K. Mallock, BookFolks
I was very excited for this album to be released as I have been a fan of Robert Plant since grade school and a fan of Alison Krauss for the past several years. When I first heard of this collaborative effort, I was ready to buy! I downloaded this within minutes of it being released.
That said, this album just isn’t groundbreaking or innovative and is not as remarkable as it truly could have been and should have been.
The first several times I listened, I was left with the impression that it was an Alison Krauss record with Robert Plant doing backup. With each successful hearing, however, I realized that Plant did more on here than it originally seemed. But, still– the music is stylistically Allison Krauss’ not Plant’s.
Plant’s voice sounds as strong as ever, but when he does those Zeppelin-esque improvs, they just seem out of place on this album. In addition, there’s too much of a Honeydripper feel to Plant’s singing and interpretations. I really wanted something new, and was frustrated that it wasn’t here.
Robert Plant sounds great on every song here as does Krauss. However, Krauss is doing her thing here. . . this is her element and her project. Plant seems just along for the ride.
I don’t hear anything new here, unfortunately — you won’t find her “rocking” here and you won’t find anything as superb as Battle of Evermore which would have been great with Krauss’ striking vocals — imagine her doing Sandy Denny’s part!
I was hoping there’d be some unbelievable, haunting, amazing duets here. But the unpleasant truth is that these duets are really Alison Krauss singing a song with Robert Plant singing harmony/backup. On those songs, it’s hard to hear that it’s the same great Robert Plant from Led Zeppelin or even his own excellent solo efforts– as his participation doesn’t really shine through.
These are good songs. They are not great songs. Krauss gets to shine on these songs and Plant doesn’t. It’s a disappointment, a let down, a shame.
On Plant’s efforts where he sings lead or solo, Krauss very much is in the background–as a matter of fact, I’m not certain she even is participating. There are few real duets going on. Plant’s songs are good, just not great or really memorable.
There’s one more thing that bothered me (not too much, just a little). Some of these songs are written from a man’s point of view with Alison singing lead. I always find that a bit disconcerting. Why couldn’t she change the lyric to “her” instead of “him” or “he” instead of “she”? It’s not a serious matter, it just seems disconcerting and confusing to my ears even though I’m well aware that this is seen fairly frequently in the country/bluegrass genre.
Alison Krauss is blessed with a fantastic voice and so is Robert Plant. Both have very distinctive sounds that do compliment each other but do not make this a standout album. To me, this collaborative effort is extremely disappointing. Considering it’s popularity, however, I realize they may very well come out with another disc in the future. If and when they do, I hope it has more emphasis on genuine partnership.
When Mark Knopfler’s and Emmylou Harris’ CD collaborative effort, All The Roadrunning, was first released, I also excitedly purchased it. And, although many might absolutely adore Emmylou Harris, I never did. I never really liked her voice. I have heard people singing her praises for years and years, but I never liked it as much as the other folk artists of her generation. However, All The Roadrunning is a wonderful CD! The cooperative efforts of Knopfler and Harris ARE what Plant’s and Krauss’ CD should have been. All The Roadrunning CD IS much more innovative than this CD. I have always loved Dire Straits and Mark Knopfler’s solo work, but I have LOVED Robert Plant’s voice and style since the fifth grade. I think Alison Krauss’ voice is gorgeous and much better than Emmylou Harris’ voice (which grates on me after a while). That said, Raising Sand misses the mark and Mark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris’ CD hits it.
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