Reuters

Robert Plant shocked many by agreeing to play a one-off show with Led Zeppelin in November in London. But he isn’t particularly concerned that his fans might be taken by surprise by “Raising Sand,” his new collaboration with bluegrass bigwig Alison Krauss.

“If people have enjoyed my career, then they’ll know that not a single record that I’ve made since 1968 has had anything to do with the one before,” the former Led Zeppelin singer said via phone from his home in England. ||Continue reading||

originally published on Electronic Voice Phenomenon

Your eyes are not deceiving you, nor is your Hammer of the Gods 70s rock icon. Plant realizes that he’s playing to a different, older audience but more so he recognizes talent in all forms.

Thus we are given the cross-genre collaboration treatment in the form of bluegrass maiden Alison Krauss and surprise, surprise, Raising Sand is good. It’s better than good–it’s great.

Bet you weren’t expecting that.

Rather than relying on a push/pull of conflicting genres, Krauss and Plant find middle ground without fighting each other’s comfort zones. There are rocking songs with a bit of twang, bluegrass songs with a bit of raw power, and lush ballads that aren’t too heavy handed or too steeped in macho rock psychobabble. The key factor to Raising Sand’s success is how beautiful the voices of Krauss and Plant intermingle to create one harmonious sound. Plant’s voice has evolved over the years, and though he still treats us to a hoarse yelp or wail now and again he’s able to keep the lid on such urges to blend his effervescent voice with Krauss’ delicate vocals.

My only hope is that this is just the beginning of a working relationship between the two because the magic that could be made as Plant and Krauss mature as a duo would be mesmerizing. There is a lot of mileage left in these two and Raising Sand is a glorious first step in what is a fruitful marriage of harmony.

Originally appeared on mondernguitars.com

Leave it to legendary Led Zeppelin lead singer Robert Plant to add a folklore twist to the 10-foot Les Paul guitar sculpture he recently signed for the Gibson GuitarTown charity effort. The fiberglass guitar, with a look specially designed by Plant and hand-painted with acrylics by visual artist Mauricio Ortiz, has been named Armes Prydein, a reference to a 10th century poem written by an eccleisiastic who longed to see Wales unite with Cornwall, Ireland, Strathclyde, Brittany and the Danes of Dublin to oppose the English king and drive the English from Britain. ||Continue reading||

Originally appeared on uncut.co.uk

by John Mulvey

There’s a lot of static in the ether, as you may have detected, about the likelihood of a Led Zeppelin reunion sometime this autumn. That’d be nice, of course. But as I was listening to the new Robert Plant album for the first time this morning, it struck me: why would he bother going back there, when he’s making records as good as this right now? ||Continue reading||