Page and Plant getting the Led out in Marrakesh

by Salman Hameed

Actually, this was part of their 1994 Unledded tour - so technically, there was no Led there (John Paul Jones was not part of this). So no Led Zeppelin, but this is still amazing (and by the way, there is 'no' reunion of Led Zeppelin on the way). From Open Culture:

The resulting album and DVD feature an assortment of Zeppelin songs that were reinterpreted with the help of an Egyptian ensemble, an Indian vocalist and the London Metropolitan Orchestra, but perhaps the most interesting part of the project was a trio of new songs recorded with local musicians in Marrakesh, Morocco. Those performances, shown here, were the result of a collaboration with traditional musicians of the Gnawa minority, whose sub-Saharan ancestors were brought to Morocco many centuries ago as slaves. 

“We’d never met the Gnawa when we went there,” said Plant in a 1994 interview, “but they were very patient, and smiling is a great currency.” Gnawa music is traditionally performed for prayer and healing, and differs from other North African music. “They play a kind of music which is much more akin to the music of the Mississippi Delta than it is to do with Arab music,” Plant said in another interview. “It’s haunting, seductive, and quite alluring.”

Here are two of the three songs:

City Don't Cry - Wah Wah:


And here is The Truth Explodes:


Oh and just a bonus from the early Led Zeppelin days. Here is a 1973 live performance of Since I've been Loving You: