ROBERT PLANT & ALISON KRAUSS – RAISE THE ROOF
2007 saw the release of Raising Sand, a collaboration between Zep frontman turned folk-world-blues traveller Robert Plant and bluegrass singer and fiddler Alison Krauss. Not being a fan of most of Plant’s work and knowing nothing by Krauss, Raising Sand surprised this listener by being within a whisker of a classic. Raise The Roof is even better.
The voices of Plant and Krauss take centre stage, of course, but they are supported by a crack band featuring the likes of producer T-Bone Burnett, David (Los Lobos) Hidalgo and Marc (Tom Waits, Elvis Costello) Ribot.
Aside from a new Plant/Burnett tune, the songs are covers ranging from Depression-era blues to 21st century Americana via folk, R ‘n’ B, soul and country. Whether it be Geeshie Wiley’s Last Kind Words Blues from 1930 or Calexico’s Quattro (World Drifts In) from 2003, the album has its own sound: rootsy, laid-back, with a touch of psych and, in parts at least, full of longing. One of the principals tends to sing lead whilst the other provides harmonies, allowing both the band and the songs space to breathe and develop. The take on The Everly Brothers’ The Price of Love is the highlight with a simply gorgeous vocal from Krauss with atmospheric backing from Plant.
9/10
