Raising Sand
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Free Music Notes for Raising Sand
Free Music Review: Heartbreakingly Good, this Record is
Hit: 5 Stars
I'd never been a big Zep fan, don't know why. I didn't turn `em off when they came on the radio, but I didn't buy their records either. I did wind up owning some bootlegs though, but that's a different story. Also, I never really got into Alison Krauss. Again, I don't know why. I'm a Norah Jones fan I suppose, Madeleine Peyroux and Billie Holiday too. Mostly I listen to good old fashioned Rock N Roll, which leaves me not much time for female vocalists unless they're singing mean old blues. So when I saw that this record was out, I ignored it, nothing here for me, I thought.
How wrong I was. I got this the other day. Heard "Rich Woman" on the radio and was hooked. Had to have it, so I got it, brought it home, ripped it to iTunes and I've been playing it for three days straight. This old man's voice blends so well with this young woman's. Who knew plant could sing like that, you know, make chills pepper up and down your spine.
The beat in "Killing the Blues" is eerie, goose bumpy eerie. I can feel the chill, just thinking about it. The beat in "Sister Rosetta Goes Before Us" almost reminds me of a Tom Waits' song, back when he was great, but instead of a deep throaty raspy Waits we get a melancholy Krauss and she virtually purrs through the piece. Plant sings like a man in pain on "Polly Come Home" and the song leaves you with a sorta longing, but for what?
This is not what I expected when I got this CD. The songs are similar, but different. I can't wrap my mind around it, can't classify it, but I know I like it. And I really like "Gone Gone Gone" more than I can say. This is old fashioned Rock N Roll, straight outta the Fifties and right into the New Millennium. "Through the Morning, Through the Night" is a Krauss ballad with Plant doing harmony that almost crosses into -- gasp -- country territory and it's followed with a Plant ballad, "Please Read the Letter" and there is again that haunting percussion that seems to add power to his voice. Kruass's sweet harmonies and backup vocals also really showcase his voice on this song.
Yes, I'm really getting into this record and I don't think I ever really would have paid much attention to Alison Krauss as a soloist, but after listening to her on "Trampled Rose," I know I'll be giving her stuff a listen now. Following "Trampled Rose" we come to "Fortune Teller" and as much as I liked the way the Stones did and do this song, I gotta say there's room for someone else to do it too. I wouldn't have said that a couple days ago, but jeez Plant and co, Krauss included, do such a great job jazzing this up. Superb, it really is.
I can't believe I'm gushing on so about this record. I've got it playing as I'm writing this, listening to a song for a bit, typing a bit, listening some more. Right now I'm hearing Plant and Krauss doing a down and dirty duet on Mel Tillis's song "Stick with Me Baby" and there ain't a lick of country in it, just their magic voices and that haunting beat. The segue into "Nothin'" was a bit jarring for me the first time I'd heard it, but I'm used to it now and with a lyric like, "I almost burnt out my eyes, threw my ears down to the floor. I don't want nothin'. I can't use nothin'" how could I not love this song.
Did I mention when I started this missive that I liked the blues. I think I did. I do. And Krauss combines blues with a country beat in "Let Your Love Be Your Lesson" but sadly this is my least favorite song on the record and I deleted it from my iTunes playlist. It's okay, but the rest of the record really shines. I just don't think it works with everything else here.
And now we come to the closer, "Your Long Journey", which almost has a Celtic feel to it. Damn I like this song. Heartbreakingly good it is. And that just about sums up with I think of Mister Plant and Ms Krauss's first outing. They've gone and made a mighty, gosh darned good record. A classic that's gonna stand the test of time.
Free Music Review: Truly signficant
Hit: 5 Stars
This is wonderful listening. Even more, it's truly significant. That's in part because of the reaction _ I don't how many times in the last few months I've read about what seems to "critics'' and others to be a truly strange pairing. Something like: "You'd never expect two singers so far apart to team up, but it seems to work.''
