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ROBERT PLANT COMPLETES VIDEO FOR FIRST SINGLE “ANGEL DANCE” | News

lberube — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 12:43:00 GMT

Rounder Records is pleased to announce that the first video from Robert Plant’s new album Band of Joy has been completed. The video is for the first single, “Angel Dance,” a Los Lobos cover that Rolling Stone magazine called “sweet, elegant NPR folk that still swings like Satan's barn door.” It was shot in Chicago, was directed by Vincent Haycock and features Los Lobos’ David Hidalgo and Louie Perez.

The anticipation for Band of Joy continues to grow as “Angel Dance” was #1 most added at Triple A radio two weeks in a row, and has received the most amount of listens in RollingStone.com history, garnering three times the amount of visits than the #2 artist. The song premiered exclusively on the site on July 27.

Plant just finished three weeks of touring the United States with the Band of Joy band (Buddy Miller, Patty Griffin, Darrell Scott, Byron House and Marco Giovino) and the response was rapturous. “The new unit plays Americana music and does so with intelligence and inventiveness,” hailed the Wall Street Journal. “It was tough to find anything but joy,” said the Dallas Morning News, calling the new record a “logical progression” and noting, “it’s plain Plant is enjoying the ride,” while calling the band “mighty.”

Band of Joy is Plant’s first album since 2007’s six time Grammy® Award winning Raising Sand. It was recorded in Nashville and will be released on September 14.

The album is a timeless plunge into authentic Americana, and was co-produced by Plant and Nashville legend and guitarist Buddy Miller. It features intriguing new interpretations of songs from a wide range of sources. Opening with a throbbing rendition of Los Lobos' “Angel Dance,” Band of Joy encompasses the glittering drone-rock of Low's “Silver Rider” and “Monkey,” the Fifties-style country-gospel harmonies which transform The Kelly Brothers' Sixties soul classic “Falling In Love Again,” the desolate banjo-driven interpretation of “Satan, Your Kingdom Must Come Down,” the transplanted English/Appalachian folk ballad “Cindy I'll Marry You Some Day,” the jangling blues imagery of “Central Two-O-Nine,” along with other astonishing interpretations.

Plant's most eclectic work so far, in a career that has constantly embraced the unexpected, it’s an album that takes in continents of influence and oceans of emotional depth. Plant seems to have an unquenchable thirst for music that moves him – whether it is to be found in Northern Africa or deepest Appalachia – Band of Joy takes us to all these places and more.

ROBERT PLANT TO RELEASE BAND OF JOY ON SEPTEMBER 14 | News

lberube — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 12:38:00 GMT

Rounder Records is pleased to announce that Robert Plant is back with Band of Joy, his first album since 2007’s six time Grammy® Award winning Raising Sand (Rounder). Band of Joy was recorded in Nashville with a stellar cast of musicians and will be released on September 14.

A timeless plunge into authentic Americana, the album was co-produced by Plant and Nashville legend and guitarist Buddy Miller. “Buddy's integral to this album, you can hear his taste all over the instrumentation,” enthuses Plant. “Buddy's zone is beautiful, with a lot of reflections going back into mid-Fifties rockabilly, the singing fishermen and all the great country stuff, along with the soul and R&B from Memphis.”

As well as Miller, the Band of Joy is made up of multi-instrumentalist Darrell Scott, who provides the mandolin, guitar, accordion, pedal, lap steel and banjo lines, country singer-songwriter Patty Griffin who adds the main vocal foils to Plant's lead parts, while Byron House plays bass and percussion comes from Marco Giovino.

Band of Joy features intriguing new interpretations of songs from a wide range of sources. Opening with a throbbing rendition of Los Lobos's 'Angel Dance', the album encompasses the glittering drone-rock of Low's 'Silver Rider' and 'Monkey', the Fifties-style country-gospel harmonies which transform The Kelly Brothers' Sixties soul classic 'I’m Falling In Love Again', the desolate banjo-driven interpretation of 'Satan, Your Kingdom Must Come Down', the transplanted English/Appalachian folk ballad 'Cindy I'll Marry You Some Day', and jangling blues imagery of 'Central Two-O-Nine'.

Plant's most eclectic work so far, in a career that has constantly embraced the unexpected, it’s an album which takes in continents of influence and oceans of emotional depth. Plant seems to have an unquenchable thirst for music that moves him – whether it is to be found in Northern Africa or deepest Appalachia – Band of Joy takes us to all these places and more.

Robert Plant and the Band of Joy will be touring the U.S. in July in support of Band of Joy, with more dates to be announced. For a complete list of dates go to www.rounder.com.

Band of Joy Track Listing:

Angel Dance
House of Cards
Central Two-O-Nine
Silver Rider
You Can’t Buy My Love
I’m Falling In Love Again
The Only Sound That Matters
Monkey
Cindy I’ll Marry You Someday
Harm’s Swift Way
Satan, Your Kingdom Must Come Down
Even This Shall Pass Away

About Alison Krauss | Press

BrettNagy — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 08:33:00 GMT

For Alison Krauss, musical collaboration has been a way of life. Her own story has been nothing short of amazing: signed to Rounder Records as a precocious 13-year-old fiddler from Champaign, Illinois, she has, over two decades with the label, become the most recognized face in contemporary bluegrass, a critically acclaimed artist who has brought modern sophistication to the genre while respecting its traditions. She has also managed to sell upwards of 8 million records and garner 20 Grammy® Awards, the most for any female artist in Grammy® history. Yet Krauss has consistently worked to honor her influences, like contemporary bluegrass pioneer Tony Rice, to promote discoveries like the Cox Family, and to offer her skills as producer, most recently to country star Alan Jackson.

Krauss’ latest musical collaboration, Raising Sand, is an astonishing album recorded in tandem with rock vocalist and songwriter Robert Plant. Scheduled for release on Rounder on October 23, 2007, Raising Sand is their first recorded endeavor, and will prove revelatory to fans and the media on two counts: first that it happened at all, and, more importantly, that it is as successful and illuminating as it is.

Under the careful sonic stewardship of producer T Bone Burnett, Raising Sand is pitched three steps beyond some cosmic collision of early urban blues, spacious West Texas country, and the unrealized potential of the folk-rock revolution. Shockingly evocative, it is an album that uncovers popular music’s elemental roots while sounding effortlessly, breath-takingly modern. Despite hailing from distinctly different backgrounds, Plant and Krauss share a maverick spirit and willingness to extend the boundaries of their respective genres. Raising Sand finds Plant and Krauss functioning as sympathetic equals: creating a powerful new sound from both their common musical ground and their unrivaled sense of empathy.

Krauss is apparently not one for taking time off. While Union Station took a hiatus after the 18-month tour to support the 2004 Alison Krauss and Union Station release Lonely Runs Both Ways, Krauss took full advantage of the down time to explore new musical horizons. She produced Alan Jackson’s 2006 release, Like Red on a Rose, which the Chicago Sun-Times declared “a masterpiece,” taking the best-selling artist out of his familiar surroundings to create a moody, intimate song cycle that has been favorably compared to Frank Sinatra’s In the Wee Small Hours. The New York Times described it as “a deeply country record that sounds nothing like a country record.” She also produced and recorded five new tracks with long time engineer Gary Paczosa to complete her twelfth release, A Hundred Miles or More: A Collection, gathering on one elegantly understated disc previously released collaborations with such artists and friends as Brad Paisley, John Waite, James Taylor, Natalie MacMaster, and The Chieftains, along with songs she cut for well-known movie soundtracks and other special projects. With the new tracks (among them the current country single “Simple Love”) she created something far more than just a compilation. Across 16 songs, A Hundred Miles or More gracefully balances the new with the familiar to form a vivid portrait of this adventurous artist.

In the same “year off”, she began the then-undefined project with Plant and Burnett, recording initially in Nashville, then moving to Los Angeles to complete the project. While finishing touches were being done on Raising Sand, Krauss and her equally celebrated band Union Station were busy fulfilling one of their long-time dreams—a special tour with their friend, mentor and inspiration Tony Rice, performing material from his storied career. Alison and Union Station moved directly from the dates with Tony Rice to a national summer tour in support of A Hundred Miles or More. Billed as “An Evening with Alison Krauss and Union Station featuring Jerry Douglas,” it showcases material from the new disc, along with fan favorites.

Krauss reached that extraordinary 20 Grammy® milestone when her last album with Union Station, Lonely Runs Both Ways, was named 2005’s Best Country Album. It wasn’t the only award she and her band-mates took home from the 48th Annual Grammys®: “Unionhouse Branch” garnered Best Country Instrumental Performance and “Restless” received the Best Country Performance by a Duo/Group Award. She has also received several Country Music Association Awards, including Musical Event of the Year for “Whiskey Lullaby” with Brad Paisley, originally released on Paisley’s Mud on the Tires and reprised on A Hundred Miles or More. The International Bluegrass Music Association Awards have honored her on several occasions, most recently for Livin’, Lovin’, Losin’ – Songs of the Louvin Brothers, which features her duet with James Taylor, “How’s the World Treating You,” also included on the new album. The two tracks she cut for the Cold Mountain soundtrack, “The Scarlet Tide” and “You Will Be My Ain True Love” (with Sting on harmony vocals) were nominated for Oscars in 2004, garnering performances on the 75th Academy Awards telecast. Lonely Runs Both Ways, which was hailed by both audiences and critics, has been certified Gold by the RIAA, and Krauss and Union Station’s 2002 double-disc Live CD and Live DVD were certified Platinum.

More impressive, however, than any of these accolades has been Krauss’s unwavering commitment to being an independent-label artist who has succeeded far beyond the scope of many major-label artists. She has been able to circulate freely within pop, mainstream country, and roots music circles, creating impeccably produced records that appeal to an equally wide-ranging and inquisitive audience. Krauss has continued doing things the old-fashioned way: following her heart and whatever path the music takes her down.

“I’m so glad we didn’t do anything else,” Krauss told USA Today in regard to her and Union Station’s choice to make Rounder their home for so many years, “because I’m so happy with how it’s gone.”

“I never had any big dreams about doing something on a huge scale,” Krauss reflects. “But I have dreamt about liking my records. That’s the kind of stuff I dreamt about.” She may have dreamt small, but as an artist, she’s succeeded very, very big. In her case, modesty has proven to be the best policy.

Now, the only question is where her next musical journey might take us.

About T Bone Burnett | Press

lberube — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 06:08:00 GMT

T Bone Burnett is an American original. One of music’s most multi-faceted and successful artists, his multitude of musical identities include: acclaimed performer and songwriter; Grammy®-winning producer (the O Brother, Where Art Thou? and Walk The Line soundtracks; the Tony Bennett and k.d. lang album, A Wonderful World); Oscar-nominated songwriter (“The Scarlet Tide” from Cold Mountain); indie record label founder (DMZ Records); soundtrack composer/Executive Music Producer (Walk The Line, The Big Lebowski); and versatile studio wizard (Elvis Costello, Roy Orbison, Tony Bennett, k.d. lang, Alison Krauss, Counting Crows, the Wallflowers, Sam Phillips, Gillian Welch, and Ralph Stanley).

Most recently, Burnett shepherded into existence Raising Sand, a collaborative effort from Alison Krauss and Robert Plant to be released on October 23, 2007. Burnett’s unerring sonic vision guided this project from an unlikely meeting of uniquely individual icons to a triumphant, stunningly coherent artistic statement. As producer, bandleader, and repertoire specialist, Burnett crafted settings that illuminated Plant and Krauss’s common musical ground while allowing each to shine in new and surprising ways. Plant has never before sung with such pure, understated soul, while Krauss – in addition to providing crystalline harmonies – cuts loose as never before. From ramshackle blues to hillbilly artsong, Raising Sand is one of the most beguiling albums in any of the three principals’ amazing legacies, and one of the most astonishing and affecting albums of 2007.

In 2006, T Bone emerged from a self-imposed 14-year hiatus as a recording artist to release two highly-anticipated and critically-acclaimed collections of music simultaneously: The True False Identity, his first album of new original songs since 1992, and Twenty Twenty - The Essential T Bone Burnett, a 40-song retrospective spanning his entire career of music-making. T Bone said of his extended break, “After the last record (1992’s The Criminal Under My Own Hat), I felt I could write some new songs and go around the track again, but I didn’t feel that I would get anywhere. The road had become too difficult. Music had come completely apart for me. But more importantly, I didn't have anything I wanted to say. It all seemed pointless, so I decided to explore some of the other ideas that were coming my way. I needed freedom. I needed time to find another way into playing music again.”

It is no coincidence that T Bone released a retrospective and a new album on the same day. In his revelatory liner notes for Twenty Twenty, he wrote, “This is the way I wanted to close the book on these songs from a dead man, and open the book on the new life I am beginning after forty years of wandering in the desert.” An enigmatic sentiment coming from a man whose solo work has always been filled with droll humor, sardonic wordplay and keen cultural observations. But, for T Bone Burnett, the past is prologue and The True False Identity fulfilled an artistic vision that's been forming in the back of his brain for decades.

Born Joseph Henry Burnett in St. Louis, Missouri, T Bone grew up in Fort Worth, Texas, where he first made records in 1965, producing Texas blues, country, and rock & roll bands and, occasionally, himself. In the early 1970s, he relocated to Los Angeles, where he still lives and works as a producer and recording artist. In 1975, he toured with Bob Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Review tour before forming his own group, the Alpha Band, with other musicians from the tour.

