Raising Sand is a collaboration between former Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant and bluegrass darling Alison Krauss. This impressive collection is unusual - both because of the pair's seeming contradictory musical traditions and also in the strange and lovely amalgam of their styles. With the help of producer T Bone Burnett, the two put together some very interesting arrangements in this eclectic selection of songs.
"Rich Woman" opens the album with an airy mix of light blues and psychedelica that unfortunately outshines the duo's dueling falsetto vocals. The reverse is true in "Killing The Blues", which better suits the vocal pairing but has a lackluster arrangement. Still, it's a very pretty tune that does have a nice twist of lapsteel. I just prefer Shawn Colvin's version.
It's the cover of Sam Phillips' "Sister Rosetta Goes Before Us" - inspired by Sister Rosetta Tharpe - that really seems to get the album flowing. Alison purrs sweetly over a swaying melody that successfully combines the bluegrass instrumentation of her own music with the exotic percussion and strings of Plant's recent recordings.
Their rocky rendition of The Everly Brothers' "Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On)" is another highlight, thanks in part to producer T Bone Burnett's 6-string bass. The tune also features the best vocal interplay on the disc, with Plant finally unleashing his voice a bit as Krauss provides harmony.
The pedal steeled "Through The Morning, Through The Night" could've been lifted from one of Alison's own albums, with her gentle voice taking the spotlight. This is perhaps fitting because the track that follows, "Please Read The Letter", was taken from Plant's 1998 collaboration with former bandmate Jimmy Page. The Plant/Page cover is another grand vocal mesh, showing off the beauty of both singers' voices before Plant indulges in some Zep wailing toward the end of the song. Krauss gets to do a little belting of her own on the country-rocker "Let Your Loss Be Your Lesson".
The stand out track is the gorgeous cover of the Tom Waits tune "Trampled Rose", with Krauss delivering a stellar lead vocal over a haunting blend of Dobro, percussion, toy piano, and pump organ. Plant then takes the reins again on "Fortune Teller" - which has a sort of cosmic surf rock mood - and the thrillingly atmospheric cover of Townes Van Zandt's "Nothin'".
Robert Plant Official Site
Alison Krauss Official Site
Buy the CD or Mp3s
"Rich Woman" opens the album with an airy mix of light blues and psychedelica that unfortunately outshines the duo's dueling falsetto vocals. The reverse is true in "Killing The Blues", which better suits the vocal pairing but has a lackluster arrangement. Still, it's a very pretty tune that does have a nice twist of lapsteel. I just prefer Shawn Colvin's version.
It's the cover of Sam Phillips' "Sister Rosetta Goes Before Us" - inspired by Sister Rosetta Tharpe - that really seems to get the album flowing. Alison purrs sweetly over a swaying melody that successfully combines the bluegrass instrumentation of her own music with the exotic percussion and strings of Plant's recent recordings.
Their rocky rendition of The Everly Brothers' "Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On)" is another highlight, thanks in part to producer T Bone Burnett's 6-string bass. The tune also features the best vocal interplay on the disc, with Plant finally unleashing his voice a bit as Krauss provides harmony.
The pedal steeled "Through The Morning, Through The Night" could've been lifted from one of Alison's own albums, with her gentle voice taking the spotlight. This is perhaps fitting because the track that follows, "Please Read The Letter", was taken from Plant's 1998 collaboration with former bandmate Jimmy Page. The Plant/Page cover is another grand vocal mesh, showing off the beauty of both singers' voices before Plant indulges in some Zep wailing toward the end of the song. Krauss gets to do a little belting of her own on the country-rocker "Let Your Loss Be Your Lesson".
The stand out track is the gorgeous cover of the Tom Waits tune "Trampled Rose", with Krauss delivering a stellar lead vocal over a haunting blend of Dobro, percussion, toy piano, and pump organ. Plant then takes the reins again on "Fortune Teller" - which has a sort of cosmic surf rock mood - and the thrillingly atmospheric cover of Townes Van Zandt's "Nothin'".
Robert Plant Official Site
Alison Krauss Official Site
Buy the CD or Mp3s
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