The Principle of Moments

The Principle of Moments
The Principle of Moments
Studio album by Robert Plant
Released	15 July 1983
Recorded	1983
Studio	Rockfield Studios (Monmouth, Wales)
Genre	Power pop; synth-pop;
Length	38:50
Label	Atlantic; Atlantic;
Producer	Robert Plant; Benji Lefevre; Pat Moran;
Robert Plant chronology
Singles from The Principle of Moments
	"Big Log"; Released: July 1983; "In the Mood"; Released: November 1983; "Other Arms"; Released: May 1984 (Japan);

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[2]
Rolling Stone	^[3]

The Principle of Moments is the second solo studio album by the English singer Robert Plant, formerly of Led Zeppelin. It was Plant's second Top 10 album in the US and UK. It also gave him his first solo Top 40 hit with "Big Log". The most popular track on album-oriented rock radio in the US was "Other Arms", which reached number-one on the Billboard Top Tracks chart. Genesis' drummer Phil Collins played drums on five of the album's eight songs (as he did on Pictures at Eleven). On two tracks former Jethro Tull drummer Barriemore Barlow performed and on the closing track, "Big Log", Gerald Woodroffe programmed a Roland TR-808 drum machine.

Like Plant's debut solo studio album, Pictures at Eleven (1982), the songs departed from the hard rock sound of Led Zeppelin. Following the strength of these albums, Plant launched a successful tour in 1983. Phil Collins was the drummer for Plant's band for the North American portion of the tour. Collins was content to perform in the background, despite his own enormous success as a solo artist and with Genesis at the time. Little Feat's Richie Hayward played drums for the remaining dates.

Rhino Entertainment released a remastered edition of the album, with bonus tracks, on 3 April 2007.

Promotional music videos

The music video for "Big Log" was shot at the following locations: Crystal Road, Crystal, Nevada (gas station sequences), the Amargosa Opera House, Death Valley Junction, California (driving and "feather" sequence), Calico School House (Calico Ghost Town) Yermo, California (schoolhouse sequence), Glass Pool Inn, Las Vegas, Nevada (pool sequence). The bar sequence is believed to have been shot at a small bar in Shoshone, California (now the Crow Bar Cafe & Saloon), though this is unconfirmed.

A video for "In the Mood" was also produced. [1]

Tour

In 1983, Robert Plant went on a tour to promote the album, starting on 26 August in Peoria, Illinois, and ending on 1 October in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Tour dates
26 August 1983: Peoria, Illinois – Peoria Civic Center 27 August 1983: Kalamazoo, Michigan – Wings Stadium 29 August 1983: Rosemont, Illinois – Rosemont Horizon 30 August 1983: St. Louis, Missouri – Kiel Auditorium 31 August 1983: Milwaukee – MECCA Arena 3 September 1983: Detroit – Joe Louis Arena 4 September 1983: Cleveland, Ohio (Richfield) – Richfield Coliseum 6 September 1983: Worcester, Massachusetts – The Centrum 8 September 1983: Montreal – Montreal Forum 9 September 1983: Buffalo, New York – Buffalo Memorial Auditorium 10 September 1983: Toronto – Maple Leaf Gardens 12 September 1983: New York City – Madison Square Garden 13 September 1983: Hartford, Connecticut – Hartford Civic Center 14 September 1983: Philadelphia – The Spectrum 16 September 1983: Memphis, Tennessee – Mid-South Coliseum 18 September 1983: Biloxi, Mississippi – Mississippi Coast Coliseum 20 September 1983: Houston, Texas – The Summit 21 September 1983: Austin, Texas – Frank Erwin Center 22 September 1983: Dallas – Reunion Arena 24 September 1983: Denver, Colorado – McNichols Arena 27 September 1983: Los Angeles (Inglewood) – The Forum 28 September 1983: Oakland, California – Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 30 September 1983: Seattle – Seattle Center Coliseum 1 October 1983: Vancouver, BC – Pacific Coliseum

Track listing

Side one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Other Arms"	Robert Plant Robbie Blunt	4:20
2.	"In the Mood"	Plant Blunt Paul Martinez	5:19
3.	"Messin' with the Mekon"	Plant Blunt Martinez	4:40
4.	"Wreckless Love"	Plant Blunt	5:18

Side two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
5.	"Thru' with the Two Step"	Plant Blunt Martinez	5:33
6.	"Horizontal Departure"	Plant Blunt Martinez Jezz Woodroffe	4:19
7.	"Stranger Here... Than Over There"	Plant Blunt Martinez Woodroffe	4:18
8.	"Big Log"	Plant Blunt Woodroffe	5:03
Total length:			38:50

2007 remaster bonus tracks
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
9.	"In the Mood" (Live)	Plant Blunt Martinez	7:35
10.	"Thru' with the Two Step" (Live)	Plant Blunt Martinez	11:11
11.	"Lively Up Yourself" (Live)	Bob Marley	3:04
12.	"Turnaround"	Plant Blunt Martinez Woodroffe	4:55

Live tracks: recorded at The Summit in Houston, Texas on 20 September 1983.