Burnett returned to recording solo in the late 1970s and has gone on to record numerous critically acclaimed albums – including 1992’s Grammy® nominated Criminal Under My Own Hat – under his own name. He has written music for two Sam Shepard plays – “Tooth of Crime (Second Dance)” and “The Late Henry Moss” – and composed music for a production of Bertolt Brecht’s “Mother Courage and Her Children” by Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company.

A prolific and versatile producer, T Bone Burnett has helmed highly successful recordings for Elvis Costello, Roy Orbison, Tony Bennett, k.d. lang, Alison Krauss, Counting Crows, the Wallflowers, Sam Phillips, Gillian Welch, and Ralph Stanley among numerous others. Burnett was musical director for the concert film, Roy Orbison and Friends: Black and White Night, which featured Orbison and an all-star band of Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Costello, Tom Waits, Bonnie Raitt, Burnett and many others.

In 2001, he served as Composer and Music Producer for the Coen Brothers’ film “O Brother, Where Art Thou?,”scoring the film and producing a soundtrack of “old-timey” American music performed by musicians relatively unknown to the public at large. That soundtrack album became nothing less than a cultural phenomenon, selling nearly 9 million copies and dominating the Billboard album chart for more than a year. Burnett and the Coen Brothers joined forces again in 2002 to form DMZ Records, a joint venture with Columbia Records, and produced the new label’s inaugural releases: a new album by the legendary bluegrass musician Ralph Stanley and the Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood soundtrack. DMZ has since released several critically-acclaimed soundtrack albums, produced or executive-produced by Burnett, including Cold Mountain (2003), A Mighty Wind (2003), Crossing Jordan (2003), and The Ladykillers (2004). One of his songs for Cold Mountain, “The Scarlet Tide,” co-written with Elvis Costello and sung by Alison Krauss, was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Song and won the BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music.

In 2005, T Bone served as Executive Music Producer for the highly-acclaimed Johnny Cash biopic, Walk The Line, produced the film’s RIAA gold-certified soundtrack album, and composed its score. Burnett’s work on that film earned him another Grammy® (his sixth) for Best Compilation Soundtrack Album, as well as a BAFTA nomination.

In addition to Robert Plant and Alison Krauss’s Raising Sand, Burnett’s recent projects include production of Cassandra Wilson’s Thunderbird album and the sophomore album from Seattle-based singer/songwriter Brandi Carlile. He has just completed work as Executive Music Producer for the Julie Taymor-directed film, Across The Universe – a fictional love story set in the 1960s and told through the songs of The Beatles that defined that time. He is also producing a forthcoming album from blues legend B.B. King.

About Robert Plant | Press

lberube — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 06:08:00 GMT

In 1966, Robert Plant left home, left college, left work, and turned professional. By 1967 he had cut 6 sides for CBS, formed the Band of Joy with John Bonham, and created two crucial working partnerships. The first such partnership was with Terry Reid – the two became friends playing on the progressive music circuit of the mid-60s; the second was with bandleader Alexis Korner, with whom Plant worked as harmonica player and co-vocalist in various Korner ventures, many of which featured pianist Steve Miller and were featured as the opening act for the band Free. In early ‘68, Plant’s psychedelic dream ran out of steam. Bonham left the Band of Joy to tour with Tim Rose, while Plant continued to work with Korner.

Plant’s friend Terry Reid recommended Plant to Jimmy Page for a revised Yardbirds line-up, declining the gig himself to pursue what looked to be a promising solo career. Plant in turn recommended Bonham, and with Page’s fellow session doyen John Paul Jones on bass, what began life as “The New Yardbirds” became the creative force known as Led Zeppelin.

Bonham’s untimely death in 1980 brought the Led Zeppelin era to a close. Since then, Plant has recorded many solo projects and collaborated with a host of colorful accomplices. He and Jimmy Page renewed their long-time partnership in ’95 for four years in the No Quarter project – a melange of North African, Egyptian, and folk- roots sounds.

Plant’s wide-ranging appetite for non-Western musics – including the music of Morocco, the Atlas region, and beyond – met with his lifelong fascination with American West Coast psychedelic rock to form a new collision of styles and colors known as Strange Sensation. Their first album, Dreamland, received great critical acclaim and two Grammy® nominations in January 2003.

More recently, Plant has recorded with Afro Celt Sound System and, along with Skin and Justin Adams, traveled to South Sahara, North of Timbuktu in Mali to participate in the 2nd Festival of the Desert, a gathering of African Saharan and assorted soul musicians which included Oumou Sangare, Ali Farka Toure, Tinariwen, and Tidawt. This project ultimately became a CD compilation on the Harmonia Mundi label.

2003 saw the release of the definitive Plant retrospective, Sixty Six to Timbuktu, which included a selection of Plant’s solo work, from his first recording date to his appearance in Mali.

In October of 2004, Plant revived his long-dormant Es Paranza label for its first release in many years. May of 2005 saw the release of Robert Plant and the Strange Sensation’s album Mighty Rearranger, which featured twelve new original songs. A major year-long tour followed. At the close of 2005, the critically acclaimed Mighty Rearranger received two Grammy® nominations in vocal categories.

The following year saw Robert and the band embark on a new adventure with a string of dates across Europe and
beyond. A stopover in Sweden in late May saw Robert, along with the other members of Led Zeppelin, receive the prestigious Polar Music Prize. His Majesty King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden presented the award to Led Zeppelin in the presence of other dignitaries with the following words:

“The 2006 Polar Music Prize is awarded to the British Group Led Zeppelin, one of the great pioneers of rock. Their playful and experimental music combined with highly eclectic elements has two essential themes: mysticism and primal energy. These are features that have come to define the genre ‘hard rock.’”

In October of 2006 Rounder/Zoë Vision released Robert Plant and the Strange Sensation DVD, a ten-camera High Definition shoot for USA Soundstage productions. This was the first commercial DVD in Robert’s career. This continued the critical recognition of the current work of Robert Plant and the Strange Sensation.

2006 closed with the worldwide release of Nine Lives (Rhino), a beautifully designed boxed set containing all of Plant’s solo work since ’81–accompanied by outtakes, live cuts, and a DVD with contributions from Tori Amos, Phil Collins, Roger Daltrey, Bobby Gillespie, and Lenny Kravitz, among others.

2007 finds Robert working on album number three with Strange Sensation, leaning again towards the music of the muse – exotic, explosive, and detailed. Along the way he performed with Tinariwen, the Malian Tuareg cooperative who received huge critical acclaim for the Justin Adams produced CD Aman Iman, singing and playing spooked tenor ukelele at the Bataclan Theatre in Paris in April. A summer tour of the eastern Mediterranean with Strange Sensation will run from June through August.

Raising Sand, a new project and partnership with 20-time Grammy® Award winning artist Alison Krauss will be released in October 2007 on Rounder Records. Their first recorded collaboration, Raising Sand proves a wonder on two counts: first that it happened at all, and, more importantly, that it is as successful and illuminating as it is.

Under the stewardship of producer T-Bone Burnett, Raising Sand spans the intersections of early urban blues, spacious West Texas country, and the unrealized potential of the folk-rock revolution. It is an album that uncovers popular music’s elemental roots while sounding effortlessly timeless – It’s nearly impossible to tell which songs are a hundred years old or which are contemporary. Krauss and Plant share a maverick spirit that makes Raising Sand sound like one continuous thought -- a conversation between two major music talents that goes on for an entire album.

About Raising Sand | Press

BrettNagy — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 05:58:00 GMT

From its embryonic, conceptual stages – well before any music materialized – the mere idea of Raising Sand held infinite fascination for both its creators and those around them. As word spread of an impending musical collaboration between Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, imaginations ran wild. Two artists, each at the pinnacle of their respective pantheons, Robert and Alison have seemingly little in common. But just below the surface, an elemental understanding flowed between them, waiting to be tapped...

Mutual admirers for some time, Plant and Krauss first performed together at a concert celebrating the music of Leadbelly. That great man’s sound – spry and playful, yet marked by an undercurrent of torment and loss – is a keyhole into the sound world unlocked on Raising Sand. After their initial collaboration proved promising, Plant and Krauss brought producer T Bone Burnett into the fold to help them investigate a more sustained, full-scale project. Charged with selecting both supporting musicians and material that would illuminate the connection between these two unique artists, Burnett succeeded wondrously. Built on a shared core of modal blues and country soul, filtered through alternating layers of unadorned tenderness and thick, shifting textures, the sounds on Raising Sand extend well beyond anyone’s expectations.

It all began quietly, in Alison’s Nashville home. Sitting side by side, with Burnett quietly lining out chord changes on guitar, Plant and Krauss sang. There were no microphones, no effects – nothing to hide behind or escape into. “The idea was to take them both out of their comfort zone,” Burnett reflects. “To take us all out of our comfort zones.” As one of the finest harmony singers in any style of music, Krauss worked carefully with Plant to develop a blend, telepathically following the contours of his phrasing. New to such intensive two-part harmony, Plant pared down his vocal style to its most basic components – resulting in some of the most affecting, soulful singing he has yet captured on tape. “I don’t get nervous really,” Plant said of those early sessions. “But I realized once I started sitting down on that couch, I was in for a ride.” As they grew more comfortable with the songs and the way their voices complimented one another, they stepped into the studio….

Burnett had assembled an intriguing group of musicians, with a core of guitarist Marc Ribot, bassist Dennis Crouch, and drummer Jay Bellerose occasionally augmented by guitarist Norman Blake and multi-instrumentalist Mike Seeger. Caution and trepidation gave way to an amazingly fruitful run of sessions, spanning only ten days but resulting in almost the entire album. Burnett nurtured the music endlessly, encouraging the musicians to disregard the past and simply play the songs their way. The sound gelled quickly, as a roomful of strangers became an empathetic, organically telepathic band in a matter of hours.

And the music? The combination of Krauss’s silken interpretation of American roots forms with Plant’s defiantly, globally-informed mélange could have turned down any number of sonic byways. Yet Burnett’s relentless focus and the selfless dedication of the two principals has resulted in an album that defies genres in favor of a wide open brand of seismic soul music. Pitched three steps beyond some cosmic collision of early urban blues, spacious West Texas country, and the unrealized potential of the folk-rock revolution, Raising Sand is shockingly evocative – an album that uncovers popular music’s elemental roots while sounding effortlessly, breathtakingly modern.

The material selected by T Bone is the fulcrum on which Plant and Krauss’s delicately disarming harmonies balance and pivot gracefully. Roly Salley’s underground folk gem “Killing the Blues” is as bittersweetly chilling as a grunge rockabilly race through the Everly Brothers’ “Gone Gone Gone” is invigorating. Psychedelic country-rock lightening rod Gene Clark is tapped twice: once for Krauss’s devastating treatment of “Through the Morning, Through the Night” and again for “Polly,” delivered tenderly by Plant with a dreamy harmony from Krauss emerging in the second verse. Surprises abound, from a darkly grooving take on Brit-beat standard “Fortune Teller” to the closing “Long Journey,” a timeless country standard beautifully performed in a strict, solemn Carter Family style.

Upon release, the immediate and vociferously positive reaction from fans and media alike made it clear that Raising Sand proved to be a risk worth taking. The album’s praises were sung in such major publications as Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, the New Yorker, Entertainment Weekly, Mojo, No Depression, People, USA Today, and innumerable others, and the duo gave a dynamic performance on NBC’s Today Show. In its first week, Raising Sand was the second best selling album in the US. It was certified Gold by late November, 2007, and is well on its way to Platinum status.

A staple of critics’ year-end top ten surveys, Raising Sand topped lists in USA Today, the San Francisco Chronicle, and the Sunday Times (UK), and placed highly in many more outlets. Country Music Television (CMT) was an immediate supporter, giving priority rotation to the first single, “Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On)” and taping an episode of their popular program “Crossroads” featuring the pair. This episode will debut in February 2008 and will be shown several times throughout the year. Rather than let their fruitful collaboration end with Raising Sand, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss will be touring the US and Europe with many of the musicians featured on the album in spring of 2008.

As much as Raising Sand is a revelation for the listener, the artists involved were even more profoundly affected. “When we got seventy-five percent of the way down the line,” Plant explains, “I realized we’d created something that I could never have dreamt of.” Krauss shares his enthusiasm and wonder. “There’s so much romance in contrast,” she summarizes. “It was a real life-changing experience.”

ROBERT PLANT AND THE BAND OF JOY TO TOUR U.S.A | News

lberube — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 12:40:00 GMT

Robert Plant has confirmed a 12 city North American tour. Beginning in July, this 1^st leg of shows which will be followed by further dates in the fall will preview material from a new album. Featuring a diverse group of musicians - Patty Griffin, vocals; Darrell Scott, multi instrumentalist/vocals; Byron House, Bass/Vocals; Marco Giovino, drums and percussion/vocals, including co-producer Buddy Miller, guitar/vocals. The album is set for release on Rounder, late summer/early fall.

Kicking off in Memphis on July 13^th (see full tour schedule below) the tour will feature Plant and the ‘Band of Joy’ - the same musicians who also appear and play on the album.

Says Plant: “It’s been a blast working on these new songs…and I’m enjoying such creativity and vitality. It’s been a remarkable change of direction for all of us and as a group we all seem to have developed a new groove.”

