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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Robert Plant and Alison Krauss will be featured guests on NPR’s World Café Live on November 22nd, between 2:00 PM and 3:00 PM ET.

National Public Radio’s World Cafe with host David Dye can be heard on nearly 200 stations nationwide. Fans can find their local station by going to the website: http://worldcafe.org, or they can listen online to the WXPN/Philadelphia stream Monday to Friday 2pm to 4pm Eastern Standard Time by going to: http://xpn.org/listen_live/listen.php.

Later in the day of the broadcast, the audio will be available on the National Public Radio website:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4724307

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Burlington, MA - Robert Plant and Alison Krauss‘ upcoming “Raising Sand,” set for an October 23 release on the Rounder label, is quickly becoming one of the most highly anticipated releases for the fall 2007 season.

“Raising Sand” was recently featured on CBS Sunday Morning’s fall music preview. Exclusive appearances are scheduled for the Today Show on October 24th and Charlie Rose as well as major feature articles that are set to run in select publications across the nation.

Already showing major signs of sales success, the album has been on Amazon’s top sellers charts for over two months, and is currently in the Top 5. The album’s first single “Gone, Gone, Gone” is currently in the Top 10 on the AAA charts in its 3rd week of release. Robert and Alison are currently working on a music video for “Gone, Gone, Gone” to debut in the coming weeks, as well as taping an episode of CMT’s Crossroads to air in January. A tour to support the album is being planned now for 2008.

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.

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Rounder Records is now accepting pre-orders on the highly anticipated Alison Krauss and Robert Plant project, Raising Sand. The new album is set to hit store shelves October 23 and it appears this will be released on vinyl and CD.

From Rounders Online Store:

“The musical collaboration of the decade, Raising Sand is the sound of two iconic figures stepping out of their respective comfort zones and letting their instincts lead them across a brave new sonic landscape. Despite hailing from distinctly different backgrounds, Alison Krauss and Robert Plant share a maverick spirit and willingness to extend the boundaries of their respective genres. This spirit, expertly honed by producer T Bone Burnett, has resulted in an album pitched three steps beyond some cosmic collision of early urban blues, spacious West Texas country, and the untapped potential of the folk-rock revolution.

Supported by the unparalleled musicianship of Marc Ribot, Dennis Crouch, Mike Seeger, Jay Bellerose, Norman Blake, Greg Leisz, Patrick Warren, and Riley Baugus, Plant and Krauss - as both solo and harmony vocalists - tackle an intriguing selection of songs from such tunesmiths as Tom Waits, Gene Clark, Sam Phillips, Townes Van Zandt, The Everly Brothers, and Mel Tillis. Raising Sand finds Robert Plant and Alison Krauss exploring popular music’s elemental roots while still sounding effortlessly, breath-takingly contemporary. “

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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 on Rounder Records, 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.

The material, ingeniously chosen by Burnett with input from Plant and Krauss, is the crucial thread that guides Raising Sand and gives the two unique singers a forum to interact and equally express themselves. The songs range from modern to classic, consisting mostly of lesser-known material from a wide spectrum of great blues, R&B, country, and folk songwriters - Tom Waits, Gene Clark, Little Milton Campbell, Mel Tillis, Townes Van Zandt, Doc Watson, Phil and Don Everly among them. They also recorded the Robert Plant/Jimmy Page song “Please Read the Letter,” from the 1998 album Walking Into Clarksdale. “You’ve got two singers that can handle a wide range of material - storytellers,” explains Burnett. “So you look for the stories….”

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.

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