Originally published in Calgary Sun

by Mike Bell

It’s been almost a decade since Robert Plant’s last solo album, Fate of Nations, and, to be perfectly honest, he hasn’t really been missed except by the most true-blue Zep heads who got their nostalgia fix with the Page & Plant albums, anyway.

It’s surprising and welcoming that he should then choose to return to the solo route with a whisper, not a bang.

Dreamland is a wonderfully earthy album of bluesy roots songs that’s as subdued as his past efforts have been flamboyant.

The disc is simple and, at times, breathtakingly honest in its delivery, thanks to that scaled-back approach, a band that paints a remarkably textured backdrop, well-chosen songs — many of which are covers — and Plant’s vocals that wring every last drop of emotion and truth from the material.

From the charged, simple groove of The Youngbloods’ Darkness, Darkness and the menacing, unnerving and remarkably invigorating rendition of Hey Joe, to a world-weary and dreamy attempt at Dylan’s One More Cup of Coffee and, finally, his version of the Tim Buckley classic Song to the Siren, Plant puts his stamp on every track he touches.

It’s been a while, but Dreamland is an album that, for Zep heads and fans of roots and blues, should not be missed.

Originally published in the Boston Phoenix
by Sean Richardson

It’s no secret that current rock savior Jack White owes a debt to Robert Plant, the man who started all this heavy-metal blues screeching in the first place. So it’s a hell of a coincidence to hear Plant howling Bob Dylan’s “One More Cup of Coffee,” a song the White Stripes have been performing since their early days, on his first solo album in nine years. Unintentional as the gesture may be, it’s a fitting reverse tribute from one of rock’s most dignified elder statesmen.

Plant tackles an idiosyncratic jumble of blues, folk, and psych-rock standards on Dreamland, and even the handful of originals on the disc represents a huge step away from the commercial arena rock of his early solo career. He lets out a few of his legendary orgasmic moans on “Darkness, Darkness,” a loose, ambling meditation on the Youngbloods’ original. His versatile young band (featuring members of the Cure and Portishead) bring “Hey Joe” to a noisy climax that all but transforms the song into a modern-day “Dazed and Confused.” Tender readings of Tim Buckley’s “Song to the Siren” and Moby Grape’s “Skip’s Song” emphasize passion over artifice, and the slammin’ original “Red Dress” prompts another favorable White Stripes comparison. Plant may not be trying to keep up with the kids, but he’s doing a pretty good job of it all the same.

by James Mann

Easily the most prolific post-Zep member, Robert Plant has also been the one quickest to experiment. While Jimmy Page has released sporadic bursts of rock guitar glory, and John Paul Jones does what ever it is he does, Plant has taken his greatest asset — his imagination — and let it wander. On Dreamland, he has reached back to the songs of his youth, tossed them in a blender along with Eastern sounds and tempos and a dash of the blues, and has generally come up with a winning musical smoothie. And a smoothie it is. While not a dull or placid record, it certainly is not going to recall the days of “Black Dog” or any other Zeppelin stomper, but for those who find the “Rain Song”/”Going To California” type of Led Zeppelin to be just their cup of bongwater, then this record is gonna sit nicely in the headphones. ||Continue reading||