Robert PLANT

Now And Zen

(1988 / 2007)

1. Heaven Knows 4'05
((David Barratt / Phil Johnstone)
2. Dance On My Own 4'30
(Robert Crash / Phil Johnstone / Robert Plant)
3. Tall Cool One 4'41
(Phil Johnstone / Robert Plant)
4. The Way I Feel 5'43
(Doug Boyle / Phil Johnstone / Robert Plant)
5. Helen Of Troy 5'11
(Phil Johnstone / Robert Plant)
6. Billy's Revenge 3'34
(Phil Johnstone / Robert Plant)
7. Ship Of Fools 5'01
(Phil Johnstone / Robert Plant)
8. Why 4'14
(Robert Crash / Robert Plant)
9. White, Clean And Neat 5'30
(Phil Johnstone / Robert Plant)
10. Walking Towards Paradise 4'49
(Jerry Lynn Williams)

Bonus Tracks

11. Billy's Revenge (Live Version) - UK 12'' Single Sep '82) 6'01
(Phil Johnstone / Robert Plant)
12. Ship Of Fools (Live Version) 10'36
(Phil Johnstone / Robert Plant)
13. Tall Cool One (Live Version) 5'07
(Phil Johnstone / Robert Plant)

Total Time: 69:02

  • Robert Plant - Vocals
  • Doug Boyle - Guitars
  • Phil Johnstone - Keyboards
  • Phil Scragg - Bass
  • Charlie )ones - Bass on live Tracks 11, 12, 13
  • Chris Blackwell - Drums and Percussion
  • Jimmy Page - Guitar Solos on Tracks 1 and 3
  • Marie Pierre, Kirsty MacColland Toni Halliday - Backing Vocals
  • Jerry Wayne - Voice-Over on "White, Clean And Neat

    Produced by Tim Palmer, Robert Plant, and Phil Johnstone
    Engineered by Rob Bozas, Martin Russell, Dave Barrett, Michael Gregovich, Tim Burrell, and Jonathan Dee
    Recorded at Swanyard Studios and Marcus Studios, London, England
    Design and Art Direction: Richard Evans at Icon
    Photography by Davies and Starr

    Reissue Credits:

    Remastered by Dan Hersch and Bill Inglot at DigiPrep
    Bonus Tracks Remastered and Renovated by Ray Das at RAK Recording Studios
    Patience and Supervision: Nicola Powell
    Management: Bill Curbishley at Trinifold

    Some interesting and important things have happened at the Marquee Club in London down the years, but few of them match the night of February 3, 1988, when Robert Plant—on that stage for the first time since the late 1960s—introduced his new band and the new music at the launch of an album which would take off faster than any of the others so far.
    "A vocal tour de force/' said The New York Times of this record."At its very best, Now And Zen suggests that Mr. Plant and his young collaborators are capable of making music as visionary as the best of Led Zeppelin. Plant seems to have reached a point where he can accept the past, but he continues to move forward."
    The crucial find was musician/writer/producer Phil Johnstone of The Dangerous Brothers, whose project The Rest Is History intrigued Plant.
    Johnstone had ńî-written the opening track of this album, "Heaven Knows," with his partner Dave Barrett. Plant commandeered Johnstone as keyboard player, co-author of most of the album's material, with a band also comprising Chris Blackwell on drums, Phil Scragg on bass, and, crucially, Doug Boyle on guitar. "A powerhouse combination of ambition and insanity was in place," recalls Plant. "Energy and commitment . . . flooded through the hours and the days of the next seven years" with a band which, over three albums, "weaved an exciting path of fun and achievement."
    "Heaven Knows" epitomises the album with its youthful, crisp precision—the command and variation of pace and a newfound lyrical clarity showed Plant's singing as passionate and strong as ever.
    The dive-bombing seduction song "Tall Cool One," title of a 1959 Wailers instrumental, drives hard with guest Jimmy Page's singular guitar echoing Johnny Burnette's "The Train Kept A-Rollin'." It is a lusty rocker that in part evokes early juke joint roots, pastiching Little Richard through the sound of an Akai sampler. It is full of edge and messages; shot through with irony and moments of synthesised quotations from Zeppelin's music.
    The directness of "Ship Of Fools" is the only really moody, reflective track on the album, drawing on more serene terrain, but sung with the renewed commitment that characterises this album. The real treasure on Now And Zen is kept until almost last. "White, Clean And Neat" is how Plant described his own youth. With this song comes a complex, often dreamlike evocation of teen life; a recollection of the radio bromides by Pat Boone and Johnny Ray that soothed and "touch the boy inside the man" in a world where "Mama didn't tell me what was going abroad / No tales of things to come." There's a message for the time, too: a comparison between the white-bread homilies of the 1950s and the digitally sanitised radio show fodder of the time when Now And Zen appeared.
    - Ed VuIIiamy



    1. Heaven Knows

      A brand new human being, razor sharp, all firm and tanned
      All clean, all pure, with a thirty-second attention span
      As the clock strikes twelve and we're ready for party games
      You play blind man's buff and I'll play out charades

