Robert Plant and Friends - "Long Time Coming"

It would have been interesting to be a fly on the wall at Decca Records after The Beatles hit it big on Parlophone. Decca famously turned down the opportunity to sign the band, and the rest is history. Was there yelling and screaming? A lot of finger-pointing? Did anyone lose their job over that?

I also wonder what the word was around CBS Records after Led Zeppelin’s 1969 debut splash. CBS had had Robert Plant under contract just two years earlier and had turned down his Band of Joy after receiving demos in 1967. Plus, The Yardbirds (with Jimmy Page) had been on Epic Records, a CBS subsidiary. It must have seemed like a missed opportunity by some of the company execs.

And while there have been a number of releases of Page's pre-Zeppelin recordings to capitalize on his later fame, less has been done with Plant’s early work.

I wondered what could have happened if CBS panicked a bit after Zeppelin's debut and re-packaged its Robert Plant singles along with the Band of Joy demos into an album around 1969/1970 in a bid to cash in on his success. The result I came up with is an album I’ve titled Long Time Coming by “Robert Plant and Friends.”

SIDE A
1. Long Time Coming

2. Everybody's Gonna Say (Listen)
3. Laughin', Cryin', Laughin'
4. You'd Better Run (Listen)
5. I've Got a Secret

SIDE B
1. Our Song
2. Adriatic Sea View (Band of Joy)
3. For What it's Worth (Band of Joy)
4. Hey Joe (Band of Joy)
5. Memory Lane (Band of Joy)

"You Better Run" and "Everybody's Gonna Say" were originally released as a single by Columbia in 1966 and they're credited to the band Listen. The A-side is a cover of the Young Rascals hit and, with over-the-top blasts of a horn section, it sounds like they were trying to make Plant into the next Tom Jones. It's available on Plant's compilation CD Sixty Six to Timbuktu. 

"Our Song" b/w "Laughin', Cryin', Laughin'" as well as "Long Time Coming" b/w "I've Got a Secret" were both Robert Plant solo singles released by CBS in 1967. "Our Song" is also available on Sixty Six to Timbuktu. 

As for the Band of Joy tracks, Plant also released both "For What It's Worth" and "Hey Joe" on Sixty Six to Timbuktu. "Adriatic Sea View" was released as a rare (possibly bootlegged) single. And "Memory Lane" is floating around on bootlegs.

For a cover, I found this promo photo of Plant (circa '67) and added titles.