PICTURES AT ELEVEN

After John Bonham's tragic death in 1980 that marked the end of Led Zeppelin as a creative unit, each of the surviving members went on to pursue solo careers. Lead vocalist Robert Plant was the first to release an album outside of Led Zeppelin with his 1982 debut Pictures at Eleven - an album that would go on to be a huge commercial success, and also receive largely positive critical reception. It's a solid release that sounds more Zeppelinesque than Plant's future offerings, but I don't think it was until his sophomore observation, The Principle of Moments, that he would truly hit his stride.

The style of production and use of synthesizers indicate that Pictures at Eleven was released in the eighties', but the album has a lot of stylistic similarities to Led Zeppelin's music. Tracks like "Slow Dancer" and "Worse Than Detroit" could've been straight off of Physical Graffiti, and while this certainly isn't a bad thing, the music here rarely exceeds the 'average' mark. The melodies simply aren't strong enough to make this an excellent purchase in my book; although it's competent in every regard, Pictures at Eleven is an average rock album that could probably be ignored by most readers. Apart from the excellent drumming courtesy of Phil Collins and Cozy Powell, this is a totally safe album that doesn't do much that's particularly noteworthy.

Pictures at Eleven is a well-made and professional sounding product across the board, but it just doesn't move me in the same way that Led Zeppelin's best material does. Although Robert Plant demonstrated his potential as a solo artist here, I think most of that potential is untapped. A decent record for sure that fans of Led Zeppelin will want to investigate, but nothing to write home about as far as I'm concerned.