“CMT Crossroads: Robert Plant and Alison Krauss” will debut on CMT on Feb. 11 at 8 p.m. Selections in the show include “Please Read the Letter,” “Rich Woman” and “Gone, Gone, Gone (Done Moved On)” from last year’s album collaboration, “Raising Sand.”

In addition, they perform the Alison Krauss & Union Station song, “The Boy Who Wouldn’t Hoe Corn,” as well as the Led Zeppelin songs “Black Dog” and “When the Levee Breaks.” T Bone Burnett, who produced Raising Sand, is featured as a special guest. The show was taped in October near Nashville.

- CMT.com

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What a wonderful year for great music! When asked my three favorite bluegrass CDs from the year, I put a great deal of thought into it. It’s incredibly hard to pick three from all the incredible music, especially in the bluegrass genre, that has been released the last 12 months. Here goes.

I really like the disc by Jim Lauderdale that came out in the fall, “The Bluegrass Diaries”. Produced by Randy Kohrs, it is terrific. You can’t go wrong with a Jim Lauderdale song; they are some of the most well written songs in any genre of music. There is also some fine musicianship on this disc, primarily from Kohrs, who contributes some of the premium dobro I heard all year. Cia Cherry Holmes sings some nice vocal accompaniment on a cut.

I never get tired of any Jim Lauderdale disc and this one is no exception. His songs get better the more you listen to them. The key is in the songs, he puts so much into his writing they tend to take on a life of their own on.

It appears Lauderdale genuinely has a love for bluegrass. This style of music is not just a gimmick but a legitimate art form for him. He did a couple of discs with Ralph Stanley and he seems to crave revisiting this sound from time to time.

The Robert Plant and Alison Krauss disc, “Raising Sand”, really grew on me. They created a very unique sound at the hands of T-Bone Burnett, the producer of the project. Burnett, as you recall, is the producer of the “O Brother, Where Art Thou” soundtrack.

Once again, the choice of material was what compelled me to listen to this disc, time and time again. Excellent musicianship, incredible vocals and great production all led to this being one of the best of the year.

The rumors are flying about a possible Led Zeppelin tour and also a tour of Plant and Krauss in 2008. For my money, if it can only be one tour, I’d rather see the Plant and Krauss tour come to fruition. I would also like to see more collaboration between these two on additional discs.

The final disc that came out close to the end of the year was the new Levon Helm CD, “Dirt Farmer”. I was hesitant to get this. The first concert I ever went to in 1970, when I was 16 years old, was The Band. I have been a fan of Levon Helm since. However, Levon for the last few years has been battling throat cancer and was told he would never sing anymore. When I broke down and bought this CD, I’m embarrassed to say I did it with some apprehension.

Boy, was the doctor who told him he would never sing wrong! I’m ashamed to say I had any hesitancy at all in getting this. Levon is back singing with a tremendous zeal and a heck of a lot of emotion. His voice tends to be a little frail at times, but honestly, it only adds to the songs.

Larry Campbell, who played with Dylan for many years, and Amy Helm, Levon’s daughter, did a nice job on the production duties here. Both contributed a great deal musically as well.

Campbell plays wonderful guitar and mandolin, and I was really impressed with the fiddle work he performed on this disc. It added to an old-time feel to the sound. They even cover an old Carter Family song, “Single Girl, Married Girl”.

In the case of Levon Helm, it’s astonishing to have him back and in such great shape musically. The voice of the classic, “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down”, should never be silenced again.

Those are my three favorites of this year. The year of 2008 is just around the corner and will be full of new music. I can’t wait. Have a great new year, one that is filled with music.

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Burlington, MA - Raising Sand, the widely praised and bestselling album by Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, produced by T Bone Burnett - has been certified gold by the RIAA. A surprise hit of the season, Raising Sand has shown little sign of slowing down since a remarkable #2 debut on the Billboard 200 four weeks ago, and remains within the top 25 on the chart. Raising Sand is the highest charting and fastest selling album in the history of Rounder Records.

Plant, Krauss, and T Bone Burnett recently completed work on a music video for first single “Gone, Gone, Gone (Done Moved On).” The surreal clip conceived and directed by Rocky Schenck will have a world premier on CMT November 29, and is confirmed for a premiere on VH1 December 3rd.