That's nonsense (except the part about it working _ it doesn't "seem,'' it's real.) That's because the "critics'' and others put music in boxes and can't understand a pairing of "bluegrass,'' (the quotes are intentional) and heavy metal. This is Americana, but Americana as interpreted by Plant, Krauss and T-Bone Burnett that transcends category in a way that few albums do. Look on top. How many different categories does it rank No. 1. _ Rock, pop, folk, international. That's what music should be but too often isn't because the folks who run record companies and radio stations want to put music in the narrowest possible category.
It's also a breakthrough for all three artists, including Burnett, but especially Krauss, who in her last few albums has boxed herself in with very nice listenable material that's too often predictable. A couple of the albums won Grammys(she has 20)and they're incredibly well produced and performed, but after a while one Robert Lee Castleman song turns into another and the effect is underwhelming.
On this one, she uses all her talents, even, perhaps even as the excellent producer she is _ Burnett clearly took her advice and Plant's on some of the songs. Her country/bluegrass fiddle turns into gypsy violin on "Sister Rosetta,'' producing a haunting effect that's rarely heard in this kind of music.
Beyond that, I've never heard an album where the voices blend so well that it's hard to tell where one stops and the other picks up _ Tom Waits' "Trampled Rose'' is the exemplar of that and the most fascinating and haunting song on the album.
But it's almost all wonderful and it ends with what sounds very much like a little game being played by Burnett and Krauss in particular. The last number begins with Mike Seeger on autoharp leading into a Doc Watson gospel tune. Seeger discovered Elizabeth Cotten, who was his family's housekepper, and he was one of the pioneers who convinced record labels to record roots artists, Watson among them. It's also the most Krauss-like _ it's closest to what she does, right down to using a gospel number to close her albums (and her shows.)
But most of this is totally new territory for both artists. Maybe Krauss should have gone there a decade ago or maybe the timing is perfect. It's one of the few albums _ Luncinda Williams' "Essence'' is another _ that can get away with slow tempos and minor keys on two-thirds of the songs and not sound repetitious or boring.
Again, it's most important because it defies category. Other artists are trying _ Ben Harper and Norah Jones, with whom Krauss guested on a Bonnie Raitt show/CD/DVD are mingling pop, rock, country, gospel and reggae (in Harper's case.) The more the younger generation goes beyong genre and into "just music,'' the better off we'll all be. (Uh, no, Plant, at 59, isn't exactly the younger generation, but he's been looking for new frontiers for a decade or more.)
He's also a Brit and Brits tend to understand American music better than most Americans. In any case, people like Mark Knopfler, Steve Winwood, Van Morrison and even Jagger/Richard stay away from boxes. (And, by the way, I just heard Krauss do a wonderful version of Winwood/Traffic's "I Can't Find My Way Home'' on XM) It was issued three years ago as part of a TV Soundtrack. So yes, she's known for a long time that there's a big wide world of music out there.
This landmark album makes that point even more strongly.
Free Music Review: T-Bone Strikes Again
Hit: 5 Stars
When I heard about this CD, in a really twisted way it made all sorts of sense. I had to get it. I wasn't disappointed.
I grew up getting stoned to Black Dog, Kashmir, Misty Mountain Hop, Immigrant Song, the whole shebang. In the eighties, while I was buying Robert's solo records, I discovered this odd-ball Texan named T Bone Burnett with his own take on life and morality and art that really made me sit up and take notice. And lately I've been turned on by a mean fiddle player with an ethereal voice named Alison Krauss.
The Brits have always been taking American music of all genres far more seriously than we ourselves have (what's that about prophets in their own land?), and feeding it back to us in ways both familiar and alien. If not for Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, Slim Harpo, John Lee Hooker, Elvis, Roy Orbison, Carl Perkins, Howlin Wolf, etc. etc. etc., would we have ever had Led Zeppelin, The Stones, The Beatles, The Yardbirds, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Fleetwood Mac, Joe Cocker, Robert Palmer, The Clash, Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe, etc. etc. etc. (you get the point). And, if you had paid attention to Plant's solo albums, including the foray into 50's pop and ballads as The Honeydrippers, you would know that he is more than capable of handling subtler vocal stylings (in other words, he really can sing).
Alison Krauss (aside from the fact that if angels were capable of so base an emotion as envy, her voice would rank high on their hit list) has been, from the start, deeply grounded in the rich veins of musical and artistic ore that the Brits have been so profitably mining for decades.
