No Quarter: Jimmy Page & Robert Plant Unledded | ||||
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Live album by Jimmy Page & Robert Plant | ||||
Released | 8 November 1994 | |||
Recorded | August 1994 | |||
Venue | Jemaa el-Fnaa in Marrakesh, Morocco; Slate quarry near Corris & Dolgoch Falls, Wales; London, England | |||
Genre | Rock | |||
Length |
75:38 (Original version) 79:32 (2004 reissue) |
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Label | Atlantic | |||
Producer | Jimmy Page and Robert Plant | |||
Jimmy Page & Robert Plant chronology | ||||
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Professional ratings | |
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Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
Allmusic |
No Quarter is a live album by Jimmy Page & Robert Plant, both formerly of English rock band Led Zeppelin. It was released by Atlantic Records on 14 October 1994. The long-awaited reunion between Jimmy Page and Robert Plant occurred on a 90-minute "UnLedded" MTV project, recorded in Morocco, Wales, and London. It was not a reunion of Led Zeppelin, however, as former bassist and keyboardist John Paul Jones was not present. In fact, Jones was not even told about the reunion by his former bandmates. He later commented that he was unhappy about Plant and Page naming the album after "No Quarter", a Led Zeppelin song which was largely his work.
In addition to acoustic numbers, the album features a reworking of Led Zeppelin classics featuring a Moroccan string band and Egyptian orchestra supplementing a core group of rock and roll musicians, along with four Middle-Eastern and Moroccan-influenced songs: "City Don't Cry", "Yallah" (or "The Truth Explodes"), "Wonderful One", and "Wah Wah".
The album was #4 on debut on the Billboard's Pop Albums chart.
Several years later, Plant reflected on the collaboration very positively:
The will and the eagerness with Unledded were fantastic and [Page] was really creative. Jimmy and I went in a room and it was back. His riffs were spectacular. To take it as far as we did, and the tour we did – it's one of the most ambitious and mind altering experiences.
In July 2014, Guitar World placed No Quarter on their "Superunknown: 50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994" list.
All songs by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, except where noted.
Initially, the album was released in the United States with the following tracks:
For the tenth anniversary, the album was re-released with a different cover and altered track listing. "Thank You" was cut, "City Don't Cry" and "Wonderful One" appeared in substantially edited versions, and "The Rain Song" and "Wah Wah" were added. In addition, "Yallah" was retitled, and several other tracks had minor alterations to their running times. The new running order was as follows: