Robert Plant & Alison Krauss - Raising Sand

Rock god and bluegrass queen merge for melancholy delight

Recorded in Nashville and Los Angeles under the production of T-Bone Burnett, this latest Plant venture, a collaboration with the American queen of country and bluegrass, is more than an album of mere duets. The pair drift in and out of the tracks, supplementing each other with subtlety and charm on a stunning set that hopefully won’t get lost among the forthcoming Led Zeppelin reunion furore. Raising Sand isn’t the place to look for those familiar full-on Plant vocal histrionics. Instead it benefits greatly from the more relaxed close-mic vocal effect that lit up his most recent albums. Killing The Blues and Stick With Me Baby are stylish arrangements, while Gene Clark’s Polly Comes Home is a stark, intimate experience with the Krauss and Plant totally wrapped in the song. Nothin’ is a similarly captivating performance shrouded in violins and banjos, vocally reminiscent of Walking Into Clarksdale’s Heart In Your Hand. There’s even a welcome remake of Clarksdale’s Please Read The Letter, where sparse acoustic guitars replace Page’s more familiar slashing chords. You won’t have to be a bluegrass or country fan to appreciate this. The vocal depth and beauty applied on such a diverse collection will warm up many a cold winter’s night.

Decca/Rounder Records | 475 938 2

Reviewed by Dave Lewis
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