Rocktrospectiva: The Funny Retro Pop On "The Honeydrippers: Volume One" Turns 40

 

Released on 24 September 1984 and then on 12 November in the UK, "The Honeydrippers: Volume One" was a mini album by a band led by English rock singer Robert Plant, a project originated when Atlantic Records president Ahmet Ertegun wanted to record an album of his favourite songs from the 1950s., so Plant was chosen because Ertegun had seen his pick-up band the Honeydrippers performing 1950s standards. Included in the band were Chic front man Nile Rodgers, Late Night with David Letterman bandleader Paul Shaffer, and former Yardbirds guitarists Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page a former co-partner of Plant with Led Zeppelin, the album spawned the single "Sea Of Love".

As a curious fact, "Sea Of Love" became Plant's biggest-selling single, but according to Plant, the original single was "Rockin' at Midnight," with "Sea of Love" as the "B" side, the single was eventually "flipped" because radio stations were playing "Sea of Love" far more than Rockin' at Midnight. Plant feared his career would be ruined by this, and that people would think of him now as a "crooner", instead of the rock and roll singer he'd always been.

In the years to come, Plant stated that this was his personal favorite project that he ever recorded, so the plans to do another Honeydrippers album was under discussion between Plant and Ertegun, but unfortunately the second one died in December 2006, so the plan was shelved permanently. 

This retro-rock project that hauled out five golden oldies from the pre-Beatles era and served them up authentically, or at least as authentic nostalgia. There is a certain sense of pastiche here, particularly in how "Sea of Love" is drenched in oceans of strings, far more than on the Phil Phillips original, which manages to evoke the era of lily white pop covers in a way that no straightforward cover could, but that's part of the charm of the record. Some may find this kind of pastiche a bit distancing, even campy, but there's a genuine warmth in Plant's performance, and his group of Honeydrippers both had a great time running through these handful of oldies, particularly on "Rockin' at Midnight." It may not be much more than a lark, but it's truly fun, even if it might have been slightly more fun making it than it is listening to it.

 

The Honeydrippers Volume One Track List:

 

1. I Get A Thrill

2. Sea Of Love

3. I Got A Woman

4. Young Boy Blues

5. Rockin' It A Midnight