In recent weeks Plant has been in the studio working on the planned release, which will be his first since Raising Sand, the multi-platinum, 6-time Grammy® winning collaboration with fellow Rounder artist Alison Krauss. Krauss has most recently been recording with her longtime band Union Station, and will be touring with them this summer. The pair do not expect to announce a new album or tour in the coming year, though when asked about the collaboration, Plant says: “Oh yes, Alison and I get together quite often…and sometimes we dance.”

**On sale dates will vary throughout March & April. See below for ticket links and information to purchase.

Robert Plant and the Band Of Joy Tour Dates):

July

13 Memphis, TN The Orpheum Theater Information available in May

15 Little Rock, AR Robinson Center Music Hall Ticket Info

16 Tulsa, OK Brady Theater Ticket Info

18 Albuquerque, NM Sandia Casino Amphitheater Ticket Info

20 Phoenix, AZ Dodge Theater Ticket Info

21 Tucson, AZ Anselmo Valencia Amphitheater Ticket Info

23 Dallas, TX Meyerson Symphony Hall Ticket Info

24 Houston, TX Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion Ticket Info

26 Austin, TX Stubbs Waller Creek Amphitheater Ticket Info

28 Mobile, AL The Saenger Theatre Ticket Info

30 Clearwater, FL Ruth Eckerd Hall Ticket Info

31 Miami, FL Bayfront Park Amphitheater Ticket Info

Alison and Robert Are CMT Music Award Finalists | News

BrettNagy — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 08:16:00 GMT

Alison Krauss and Robert Plant are finalists in three categories for the 2009 CMT Music Awards.

"Please Read The Letter" is nominated in two categories including Collaborative Video Of The Year, and Wide Open Country Video Of The Year.

While their performance of "Gone, Gone, Gone (Done Moved On)" is nominated for CMT Performance Of The Year.

The CMT Music Awards are the only entirely fan-voted country awards show and you can start voting for Alison and Robert right now! You can vote at CMT.com to determine the final nominees, or by CLICKING HERE.

The first round of voting runs on CMT.com from April 13th through May 11th. You can only vote once in the first round, so make sure you vote for Alison and Robert!

The 2009 CMT Music Awards airs live on Wednesday, June 17 on CMT and CMT.com.

Robert and Alison Win 5 Grammy Awards! | News

BrettNagy — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 08:20:00 GMT

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss were awarded the highest honors of Album Of The Year for Raising Sand and Record Of The Year for "Please Read The Letter" at the 51st annual Grammy awards held yesterday in Los Angeles.

The duo also took home awards for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals for "Rich Woman", Best Country Collaboration with Vocals for "Killing The Blues", and Best Contemporary Folk/Americana Album for "Raising Sand".

Plant and Krauss also received a Grammy in 2008 for "Gone, Gone, Gone" (the sole category for which they were eligible last year).

Congratulations to Alison and Robert on their Grammy Awards!

Official Alison Krauss and Robert Plant Signed CD | News

BrettNagy — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 08:21:00 GMT

Official Alison Krauss and Robert Plant Signed CD.

Attention Fans! In celebration of their GRAMMY Nominations, here is your chance to bid on an amazing copy of Raising Sand signed by both Alison and Robert. The autographed item is now available on the GRAMMY Charity Online Auction benefiting MusiCares and the GRAMMY Foundation. Auction runs Feb. 2 - 12th.

CLICK HERE to visit the auction!

Robert And Alison To Perform At The Grammy Awards | News

lberube — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 05:26:00 GMT

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss are set to perform at the 51st Grammy Awards where they are nominated 5 times for their album Raising Sand.

The Grammy Awards will be held on Sunday, Feb. 8th and be broadcast live on CBS from 8pm - 11:30pm (ET/PT).

The show will also be supported on radio via Westwood One worldwide and covered online at GRAMMY.com and CBS.com, on Twitter at "theGRAMMYs," on Facebook at "The Recording Academy," on YouTube at "51stGRAMMYs," and on Last.fm at "the51stgrammys." The GRAMMY Pre-Telecast will be streamed live on GRAMMY.com on Feb. 8 at 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT.

Make sure you tune in and watch!

2009 Grammy Nominees CD | News

lberube — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 05:28:00 GMT

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss are nominated for 5 Grammy Awards including Record Of The Year for "Please Read The Letter". You can check out this Grammy nominated song as well as 19 others on this new 2009 Grammy Nominees CD.

Other artists include Coldplay, M.I.A., Katy Perry, Maroon 5 and many more. CLICK HERE to purcahse a copy today!

GRAMMY Charity Holiday Online Auction | News

lberube — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 05:31:00 GMT

Official Alison Krauss and Robert Plant Signed CD and Framed Poster - GRAMMY Charity Holiday Online Auction.

Don't miss your chance to own the CD Raising Sand and framed poster of the CD artwork autographed by both Alison and Robert. Both signed the poster in a black Sharpie. Plant's message reads "Oh! Mercy - Robert Plant" and Alison signed "Thanks! Alison Krauss". They also signed the front cover of the CD booklet, and the signatures are visable through the jewel case. Krauss and Plant signed the items this year at the San Francisco Music Festival: Hardly Strickly Bluegrass on Friday, Oct. 3rd.

CLICK HERE to view this one of a kind item and help support MusiCares! Hurry as bidding ends December 11th!

100% of the final price will suport MusicCares Foundation.

About this nonprofit: MusiCares provides a safety new of critical assistance for music people in times of need. MusiCares' services and resources cover a wide range of financial, medical and personal emergencies, and each case is treated with integrity and confidentiality. MusiCares also focuses the resources and attention of the music industry on human service issues that directly impace the health and welfare of the music community.

Robert and Alison Garner 5 Grammy Nominations! | News

lberube — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 05:33:00 GMT

Congratulations to Robert Plant and Alison Krauss on their 5 Grammy Nominations for the 51st Annual Grammy Awards.

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss garnered 5 nominations all for their album Raising Sand:

RECORD OF THE YEAR - "Please Read The Letter"
ALBUM OF THE YEAR - Raising Sand
BEST POP COLLABORATION WITH VOCALS - "Rich Woman"
BEST COUNTRY COLLABORATION WITH VOCALS - "Killing The Blues"
BEST CONTEMPORARY FOLK/AMERICANA ALBUM - Raising Sand

Congratulations to all the nominees and make sure you tune in to the 51st Annual GRAMMY Awards which will be held on Sunday, Feb. 8, 2009 at Staples Center in Los Angeles. The live broadcast can be seen on CBS from 8pm - 11:30pm (ET/PT).

Robert and Alison Win A CMA Award! | News

lberube — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 05:38:00 GMT

Congratulations to Robert Plant and Alison Krauss on winning the CMA Award for Musical Event Of The Year for "Gone, Gone, Gone (Done Moved On)" from Raising Sand.

This was the first CMA Award for Robert, and the 8th CMA Award for Alison

Alison and Robert on CBS Sunday Morning | News

lberube — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 05:36:00 GMT

While on tour in New York City, Alison and Robert sat down with Katie Couric for a special interview about their album and tour. Tune in to CBS Sunday Morning on Sunday, October 12th to see the interview. [read more]

Houston Show Cancelled Due To Damage From Hurricane Ike | News

lberube — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 05:40:00 GMT

(Houston, TX 9/16/08) Live Nation has announced that due to hurricane damage from Hurricane Ike, next Friday’s (9/26) Robert Plant and Alison Krauss concert at The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion has been cancelled.

Bob Roux, President of Live Nation – South said, “We were very excited to bring these legendary artists to Houston for this great night of music. The last thing we wanted to do is cancel the show. Unfortunately the storm damage to the Pavilion makes it so we are unable to put on the concert. We look forward to having both Robert Plant and Alison Krauss back in Houston in the near future.”

Refunds will be automatically credited to the credit card of those who purchased tickets via livenation.com or ticketmaster.com. For those who purchased their tickets at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion Box Office or Ticketmaster outlets, refunds will be made at point of purchase. Please contact the individual outlet location to find out if they are open due to storm damage.

Oklahoma City Benefit Concert Just Announced for 9/26 | News

lberube — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 05:39:00 GMT

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss have announced a show in Oklahoma City, OK on Friday, Sept. 26th and all proceeds will go to benefit the Gulf Coast Ike Relief Fund.

The show will take place at the Oklahoma City Zoo Amphitheatre at 7:30pm. Tickets will go on sale this Monday (9/22) at www.Tickets.com or by calling 800.511.1552. Also at participating Homeland stores, Reasors in Tulsa, and at www.zooamp.com.

All the money raised will go to the Gulf Coast Ike Relief Fund. www.ghcf.org

CLICK HERE for venue info.

CLICK HERE for ticket info.

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss Pre-Sale Info | News

lberube — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 05:43:00 GMT

Pre-Sale Ticket for the fall Raising Sand Tour dates will go on sale Wednesday, July 23^rd. Due to numerous tickets being bought and re-sold over the course of the summer, new passwords have been created for each individual show and will be e-mailed out to everyone in a 200 mile radius of the show Tuesday evening. Please note that you must be signed up on the Robert Plant and Alison Krauss mailing list to receive the password. If you don’t have a current address including zip code included in your profile you may not receive the e-mail.

On Friday at 10am (CST) the passwords will be posted on RobertPlantAlisonKrauss.com for anyone to purchase.

There are a limited number of pre-sale tickets available in each market. Once the pre-sale tickets are sold out, you’ll have to wait until the general on-sale to purchase tickets.

Please look at each individual show listing for exact pre-sale dates and times.

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss Announce Fall Tour Dates | News

lberube — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 05:45:00 GMT

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss Announce Fall Tour Dates

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss have just announced additional fall dates for
their wildly successful ‘Raising Sand’ tour. With an all-star band led by
producer T Bone Burnett, the Grammy winning duo has crisscrossed North
America and Europe performing songs from their platinum selling ‘Raising
Sand’ (Rounder Records) collaboration. Here’s what we’ve been reading:

* “Their wide-ranging, two-hour concert here was nothing short of
spellbinding.”
- Washington Post

* “They sent chills up the spine again and again, blending distinct and
distinctly different voices into something that can only be called
otherworldly.”
- Fort Worth Star-Telegram

* “The live show was endlessly dynamic.”
- Boston Globe

* “Not one song disappointed”
– Chicago Sun-Times

* “Exquisite”
- New York Daily News

“Pure genius.”
-The Tennessean

Confirmed ‘Raising Sand’ North American Fall 2008 Tour Dates :
September 23th – Kansas City, MO – Starlight Theatre
September 24th – St. Louis, MO – Fox Theatre
September 26th – Houston, TX – Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
September 27th – Austin, TX – Austin City Limits Festival
September 30th – Portland, OR – Theatre Of The Clouds
October 1st – Seattle, WA -WaMu Theater at Qwest Fields Event Center
October 3rd – San Francisco, CA – Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival
October 4th – Kelseyville, CA – Konocti Harbor
October 5th – Saratoga, CA – The Mountain Winery

Alison Krauss and Robert Plant Get Three AMA Nominations | News

lberube — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 05:47:00 GMT

The Americana Music Association announced nominees for the organization's 2008 Honors and Awards ceremony and Alison Krauss and Robert Plant received 3 nominations!

The awards ceremony is slated for Sept. 18th a the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. Alison and Robert are nominated in the following categories.

ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Raising Sand

SONG OF THE YEAR
"Gone, Gone, Gone"

DUO/GROUP OF THE YEAR
Alison Krauss and Robert Plant

Check out more about the Americana Music Association by visiting their website: http://www.americanamusic.org/site.php.

Plant/Krauss Crossroads To Air In The UK | News

lberube — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 05:48:00 GMT

The Robert Plant and Alison Krauss Crossroads will begin airing in the UK on Friday, June 13th. Check out the dates and times below!

Crossroads: Robert Plant and Alison Krauss
Friday, June 13th at midnight (VH1 Classic)
Friday, July 4th at 10pm (VH1 Classic)
Friday, July 11th at midnight (VH1 Classic)
Friday, July 18th at TBA (VH1)

Make sure you tune in!

Reviews From US Dates | News

lberube — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 05:50:00 GMT

Roanoke, VA - 6/2/08

The Wall Street Journal
By: Jim Fusilli

ROANOKE, Va. -- At first blush, Led Zeppelin vocalist Robert Plant and bluegrass singer and fiddler Alison Krauss seem an unlikely pair, but they share territory on the pop landscape. Witness Ms. Krauss's faithful version of Mr. Plant's "Big Log" on her brother Viktor's album "Far From Enough" or her forays into pop with her band Union Station. Then there are the mellow, velvety smooth folk-based songs on Mr. Plant's solo recordings or the folky side of Zeppelin, a band formed by Delta and Chicago blues.

The best evidence of their commonality is the Plant-Krauss 2007 collaboration, "Raising Sand" (Rounder), produced by T-Bone Burnett. The million-selling album comprises country-flavored rock and rockabilly from the 1950s, with a touch of Kurt Weill's Weimar Republic-era arrangements here and there, all enveloped by Mr. Burnett's shimmering, atmospheric production. The disc provided most, but by no means all, of the material for Mr. Plant and Ms. Krauss's current U.S. tour, which resumed here on June 2 after the troupe spent early May in Europe.

