Led Zeppelin Reunites

Led Zeppelin will begin touring as soon as they find a singer. According to bassist John Paul Jones, the group will reunite without Robert Plant.

Jones said that Jimmy Page, Jason Bohnam, and himself are all craving to hit the road as soon as possible.

Plant, busy with his tour with Alison Krauss, was hoping to reunite with his former band mates "in a couple of years," and not now. However, the excitement of the other three is so big, that they are not willing to wait for him.

The band has begun trying vocalists and, according to Billboard, Jones cautioned Plant sound-a-likes were not the goal, and that "it's got to be right. There's no point in just finding another Robert. You could get that out of a tribute band, but we don't want to be our own tribute band."

Rumors have also circulated that Alter Bridge vocalist Myles Kennedy is in the running to step in for Plant.

Although not publicly said, there is some speculation in hope that Plant will yield, give in, and join the musicians for the promising reunion of one of the most important rock bands that ever existed. The partnership Plant-Page is one of the three most important ones of the musical landscape along with Mick Jagger and Keith Richards from The Rolling Stones, and Paul McCartney and John Lennon from The Beatles.

That's the reason why it sounds strange that the band will reunite without its lead singer when half of the band's existence runs through Plant's veins. It is not the same to replace, say, a drummer or a bassist as it is to replace a singer, for obvious reasons. The distinction of a voice is what projects the group's stamp and familiarizes an audience with it. Surely, we recognize a certain guitar sound as Carlos Santana's, for example (who speaks through his guitar), but a voice is 100 percent recognizable and being void of it will carry a different impact on the public. Without its lead singer, Led Zeppelin runs the risk of merely sounding like a cover group band playing their own tunes.

On Nov. 4, Rhino will release a 10-disc boxed set featuring Led Zeppelin's nine studio albums plus the rarities album, Coda, in mini-LP replica sleeves with artwork from the original U.K. vinyl releases.