WALKING INTO CLARKSDALE was an enjoyable, but not entirely satisfying album. At this point in their career, Jimmy & Robert seemed to be balancing their own artistic aspirations against the expectation of Led Zeppelin fans. NO QUARTER was a compromise in that they revisited Zeppelin's back catalog, but reimagined the songs with a Middle Eastern sensibility. I think many of us hoped WALKING INTO CLARKSDALE would be more of a return to form, but once again balances their own modern preprogatives while summoning some echoes of their past. My issue with this album isn't so much the mellower tone, but more the fact that album does seem a little lackluster in the second half. I'd place it on the same level as IN THROUGH THE OUR DOOR. I just get this feeling when listening to this that they're holding back a bit on delivering the knockout punches they seemed to come so easy to them in the 70s. This album is more finesse and subtlety than the heavy metal thunder of their youth. It's at least a great record, but falls just short of excellence as a collection of songs.
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