In concert, the music was a little bit looser and by turns quiet and tranquil, pounding and aggressive as the singers and their five-piece backing band tossed bluegrass numbers and several reworked Led Zeppelin songs into the mix. The singers' versatility was matched by the band's, which featured Mr. Burnett on guitar, Stuart Duncan on all sorts of stringed instruments, Dennis Crouch on upright bass and Jay Bellerose on drums; all of these musicians played on "Raising Sand." Nashville's Buddy Miller was also on guitar, succeeding the album's Marc Ribot, and Mr. Miller's presence deepened the country twang.

But with the exception of Mr. Crouch and Mr. Bellerose, rarely did the musicians play the same instruments in consecutive songs, nor were they always on stage at the same time. When Ms. Krauss sang the bluegrass gospel song "Green Pastures," she was accompanied only by Mr. Crouch and Mr. Duncan on guitar. She began "Down to the River to Pray" as a solo a cappella number; soon she was joined by Messrs. Plant, Miller and Duncan singing low harmonies. "Leave My Woman Alone" was built on Ms. Krauss's fiddle and Mr. Duncan's mandolin, and the two played fiddle as Mr. Plant offered a decidedly country version of his solo hit "In the Mood." Fronting the band when Ms. Krauss departed, Mr. Plant bridged the U.S. and the U.K. with "Fortune Teller," previously recorded by the Rolling Stones and the Who but written by New Orleans' Allen Toussaint.

Both vocalists were in extraordinary voice -- perhaps not a surprise given how distinctive and commanding they usually are. But they blended so well together, whether they were singing a tight, controlled Everly Brothers-style harmony in "Rich Woman," the night's opener, or letting loose during a soaring reimagining of Zeppelin's "Black Country Woman" that seemed to rattle the bunker-like Roanoke Civic Center.

Though there are no Zeppelin songs and only one composition by Mr. Plant and his Zeppelin partner Jimmy Page on "Raising Sand," the band's material was a focal point of the concert -- and yet another opportunity to celebrate versatility. "Black Dog" arose from an interpretation of its guitar lick by Mr. Duncan on banjo, and Mr. Plant and Ms. Krauss gave it a sly, understated reading: Though they've been playing this version for months -- you can find a performance on You Tube -- they still seem delighted by the audacity of the re-creation. Later, they let their voices fly during "Battle of Evermore," with Mr. Miller adding a gorgeous third harmony. "When the Levee Breaks," which Zeppelin reinvented 42 years after Memphis Minnie's version in 1929, served as a fitting conclusion to the two-hour show, with strands of country and rock flavoring the blues.

They paid tribute to Bo Diddley, who died earlier in the day, by playing his "Who Do You Love," Mr. Plant alternating the vocal with a piercing harmonica solo. Mr. Burnett's penchant for reverb and tremolo, his and Mr. Miller's chugging guitars, and Mr. Bellerose's use of maracas, toms and sticks on the drums' rims created a pretty fair facsimile of the Bo Diddley sound and a rebuke to those who attempted to define the late musician in their eulogies by a single rhythmic pattern.

From beneath a cascading mane, the 59-year-old Mr. Plant was in a playful spirit throughout the evening, joking through song introductions and smiling and glancing out of the corner of a twinkling eye at the reserved Ms. Krauss, who did her best to avoid his distractions. Calling her "the most gifted musician I know," he made it clear he relished the chance to perform at her side, all but laughing in joy after a song in which their vocals intertwined.

As for Ms. Krauss, who is 36 years old, her voice is so pure and potent that she can control a down-tempo number by holding a crystalline note and letting it build in volume, seemingly without effort. If the evening's version of Tom Waits's "Trampled Rose" was maudlin to the point of overbearing, Ms. Krauss wasn't to blame. She sang it with disarming power.

Which isn't to say that Mr. Plant was outclassed. The duo's version of Doc Watson's "Your Long Journey" was a lovely bluegrass prayer, and in "Killing the Blues" their voices formed a flawless two-part harmony. Despite an evening's worth of resourcefulness and invention, the most magical moments were when the singers sang, together and without reservation.

Roanoke, VA - 6/2/08

The Roanoke Times
By: Tad Dickens

Classic rock tunes, including some Led Zeppelin hits, blared from a radio station’s promo van outside Roanoke Civic Center on Monday night.

Inside, Led Zeppelin’s former frontman, Robert Plant, was taking some of his old songs and a deep catalog of American roots gems to new places with his new cohorts, Alison Krauss and T Bone Burnett.

The results blew away an audience of 4,065. There might not have been many people inside — they only half-filled the civic center — but they were wildly receptive to new takes on classics, giving the group three long, standing ovations and remaining on their feet through the four-song encore.

But the best news in the two-hour show was in Plant’s goodbye before the encore: “Come back and see us again soon.”

Those words made it clear — this is now officially a band. You could even call it the first roots music supergroup, or at least the one with the highest profile.

Sure, bluegrass and Americana music are filled with hot players teaming up in different combos. But on stage Monday night you had in Plant the greatest rock singer of his generation, in Krauss the greatest bluegrass and country singer of hers, and in Burnett the producer of, among other acclaimed records, the “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” soundtrack.

On the back line, you had more of the best in the music business — multi-instrumentalists/vocalists Buddy Miller and Stuart Duncan, bassist Dennis Crouch and drummer Jay Bellerose.

This wasn’t an ego fest, though. This was a seven-person group devoted to the art of interpretation. Aside from the reworked Zeppelin hits (and one from the Plant and Jimmy Page record, “Walking Into Clarksdale”), the crowd heard songs written by Sam Phillips, Phil and Don Everly, Tom Waits, and Kathleen Brennan, and Townes Van Zandt.

Most of them had two distinctive stamps — Burnett’s often spooky arrangements, and the vocals of Krauss and Plant, who also harmonized beautifully.

The only question remaining after the show was: If this is in fact a real band, will it continue to be a band of interpreters, or will it produce a record of originals? Either result will likely be satisfying.

In a night of highlight after highlight, two performances stood out — both from the pair’s platinum-selling, Grammy-winning CD, “Raising Sand.”

Plant hit his apex with the Van Zandt song, “Nothin’.” To introduce it, he told the audience about how Burnett turned him on to the brilliant but tortured songwriter, whose music often reflected the darker side of his life.

“In truth, it was a rough ride,” for Van Zandt. “This is one of the mirrors he looked into.”

The song brought out the wailing, raga-infused Plant of Led Zeppelin legend, of “Whole Lotta Love” menace. But this was a humbled rock god.

“Being born is going blind/And bowin’ down a thousand times/To echoes strung on pure temptation.”

Inserted in the middle, planned probably sometime shortly before the show, was the Bo Diddley song, “Who Do You Love?” Plant blew blues harp to honor Diddley, one of his idols, who died earlier that day.

The Waits and Brennan song, “Trampled Rose,” inspired Krauss’s best work of the night.

Finishing the verse, “I know that rose/Like I know my name/The one I gave my love/It was the same/Now I find it in the street/A trampled rose,” she hit extended, crystal-clear high notes that elicited gasps from audience members.

The stage lighting hit her pale skin in such a way during those notes that she looked like an otherworldly figure.

Together, Plant and Krauss excited the crowd with their harmonies on the Zeppelin songs “The Battle of Evermore” and “When the Levee Breaks,” and Plant’s “In the Mood.”

Burnett, whom Plant credited as “the genius” behind his new collaboration, got a couple of tunes to himself. But sandwiched between Plant and Krauss songs, they didn't bring the same excitement.

Opening act Sharon Little sang neo-folk and Americana songs with a big, high voice reminiscent of Grace Potter. With original songs such as “Try” and “Follow That Sound,” she was a good warm-up act.

But you can’t steal a show from artists such as Plant and Krauss. We can only hope that Plant wasn’t just fooling around when he hinted that the band would be back. This is an act that can become legendary.

Boston, MA - 6/5/08

Boston Globe
By: Joan Anderman

Like couples with nothing in common who fall madly in love, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss make beautiful music together. Last night the iconic rocker and the bluegrass superstar performed songs from their 2007 album "Raising Sand," a collection of American classics both vintage and contemporary, as well as a handful of tunes from each artist's solo catalog. Where the album is painstakingly subdued - a dusky wash of deep tones and muted percussion with nary a shimmer or an edge within earshot - the live show was endlessly dynamic.

Plant and Krauss were accompanied by a roots supergroup that included their producer T Bone Burnett (whose dark magic is at the heart of this remarkable collaboration), guitarist Buddy Miller, drummer Jay Bellerose, bassist Dennis Crouch, and multi-instrumentalist Stuart Duncan.

The pair opened with the swampy, late-night blues of "Rich Woman," segued into a fiddle-and-mandolin-stoked thigh-slapper in "Leave My Woman Alone," and proceeded to blow the crowd away with a hauntingly reimagined version of Led Zeppelin's "Black Dog," slowed to a march and configured for banjo and upright bass. Burnett's handprints were all over the arrangement, but Duncan's Jimmy Page-worthy solo - on violin, no less - introduced fans to the sideways sort of heaviness that would color the captivating two-hour set.

Egos were checked at the door. Plant ensconced himself behind a microphone at the back of the stage to sing back-up while Krauss loosed her piercing, crystalline soprano on the Gene Clark classic "Through the Morning, Through the Night," and he formed a close-knit harmony trio with Miller and Duncan during Krauss's sweet, delicate read of the traditional "Down to the River to Pray." Plant blended happily into the dusty musical fabric while she burrowed into gripping, minimalist covers of Sam Phillips' "Sister Rosetta Goes Before Us" and Tom Waits' "Trampled Rose."

Krauss, who has found a new ferocity (and decibel level) in her communion with the rock god, shadowed Plant with equal graciousness, lending mighty harmonies and almost savage fiddle on majestic, organic renditions of the Zep gems "Battle of Evermore" and "Black Country Woman." The Zeppelin fanatics who figured this was the next best thing to the nonexistent reunion tour - and not a few of them peppered the crowd - danced ecstatically.

Burnett took a turn in the spotlight, as well, stepping to the microphone for rousing takes on his own "The Rat Age" and "Bon Temps Rouler."

"We all come from different musical places but this week we lost one of our founding fathers," Plant said before the group launched into a raucous cover of Bo Diddley's "Who Do You Love?" Yet over the course of the evening it became clearer and clearer just how much common ground these seemingly disparate musical forces share. It's in their deep affection for the music's roots - the seminal changes in the Everly Brothers' "Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On)," and the cosmic mournfulness of Townes Van Zandt's "Nothin." The latter materialized as a sinewy incantation: Plant howled like an animal, with Krauss baying to his right, and the audience responded in kind.

Boston, MA - 6/5/08

Boston Herald
By: Jed Gottlieb

If God and the devil put their petty bickering aside and booked a musical revue together it might sound, no, make that it would sound, just like last night’s sold-out Robert Plant and Alison Krauss show at the Bank of America Pavilion.

Few thought the duo would work, but the princess of bright bluegrass and the high priest of heavy metal and deep, dark blues made one of 2007’s best albums in “Raising Sand.” Now they’ve parlayed that album into a tour that contrasts purity and mischief, and does it with delicate power.

Like the album, the show inverted cliches. While Krauss spent most of the set playing the angel - “Down the River to Pray,” sung a cappella by Krauss with Plant and the band adding some sparse harmonies, was a musical rapture - she also let a little dark side show.

A great bluegrass singer, Krauss’ skills occasionally came off as paint-by-numbers perfect. But with “Green River” she legitimately nailed that whole haunting vocal thing.

Okay, Plant never really repented, but he wasn’t all debonaire devil. He’s still got that fox in the henhouse swagger - and he showed it best on “Fortune Teller” - but he’s aging gracefully.

On a duet with Krauss, Plant turned “Black Dog” into an exercise in atmosphere. No high screech or rooster strut, it was all creepy restraint. He also managed to make the song’s sexual moaning into a call-and-response with the crowd - many of whom were unsexy, Lexus-owning suburbanites.

Rightfully, the centerpiece of the set was a menacing cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Battle of Evermore” that, well, to call it transcendent would sell the song short. Plant held down the low end while Krauss cooed like a Middle Earth elf.

Plant said “See you next time” and seemed to mean it. Which is great news. This can only get cooler on album and tour No. 2.

Sharon Little opened up with some Grace Potter blues-country-folk. It would have been nice before Bonnie Raitt, but it didn’t really cut it next to the duo of the day.

Atlantic City, NJ - 6/8/08

Press Of Atlantic City
By: Vincent Jackson

If hard rock legend Robert Plant delayed a lucrative reunion tour with his band Led Zeppelin to play live with bluegrass star Alison Krauss, that decision makes more sense after seeing the two of them together in concert.

The merits of their Grammy Award-winning collaboration, "Raising Sand," were only enhanced by the live performance they put on Sunday in the Event Center at the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa. Their mutual love of American roots music brought them together, and anyone with an appreciation for it - and even some who don't - would have enjoyed the show.

Songs that came across as haunting, spooky and a little stately in their recorded versions received a jolt of enthusiasm and passion live.

All the crowd needed to hear were the opening chords of the song "Rich Woman" at 9 p.m., and the cheers started even though neither Plant nor Krauss were visible. The singers walked on stage from separate wings. Krauss dressed in black, and Plant in a red shirt with burgundy pants.

