With all the renewed interest in Led Zeppelin surrounding their recent gig at the O2 Arena in London then the release of this “unauthorised” rock biography of the bands lead singer, Robert Plant, could be seen as perfect timing. It’s worth pointing out from the start that this book is not another book about Led Zeppelin and to his credit the author goes to great lengths at the start of the book to point this out. The book does cover the twelve year period that Plant spent in the band as, lets be honest, you can’t write a balanced book about his life without covering this period, but its main thrust is the life and times of Robert Plant from his childhood all the way up to and including the recent Zeppelin reunion. The book does, for the first time, cover Plant's solo years and guest appearances, and it does so in some style.

The book is broken down into eight chapters all of which start and finish at logical points in the musical development of Roberts career. The opening chapters are particularly interesting as they chart his early inspirations and first forays into the music business. The story of how Led Zeppelin came together has been told countless times and as a result Daniel's covers this section without too much fuss so that the reader can get to the heart of this book, which is what Plant did after Zeppelin hung up their instruments.

If, like me, you are in the foothills of your forties you will find that at this point everything becomes very relevant and extremely interesting. I got into the music of Led Zeppelin thanks to an older brother but just missed out on seeing the band live. However I did, and have continued, to follow Plant's solo career and as a result reading the chapters that cover this period of his life brought back some great memories and was also a real eye opener. What Daniel's has managed to show, through various interviews with people who were working with Plant throughout this time, is just how driven the artist was to create something new. He shows how Plant is always looking for new ways to express his music and how he'll go to great lengths to find the right people to collaborate with. This vision does sound like it has made him at times hard to work with but also shows us that here is an artist who likes to get things right.

The book covers in some detail Plant's “Priory Of Bryon” project and also the Page & Plant albums with new interviews from musicians who were involved in these projects, all of which had me seeing the material in a new light. Also if you want to know Plant's thoughts on the Covedale/Page project this book reveals them. As I progressed through the book I was struck with the thought that Plant has never stopped singing since Led Zeppelin came to its abrupt halt, he has always had some sort of project on the go and for those who take the time to read this book I am sure this thought will cross their minds as well.

Daniels takes the reader right up to Plant's recent work with Alison Krauss and also covers, albeit briefl,y the Zeppelin reunion show in December 2007. As I closed the final page I couldn’t help thinking that, out of all the surviving members of Led Zeppelin, Plant is the one that probably doesn’t require a Led Zeppelin full blown re-union. In recent years he has created rich and powerful music with his Strange Sensation and I would go as far as saying that each solo release has got increasingly better. It would be a shame if his creative drive and his limitless desire to create new and fresh soundscapes was derailed by the Led Zeppelin juggernaut.

Neil Daniels has done a great job with this biography; don’t let the fact that it is an unofficial one put you off. If he had been able to secure interviews with Robert the book would have been a killer but for now the new comments that he has secured and the quotes from various publications and Internet sites will have to do. There will undoubtedly be other books on Robert Plant in the future as one senses that his musical journey is a long way from being over, and hence the definitive story is yet to be written. For now however Daniels' book should be seen as the most comprehensive written on Robert Plant that is currently available and I guarantee there will be things in this book that even the most dedicated Zeppelin/Plant fan will not have known about till now.

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