Robert Plant's 2nd solo album produced big radio & MTV hits as he grew more comfortable as a solo artist
After the demise of Led Zeppelin, Robert Plant almost called it quits as a performer. It was actually Phil Collins, who knew something about going solo after being part of a big rock band, who encouraged him and actually played drums on his first album. Robert didn't want to go back to the big machine that was Zeppelin, but he did want to write songs, collaborate with musicians and play live. However, he didn't want to tour until he had enough material to do a headline show without dipping into the Led Zep catalog. So it wasn't until his second solo record, The Principle of Moments released July 11, 1983, that he had the solo catalog that would allow him to take his new songs and band out tour.
Though his first album, Picture at 11 (which we reviewed on UAWIL #105), had singles and MTV videos, they didn't capture the public's imagination. But thanks to a concept video by Storm Thorgerson of Hipgnosis fame, Big Log was a hit and showed the world that Robert was capable of more than just screeching along to Jimmy Page's insane guitar riffs. In The Mood also hit the charts and allowed Robert to show more of his vocal talents. The videos are a bit odd but that was early MTV and we go track x track, video x video and recall fond memories of this album from the early 80s.
Hear UAWIL 105: Robert Plant - Pictures at Eleven
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