MUSICAL legacies can be a mixed blessing to carry.

The expectations and anticipation of your fans can be overwhelming and at times demanding.

At the O2 on Monday night, Robert Plant gave a masterclass to the capacity crowd on how to handle one of the biggest legacies in rock history, with charm, ease and intimacy.

From the moment the band hit the stage, and launched into Friends, it was evident that the evening was going to be something special.

With a new band around him, Plant has once again perfectly selected a group of musicians – drummer Dave Smith, West African musician Juldeh Camara, keyboardist John Baggott and bassist Justin Adams – that not only complements his soulful, blues-tinged voice but also brings an intensity and professionalism that makes the whole set greater than the sum of its parts.

There were times during the set that Plant hit notes that not only set the hairs on the back of your neck to attention, but transported you back to Earls Court 1975, and Led Zeppelin’s heyday.

One of Plant’s gifts is his ability to embrace a number of different styles.

During the two-hour set, the crowd were taken on a musical history tour, from the blues of Howlin Wolf and Robert Johnson, to the edges of world music, with a hint of rockabilly, via a short rendition of Who Do You Love? thrown in for good measure.

Despite Plant’s insistence that Zeppelin will never fly again, he was not reluctant to revisit such classics as Babe (complete with uninvited feedback), Whole Lotta Love and a crowd-pleasing encore of Rock ’n’ Roll.

As the crowd slowly shuffled out of the O2 into the cold, rainy night, everyone could sleep safe knowing that what they had just witnessed was more than enough to keep the legacy going for generations to come.