      [Heaven knows] what kind of fool am I
      [Heaven knows] why you take an eye for an eye
      [Heaven knows] what comes over me
      You were pumping iron as I was pumping irony

      Now I find myself fully occupied and half alive
      With your head, heart, arms and legs wrapped around my family pride
      See the whites of their eyes then shoot
      With all the romance of the Ton Ton Macoute

      [Heaven knows] what kind of fool am I [etc repeated]

      Nothing will show as we're shedding our clothes
      But then I suppose, anything goes, anything goes
      But then I suppose that anything, anything goes
      [Heaven knows - heaven knows --]

      [Heaven knows] what kind of fool am I
      [Heaven knows] what comes over me
      [Heaven knows] what kind of fool am I
      Tell me please, please, please
      [Heaven knows] what kind of fool am I --

    2. Dance On My Own

      There's a girl lives on my block
      There's a girl lives on my block
      There's a girl lives on my block
      She's drivin' me mad, she's drivin' me mad, she's drivin' me

      And I don't know what to do
      No, I don't know what to do
      I don't know what to do
      'Cause I want her so bad, yes I want her so bad, yes I want her so

      [Oh-oh-oh-oh] I'm happy dancin'
      I'm dancin', I dance on my own --

      Gonna dance until I drop
      I'm gonna dance until I drop
      Gonna move until I stop
      Gonna twist and shout, go spin it round, gonna do it once more

      [Oh-oh-oh-oh] I'm happy dancin'
      I'm dancin', I dance on my own --

      And I don't care if I die
      I don't care if I die, no
      And I don't care if I die
      Oh, gonna have my fun, gonna do it again, gonna do it once more

      [Oh-oh-oh-oh] I'm happy dancin'
      I'm dancin', I dance on my own --

    3. Tall Cool One

      I'm like a strange cat running in the heat of the night
      I've got a fire in my eyes, got a date with delight
      Some kinda moaning in in the heart of the storm
      I'm gonna love you so hard, you'll want your loving done
      Lighten up baby, I'm in love with you
      Lighten up baby, I'm in love with you

      With my one hand loose I aim to satisfy
      You like my loving machine - I like your bloodshot eye
      Real gone girl, jumping back with the beat
      I'll be your tall cool one with the crazy feet
      Lighten up baby, I'm in love with you --

      I'm so tall and you're so cute
      Let's play wild like wildcats do
      You're gonna rock your tall cool one
      I'm gonna say that, I'm gonna say that, I'm gonna say that

      You stroll, you jump, you're hot and you tease
      'Cause I'm your tall cool one and I'm built to please
      You stroll, you jump, you're hot and you tease
      'Cause I'm your tall cool one and I'm built to please

      [Lighten up baby, I'm in love with you --]

      Move over mister - step on back in the crowd
      'Cause she's a whole lotta sister 'bout to drive me wild
      Lotta places I've been, lotta names, lotta words
      No one compares to my real gone girl
      Lighten up baby, I'm in love with you --

      I'm so tall and you're so cute [etc repeated]

      You stroll, you jump [etc repeated]

      [Lighten up baby, I'm in love with you --]

    4. The Way I Feel

      See what I'm driving at and I'm back behind the wheel
      Just a little nervous - it's something to do with the way I feel
      With the way I feel, with the way I feel
      Trouble understanding - nothing too out of hand
      A little overloaded - some kinda storm in the heart of the man
      Oh - in the heart of the man
      I must have heard it somewhere
      I can't quite remember

      Look what I've turned into and I'm back inside the car
      We travelled in luxury - a little celebration went a touch too far
      Just a touch too far, just a touch too far
      I must have passed it somewhere
      Now I can't quite remember
      But here it comes again

      The mirror tries to please me - the image wouldn't stay
      The stranger is too perfect to take my breath away
      The future rides beside me - tomorrow in his hand
      The stranger turns to greet me and take me by the hand

      Look what I've turned into, and I'm back inside the car
      We travelled in luxury - a little celebration went a touch too far
      Just a touch too far, just a touch
      It something to do with the way I feel, with the way I feel

      The mirror tries to please me [etc repeated]

    5. Helen Of Troy

      She walks like a gunslinger - laughs through the shots
      Got some lead from the hips - she's so hot she can't stop
      She loves like a steam train - out all the time
      She fights like a bobcat - got some fame on her mind
      Tell me why - oh, tell me why

      Fire where the heart is - sweet home on the range
      The call of the wild - see the beast with no name
      Tell me why - oh, tell me why

      The world is waiting here for you, you, you
      Can't you see it anymore
      The world is waiting there for you, you, you
      Can't you see them anymore, anymore, anymore

      The world is waiting there for you, you, you
      Don't you just hear it anymore
      The world is waiting there for you, you, you
      Don't you feel it anymore, anymore, anymore

      She's tall in the saddle - got a rose in her teeth
      She's my hell incarnate - just walkin' down your street
      You've seen the line on the glory from the heart of the flame
      From the ... I don't know a story - but your song never change
      Tell me why - oh, tell me why

      The world is waiting there for you, you, you
      Can't you feel it anymore
      The world is waiting there for you, you, you
      Can't you feel it anymore, anymore, anymore --

