No Quarter: Jimmy Page and Robert Plant Unledded

No Quarter: Jimmy Page and Robert Plant Unledded
No Quarter is a live album by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, both formerly of English rock band Led Zeppelin. It was released by Atlantic Records on 31 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 renditions, the album features a reworking of Led Zeppelin songs 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".
Several years later, Plant reflected on the collaboration very positively:
Legacy
In July 2014, Guitar World placed No Quarter on their "Superunknown: 50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994" list.
Track listing
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:
"Gallows Pole" and "Wonderful One" were released as singles.
All songs recorded in London except "City Don't Cry", "Wah Wah" and "Yallah" recorded in Morocco; "No Quarter", "Nobody's Fault But Mine" and "When the Levee Breaks" recorded in Wales.
DVD release
The tenth anniversary of the recording of the Unledded concerts was commemorated by a DVD release of additional songs, a bonus interview, a montage of images from Morocco, the band's performance of "Black Dog" for Dick Clark's American Music Awards and the music video for "Most High" from the Walking into Clarksdale album. The songs included on the DVD release not included on either CD release were "What Is and What Should Never Be" and "When the Levee Breaks". To compensate for their absence from the Live Aid DVD release, Plant and Page donated a portion of their proceeds to the Band Aid Trust.
DVD track listing
"No Quarter" (Jones/Page/Plant)
"Thank You"
"What Is And What Should Never Be"
"The Battle of Evermore"
"Gallows Pole" (Traditional arr. Page/Plant)
"Nobody's Fault but Mine"
"City Don't Cry"
"The Truth Explodes" (formerly known as "Yallah") (Page/Plant)
"Wah Wah"
"When the Levee Breaks"
"Wonderful One"
"Since I've Been Loving You" (Jones/Page/Plant)
"The Rain Song"
"That's the Way"
"Four Sticks"
"Friends"
"Kashmir" (Page/Plant/Bonham)
Bonus material
"Black Dog" (performed at the ABC American Music Awards)
Moroccan Montage
"Most High" music video
Interview
Personnel
The songs were recorded in Marrakech, Morocco (spring 1994), on top of a waste tip at Aberllefenni quarries (17 August 1994), and in a forest in Wales; and in front of an invited audience at London Weekend Television studios over two nights in August, 1994.
Robert Plant – vocals
Jimmy Page – acoustic and electric guitars, mandolin
Musicians in Marrakech (except on "Yallah")
Brahim El Balkani
Hassan El Arfaoui
El Mahjoub El Mathoun
Abdelkah Eddahmane
London and Wales band (except on "No Quarter", "Wonderful One')
Charlie Jones – bass guitar, percussion
Michael Lee – drums, percussion
Porl Thompson – guitar, banjo
Jim Sutherland – mandolin, bodhrán
Nigel Eaton – Hurdy-gurdy
Ed Shearmur – Hammond organ, orchestral arrangements for English and Egyptian Ensemble (London only)
Najma Akhtar – vocals (London only)
Egyptian Ensemble (London)
Percussion
Hossam Ramzy – doholla, musical director for Egyptian Ensemble
Ali Abdel Salem – duf, bendir
Farid Khashab – bendir, reque
Farouk El Safi – duf, bendir
Ibrahim Abdel Khaliq – bendir, mirwas, finger cymbals
Strings
Waeil Abu Bakr – soloist
Bahig Mikhaeel
Hanafi Soliman
Amin Abdel Azim
Also
Bashir Abdel Aal – ney
Abdel Salam Kheir – oud
London Metropolitan Orchestra (London)
Violins
Rosemary Furniss
David Juritz
Rita Manning
Elizabeth Layton
Ian Humphries
Perry Montague-Mason
Mark Berrow
Pauline Lowbury
Clare Thompson
Jessica O'Leary
David Ogden
Peter Hanson
Jeremy Williams
Cathy Thompson
Ed Coxon
Anne Morlee
Harriet Davies
Violas
Andrew Brown
Rusen Gunes
Andrew Parker
Bill Hawkes
Nicholas Pendlebery
John Jezard
Janet Atkins
Celli
Caroline Dale
Cathy Giles
Stephen Milne
Ben Chappell
Jonathan Tunnel
Also
Sandy Lawson – didjeridu
Storme Watson – didjeridu
Production
Jimmy Page – producer
Robert Plant – producer
Mike Gregovich – engineer, mixing
Martin Meissonnier – percussion pre-production on "Yallah (The Truth Explodes)" and "Wonderful One"
Andy Earl – photography
Cally – design
Kevin Shirley – remixed stereo and surround sound for 2004 edition
Accolades
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Video
Certifications
References
Page and Plant albums
Albums produced by Jimmy Page
1994 live albums
2004 video albums
Live video albums
Atlantic Records live albums
Atlantic Records video albums
Rhino Records live albums
Rhino Records video albums
Fontana Records live albums
Fontana Records video albums
Covers albums
MTV Unplugged albums