DETECTIVE Detective (2010 issue UK 9-track digitally remastered CD album - The seventies, they say, was a time when rock 'n roll giants roamed the earth and, of course, none were more powerful than standard bearers Led Zeppelin. Casting their extensive and menacing shadow over the musical landscape, Zep had it all, including their very own boutique record company, Swan Song. More than just a vehicle for their own recorded output, Zep signed a number of fellow artists to the label and Detective were, aside from Bad Company, the cream of the crop. Led by British born front man Michael Des Barres (fresh from glam rock upstarts Silverhead) and featuring ex-Yes keyboardist Tony Kaye and Steppenwolf guitarist Michael Monarch, the band were championed and signed by Jimmy Page, who intended to produce the record. As it turned out Jimmy's lifestyle, together with scheduling issues, focussed his attentions on other matters, resulting in an album recorded twice and costing in the region of a million dollars. "We took two months to get a drum sound that we liked," reveals Des Barres about that self-indulgent period. But such was the power of the performance rumours quickly circulated that John Bonham himself had played on the album. It was also suggested that Page had produced the record but under the unlikely pseudonym of Jimmy Robinson. It was easy to see why; the album, originally released in 1977, is a 24 karat hard rock master-class in the power and passion of explosive hard rock, featuring mountainous riffs and one of the great vocal performances of all time. Simply put, it doesn't get much better than this!)