Should Zeppelin reunite? Most definitely

The communal bond that keeps fans of Led Zeppelin listening and hoping is strong, if not stronger, than it was when first forged by the hammer of the blues-loving gods in the late 1960s. It has withstood the death of one member, long absences by the other three and occasional cameo reminders of what is and what will never be.

When the three remaining members — Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones — reunited with drummer Jason Bonham, son of the late John, for a concert last December in London to honor the late Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun, Ron Laffitte considered not attending, even though he obtained a ticket more precious than Willy Wonka’s gold ducats.

“I’ve been a fan since I was 11,” said Laffitte, a managing partner at Red Light Management, which handles acts like Alanis Morissette, The Decemberists and Band of Horses. “I bought ‘Physical Graffiti’ in 1976. I didn’t get to see them when they toured in ’77, when I was 12.

“I almost didn’t go to the show (in December) because I thought, ‘What if I fly all the way to London and they suck?’ All of my life, this band meant so much to me. If they suck, it will destroy the illusion.”

But naturally, he went.

Love or money?
Plant is 59, Page is 64 and Jones is 62. When they were about 27, 31 and 29, respectively, I saw them at Madison Square Garden, in 1975. (The exact ages are unclear because research reveals they played the Garden at three different times of that year on their North American tour, and I can’t find my ticket stub). It was about as spiritual an experience as a high school-aged kid could have while breathing hemp fumes from the blue seats and grooving to “Dazed and Confused” while being wonderfully dazed and confused. I’m not a religious man, but this scripture I could dig.

Roughly 32 years later, the band returned, with Jason being embraced by band members and fans alike for having his dad’s genes and his own wicked beat. The show at London’s O2 arena was a smash hit, fueling speculation that Led Zeppelin might just turn the one-night stand into a thing.

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Just why has Led Zeppelin resisted the lure to tour all these years when many of their rock and roll brethren — the Rolling Stones, Eagles, Police, to name a few — have ignored their “been there, done that” instincts to perform for thousands and rake in millions? Why are Plant, Page and Jones the last holdouts?

Obviously, when John Bonham died, something within the other three went with him. Yet with Jason such an accomplished and honorable replacement, there isn’t that obstacle anymore.

I understand the Led Zeppelin fan’s catch-22 as well as anyone: I want them to tour, but I want to remember them as they were. That’s what Laffitte experienced going in.

“It completely lived up to the hype,” he said. “The feeling in the room was incredible. The anticipation was incredible.”

‘Serve the fans, serve the music’
Cameron Crowe understands this better than most. He went looking for that confounded bridge like the rest of us, only he got there. Now an acclaimed writer-director, his experiences as the youngest-ever contributing journalist for Rolling Stone were chronicled in his film, “Almost Famous,” for which he won an Oscar for best original screenplay. Led Zeppelin was one of the famous groups he made even more famous in the ’70s.

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“I think the band has always been driven by their very unique — and mystique-filled — relationship with their fans,” Crowe said via e-mail. “The group has always had a ‘No middleman’ stance with their audience, even to the point of never taking official advertisements out for their concerts in the ’70s. In our modern era of flat-out salesmanship, it seems almost impossible to depend so much on word of mouth. But they were always a word-of-mouth band, and over the years that value has only increased.

“The credo was always: serve the fans, serve the music. If they were solely interested in a payday, they probably never would have broken up when John Bonham died. If Zeppelin tours, you can bet it’s because they felt it was right for the music and their legacy. Page, Plant and Jones are very careful about never ‘dragging the flag in the mud.’ Witness their reunion for Ahmet Ertegun last year. They picked the right time, took their time getting there, and it was a feast for fans.”

Just prior to the Dec. 10 show in London, David Fricke, senior editor at Rolling Stone, interviewed the three surviving band members for a cover story. While he is wary of speculating on whether they will tour again — “I can’t presume. It’s silly of me to do that. I’ll report on it if it happens” — he did say that the years have not sapped them of their ability to rock.

“My discussions with the band members before the show pretty much assured me they had taken the show seriously and really wanted to be as good as their legend,” Fricke said. “That’s why they did so much rehearsal and work on their set list beforehand. So when the lights went up and they came out, it was clear they had prepared and taken it seriously.”

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