The opening song featured their harmonizing just as they do on "Raising Sand" along with a triple guitar attack by producer and bandleader T Bone Burnett, lead guitarist Buddy Miller and multi-instrumentalist Stuart Duncan. Even people with first row seats stood for the opening song, and Plant and Krauss were smiling. Big applause from the audience greeted this tune, and every song they performed.

Almost immediately, Plant showed that this collaboration could be more than a one-time thing.

Plant took over the lead vocals for a song written by the late Ray Charles, titled "Leave My Woman Alone," which is not on "Raising Sand." Krauss played the fiddle for the first time during the night, and Duncan switched from guitar to mandolin. Later in the night, Plant said the collaboration is a "miracle of modern science" with "wings that are getting drier and bigger by the day."

The harmonies of the "Raising Sand" material weren't emphasized a great deal during the first half of the concert, which served as a mere showcase for Krauss and Plant individually and for what the band could do.

The band tackled the Led Zeppelin classic "Black Dog" without Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page's memorable riff that rendered the song unrecognizable until Plant and Krauss started singing. With Burnett taking over the guitar duties, the band uncovered or made more obvious the blues roots of the song. It was a version of "Black Dog" that people who don't like hard rock could appreciate. The band also performed Led Zeppelin's "Black Country Woman" and the Plant solo song, "In The Mood," during the first half of the show.

Burnett received his own featured segment later in the show.

Plant was very generous to Krauss. He said she possesses "the most spectacular singing voice I ever stood next to."

Krauss' soprano voice took over for three consecutive songs, "Sister Rosetta Goes Before Us," "Through the Morning, Through The Night" and a bluegrass song, "Goodbye and So Long To You," which also is not on "Raising Sand."

The triple guitar treatment returned and Krauss left the stage briefly for "Fortune Teller," a song on which Plant handled the lead vocals. It would not have sounded out of place on the large acoustic "Led Zeppelin III" CD, and Krauss returned before the song was over for some wordless vocalizing.

The "Raising Sand" tour started in April in Kentucky and ends in October in San Francisco. For those who couldn't obtain tickets to the sold-out, 3,000-person capacity Event Center, the duo performs on July 12 at the bigger Mann Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia.

New York, NY- 6/10/08

The New York Times
By: Nate Chinen

Harmonious Tension and Dueling Flaxen Locks

On “Raising Sand” (Rounder), the spooky, beautiful album they released last year, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss tilt toward each other from starkly different vantage points: heat-blistered arena rock (his) and coolly plaintive bluegrass (hers). Their material, scouted out by the producer T Bone Burnett, mines a deep, dark region of Americana somewhat familiar to them both. But their chemistry springs partly from contrast; even the most harmonious moments convey a subtle, fruitful tension.

Mr. Plant and Ms. Krauss approached common ground more literally at the WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday, the first of two concerts there. Taking the stage from opposite wings, each assumed a stalking gait, like cartoon predators. Their pace had a parallel in “Rich Woman,” the R&B throwback that also opens the album. There was casual symmetry in their height and black attire, and in their flaxen manes.

Things loosened, and quickened. The next song up was “Leave My Woman Alone,” a spunky admonition by Ray Charles; Ms. Krauss grabbed her fiddle, and Mr. Plant sang bracingly over a two-step groove. Then came “Black Dog,” a classic by Led Zeppelin, Mr. Plant’s old band. Arranged in a minor key for banjo, acoustic bass and guitar, it felt muted but menacing, especially as both singers arced their voices upward with a harmonized “ah,” just before an instrumental squall.

“Welcome to the Raising Sand Revue,” Mr. Plant said after that song, summing up a basic truth about this tour. While plainly inspired by the album, it takes welcome liberties with repertory and tone. Mr. Burnett, leading a band of aces, including the drummer Jay Bellerose and the guitarist Buddy Miller, keeps the momentum crisp. The set list doesn’t appear to change much from night to night, which doesn’t suggest a lack of imagination so much as a sturdy formula. It’s working mightily, judging by Tuesday’s results.

As a revue the tour also favors the strengths of its headliners, in a way that “Raising Sand” doesn’t. So there were two more Led Zeppelin tunes, each a powerhouse. “Black Country Woman” had the band exploding at each emotional spur in the lyrics, and then subsiding until the next furious wave.

“The Battle of Evermore” was quieter but stronger, owing to its Celtic drone (a sound not far removed from Appalachia) and its female vocal part (which Ms. Krauss sang grippingly). And even on some songs from the “Raising Sand” album, Mr. Plant was rewardingly forceful: “Nothin,’ ” a Townes Van Zandt lament, found him caterwauling like his younger self.

Ms. Krauss had her own showcase, beginning with the traditional hymn “Green Pastures,” on which she received sparse support from Dennis Crouch on bass and Stuart Duncan on guitar. Then she pared down further, singing a serenely penetrating version of “Down to the River to Pray,” initially with no accompaniment at all. (Halfway through, Mr. Plant mock-tiptoed onstage to contribute to an a cappella gospel harmony.)

If this collaboration encourages Mr. Plant to be a bit more ethereal, it has certainly made Ms. Krauss seem earthier. Her characteristically sweet, high singing was balanced against more strident and cathartic belting. On “It’s Goodbye and So Long to You,” which doesn’t appear on “Raising Sand,” and “Trampled Rose,” which does, she proved she can wail as hard as anybody, even you know who.

Elsewhere there was better proof of a cohesive blend, as in the back-to-back closers: “Please Read the Letter,” a ballad by Mr. Plant, and “Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On),” a classic by the Everly Brothers. Then there was the final encore: “Your Long Journey,” by Doc and Rosa Lee Watson. Ms. Krauss and Mr. Plant sang it exquisitely, with a somber intensity that they couldn’t possibly have summoned before they hit the road.

New York, NY- 6/10/08

Daily News
By: Jim Farber

Robert Plant, Alison Krauss put down roots at Madison Square Garden

They're music's latest odd couple - Led Zeppelin yowler Robert Plant and bluegrass chanteuse Alison Krauss. Yet their improbable bond has created something even more unexpected - one of the strongest-selling CDs in a commercially feeble era, the platinum "Raising Sand."

Buoyed by its success, the pair has launched a major tour that wafted through the WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night.

Zeppelin fans may curse the day this tour was conceived, since it prevented - or at least delayed - a full-scale road show for Plant's storied band, something that has been rumored ever since that act floored the rock world with last year's one-off reunion gig in London.

A fully-Led'ed road show may yet happen. But in the meantime, no informed aficionado of Plant's talents - or Krauss' - would have felt betrayed by last night's tender display.

Though at times more forceful and animated than the subtle "Raising Sand," the show still emphasized nuanced vocals and contemplative rhythms. Not a conventional rock or bluegrass event, the concert was its own sweet beast, lurking at the intersection of dreamy folk and dusty country.

Krauss and Plant harmonized closely on songs so somber they verged on the Gothic.

"Rich Woman" told the tale of a smug gigolo, but it's spooky guitars betrayed the consequences of his cynicism.

Krauss sang "So Long and Goodbye to You" with such ache it suggested ruin.

Several songs underscored the connection between Celtic music and its Appalachian offspring. Krauss put a twang in the murder ballad "Matty Groves," made famous by the very English Fairport Convention, while she and Plant moved Zeppelin's "The Battle of Evermore" from the British Isles to the Kentucky hills.

The show also featured a spot for the producer and sonic architect of this whole shadowy sound, T-Bone Burnett.

But the killer moment had to be the radical rethink of Zeppelin's "Black Dog" from a stadium stomper to a backwoods blues that roiled with menace.

This may not have been the loudest take on the song but, like this whole exquisite show, it proved that understated sounds can move you just as deeply.

Columbia, MD - 6/13/08

The Washington Post
By: J. Freedom du Lac

Robert Plant was having a flashback Friday night at Merriweather Post Pavilion. "May 25, 1969, I was here on this stage, supporting the Who," Plant said, sounding somewhat incredulous as he recalled that long-ago Led Zeppelin show.

"Rock-and-roll!" somebody screeched.

"It's all over," Plant said with an impish grin. "Now we go to church."

With that, Plant and his new duet partner, Alison Krauss, began to sing "You Don't Knock," a toe-tapping gospel song by Pops Staples on which the vocals and accompanying music were sweet and gentle, the harmonies downright heavenly. So much for the old "hammer of the gods."

Not that there's anything wrong with Plant's current proffer with the bluegrass star Krauss. In fact, their wide-ranging, two-hour concert here was nothing short of spellbinding.

Theirs is a very different kind of blond ambition tour -- one in which two sandy-haired singers from opposite ends of the world come together for an eclectic exploration of American roots music. Whereas Plant, the Brit, became famous in his 20s for plying his keening voice to oft-thunderous blues-rock songs, he is now, at 59, performing haunting, atmospheric country, bluegrass, folk, soul and gospel songs -- plus a little bit of Led Zeppelin -- with Krauss, a fiddle-playing American Midwesterner who specializes in plaintive mountain music and wasn't even alive when Plant's old band was booked at Merriweather in 1969. (She's 36.)

The partnership began last year, when Plant and Krauss released a Grammy-winning album, "Raising Sand," with T-Bone Burnett serving as the project's producer. While Plant has always had a great affinity for American music, it was initially limited to the old Mississippi Delta bluesmen. Now, he's hip to the likes of Townes Van Zandt, the Texas troubadour whose "Nothin' " Plant performed here, singing emphatically over Buddy Miller's pealing lead guitar and Jay Bellerose's thundering drums.

The collaboration has been filled with surprises, from the song selections (the set included Johnny Horton's old country hit "I'm a One Woman Man," Allen Toussaint's R&B tune "Fortune Teller" and the ancient murder ballad "Matty Groves") to the very concept itself. But perhaps the biggest shock has been just how well Plant's tenor and Krauss's crystalline soprano mesh, as in Gene Clark's loping "Through the Morning, Through the Night," on which Krauss sang lead and Plant added harmony vocals to stirring effect here. On Ray Charles's country two-step, "Leave My Woman Alone," the roles were reversed and Krauss added scorching fiddle lines and harmony vocals while Plant sang lead. The audience was enraptured.

Krauss is not the most kinetic of live performers, but she can nonetheless summon big notes from the stasis of her stage-right mark. That was clear during her reading of "Trampled Rose," on which her vocals soared over spare instrumentation from the band of roots-rock all-stars. It was a striking performance -- so much emotion, so much control, so much power and purity -- and as it concluded, Plant, sitting off to the side of the stage, beamed and gestured emphatically at Krauss.

Probably not the show Led Zeppelin fans thought they might be seeing after December's reunion concert in London. Instead -- at least for now -- it's over the Tennessee hills and far away.

Friday's set did include three Zeppelin songs, though the first, "Black Dog," hardly remained the same, what with the roaring guitar, walloping rhythm and shrieky vocals of the pile-driving original replaced by brooding, textured stringed instruments (including banjo), clickety-clack drumming and the low, gorgeous singing of Plant and Krauss. There were a few musical explosions, relatively speaking, yet the dynamic shifts never shifted to the vocals, which simmered but never boiled.

Closer to original form was "The Battle of Evermore," whose instrumentation (mandolin, acoustic guitar) and dueling male-female vocals made it a perfect fit, particularly given that Krauss sings with the same sort of ethereal purity as did Sandy Denny. And "Black Country Woman," an acoustic rock song to begin with, was performed as country-blues, spiked with Stuart Duncan's fingerpicked banjo, Krauss's racy fiddle runs and Burnett's bashed electric guitar lines. For a brief moment, Plant, who was vocally restrained for much of the show, even howled a little bit, just like old times.

But this new project is not about that band, or even that style of music, and so the show closed with Doc and Rosa Lee Watson's "Your Long Journey," a beautiful ballad full of high, lonesome harmonies. As Miller strummed the harpsichord, Plant and Krauss went out on a quiet, contemplative note.

If you'd come to rock, you'd come to the right place -- just 39 years too late.

Detroit, MI - 6/17/08

The Windsor Star
By: Ted Shaw

There have been stranger trips in popular music -- Pat Boone's Metal Mood being one -- but the collaboration between Robert Plant and Alison Krauss has proved to be one of the most creative in recent years.

The Led Zeppelin original, 59, and the bluegrass singer-fiddler, 36, crafted the glorious 2007 left-field hit, Raising Sand, becoming critical darlings in the process and setting the stage for an equally anticipated concert tour.

The Amazing Raising Sand Revue, as Plant calls it, arrived Tuesday at Detroit's Fox Theatre, and fans of both camps were not let down.

Aided by their producer T Bone Burnett, Plant and Krauss performed most of Raising Sand and a healthy dose of Zep, although in most cases the rock was more gospel than heavy.

She is a country fiddler of renown and taste, but it is her crystalline soprano voice that makes this teaming with Plant, perhaps rock's most influential stylist, so intriguing.

Plant can still reach upper registers of his tenor range, but the singing is restrained and at times choirboy-like.

There's still some growl in his voice, evidence of the old heavy metal geezer, particularly when he did his own solo hit, In The Mood.

Tuesday's concert opened with Rich Woman, the lead track from Raising Sand, a country song from the 1950s dressed up in contemporary musical attire and arranged by Burnett.

The concert wavered back and forth between lilting acoustics and rough-and-tumble rock. The Led Zeppelin covers were toned down and significantly reconfigured.