Shot in Nashville, the video adds a raucous element to the Everly Brothers song, with scenes bouncing between shimmering mylar glitz and a performance stage reminiscent of a vintage Technicolor movie. The video will enter regular rotation on both networks.

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I’m a huge music fan. The past couple weeks, I’ve had more people ask about this CD than probably any disc that has come out in years. They want to know what I think about the new Robert Plant/Alison Krauss CD. Prior to hearing the disc I would have said, “I hope it’s not some kind of gimmick!”This disc is in no way a gimmick! What we have here is a full-fledged band, and a darn good one to boot. Who would have thought?

Too many times these collaborations are just a re-hash of something that has gone on before. That in no way is the case of what has been captured on this disc.

The first tribute needs to be paid for the unique and beautiful production abilities on this disc, by T-Bone Burnett. For those of you who might not remember, he was the guy in charge of the production duties of the music to, O Brother Where Art Thou? Virtually everyone knows the success of that wonderful soundtrack and disc. He’s a fine guitar player to boot.

First off, I was never a huge Led Zeppelin fan. Am I allowed to say that without fear of repercussions? I had respect for them, especially Jimmy Page’s guitar work and Robert Plant’s vocals, but was never totally captivated by their whole catalog.

In high school, a friend loaned me Led Zeppelin II and hounded me to listen to it. After repeated listening and secretly loving the “Whole Lotta Love” single, it just didn’t zing me.

Forward to a couple years later and in the winter of 1972. I was riding around in Florida, listening to Led Zeppelin IV in a buddy’s 8-track player and found myself totally captivated by it. For the first and really only time with them, I loved and respected what they were doing.

So, when Robert Plant comes out with something new, it never has zinged me that much, with the exception of his EP with the Honeydrippers where he visited a 50s kind of sound. That was until now. It’s as if everything Plant was doing was leading to this CD.

The same goes with Alison Krauss. I have appreciated her music for several years. Here, she seems to have found a perfect partner in Plant.

The more I hear this disc, the more I find it irresistible. There are certain tracks I thought sounded odd upon first listening, but after repeated listenings, I find everything quite charming. I believe the allure of this disc is the subtlety of the production, vocals, song choices and the musicianship.

This is not some rehashed material. This is full of a unique sound.

The choices of songs are great! The first is a song written back in the Fifties, covered by Canned Heat and Fabulous Thunderbirds, as well as other acts. It starts with nice harmonies much like those of the Everly Brothers.

The next song is a nice, soft vocal track. Plant’s and Krauss’ vocals are a striking blend, that is reminiscent of Simon and Garfunkel at places, especially on this track..

Enough of the comparisons. By comparing it to anything you or I may have heard takes away from this CD standing on its own. This is without a doubt something special and unique, a one of a kind blend.

The choices of songs are absolutely unbelievable. I’m sure T-Bone Burnett had a big choice in what was to be recorded. This is obvious by the inclusion of the third track, “Sister Rosetta Goes Before Us”, which was written by Burnett’s wife, Sam Phillips. Sam used to record on Christian labels under the name of Leslie Phillips prior to being married to T-Bone. Her song is a fine one with Alison Kraus handling the lead vocals.

Two of the songs I find especially thrilling were written by the late Gene Clark, who is one of my favorite songwriters. After leaving the Byrds and a brief stint with the Gosdin Brothers, he formed a duo with Doug Dillard who had, at that point, left the Dillards. They recorded two great albums.

Clark’s two songs that appear on this disc were both on the Dillard and Clark’s second album, “Through the Morning, Through the Night.” Alison Krauss handles lead vocals on this great title track, quite exquisite. Robert Plant’s vocals on Clark’s “Polly Come Home” are superb and very haunting. It’s great to see, 16 years after Gene Clark’s death, he is finally getting some much deserved recognition on this major work.

My favorite song on the disc is “Gone, Gone, Gone (Done Moved On).” This is a lesser known Phil and Don Everly song from 1964. It’s an entirely different song than the Everly’s version. The harmonies are outstanding. The rhythms of the instruments are almost primitive in nature, which enhances the primal yowls of Plant throughout the song.