But for me, the real clincher on this deal was T Bone as producer. Yes, his success as producer (O Brother, Where Art Thou soundtrack, the Johnny Cash / June Carter biopic Walk the Line soundtrack, Roy Orbison's A Black and White Night, and for artists like Counting Crows, Los Lobos, Gillian Welch, Marshall Crenshaw, The BoDeans, and Bruce Cockburn to name a few) gives him more than a little "Americana" cred. But to really get the picture, you need to listen to his own recordings. Listen to Proof Through the Night and T Bone Burnett and the rest of his critically lauded work (though apparently not many people have) if you want to hear where this CD is grounded, why it can seem optimistic and dark in the same breath. T Bone is an artist's artist, a producer's producer. In the same way that Daniel Lanois elevated U2's and the Neville Brothers' game, that Brian Eno elevated David Bowie's and Talking Heads' games, that John Hiatt and Nick Lowe elevate each other's games, T Bone as an artist / producer brings a depth of feeling and a certain sensibilty to this weird combination that makes it work on so many levels.
This is one of those serendipitous occasions when the right people and material find each other, the planets line up, you draw against all odds to an inside straight, common sense and commerciality are thrown to the wind, and the CD stores and radio stations can't figure out which pigeonhole to stick the damn thing in.
I won't take up more space rehashing the kudos other reviewers have heaped on particular cuts, and I haven't listened to it enough times to develop my own favorites. I will say that I will be merciless in making room on my iPod for this entire CD.
If you have any faith in the essential goodness of man, any hope that art is a good thing, a taste for good music regardless of the labels slapped on it, experience that love will break your heart, but you'll fall into it anyway, and a suspicion that Rounder Records has more artistic sense in its (figurative) little toe that all of the major labels combined, you'll buy this CD. And besides, looking at the jacket photos, I have to wonder if Robert and Alison don't share a hair stylist.
Free Music Review: "Two Artists Outside Their Traditional Zone ... Plant & Krauss ... Rounder (2007)"
Hit: 5 Stars
Rounder Records presents "RAISING SAND" --- Is a collaboration album by Robert Plant and Alison Krauss that takes both artists outside their traditional zone -- with wonderful results --- Drawing from the best of Blues, Country, Folk, Gospel, Rhythm and Blues --- Released on October 23, 2007, the album debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200 chart, selling about 112,000 copies in its first week, the highest chart position for either artists' solo work (Plant had previously reached #1 as a member of Led Zeppelin) --- The album slipped to #6 in its second week, selling another 81,000 copies, which brings the sales total 193,000 copies in 2 weeks --- The two songs by Gene Clark ("Polly (Come Home)" and "Through the Morning, Through the Night") were originally recorded by Dillard & Clark for their 1969 album, Through the Morning Through the Night --- "Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On)" was released as a single --- Certainly one of the best and most unique albums of 2007!
Special footnote, Robert Anthony Plant (born August 20, 1948, West Bromwich, West Midlands, England), is an English rock singer and songwriter, famous for his membership in the rock band Led Zeppelin as the lead vocalist, as well as for his successful solo career --- He is known for his powerful style, often mystical lyrics, and wide vocal range --- As the lead singer of Led Zeppelin he is often defined as the quintessential rock front man, combining rare musical adeptness and knowledge with a large measure of stage bravado --- As a solo artist, following Led Zeppelin's break up after the death of John Bonham, he is often credited for his wide range of musical taste and his ability to perform an eclectic range of songs in a refined manner.
