While the debates on which form live rock and metal performances should continue, in a recent interview with Syncin’ Stanley YouTube channel, Twisted Sister’s Jay Jay French expressed his opinion on the matter by giving Robert Plant and his decision to perform Led Zeppelin songs as an example.
Fans and artists of the music industry, like Tim ‘Ripper’ Owens and Joe Lynn Turner, have different views on whether rock and metal performers should use backing tracks and lip-sync on their live shows. Turner, for example, had stated that he would rather have a bad performance than lip-syncing. However, we see an alternative for ‘lip-syncing vs. bad performance’ with the former Led Zeppelin member Robert Plant.
Since the band’s break-up, the former vocalist has pursued a solo career. Although he had stated before that he didn’t want to sing Led Zeppelin songs, he occasionally sings them at his live performances, yet in a different key than the original. While his usage of a different key has also been a topic of discussion, an explanation came from Jay Jay French.
After stating that performers use backing tracks and lip-syncing because of the pressure of giving consistent shows, French argued that not every artist was honest to themselves like Robert Plant. He revealed that Plant admitted to being unable to sing Zeppelin songs the way he used to. So, he changed the key he sang them instead of going for technological enhancements.
French’s explanation of Plant’s decision:
“Very rarely do you have artists who are so honest with themselves, and they cannot do what they used to do that they just up and don’t do it anymore. [Led Zeppelin singer] Robert Plant is one of them. He said, ‘Hey, I can’t do Zep songs. I can’t even do it if you lower the key down two steps. I can’t do it. I won’t do it. I’m not gonna besmirch the reputation of this band, and I’m not gonna do it.’ So, he doesn’t do it. When you see Robert Plant as a solo artist, he’ll do some Zep songs in a completely different key in a vocal range he can actually do it in.”
Jay Jay French gets why the performers use technology to accompany them on stage. But in addition to this, he praised Robert Plant’s choice to use his raw voice by only changing the key of the band’s songs instead of using backing tracks or lip-syncing. Apparently, French is in favor of understanding personal capabilities and being honest about it. Still, he believes the choice is up to the individual and the fans’ reactions.
