Innaresting, nay, Bizarre collaboration
Press release from Rounder Records
Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, two of the most distinctive vocalists in modern music, recently put the finishing touches on "Raising Sand" – their astonishing new collaborative album. Set for release October 23, the album was produced by T Bone Burnett and recorded in Nashville and Los Angeles with a stellar cast of supporting musicians, including guitarists Marc Ribot and Norman Blake, multi-instrumentalist Mike Seeger, drummer Jay Bellerose, and bassist Dennis Crouch. Plant is quick to define Raising Sand as more a band record than a duet record, as it puts the two great singers in a variety of vocal and instrumental combinations – from songs featuring two-part brother-style harmony throughout to solo features for each. Though they come from entirely different traditions, Alison Krauss and Robert Plant create an amazing, unexpected, and entirely new sound when they sing together.
I have to admit to a large amount of skepticism when I first heard about this collaboration. I mean, Alison Krauss has one of the most perfect voices ever (in my opinion) and Robert Plant— well, as a adolescent of the 1970s, I pretty much grew up on Led Zep, so he holds a relatlively honored place in my own musical history, but certainly a much different place than Alison. But I'm listening to this right now and it is an amazing record. Plant is effectively subdued and while their voices don't exactly blend like the Everly Brothers (listen to the cover here of their "Gone Gone Gone" and you'll see what I mean), they do manage to complement each other very well. T-Bone has assembled a great group of musicians, too, so it's a winner all-around.
I wonder if there'll be a tour?
Krauss explained that the genesis of Raising Sand came about seven years ago, when Plant called to say hello and that he’d love to work with her someday. A few years later, Plant made good on his word and called Krauss about participating in a Leadbelly tribute at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, where they sang together for the first time. The collaboration revealed instant potential to the pair, and several years later they enlisted Burnett to help them realize a more full-scale collaboration.
Tracks include:
Rich Woman (Dorothy LaBostrie-McKinley Millet)
Killing the Blues (Rowland Salley)
Sister Rosetta Goes Before Us (Sam Phillips)
Polly Come Home (Gene Clark)
Gone, Gone, Gone (Done Moved On)(Phil and Don Everly)
Through the Morning, Through the Night (Gene Clark)
Please Read The Letter (Robert Plant-Michael Lee-Jimmy Page-Charlie Jones)
Trampled Rose (Tom Waits-Kathleen Brennan)
Fortune Teller (Naomi Neville)
Stick With Me Baby (Mel Tillis)
Nothin’ (Townes Van Zandt)
Let Your Loss Be Your Lesson (Milt Campbell)
Your Long Journey (A.D. Watson and Rosa Lee Watson)