      Shoot, shoot - she walks like a gunslinger
      Shoot, shoot - I will I see your shots
      Shoot, shoot - she walks like a gunslinger
      Shoot, shoot - she laughs, laughs, laughs --

    6. Billy's Revenge

      Billy and Jenny will never get old
      That's the kind of love in a story untold
      Kisses are burning, and a touch is so hot
      Crazy with lovin'

      Wide as the sky and deep as the ocean
      Crazy with love and wild devotion
      Feeling went cool when the touching stopped
      Crazy with lovin'

      She's been looking for someone
      He's been looking for someone
      Oh - trouble gonna come someday

      Billy comes home and Jenny's not there
      Walkin' the floor and tearin' his hair
      Feeling went cool when the touching stopped
      Crazy with lovin'

      He's been looking for someone
      She's been looking for someone
      Oh - trouble gonna come someday

      Billy turned the corner
      Goes through the night
      Shaking in the shadows
      Billy's only got one thing on his mind

      It's a heartbreak town
      It's a heartbreak, heartbreak, heartbreak, heartbreak

      She's been looking for someone
      He's been looking for someone

      He's been looking for someone
      She's been looking for someone
      Oh - trouble gonna come someday
      Bye bye trouble - trouble gonna leave you now

      Billy and Jenny will never get old
      That's the kind of love in a story untold
      Kisses are burning and a touch is so hot
      When you're crazy with lovin' you can't stop

    7. Ship Of Fools

      On waves of love my heart is breaking
      And stranger still my self control I can't rely on anymore
      New tides surprise - my world it's changing
      Within this frame an ocean swells - behind this smile I know it well

      Beneath a lover's moon I'm waiting
      I am the pilot of the storm - adrift in pleasure I may drown
      I built this ship - it is my making
      And furthermore my self control I can't rely on anymore
      I know why - I know why
      Crazy on a ship of fools
      Crazy on a ship of fools
      Turn this boat around - back to my loving ground

      Who claims that no man is an island
      While I land up in jeopardy - more distant from you by degrees
      I walk this shore in isolation
      And at my feet eternity draws ever sweeter plans for me
      I know why - I know why
      Crazy on a ship of fools
      Crazy on a ship of fools
      Turn this boat around - back to my loving ground
      Oh no, oh no - ship of fools --

    8. Why

      Oh - the sandman is running
      Oh - he ain't telling you why
      But she knows, yeah she knows
      Oh - the thunder is roaring
      Oh - hear his wings in the sky
      And he knows
      She don't know, she don't know, she don't know
      She don't know, she don't know, she don't know why
      Oh why

      Oh-oh - she wants it bad - oh-oh
      Oh-oh - she wants it bad - oh-oh
      When you're lost and found a brand new friend H
      ere comes another happy end

      Mm - now the fat man is falling
      Oh - see that tear in your eye
      'Cause you know
      You don't know, you don't know, you don't know
      You don't know, you don't know, you don't know why
      Oh why

      Oh-oh - she wants it bad [etc repeated]

      Oh - now the new day is dawning
      Oh - till their pasts mystify
      And you know
      We don't know, we don't know, we don't know
      We don't know, we don't know, we don't know why
      Oh why, why, why --

    9. White Clean and Neat

      Thirteenth day of August '54 I was five years old
      Depending where you're counting from
      Mama didn't tell me what was going abroad
      No tales of things to come
      Daddy, daddy come home in the evening with the burdens of the day
      Pat Boone might come along and take Daddy's blues away
      Mama might take Daddy's head into her hands
      Soothe awhile, soothe awhile, touch the boy inside the man

      Beneath her skirts, between the clean, white sheets
      It's such a long, long way from the streets
      Beneath her skirts, between the clean, white sheets
      It's such a long, long way from the streets

      Miss Debbie Reynolds promised someone out there always to obey
      [Sugar, sugar, white, clean and neat]
      And there was no one better qualified to cry awhile, cry awhile
      Not quite like Mr Johnny Ray
      [Sugar, sugar, white, clean and neat]
      [Sugar, sugar, white, clean and neat]

      Beneath her skirts [etc repeated]

      Baby, don't you want me no more?
      Don't you want me no more?
      Oh yeah - talk to me

      Down at the juke joint, back at the drive-in movie show
      Moondog made one more white boy sanctify
      Out on the streets, the red hot streets, old heroes fell
      And I screamed my name with pride

      Beneath her skirts [etc repeated]

      Hey, baby - don't you want me baby?
      Don't you want me no more?

    10. Walking Towards Paradise

      Hearts on fire - burning fast
      Love, desire - make sweet love last
      This one we'll sing now
      Soon you'll finally see all this mystery
      Wouldn't it be nice - wouldn't it be nice
      [Walking towards paradise]
      [Walking towards paradise]

      On days like this, nights confirm
      You know so much - so much to learn
      Soon you'll finally see all this mystery
      Wouldn't it be nice - wouldn't it be nice
      [Walking towards paradise]
      [Walking towards paradise --]

      Come with me - now come with me
      [Walking towards paradise] br>[Walking towards paradise --]