Another footnote, Alison Krauss (born July 23, 1971) is an American bluegrass-country singer and fiddle player --- She entered the music industry at a young age, winning local contests by the age of ten and recording for the first time on her brother's album at fourteen --- She signed with Rounder Records in 1985 and released her first solo album at sixteen in 1987. She was invited to join the band with which she still performs, Alison Krauss & Union Station (AKUS), and later released her first album with them as a group in 1989 --- She has thus far released more than ten albums, appeared on numerous soundtracks, and has helped usher in a new interest in bluegrass music in the United States --- Her soundtrack performances have led to further popularity, including the Grammy-winning "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" soundtrack, an album also credited with raising American interest in bluegrass, and the Cold Mountain soundtrack, which led to her performance at the 2004 Academy Awards --- During her career she has won 20 Grammy Awards--more than any other female artist and tied for seventh-most among all artists--along with numerous other awards.(From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
Raising Sand (Track Lisings)
1 Rich Woman [4:05]
2 Killing the Blues [4:17]
3 Sister Rosetta Goes Before Us [3:25]
4 Polly Come Home [5:39]
5 Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On) [3:33]
6 Through the Morning, Through the Night [4:02]
7 Please Read the Letter [5:55]
8 Trampled Rose [5:33]
9 Fortune Teller [4:31]
10 Stick with Me Baby [2:51]
11 Nothin' [5:34]
12 Let Your Loss Be Your Lesson [4:01]
13 Your Long Journey [3:54]
Hats off to Rounder Records --- strongly recommend this CD to all music lovers and all others who need to hear some great music --- Robert Plant, Alison Krauss and T-Bone Burnett (producer), please stand up and take a bow for this well deserved rare gem you've given us --- this is a keeper!
Total Time: 58 mins on 13 Tracks ~ Rounder Records ~ (10/23/2007)
Free Music Review: In Praise of Robert Plant
Hit: 5 Stars
When I first heard of this pairing, I said, "Huh?? Alison Krauss is more than a little bit country; Robert Plant is more than a little bit rock and roll; and surely together they can't be Donny and Marie!!"
But then, the reviews started rolling in, and generally they were positive. So, I checked it out with even more curiosity, and now I report my two cents worth as review #281:
This c.d. works, and the reason it works is Robert Plant.
Produced by the legendary T-Bone Burnett, an expert at genre-crossing (witness last year's "Thunderbird" by Cassandra Wilson, e.g.), and with his favorite studio musician, Marc Ribot, on hand (along with T-Bone) on various guitars, banjo and dobro (and with Gregory Leisz on pedal steel), this c.d. feels more country than rock and roll (notwithstanding a cover of the Everly Brothers' "Gone Gone Gone.").
And that is significant. Alison Krauss has one of the sweetest, purest voices in all of non-classical music. She's right up there with Rosa Passos, Jane Monheit and Luciana Souza for purity of sound.
But when I think of Plant, I think of the orgasmic sounds from tunes such as "Whole Lotta Love" and "Dazed and Confused," and I think of a guy whose gonads are caught in a noose while the hangman tightens them a bit.
Wisely, Robert Plant does none of that here. He lets Ms. Krauss take the lead and he harmonizes. As in truly harmonizes. And he reveals a major truth thereby: of all the great rock and roll singers still alive from the '60's and '70's, it is Robert Plant who has best figured out how not to cook his voice. He sounds great. And he sounds musical. Mick Jagger, Paul Macartney, Roger Daltry and Elton John (to name but 4) could not have pulled this c.d. off with anywhere near the musicianship that Plant displays.
For the most part, the end result is a very restrained work that may well dissatisfy fans of the old Led Zep. But there are three really special tracks on this c.d. that clearly make it a 5-star c.d. for me:
The pair cover the old Led Zep tune "Please Read the Letter," track #7. They start out softly and with restraint. Then as the song builds into the anguish of the guy who senses that his true love won't ever read the letter and realize the depth of his love, Plant goes into his patented cries of anguish. I like this cover even better than the original.
Then track #8--Oh. My. God. Ms. Krauss does a cover of Tom Waits' "Trampled Rose" that is the most incredible, ethereal, other-worldly keening imaginable. This performance raised the hair on the back of my neck--the first, second and third times.
And on to track #9,"Fortune Teller." This oft-covered rock and roll chestnut, written in 1962 by Naomi Neville, sounds (with Burnett's and Ribot's guitars) very retro, like something that might have been recorded back then. And frankly, I don't think I've ever heard a better performance of it than what Plant does here.
My understanding is that people generally have been amazed by the Led Zeppelin reunion; how could they sound this good after 30 years? It's Robert Plant, I'm tellinya. The man is a musician, first and foremost. RC