Stairway to Rock

A Whole Lotta Nothing

By Yusuf Abdol Hamid • Urbanwire
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Firstly, I'd like to admit something – I'm a huge Led Zeppelin fan, and my biggest fantasy is to zip myself back to the 70s and witness Robert Plant's leonine tresses and Jimmy Page's explosive guitar work first hand.

Hence, I approached the task of reviewing Stairway To Rock – (Not Just) a Led Zeppelin Tribute with the attitude of a fan who wants to hear justice being done to his idol's songs. Sad to say, this album is not one for Led Zeppelin fans.

For the uninformed, British band Led Zeppelin was one of the biggest hard-rocking acts of the 70s, releasing 18 albums that firmly etched them in history as “THE” band to remember. The fearsome foursome, comprising lead singer Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham, were best known for laying down the foundation for the heavy metal genre.

Dont get ready to Rock and Roll

Those expecting Stairway to Rock – (Not Just) a Led Zeppelin Tribute to be a rock album, are in for a rude shock by this combination of the alternative/industrial/hip-hop genres.

Another curve ball comes in that it boasts a veritable list of who's who in rock, such as Steve Vai , Santana , Slash , Metallica and many others. While that sounds impressive, brace yourself for these superstars being limited to merely mixing samples or providing the services of their band, not actually playing anything themselves. Although Slash is listed, it's actually only drummer Matt Laug from his previous band Slash's Snakepit who appears on some of the songs in this album. So much for hoping to hear Ozzy Osbourne belting ‘ Black Dog ' , or Slash attempting a guitar solo on ‘ Stairway to Heaven ' .

An album to leave you Dazed and Confused

The album contains 11 songs of some of Led Zeppelin's greatest hits such as ‘ Whole Lotta Love', ‘Immigrant Song' and ‘Stairway to Heaven' . A Led Zeppelin fan would fail these songs outright, but as an alternative/hip-hop album, it must be said that a few songs aren't that awful.

Here's a breakdown of the songs I think are listenable:

• ‘All My Love' could qualify as a radio friendly pop/rock ditty that might get some decent airplay.
• ‘Heartbreaker' may not sound anything like the fantastic original, but does manage to enter Rage against the Machine territory with sharp machine-gun fire vocals and crunching guitar riffs.
• ‘Stairway to Heaven' sounds like something the now defunct The Smashing Pumpkins would have produced, and the result is a spaced-out version of the original – considered by many as the best song ever.

Despite not being a strictly rock album, there are some pretty decent guitar solos slotted in occasionally that would give Jimmy Page something to smile about, though I can hardly imagine the band sitting around listening to this album.

The Verdict

Stairway to Rock – (Not Just) a Led Zeppelin Tribute would definitely not appeal to Led Zeppelin fans, but instead reaches out to a totally different and possibly much younger audience. That begs the question: Who are they selling this album to?

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars.