Robert Plant and Alison Krauss - Raising Sand

Rated: 4 Stars
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Many people under 30 don't have an inkling of who Robert Plant is beyond having heard him scream on the classic rock stations. The truth is, while he was the king of rock vocalists, he's always had an eclectic acoustic side, as evidenced by some of the Led Zeppelin albums (particularly Led Zeppelin III) and his work on the 1994 No Quarter album with Jimmy Page.

So now comes Raising Sand, the long-awaited collaboration between Plant and Nashville-based bluegrass/country chanteuse Alison Krauss. As one might expect, the result is a highly enjoyable exploration of songs that reflect the tastes of the artists and producer T-Bone Burnett, the producer of choice these days for projects like this one since his success with O Brother Where Art Thou. With some of the tracks recorded at Nashville's Sound Emporium studios, this collection features acoustic bass throughout with electric underpinnings; acoustic guitars are the rule of the day, although electric rules on the occasional rocker (Milt Campbell's Memphis-ish "Let Your Loss Be Your Lesson," the Everly Brothers' "Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On)," and the chainsaw guitar on Townes Van Zandt's "Nothin'"). Great treatments of tunes by Mel Tillis, Tom Waits, and late Byrds legend Gene Clark also appear on the CD.

This isn't a duet album in the traditional sense by any means. Plant and Krauss sing parts above and below and around one another, singing notes that sound much more instinctive than worked out in some painstaking fashion. The real fun comes when listening to Krauss, especially when they're both going for the rockabilly vibe on "Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On)." For Plant it comes natural since he grew up with this type of music, but Krauss sounds like she's venturing into uncharted territory and having a ball doing it.

Burnett's stamp is all over the record in the same way that Daniel Lanois' production is so evident (to the chagrin of some) on Emmylou Harris's Wrecking Ball CD. The guitars (many played by Burnett) are sometimes a little too tremolo-drenched for my tastes, but Burnett is obviously trying to capture the feel of the years between Eisenhower and Nixon when at least half of these songs were written. Indeed, most of the 13 tracks here were written before Alison Krauss was even born.

In addition to Burnett, the instruments are played by some of Nashville's and L.A.'s top session men, as well as folk/bluegrass legend Norman Blake, and by Krauss herself, who plays perfectly understated fiddle on a couple tunes. The CD is on Rounder Records, the independent roots music label Krauss has called home for more than two decades, despite what one would imagine have been attractive overtures from the major labels, especially once she started winning Grammy awards and making platinum albums with Union Station.

Plant and Krauss are wonderful on this record and I wish more legends of their ilk, who clearly don't need the money, would get together and have this much fun making records (that is, if their label heads and lawyers would agree to it). This is a thoroughly enjoyable, spirited CD, the likes of which we probably won't see again anytime soon from anyone. Highly recommended.

Raising Sand Track List:
1. Rich Woman (Dorothy LaBostrie-McKinley Millet)
2. Killing the Blues (Rowland Salley)
3. Sister Rosetta Goes Before Us (Sam Phillips)
4. Polly Come Home (Gene Clark)
5. Gone, Gone, Gone (Done Moved On) (Phil and Don Everly)
6. Through the Morning, Through the Night (Gene Clark)
7. Please Read The Letter (Robert Plant-Michael Lee-Jimmy Page-Charlie Jones)
8. Trampled Rose (Tom Waits-Kathleen Brennan)
9. Fortune Teller (Naomi Neville)
10. Stick With Me Baby (Mel Tillis)
11. Nothin' (Townes Van Zandt)
12. Let Your Loss Be Your Lesson (Milt Campbell)
13. Your Long Journey (A.D. Watson and Rosa Lee Watson)

On the Web
www.alisonkrauss.com
www.robertplant.com
www.tboneburnett.com


Article Written & Submitted by Rick Moore