middle Eastern rhythms. Not to be upstaged, and clearly enjoying his new outfit, the elder statesman was in imperious form. His voice had lost its paint-stripping qualities, and the trousers were not as tight round the crotch, but his mane was full, and figure trim.
Also evident was his dry Brummie humour. "Last time I was here, Dave Edmunds was chucking up in '73." He was just as playful with his material, allowing the crowd to sing much of the occasional Zep number. The crowd welcomed new material, and were rewarded with a smattering of classics. "Going to California" and "What Is and What Will Never Be" were disarming examples of folk's impact on UK rock. At the end, Plant teased us with a couple of lines from "Hoochie Coochie Man" before he laid into a blistering "Whole Lotta Love". The Rearranger sounded almost as mighty ever.
Touring until 13 December; www.ticketmaster.co.uk
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