“Please Read the Letter” is a song from 1998’s effort from Page and Plants, Walking Into Clarksdale. The more I hear this song, the more I find it irresistible. It finishes off with some pleasant violin licks from Krauss, and some commanding music from the musicians assembled.

Alison Krauss’ voice is quite evocative on the song written by Tom Waits and his wife Kathleen Brennan, “Trampled Rose”. The instrumentation is very rhythmic, very much in the same way Waits explores various patterns in his music.

“Fortune Teller” was written in 1962 by Naomi Neville. This song has an old feel, with a Daniel Lanois type of production, big very cadenced sound.

Plant and Krauss create a stunning sound on an old Mel Tillis song. The song from 1960 is titled, “Stick With Me Baby.”

You find your self thinking, “Where in the heck did they come up with these great songs?” What is so grand about these tunes is they work so well with this duo and the musicians assembled here.

The song “Nothin”, is an old Townes Van Zandt song that Plant handles lead duties on, very soft, pleasant vocals. Alison Krauss cuts loose with some intense violin licks with an almost dirge approach to the song. Burnett, Norman Blake and Marc Ribot handle guitar duties on this track with a fierce intensity.

The only problem I had with this disc comes with the next song, “Let Your Loss Be Your Lesson.” This was written by Milt Campbell and was clearly written to a woman. Alison Krauss handles more than adequate vocals and it’s quite a lively song. However, she is singing lines like, “Once I had myself a good woman.”, “Heaven knows I miss her loving”, these lines I find distracting, sung from a woman. Call me old-fashioned if you want. I’m not sure why they left it this way, it makes me cringe a little each time I hear it.

They finish the CD off with a spiritual, “Your Long Journey”. The harmonies are chilling, simply breathtaking. Mike Seeger plays some very appealing autoharp that would make Mother Maybelle proud. Norman Blake plays some more than adequate acoustic guitar on the track.

In summary, what can I possibly say about this disc that many reviewers haven’t said the last couple weeks? Possibly nothing, however it has touched my heart in quite a unique way, which few discs attempt.

I have one fear, I hope this is not just a one-time deal. This entire group of artists needs to be together several times and make more of this great music. This is certainly a one-of-a-kind charmer. This is unlike anything else you may have heard, that’s a large part of what makes it outstanding. It’s not bluegrass, rock, country or blues. It fits somewhere in the middle of all that. In the case of “Raising Sand,” the sum is truly greater than its individual parts.

By Rickey Lamb

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Burlington, MA - Alison Krauss has been selected to perform at the 41st Annual Country Music Association Awards, which will be broadcast live on the ABC Television Network on Wednesday, November 7. She will perform her latest single “Simple Love,” from her RIAA certified gold release “A Hundred Miles or More: A Collection” (Rounder Records). The video for “Simple Love” can be seen on GAC, CMT, and CMT Pure.Krauss was nominated by the Country Music Association for four CMA Awards including Female Vocalist, Vocal Group of the Year for Alison Krauss and Union Station Featuring Jerry Douglas, and two for Musical Event of the Year — with John Waite (his first CMA Awards nomination) on “Missing You” and with Vince Gill on “The Reason Why” (from Gill’s 4-CD release These Days).

“A Hundred Miles or More: A Collection”, released April 3, is comprised of 16 tracks, highlighting Krauss’ career outside of her traditional releases with long time band Union Station. The album features Krauss’ collaboration with John Waite on the single, “Missing You,” which also appears on Waite’s recent Rounder release “Downtown….Journey of a Heart.”

“A Hundred Miles or More” features Krauss’ contributions to film soundtracks including the Oscar^® nominated songs, “The Scarlet Tide” and “You Will Be My Ain True Love,” written for the motion picture Cold Mountain and “Down to the River to Pray” from the film O Brother, Where Art Thou? Known for her collaborations, Krauss also includes several duets in the collection such as the 2003 hit with Brad Paisley, “Whiskey Lullaby,” and her duet with James Taylor from the tribute album Livin’, Lovin’, Losin’: Songs of The Louvin Brothers, “How’s the World Treating You.” The collection debuts five new songs –”You’re Just a Country Boy,” “Jacob’s Dream,” “Simple Love,” “Lay Down Beside Me,” and “Away Down the River” all of which feature Krauss as a producer.

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