Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, "Raising Sand"

CJ and Robert Plant find a Sugar Mama

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Apr 27, 2022

CJ’s Pitch:

I was never really thrilled with Robert Plant’s post-Led Zeppelin career. The death of John Bonham sent him into a personal and professional tailspin that took nearly thirty years to resolve itself. Sure, there were some highlights here and there. The Principle of Moments was a solid album and Now and Zen had some bright moments, but with everything else it seemed he was trying on different personas to see how they fit. Why he decided to style himself as a Bobby Darin-esque crooner in The Honeydrippers I’ll never understand. In any case, Robert seemed adrift.

To me, Plant only seemed like his old self when he appeared with Jimmy Page at the Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary Party in 1988 and a couple of years later at The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert. Of course, the two would finally reunite for the No Quarter (a.k.a. Unledded) acoustic performance for MTV. Thus began a four-year partnership that ended with the puzzling Walking into Clarksdale studio album. Once again, Robert was floating. Until 2007 when he joined with world renowned bluegrass singer/fiddler Alison Krauss.

I say world renowned, however she was not renowned to me. I had never even heard her name before she and Plant got together. In fact, if you had told me that Alison Krauss was the nice lady at Trader Joe’s who helped me find the frozen edamame that one time, I’d have believed you. And then if you told me that she was doing an album with Robert Plant, I would have said something like, “Well, I’m really glad that her music career is taking off. But TJ’s is losing one hell of a team player.” If we’ve learned anything from these past 80+ weeks together, it’s that I’m a culturally bereft, heavy metal droog who was once thrown out of a performance of Swan Lake for hucking Jujubes at his brother. (Sorry Alison.)

Raising Sand is a gift. Every note is thoughtfully considered and well-crafted. The first time I heard the melding of Plant’s and Krauss’ voices (on “Rich Woman” if you’re listening in order), I felt a little hitch in my throat. My body involuntarily bent toward the music like a flower turning its face to the sunlight. Plant’s rediscovered heavy blues tone blended seamlessly with Krauss’ lilting highs to create harmonies that music theorists only dream about.

There was no shortage of star power behind the scenes either. Mitch and Ken were quick to point out that EONS gold jacket recipient Gene Clark and “participant” trophy winner Tom Waits had a hand in three of the songs. Not to mention contributions by legends like Mel Tillis, Allen Toussaint, and my Dad’s favorite duo, The Everly Brothers.

Side Note: Happy 80th Birthday, Marty Kaplan! Thank you for making me care about music.

Pick any song on Raising Sand and I’ll tell you why I love it. “Fortune Teller” sounds like it could’ve been a Zeppelin song from the Houses of the Holy era. You know how the story ends before Plant does and it’s a delicious treat waiting for him to come to the same conclusion you have. “Trampled Rose” highlights everything Krauss does well. She haunts you with that gospel tragedy until you feel flattened like the titular flower. (Trampled underfoot?) “Please Read the Letter” conveys so much heartache without even revealing the contents of the note. I always tell my kids that if you really want somebody to know how you feel, don’t text them, don’t e-mail them, don’t slip into their DMs (whatever those are). Sit down and write them a letter. Maybe don’t nail it to their door, but you get the idea.

My two favorite songs are back-to-back toward the end of the album. In “Nothin’”, I feel like Robert Plant is all the way back. He’s jilted and pissed and he wants the song’s subject to know that whatever they had together, it don’t mean nothin’ to him anymore. Other the other hand, Krauss takes on the role of a man trying to learn from the dissolution of his relationship in “Let Your Loss Be Your Lesson”. A woman’s voice, especially her voice, expressing a man’s feelings makes it even more poignant.

Fellas, I don’t just want you to listen to Raising Sand. I want you to let it wash over you. Bathe in it. If it’s anything like my experience, it will cleanse your soul. I said that this album was a gift. It’s my gift to Newbury St.

Ken’s Response:

There was a time when the Academy Awards gave the Best Picture Oscar to universally loved films like Rocky, The Sound of Music, The Godfather, and Lawrence of Arabia. Sometime in the 1990s, a couple of clunkers snuck in and stole the award. And while Forrest Gump is entertaining and Shakespeare in Love wasn’t without some merit, it’s The English Patient that is the torchbearer of “bad movies that won best picture.”

With A-list star power, including Ralph Fiennes who was coming off a magnificent performance in Schindler’s List, the film tells the beautiful story of a badly wounded man recounting the love affair he had prior to WWII. Critics loved it but audiences thought it was way too long and the intricate detail made for a boring movie-going experience. In short, the film’s greatest asset (Fiennes) was also its undoing. Fiennes’ dialogue moved like molasses on a cold day, and by the last hour I was kind of rooting for him to just die and roll the credits. So who was right, the audience or the critics?

Raising Sand has a Robert Plant problem. What is an otherwise gorgeous album with Allison Krauss doing what she does best, it’s a bit hampered by its biggest star. Plant is competent enough throughout, including the mysteriously beautiful “Polly Come Home”, but he takes too much time to tell the stories, and he drags every phrase out until we’re begging to move on to the next track.

There are some huge highlights though; the opening track “Rich Woman” is masterful, the upbeat “Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On)” is perfect, and “Trampled Rose” is Krauss at her best.

At 57:10 this album is 12-15 minutes too long, but like The English Patient, its beautiful storytelling can’t be overlooked. The critics were right!

Pitch Successful (now I need a whisky lullaby)

Mitch’s Response:

Reading CJ’s pitch definitely got my head nodding.

Yes, Robert Plant was adrift after going through the out door, although I think “Big Log” and “Ship of Fools” are excellent early solo tunes.

Nodding.

Sure, The Honeydrippers was a lark, but “Young Boy Blues” is fantastic and “Sea of Love” bests the original.

More nodding.

Likewise, I hadn't listened to Alison Krauss nor had I eaten Trader Joe’s edamame, another so-called “healthy snack” that is actually a barely edible delivery system for soy sauce.

Yet more nodding.

“Raising Sand” was in heavy rotation in my house when it first came out. It’s got “the spook” as we say in Neil Young circles - that ominous vibe and authenticity that tells you this is a T-Bone Burnett production.

Still more nodding.

Plant and Krause sound wonderful together. The song choices are smart. As a collection the vibe truly washes over you, lulling you into a state of deep relaxation. “Killing the Blues” is heart-wrenching. “Through the Morning, Through the Night” is perfect. Krauss absolutely slays “Sister Rosetta Goes Before Us”. But the rest all starts to blend together.

Eyelids getting heavy.

More dirges play. The slowest version of “Polly” fills the air.

Nodding off.

I’m gone, gone, gone.

Asleep.

Pitch Unsuccessful (beautiful but boring on repeat listening)

CJ’s pitch was unsuccessful and Robert Plant & Alison Krauss’ Raising Sand has been swept away from Newbury St.

Thanks for reading this week’s letter. Do you agree with us killing the blues or should polly have come home to Newbury St.? Your long journey ends at the comments section - drop by and fortune teller us what you think.

Exile on Newbury St.

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