For example, Plant and Krauss teamed up on The Battle of Evermore, the folkish acoustic song from Zep's fourth album. Krauss proved a worthy replacement for the song's original duet partner, Sandy Denny.

Black Dog cropped up at one point, though barely recognizable, and the hit Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On), a wonderful Everly Brothers song from the mid-1960s, had the audience in rapture.

Krauss made the most of her spotlight song, Tom Waits' Trampled Rose.

The magical moments occurred when Krauss and Plant bridged their stylistic gaps, as on In The Mood, which featured Krauss and Stuart Duncan on fiddles, and the lovely, moving duet, Killing the Blues.

Highland Park, IL - 6/18/08

Chicago Sun Times
By: Mark Houlihan

Robert Plant, Alison Krauss revive standards, Zep tunes

Twenty-three years and very different musical styles separate Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, but the king of arena rock and the princess of plaintive bluegrass — an unlikely pairing if there ever was one — have forged a collaboration that has produced one of the more intriguing concert experiences of the summer.

Inspired by the platinum-selling album that took critics and fans by surprise last year, the Amazing Raising Sand Revue (as Plant has tagged the tour) pulled into Ravinia Wednesday night. Fans on both sides of the musical spectrum found much to like. Not one song disappointed.

There is a spooky Southern gothic vibe to much of the album, and a portion of that came across live on stage. However, album producer and band leader T Bone Burnett, who seems to turn everything he touches into gold, does not go overboard in trying to replicate that sound. Instead, he has arranged a set of songs that speak to both performers’ strengths while also showing the magic of their newfound duet harmonies that are the album’s seductive center.

Entering the stage from opposite sides, Plant and Krauss opened the concert with “Rich Woman,” a 1950s country-R&B song tweaked by Burnett, which also opens the album. It was followed by a loose version of Ray Charles “Leave My Woman Alone.” Then came “Black Dog,” the first of several classic Zeppelin tunes, which was reworked from a hard-rock anthem into menacing stripped-back blues.

Plant and Krauss were backed by what is hard not to describe as the “perfect” band — Burnett (guitar), Buddy Miller (guitar and mandolin), Stuart Duncan (fiddle, mandolin, banjo, guitar), Dennis Crouch (bass) and Jay Bellerose (drums). Not enough can be said about the talent of these guys; they added a combustible energy to the songs whether bordering on bluegrass, country or rock.

Each artist had their solo moments. On the tender “So Long and Goodbye to You,” Krauss found the perfect level of aching ruin. Sparsely accompanied by Crouch and Duncan, her crystalline soprano wowed on the traditional hymn “Green Pastures.” And her serene, a cappalla version of “Down to the River to Pray” was simply stunning.

Plant again stepped back in time for powerhouse versions of “Black Country Woman,” which opened to the new textures of banjo and mandolin. On the psychedelic-folk epic “The Battle of Evermore,” from Led Zeppelin’s fourth album, Krauss proved to be a perfect stand-in for the great Sandy Denny, the song’s original duet partner. Also, the twangy murder ballad “Mattie Groves” was mixed intelligently into the middle of “In the Mood,” Plant’s 1983 solo hit.

Plant still displayed that Led Zeppelin swagger throughout, including on New Orleans R&B king Allen Toussaint’s “Fortune Teller.” But more was revealed about the depth of his interpretive talent on a memorable rendition of Townes Van Zandt’s “Nothin’.” Some of the old Led Zeppelin vocal gymnastics broke through in a song of heartbreaking despair that was perfectly styled for Plant by the all-knowing Burnett.

Midway through the show, Burnett stepped to the mic for a pair of songs, including his killer voodoo rendition of “Bon Temps Roulez.”

The show ended with Doc and Rosa Lee Watson’s “Your Long Journey,” a perfect cap to the evening which showed the power of American roots music as it’s reinvented and rearranged into striking new vistas.

As for that rumored Led Zeppelin reunion (they wowed at a one-off concert in London last year), fans will have to wait a little longer. Plant and Krauss have said they are in no hurry to abandon this partnership. A second album is said to be in the works and, as he left the stage, Plant said, “See you next time.” Can’t wait.

Los Angeles, CA - 6/23/08

Orange County Register
By: Ben Wener

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss make moody magic at the Greek.

Led Zeppelin can wait - this is one dream duo that is passionately enlivening the past.

There has been much needless grumbling among Led Zeppelin acolytes about Robert Plant's decision not to trudge the Hammer of the Gods around the globe immediately after the band's celebrated one-off reunion in London last December. Rather, he has devoted much of this year to touring behind "Raising Sand," the acclaimed, atmospheric roots excavation he undertook with bluegrass queen Alison Krauss and producer/preservationist T Bone Burnett.

As if his intentions should ever have been in question. Not only had the album (one of last year's finest) arrived less than two months before Zep's storied performance, thus allowing zero time for live promotion, but it's a work Plant has been justifiably proud of and eager to show off, as he and his collaborators did superbly Monday night in the first of two performances at the Greek Theatre, an ideal location for music that often sounds as if beamed in from a lost satellite stuck on mid-'50s transmissions.

One of Plant's greatest post-Zep accomplishments – not to mention the first indication that the angelic-voiced but sometimes one-dimensional Krauss is capable of breaking her own mold – "Raising Sand" is something of a rarity among rock artists whose heyday predates "Thriller." Whereas so many of his peers have struggled to stay relevant while succumbing to big-money nostalgia (Elton John, the Rolling Stones, the Who) or simply sold their souls for sustained commercial viability (that cash-cow crooner Rod Stewart), Plant has taken significant steps this decade to keep from turning moldy while revisiting the past.

The enveloping covers collection "Dreamland" (2002) reconnected him with his psych-folk roots and put him back on track after too much time spent trolling the Page/Plant wilderness for only occasional gems and glory. Three years later, the tremendous "Mighty Rearranger" heralded a kind of rebirth – not only did the nearly-60 Plant resurrect graying traces of his golden-god self but his wizened aesthetic and vocal improvement was close to miraculous, the memory of so many screechy performances wiped clean by deepened soul and ferocious wailing.

The folk and blues spirits of a century seemingly coursing through his veins and his band the Strange Sensation emboldening him like no one else since John Bonham died, Plant finally started revitalizing his classics with surprisingly fresh presence he'd never be able to dare within the confines of Led Zep.

"Raising Sand," then, a haunting, shimmering set of revamped copyrights by the likes of (among others) Gene Clark, Townes Van Zandt, Mel Tillis and the Everly Brothers, was a logical next step for a Hall of Famer finally finding a way forward by looking backward. Much as we may crave a full-blown Led Zeppelin return, there's no denying that, when it inevitably materializes, there'll be little future in it. Just a long-overdue victory lap to satisfy (and make) millions.

What Plant and Krauss and Burnett put together Monday night, however – with expert assistance from underrated guitarist Buddy Miller, multi-instrumentalist Stuart Duncan, bassist Dennis Crouch and the controlled rumble of drummer Jay Bellerose – pushed the boundaries of progressive Americana almost as far as Tom Waits takes it. (Their overall sound owes more than a little something to that clattering iconoclast as well.)

By comparison, Burnett's lauded old-timey revival for "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" plays like a polished antique. Plant & Krauss' subdued seduction, on the other hand, is a living, breathing thing. Hot blood courses through its sultrier passages with the potency of lovers afire in private passion, whether the tone is elated ("Rich Woman") or simmering ("Fortune Teller"), anguished ("Please Read the Letter") or despondent ("Nothin'," which Zep could have properly blasted back in the day).

Not that this artistic success is entirely Plant's doing – much of the time Monday night, in fact, he was content to linger in the shadows lending background support. And beyond Burnett's guidance, Krauss' placid demeanor (she sometimes seemed like she had just come down from a rather intense shag with her elder partner) and heavenly singing lent an air of stately spirituality to alternately sinister and sleepy songs that might otherwise have played too devilishly.

She's such an ideal counterpoint to Plant's retired-roué persona, never more so than on a fantastic rendition of "The Battle of Evermore"; among her many other gifts, Krauss was born to replicate Sandy Denny's creamy-smooth part in Plant's Tolkien tale. (The Fairport Convention connection didn't stop there, as the duo snuck a snatch of "Matty Groves" into a maracas-shaking rethink of Plant's '80s vamp "In the Mood.")

"Welcome to the Raising Sand Traveling Revue," Plant declared at the outset. The title is fitting, as every songwriter (save for Miller) gets a spotlight. For Burnett, it was a churning Creole number and the drone of his own "Primitives." For Krauss, "Down to the River to Pray" and the spooky "Trampled Rose," though her swooping high lines on the latter were a bit much at times.

And for Plant, another opportunity to recast his own classics – in this case, a ghostly banjo-picking "Black Dog," its hey-hey-mama cries reduced to a hush, plus a rollicking and eventually roaring redo of another hey-hey-mama tune, "Black Country Woman."

Both were just remarkable. Look, I wanna see Zep as much the next die-hard. But if Plant can keep conjuring magic like this, I won't cry if it never happens.

Los Angeles, CA - 6/24/08

Los Angeles Times
By: Richard Cromelin

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss travel the yellow brick road.

The genre of pop standards is a bit out of bounds for Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, whose high-profile collaboration excavates a more traditional sector of America's musical geography. But when the singers and their band came to the Greek Theatre on Monday, there was something of "The Wizard of Oz" about it.

The roles are a little scrambled, but picture Plant as an English rock-star version of Dorothy, a noble, curly-maned lion who has entered the swampy heart of American blues and country after decades of flirting with it from afar, both as the singer of Led Zeppelin and as a solo artist.

The pilgrim is accompanied by a muse of singular voice and vision in country/bluegrass star Krauss, and a tall, eccentric scarecrow who's actually pulling the strings -- guitarist and bandleader T Bone Burnett, whose selection of songs and musical concepts helped transform what began as a tentative teaming into a fertile enterprise.

It's one with a broad reach and a cutting edge. "Raising Sand," their album from last fall, has found critical acclaim and a substantial audience, and on the first of their two nights at the Greek, the outdoor theater was packed with both Americana enthusiasts and weathered rock warriors in vintage Zeppelin T-shirts.

On stage, it all clicked on multiple levels: the back story (two celebrated, not obviously compatible artists get together for purely creative reasons and make a go of it), their distinctive voices, the stories told in the songs, the rapport of the five instrumentalists (six when Krauss played fiddle), the underlying tension of thousands of people hoping that Plant would dust off a Zep classic.

He obliged, if not in conventional form. "Black Dog" was a sly shuffle, the main hook translated into a simple melody played on the banjo by Stuart Duncan. "The Battle of Evermore" was a straightforward duet, and on the bluesy "Black Country Woman" he briefly flashed the old pipes to big cheers.

But the moment that came closest to that legacy was his performance of "Nothin'," a devastating piece of West Texas existentialism by the late Townes Van Zandt that's a Plant showcase on "Raising Sand." The Zeppelinized version at the Greek offered dramatic contrasts between full-blast and near-silence, and Plant's clenched, cathartic wails drew the biggest ovation of the two-hour show.

Plant's initiation into the deep mysteries of America's bedrock music might be the main event in this undertaking, but it's not all about Bob. The partnership also has ushered Krauss into new terrain, where she's tapped a darker and more daring current of her artistry.

When she sang Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan's "Trampled Rose," she brought a wail of her own to the table, a feral keening that went straight for the jugular. On Gene Clark's country lament "Through the Morning, Through the Night," she distilled the essence of heartbreak and betrayal with an absorbing balance of power and restraint.

If each singer shone individually, their joined voices provided a third major presence. Singing at a lower volume than he does as a rocker, Plant was supple and light, often gliding above Krauss' rich root notes, but the contrast of his rough-edged timbre and her glass-like tone remained a defining feature.

Most importantly, both seemed to get a kick out of it all, with Plant's loose but commanding manner setting the tone. They supplemented the "Raising Sand" material with songs cut from similar folk, country, bluegrass and rock 'n' roll cloth, such as Ray Charles' "Leave My Woman Alone," the Stanley Brothers' gospel standard "Green Pastures" and Mac Wiseman's rockabilly-flavored "It's So Long and Goodbye to You."

Behind them, Burnett and his musicians, including bassist Dennis Crouch and top-tier guitarist Buddy Miller, crafted a sound that both celebrated and toyed with the conventions of the fundamental forms.

Burnett often played double-time rhythm guitar and added tremolo pulsations that seemed to make the whole sound float in the air, while Jay Bellerose hit the drums with mallets, brushes and fistfuls of maracas, making the beat something that was surrounded and suggested rather than stiffly defined.

It all contributed to the sense of mystery and movement that marked the evening, which ended with Doc and Rosa Lee Watson's final farewell to a longtime companion, the aptly titled "Your Long Journey."

"Peace and love," Plant said, bidding goodnight, but it could as easily have been "There's no place like home."

Lake Tahoe, NV - 6/28/08

Reno Gazette-Journal
By: Jason Kellner

Plant and Krauss prove to be perfect live duo

When Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant teamed with bluegrass star Alison Krauss last year to make an album of folk songs, it didn't seem like something that would stick around as strong and as long as it has.

The album, "Raising Sand," has sold more than a million copies and won a Grammy award.

