Date of Release: Oct 19, 2007
Genre: Rock
Styles: Blues-Rock, Folk, Countr
Label: Decca (0028947593829)
Perhaps only the fantasy duo of King Kong and Bambi could be a more
bizarre pairing than Robert Plant and Alison Krauss. Yet on Raising
Sand, their haunting and brilliant collaboration, the Led Zeppelin
screamer and Nashville's most hypnotic song whisperer seem made for
each other. This, however, is not the howling Plant of "Whole Lotta
Love," but a far more precise and softer singer than even the one who
emerged with Dreamland (2002). No matter that Plant seems so subdued as
to be on downers, for that's one of the keys to this most improbable
meeting of musical galaxies--almost all of it seems slowed down, out of
time, otherworldly, and at times downright David Lynch-ian, the product
of an altered consciousness. Yet probably the main reason it all works
so well is the choice of producer T Bone Burnette, the third star of
the album, who culled mostly lesser-known material from some of the
great writers of blues, country, folk, gospel, and R&B, including
Tom Waits, Townes Van Zandt, Milt Campbell, the Everly Brothers, Sam
Phillips, and A.D. and Rosa Lee Watson. At times, Burnette's spare and
deliberate soundscape--incisively crafted by guitarists Marc Ribot and
Norman Blake, bassist Dennis Crouch, drummer Jay Bellerose, and
multi-instrumentalist Mike Seeger, among others--is nearly as dreamy
and subterranean as Daniel Lanois's work with Emmylou Harris (Wrecking
Ball). Occasionally, Burnette opts for a fairly straightforward
production while still reworking the original song (Plant's own "Please
Read the Letter," Mel Tillis's "Stick with Me, Baby"). But much of the
new flesh on these old bones is oddly unsettling, if not nightmarish.
On the opening track of "Rich Woman," the soft-as-clouds vocals strike
an optimistic mood, while the instrumental backing--loose snare,
ominous bass line, and insinuating electric guitar lines--create a
spooky, sinister undertow. Plant and Krauss trade out the solo and
harmony vocals, and while they both venture into new waters here
(Krauss as a mainstream blues mama, Plant as a gospel singer and
honkytonker), she steals the show in Sam Phillips' new "Sister Rosetta
Goes Before Us," where a dramatic violin and tremulous banjo strike a
foreboding gypsy tone. When Krauss begins this strange, seductive song
in a voice so ethereal that angels will take note, you may stop
breathing. That, among other reasons, makes Raising Sand an album to
die for.
Specs: EAC / APE / Cue / Log / No Covers
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)
Enjoy!
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