Personnel

Robert Plant – vocals
Jezz Woodroffe – keyboards, synthesizers, Roland TR-808 (8)
Robbie Blunt – guitars
Bob Mayo – guitar (9-11)
Paul Martinez – basses
Phil Collins – drums (1-3, 5, 6, 8, all bonus tracks)
Barriemore Barlow – drums (4, 7)
John David – backing vocals
Ray Martinez – backing vocals

Production

Robert Plant – producer, mixing
Benji Lefevre – producer, mixing
Pat Moran – producer, mixing, engineer
Storm Thorgerson – sleeve design
APP – sleeve design

Remastering credits

Dan Hersch – remastering (1-8)
Bill Inglot – remastering (1-8)
Raj Das – remastering and renovating (9-12)
Nicola Powell – supervision
Bill Curbishley – management
Ed Vulliamy – liner notes
DigiPrep (Hollywood, California, USA) and RAK Studios (London, UK) – remastering locations

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Weekly chart performance for *The Principle of Moments*
Chart	Peak position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)^[4]	10
New Zealand Albums Chart^[5]	1
Swedish Albums Chart^[6]	41
UK Albums (OCC)^[7]	7
US Billboard 200^[8]	8

Year-end charts

1983 year-end chart performance for *The Principle of Moments*
Chart (1983)	Position
Australian Albums Chart^[9]	41

1984 year-end chart performance for *The Principle of Moments*
Chart (1984)	Position
Australian Albums Chart^[10]	83

Certifications

Certifications for *The Principle of Moments*
Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)^[11]^[12]	Gold	35,000^{^}
Canada (Music Canada)^[13]	Gold	50,000^{^}
New Zealand (RMNZ)^[14]	Platinum	15,000^{^}
United Kingdom (BPI)^[15]	Gold	100,000^{^}
United States (RIAA)^[16]	Platinum	1,000,000^{^}
^{^} Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

^ "BPI".
^ "The Principle of Moments Review by Mike DeGagne". AllMusic. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
^ Fricke, David (1 September 1983). "The Principle of Moments". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
^ "charts.nz – New Zealand charts portal". charts.nz. Retrieved 7 February 2010.
^ "swedishcharts.com – Swedish charts portal". swedishchart.com. Retrieved 7 February 2010.
^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
^ "Robert Plant Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
^ "Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – 1983". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
^ "Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – 1984". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
^ "Phil Collins – Robert Plant Australian Certified Gold LP Award". Kodner Auctions. 3 February 2021. Archived from the original on 4 February 2021. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
^ "Gold in Oz" (PDF). Cash Box. 17 March 1984. p. 17. Retrieved 8 December 2021 – via World Radio History.
^ "Phil Collins – Robert Plant Canadian Certified Gold LP Award". Kodner Auctions. 3 February 2021. Archived from the original on 4 February 2021. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
^ "New Zealand album certifications – Robert Plant – The Principle of Moments". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
^ "British album certifications – Robert Plant – The Principles Of Moments". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
^ "American album certifications – Robert Plant – The Principle of Moments". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 5 April 2021.

External links

The Principle of Moments at Discogs (list of releases)
Rockfield Studios
Discography on the Robert Plant Homepage (not an official site)
Big Log video

[1] "BPI".

[2] "The Principle of Moments Review by Mike DeGagne". AllMusic. Retrieved 24 June 2023.

[3] Fricke, David (1 September 1983). "The Principle of Moments". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 24 June 2023.

[auchart-4] Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.

[5] "charts.nz – New Zealand charts portal". charts.nz. Retrieved 7 February 2010.

[6] "swedishcharts.com – Swedish charts portal". swedishchart.com. Retrieved 7 February 2010.

[ac_UK2_-7] "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 August 2023.

[ac_Billboard200_Robert_Plant-8] "Robert Plant Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 6 August 2023.

[9] "Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – 1983". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 March 2017.

[10] "Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – 1984". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 March 2017.

[11] "Phil Collins – Robert Plant Australian Certified Gold LP Award". Kodner Auctions. 3 February 2021. Archived from the original on 4 February 2021. Retrieved 5 April 2021.

[aus84-12] "Gold in Oz" (PDF). Cash Box. 17 March 1984. p. 17. Retrieved 8 December 2021 – via World Radio History.

[13] "Phil Collins – Robert Plant Canadian Certified Gold LP Award". Kodner Auctions. 3 February 2021. Archived from the original on 4 February 2021. Retrieved 5 April 2021.

[New_ZealandRobert_PlantThe_Principle_of_MomentsalbumCertRef-14] "New Zealand album certifications – Robert Plant – The Principle of Moments". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 20 November 2024.

[United_KingdomRobert_PlantThe_Principles_Of_MomentsalbumCertRef-15] "British album certifications – Robert Plant – The Principles Of Moments". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 5 April 2021.

[United_StatesRobert_PlantThe_Principle_of_MomentsalbumCertRef-16] "American album certifications – Robert Plant – The Principle of Moments". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 5 April 2021.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

v t e Robert Plant
Strange Sensation: Justin Adams John Baggott Clive Deamer Billy Fuller Charlie Jones Michael Lee Pearl Thompson Liam "Skin" Tyson
Studio albums/EPs	Pictures at Eleven The Principle of Moments Shaken 'n' Stirred Now and Zen Manic Nirvana Fate of Nations Walking into Clarksdale (with Jimmy Page) Dreamland Mighty ReArranger (with Strange Sensation) Raising Sand (with Alison Krauss) Band of Joy (with Band of Joy) Lullaby and the Ceaseless Roar Carry Fire Raise the Roof (with Alison Krauss)
Live albums	No Quarter: Jimmy Page and Robert Plant Unledded
Compilations	Sixty Six to Timbuktu Nine Lives Digging Deep: Subterranea
DVDs	Soundstage: Robert Plant and the Strange Sensation
Singles	"Burning Down One Side" "Pledge Pin" "Big Log" "In the Mood" "Other Arms" "Little by Little" "Heaven Knows" "Tall Cool One" "Ship of Fools" "Hurting Kind (I've Got My Eyes on You)" "Your Ma Said You Cried in Your Sleep Last Night" "29 Palms" "Most High" "Shine It All Around" "Rich Woman" "Please Read the Letter"
Related articles	Discography Led Zeppelin The Honeydrippers Page and Plant Band of Joy