Then Krauss and Plant took the songs on tour along with T Bone Burnett, the man who produced the album and assembled the band of amazing musicians who made all the songs come alive. And on Saturday at Harveys outdoor amphitheater in front of a near-capacity crowd, the seven musicians took a 55-minute album and molded it into a 2-hour show without a moment feeling padded. Of course, the band threw a lot more into the show than just songs from "Raising Sand."

The few people in the crowd wearing Led Zeppelin shirts? They got their wishes when Plant and Krauss ran through excellent bluegrass-stained versions of songs including "Black Dog," "When the Levee Breaks," Plant's "I'm in the Mood" and Zeppelins "Battle of Evermore," a song tailor-made for the Krauss-Plant-Burnett treatment with its mandolin backbone.

This was not a rock show, but a laid-back affair of Americana music played by a fine-tuned group of musicians that played to a crowd that preferred to sit through most of the show.

Plant, still wearing a shoulder-length mop of curly hair, fit perfectly into the songs. Rather than struggle to belt his way through old songs on a Led Zeppelin reunion tour, the 59-year-old chose to return to work with Krauss after a one-shot Zeppelin show last November. The music he's performing now, along with the stripped-down old songs of his own, seems a perfect fit for this late phase of his career.

Krauss played the low-key bluegrass star, with a subdued stage presence and nary a flash of skin to be seen under her large, white polka-dot coat and black pants. But she sang her parts in her sweet country voice and played a little bit of fiddle during her times in the spotlight.

Krauss did a couple of her own songs, including some pulled from the Grammy-winning surprise hit of 2000, "O Brother, Where Are Thou?," also a Burnett production.

The rest of the band brought the rootsy sound to life with guitars, mandolin, banjo, pedal steel, stand-up bass and an unconventional drum sound from Jay Bellerose, whose kit had only two cymbals, boomy drums and barely a snare drum ever heard. And they played on a relatively sparse stage, devoid of flashy effects. They instead let their music and excellent harmonization carry the show.

Plant explained that he listened to Mississippi Delta music and Chicago blues growing up, messed with it, and, well, you know what happened. But as for the Americana sounds he's been immersed in working with Krauss, he said he didn't realize that this had been going on until now.

Krauss, who didn't say much during the show, seemed to forget she was in Nevada when she introduced a guitarist from "your home state." He actually was from California. Still, it was nice to hear the artists give a shout out to the crowd.

If anything, hearing these songs performed live, in addition to hearing what they did to some of the old Led Zeppelin songs, begs the question: Will they put out a live album? They've got me as a potential customer.

San Diego, CA - 6/30/08

The San Diego Union Tribune
By: Geroge Varga

BLONDE ON BLONDE: Two heads, two voices, much better than one for Alison Krauss and Robert Plant

Not Robert Plant, thank you very much. After reteaming for a lone concert with fellow Zep co-founders Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones in London last December (for which a staggering 20 million e-mail attempts were made by fans to buy tickets), he quickly dashed hopes for a full-on reunion tour. Plant's priority, he made clear, was this year's joint tour with Alison Krauss -- with whom he made last year's excellent "Raising Sand" album -- not a nostalgia-driven, gazillion-dollar payday with the once-again mighty Zep.

Granted, the unexpected combination of this hammer-of-the-gods English rock legend with a pristine-voiced American bluegrass queen seemed like a strange equation and then some. But judging by their superb performance last night at Humphrey's Concerts by the Bay, Plant made the right choice.

At least he did if his goal, as he has stated, is to explore heady new musical territory rather than bask in past glories. That's not to say a more extended Zep reunion won't be welcome, if and when it ever happens. But, in the immediate here and now, he's clearly as elated to be making music with Krauss as she is with him, and their pairing on stage here was a delight from start to finish. It was also a prime example that, under the right cirumstances, smaller is definitely better.

Or as Plant told the sold-out audience of 1,450 (and a near-record number of "boat people" in the adjacent marina) last night after delivering a delightfully slowed-down, banjo- and violin-fueled version of "Black Dog," a Zep classic that dates back to 1971: "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to a rather intimate setting this evening. Nevertheless, we'll change that -- we'll make it more intimate... Welcome to the Raising Sand Traveling Revue."

The nearly two-hour concert kicked into high gear on several occasions, in particular during a soaring encore performance of Zep's "When The Levee Breaks" that combined old-world charm and new world spunk. Those same two qualities were equally impressive during a finely calibrated medley of "In the Mood" (a standout song from Plant's 1983 solo album, "The Principle of Moments") and "Matty Groves" (a centuries-old folk ballad that was updated in the late-1960s by the pioneering English band Fairport Convention).

However, as on the "Raising Sand" album, which is likely to earn multiple Grammy Award nominations later this year, many of the show's most potent moments were also among the most restrained. Where Plant once specialized in booming, bigger-than-life vocals and the rock 'n' roll spectacle to match, he now is happy to do more with less. He is also happy to harmonize with Krauss, whose angelic singing style has helped him to discover and hone a new talent for shading and nuance.

Accordingly, this inspired vocal duo's thid and final encore selection with Kraus -- the heavenly Doc and Rosa Lee Watson bluegrass lament, "Your Long Journey" -- was a marvel of hushed emotions and understated harmony singing that produced goosebumps. Dito such winning songs as the achingly beautiful ballad "Killing the Blues," one of several numbers that featured former Emmylou Harris band mainstay Buddy Miller on pedal-steel guitar, and "Down To The River" a stirring a cappella showcase for Krauss, Plant, Miller and San Diego-bred multi-instrumental wiz Stuart Duncan.

Eleven of the concert's 21 selections came from "Rraising Sand," beginning with the concert-opening "Rich Woman" and continuing with such stylistically varies treats as Allen Toussaint's ebullient "Fortune Teller," The Everly Brothers' rollicking "Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On)" and Townes Van Zandt's heart-wrenching "Nothin'." Equally enjoyable were songs not featured on the album, in particular a loose-limbed version of Ray Charles' "Leave My Woman Alone" and a seriously giddy version of Johnny Horton's "I'm a One Woman Man," which was performed as the first encore.

Krauss, no slouch herself on violin, introduced Duncan as her "favorite musician in the world," and it was easy to hear why. Whether performing on banjo, mandolin or guitar, he consistently sparkled and his bluesy violin solo on "Black Dog" earned cheers from the audience.

Drummer Jay Bellerose, while prone to a few too many cannon-shot-like accents, provided otherwise impeccable percussive support, at one point performing with five (!) maraccas in his right hand alone. Musical director T-Bone Burnett performed primarily on rhythm guitar, although the lyrics to the sole number he sang, the Louisana-flavored"Laissez les Bon Temps Roulez," are the source for "Raising Sand's" title.

Kraus, 36, delivered two of the concert's most enchanting selections as an appreciative Plant, 59, watched from the side of the stage. The first, "Trampled Rose" by Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan, featured a series of exquisite wordless vocal swoops and moans that sounded both earthy and otherworldly. The second, the Stanley Brothers' gospel-bluegrass gem "Green Pastures," was sung by Krauss and a guitar-strumming Duncan, with pitch-perfect contrabass accompaniment by Dennis Crouch.

Kraus, who headlined here last year at the San Diego Sports Arena with her longtime band, Union Station, happily performed with less restraint than usual. Where she did restrain herself, presumably out of deference to Plant, was in the endearingly goofy stage patter that typically punctuates her shows.

But no matter. Because the opportunity to hear her golden voice intertwine so joyously with Plant's on "The Battle Of Evermore," one of three songs performed last night from Led Zeppelin's untitled fourth album, was almost worth the price of admission by itself. And Plant didn't revisit his past on these three songs so much as he boldly reinvented it, through a prism of rootsy American music styles that bode very well for his future collaborations with Krauss. Blonde on blonde never sounded, or looked, so good.

Phoenix, AZ - 7/1/08

East Valley Tribune
By: Chris Hansen

You know it's going to be a unique concert going experience when, upon entering the venue, several attendees can be seen wearing various retro Led Zeppelin T-shirts and others are gussied up in cowboy hats, western shirts and blue jeans.

The crowd was as diverse as the headliners Tuesday night at the Dodge Theatre in Phoenix, where former (and maybe, someday, future) Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant and bluegrass giant Alison Krauss played a two hour set of cuts from their stellar 2007 disc "Raising Sand," some country and bluegrass covers and, yes, even a few Led Zeppelin songs.

While not exactly a duo – Plant and Krauss sang several tunes together, but each singer got a chance to shine on their own Tuesday night – the two legends share a musical background steeped in Americana roots music, with Plant fascinated by blues, rockabilly and country growing up in England and Krauss a bluegrass fiddle champion as a youth in Illinois.

Kicking the show off with "Rich Woman" from "Raising Sand," Plant, dressed all in black with tan cowboy boots, and Krauss, wearing black pants, black vest and a white patterned blouse, blended their instantly recognizable voices in perfect country harmony on the slinky blues tune before launching into a rockabilly version of Ray Charles' "Leave My Woman Alone."

The first Led Zeppelin tune of the evening was next, with banjo player Stuart Duncan (who along with guitarist T-Bone Burnett – who produced "Raising Sand" – and guitarist/pedal steel player Buddy Miller highlighted the five piece backing band) picking out the notes to "Black Dog" before the band slipped into a much slower groove than the frenetic, 1971 Zeppelin version.

Among the highlights from the show were Krauss' haunting solo vocal (with Plant, Miller and Duncan forming a three part harmony gospel choir behind her) on "Down to the River to Pray," which she performed on the wildly popular "O Brother, Where Art Thou" soundtrack, Plant's take on the garage classic "Fortune Teller," a beautiful vocal duet on Zeppelin's "The Battle of Evermore" (with Krauss pitch perfect on the Sandy Denny parts), Krauss' stunning version of Tom Waits' "Trampled Rose" and the stomping duet cover of The Everly Brothers' "Gone Gone Gone (Done Me Wrong)," which earned Plant and Krauss a Grammy for best pop collaboration with vocal.

The set was a tour through America's musical roots, from country (a fine cover of the waltzing "Through the Morning, Through the Night" by The Byrds' Gene Clark), bluegrass (the traditional "Green Pastures"), voodoo blues (Burnett's version of the swampy " Laissez les Bon Temps Rouler") and rockabilly (a hopped up cover of bluegrass great Mac Wiseman's "Goodbye and So Long to You").

While the crowd may have been itching for Plant to bust loose his legendary wail on some hard rocking Led Zeppelin tunes, the singer showed how versatile his former band's catalog is, especially during a beautiful acoustic folk blues rendition of Zep's "Black Country Woman." Stripped to its essentials, most of Led Zeppelin's music is a fine blend of folk, country and blues band when the amps aren't pegged on 10.

For her part, Krauss was exquisite, her ethereal voice strong during here lead vocal moments and soft when harmonizing with the gruffer Plant, and her legendary fiddle playing took center stage on occasion, reminding the crowd that while she and Plant's vocals were the main attraction, her musical chops are as good as ever.

If the "Raising Sand" album and subsequent tour is just a one-off project before Krauss gets back to her day gig fronting Alison Krauss and Union Station and Plant (fingers crossed) reunites with Led Zeppelin in 2009 for what may be the biggest rock tour ever, then it was great while it lasted, and if the duo teams up again, you'd be hard pressed to find anybody at the Dodge Theatre Tuesday night who would not pay to see Plant and Krauss together again.

Dallas, TX - 7/7/08

The Dallas Morning News
By: Mike Daniel

Alison Krauss, Robert Plant bring angelic nuance to Nokia.

GRAND PRAIRIE – Nuance is what makes great music transcendent.

No album demonstrated that as well last year as Raising Sand, the platinum-selling, T Bone Burnett-fostered collaboration between bluegrass queen Alison Krauss and Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant. And no concert will likely prove that this year as well as the duo's flawless show Monday at Nokia Theatre.

One chilling, moving moment after another emanated from the stage as Mr. Plant, Ms. Krauss and Mr. Burnett tag-teamed through Raising Sand's material along with imaginative Americana standards and revamps of each others' songs. The homages dripped from each; Ms. Krauss' stiletto-heeled, knee-high black boots even seemed like a nod to Mr. Plant's rock-star heritage, just as his white pointed-toe boots paid tribute to traditional country.

But that was merely costuming. Not even Mr. Burnett's sparse and ominously beautiful production of Raising Sand prepared most of the 4,700 or so fans for this. Zeppelin fans ignorant of Ms. Krauss became instant supporters thanks to her pure, crisp, pitch-perfect soprano; Krauss fans with little love of classic rock became believers in Mr. Plant's active study of American roots and blues through his unexpectedly tender and understated vocals. He's plainly been allowing his aging, overworked throat to heal of late.

Mr. Plant's rollick through Townes Van Zandt's "Nothin' " closed all apparent gaps between it and, say, Zeppelin's original version of "Black Dog" – which was re-imagined as a lusty, semi-ambient blues duet here. Ms. Krauss' effortless turn through Ricky Skaggs' "Evergreen Shore" prompted tears, while her harmonizing through Mr. Plant's own "In the Mood" – as her and Stuart Duncan's dual fiddles riffed the turn out – gave the song angel wings.

Everything else? Stellar, with the exception of Mr. Burnett's hesitant pair of ditties (Doug Sahm's "Dynamite Woman" and his own "Bon Temps Rouler") midway through the 110-minute set. He's a visionary producer to be sure, but not really a compelling performer.

Both Ms. Krauss and Mr. Plant heralded a new age for each one's chosen specialty when they became stars: Ms. Krauss for bluegrass and traditional gospel, Mr. Plant for heavy metal and narrative rock. Combined, they showed empirically that there's far more harmony between those specialties than not.

That's nuance. And that's greatness.

Raleigh, NC - 7/11/08

The News & Observer
By: David Menconi

Plant, Krauss create new sound.

RALEIGH -- Conventional wisdom on popular music nowadays is that it's all been done. The frontier is closed and everything's been invented, with nothing left to do but recycle, reuse and rehash.

But if you believe that, you weren't at the RBC Center Friday night listening to the indelible guitar riff from Led Zeppelin's "Black Dog" being plunked on a banjo, the lyrics murmured like a prayer -- topped off by a fiddle solo that somehow sounded like a screaming electric guitar.

The Robert Plant/Alison Krauss show was in town, and if this wasn't a new kind of music then I don't know what is. It's a spectacularly unlikely combination of sensibilities that ought to clash violently. He's the frontman for Led Zeppelin, legendary swingers of the hammer of the gods, while she's a quietly demure country/bluegrass singer of rare beauty.

Somehow, what should be an oil-and-water mixture comes out weirdly wonderful, thanks to some impressive roots-rock alchemy from producer T-Bone Burnett. In addition to producing last year's Plant/Krauss album "Raising Sand" (Rounder Records), Burnett is bandleader for this tour. The touring ensemble's overall sound was reminiscent of Chris Isaak's tiki-torch noir, shot through with stark Old Testament country blues.

Add it all up, and it was a veritable playground for Plant and Krauss to stretch out in unexpected ways. Plant has never exactly been noted for restraint, while belting has never been Krauss' strong suit. But danged if they both didn't go in those respective directions, with handsome dividends.

Krauss showed more sass than ever, embracing the inner rock goddess we (and she, probably) never knew she had. If nothing else, this tour should definitively establish Krauss as a singer for the ages. When she soared into a ghostly wail on "Fortune Teller," hairs were standing on every neck in the building.

Plant, meanwhile, rocked the leather pants and radiated star quality. But he also showed surprising facility as a harmony singer, meshing his voice with hers in ways you wouldn't imagine possible. He sang beautiful harmonies on "Down to the River to Pray," giving it just the right touch.

"This is new, old, modified," Plant said at one point. "It's a new spirit up here."

No kidding.

"Raising Sand" provided the backbone for the just-under-two-hour set, augmented with a handful of Led Zeppelin songs. The aforementioned "Black Dog" was one highlight, as was "Black Country Woman." And the surreal folk of "The Battle of Evermore" made it an obvious choice.

Less obvious was "In the Mood," originally a 1983 solo hit for Plant. This version played up the original's gliding offbeats, which drummer Jay Bellerose turned into something like a Bo Diddley backbeat. To top it off, they made it into a medley with the old fiddle tune "Maddy Groves." Somehow, it worked.

There were also plenty of obscure covers, including the gospel standard "You Don't Knock," Ray Charles' "Leave My Woman Alone" and a couple I couldn't for the life of me identify. I can't wait to hear what they cook up for the next chapter.

Cleveland, OH - 7/15/08

The Plain Dealer
By: John Soeder

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss come full circle in Cleveland with their rootsy collaboration.

Hey, hey, mama -- you've probably never heard Led Zeppelin's "Black Dog" quite like Robert Plant and Alison Krauss breathtakingly reimagined it.

The tempo was slower, a crawl through a haunted swamp. The mood was pure hoodoo-voodoo. And the famous guitar riff was played on a banjo instead!

Zeppelin frontman Plant and bluegrass singer-fiddler Krauss had plenty of surprises up their sleeves Tuesday night at Time Warner Cable Amphitheater. Their unlikely musical partnership began in Cleveland four years ago, at a Lead Belly tribute presented by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Case Western Reserve University. Now Plant and Krauss are on tour behind their 2007 album, "Raising Sand," a rewarding excursion into rootsy Americana.

This creatively risky joint venture also paid big dividends in concert, starting with a bracing "Rich Woman." When the principals weren't side by side, interlocked in sublime two-part harmony as they sang about broken hearts and restless souls on tunes such as "Please Read the Letter" and "Gone Gone Gone," they took turns in the spotlight.

He was leonine; she was luminescent. Who had the more luxurious hair? Call it a draw.

Plant, 59, brought his formidable mojo to bear on "Nothin'" and "Fortune Teller." A rustic version of his 1983 hit "In the Mood" found him engaging in some lively maraca rattling.

Krauss, 36, made the most of her chances to shine on the uptempo toe-tapper "It's Goodbye and So Long to You" and the hymns "Green Pastures" and "Down to the River to Pray." Her wordless wailing during "Trampled Rose" was a treat, too.

The duo's crackerjack band was led by T Bone Burnett, who produced "Raising Sand" as well as the "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" soundtrack. Burnett handled lead vocals on the Creole-flavored "Bon Temps Rouler." The supporting cast also included multi-instrumentalist Stuart Duncan on banjo and other stringed instruments, Buddy Miller on guitar, Dennis Crouch on bass and Jay Bellerose on drums.

Rounding out the free-spirited hootenanny were country-fried overhauls of several Zeppelin classics, including powerful takes on "Black Country Woman" and "The Battle of Evermore."

Who says you can't teach an old dog -- or a "Black Dog" -- new tricks?

Lexington, KY - 7/18/08

Herald-Leader
By: Walter Tunis

Krauss and Plant surreal, sublime

Near the halfway point of their sublime and, at times, stylistically surreal performance last night, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss hoisted up the full fruits and colors of their near yearlong roots music sojourn for all 4,100 fans on hand at Rupp Arena to see.

The tune was Fortune Teller, an Allen Toussaint chestnut covered by, among many others, such Brit rock beasts as The Who and The Rolling Stones. At the center of this very controlled storm was Plant, lowering his vocals to a level of incantatory cunning while guitarist/band leader/producer/all-around Americana scholar T Bone Burnett dressed the surroundings with wicked guitar — the sort of wattage that mixed tremolo and twang into a mood as rich in its roots music economy as it was deep in its traditional pop smarts.

The resulting sound was playfully, almost riotously, spooky.

Then, just when you thought this earthy treat couldn't get any sleeker, on to the stage came Krauss to add a wordless vocal wail that gave the party something of a jungle accent — a pop-savvy Fay Wray to the Plant/Burnett King Kong rumble.

Thus we had a single, vital emotive voice forged out of what seemed, as recently as a year ago, an impossible pop alliance.

Krauss mixed the familiar delicacy of her country-saturated singing with considerable daring, as in the siren-like mystery that surrounded her vocal lead on Tom Waits' Trampled Rose and the sterling Gene Clark weeper Through the Morning, Through the Night.

Plant, in music that was light-years removed from the plaintively thunderous charge he led over 35 years ago as frontman for Led Zeppelin, reveled in the repertoire's conversational fancy. But on Townes Van Zandt's Nothin', he summoned a dark, commanding vocal charge that was very Zep-friendly in its electric delivery.

Ultimately, though, it was Burnett who set last night's program on its fascinating course. Admittedly, having an absurdly resourceful band at his disposal didn't hurt. Employing the tireless doomsday drive of drummer Jay Bellerose alongside fiddler/banjoist Stuart Duncan and bassist Dennis Crouch with Buddy Miller (arguably, next to Burnett, the most influential presence in modern Americana music) on board as a second guitarist and multi-instrumentalist revealed just how deep the band's strengths ran.

But Burnett's swampy guitar tone — unveiled immediately in a subtle shimmer on the show-opening cover of Rich Woman — became as vital a voice in last night's performance as any of the singing by the all-star headliners.

As popular as Krauss's Kentucky following has been, especially in recent years, Plant was surrounded last night by the biggest air of expectation. In his first Rupp outing since a Zep-heavy reunion performance with Jimmy Page over 13 years ago, Plant refashioned several gems from his past to suit the lean, groove-intensive fare favored by Burnett. Black Country Woman and a banjo-ignited Black Dog in particular, chugged along with a healthy dose of folkish charm and raw swing that Krauss easily tapped into, as well.

But Zeppelin fans loudly and properly rejoiced to a very faithful acoustic reading of The Battle of Evermore with Duncan playing the tune's brittle mandolin lines and Krauss neatly capturing the British folk vibe the late Fairport Convention vocalist Sandy Denny crafted on Zeppelin's 1971 studio version.

In a performance that seemed so fervently bent on sidestepping nostalgia, Evermore and Plant's concluding chants of “bring it back” embraced the Zeppelin legacy wholeheartedly without betraying the elemental turns of the Burnett-bred material. Like much of the performance, it borrowed from the old and, quite often, the very old, as it sought out a new roots music vocabulary.

Show opener Sharon Little began the evening with a set reminiscent of Rickie Lee Jones' early '80s music and Over the Rhine's more rockish meditations. But Little songs like Ooh Wee and Follow That Sound were nicely grounded in a sense of pop celebration.

Nashville, TN - 7/19/08

The Tennessean
By: Dave Paulson

Plant and Krauss share 'fantastic finale'

At first, it seemed like a moment straight out of the '70s: An arena audience finished applauding an incendiary performance of Led Zeppelin's "Black Dog," and Robert Plant slithered up to the front of the stage to address the crowd.

"People of Nashville," he said, and then paused.

"And when I say, 'People of Nashville,' half of them are on this stage."

Plant, of course, was not with his legendary former band, but his newfound, Nashville-based musical soulmate, Alison Krauss, and a backing band peppered with top-shelf local talent.

Their performance at the Sommet Center Saturday night was the final date of a summer tour in support of their highly successful collaborative album, Raising Sand, which Plant and Krauss recorded in Nashville last year.

Closing out six straight weeks of shows, the concert balanced an elated homecoming vibe with a finely tuned performance, as the duo's smoothly blended harmonies rose and fell in perfect step.

In fact, after entering the stage on opposite sides, there was little Plant and Krauss didn't do in sync at the show's outset, whether it was sauntering up to the microphones or creeping back with the band, which included Nashville musicians Buddy Miller and dazzling multi-instrumentalist Stuart Duncan. Their two-hour-plus performance was set to slowly build to a boil, and as sublime as those first, swampy duets were, the pair didn't heat up until after a few solo turns showcased their individual strengths.

Krauss displayed her otherworldly vocal precision on haunting ballads like Tom Waits' "Trampled Rose," her transcendent soul on a cappella show-stopper "Down to the River to Pray" and fiery range on bluegrass classic "It's Goodbye and So Long to You."

Plant gradually reclaimed some of the sneering bravado of his "Golden God" days with a searing version of Townes Van Zandt's "Nothin'" and Zeppelin's "Black Country Woman."

"Oh yeah!" Plant exclaimed at the conclusion of the latter tune.

Earlier in the evening, he told the crowd of the trepidation he had felt about coming to Nashville to begin his work with Krauss.

"Two years later, I'm pleased to say that I feel so at home in this environment," he said, to warm applause.

To close the set, Plant and Krauss reconvened with looser spirits for a trio of harmony-rich tunes: proto-Sand Zeppelin duet "The Battle of Evermore," Sand's "Please Read the Letter," and the pair's Grammy-winning single "Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On)."

They returned for a five-song encore, highlighted by standout Sand cut "Killing the Blues," Zeppelin classic "When the Levee Breaks," spontaneous turns by the backing band and Plant and Krauss' beaming expressions.

"Thanks for a fantastic finale," Plant told the audience.

Reviews From European Shows | News

lberube — Fri, 23 May 2008 05:51:00 GMT

Birmingham, UK - 5/5/08

Birmingham Mail

NIA Academy

It was a musical project that could have gone down like a lead balloon, But last night’s show proved that the teaming of American bluegrass star Alison Krauss and West Bromwich-born hard rock legend Robert Plant is a soaring success.

The opening night of the duo’s British tour began with reverential silence from the capacity crowd, and ended two hours later with a standing ovation.

While Led Zeppelin frontman Plant entered stage left, Grammy Award-winning country singer Krauss sidled on stage right. They met in the middle for spine-tingling opener Rich Woman on which their voices harmonised beautifully.

The track also opens their acclaimed album Raising Sand which sees them explore the rich vein of Americana, country, bluegrass, blues and rock ‘n’ roll.

And the man that brought it all together, producer T-Bone Burnett, also had a major role in the live experience.

Dressed in a long black coat which made him look like a preacher in a Western movie, he not only played guitar and led the other four members of the band, but sang a couple of solo numbers while Plant and Krauss took a breather.

All but one track from the album got an airing but that is only half the story. How could Robert Plant, who recently performed a one-off charity gig with Led Zeppelin, play in his home town and not include some numbers from his band’s back catalogue?

The third song in was Black Dog but with the intro picked out on a banjo, transforming it into a slow, swampy rocker.

There was more banjo in Black Country Woman and a double fiddle assault for When The Levee Breaks. A mandolin made an appearance for the best received of the four Led Zep numbers, Battle Of Evermore.

Alison Krauss’ sweet harmonies were a joy to hear and Robert Plant returned the favour when he contributed, along with band members Stuart Duncan and Buddy Miller, to her a cappella Down To The River To Pray, a song she performed with Emmylou Harris and Gillian Welch on the O Brother, Where Art Thou? movie soundtrack.

“Country and Western? Hardly!” quipped Plant afterwards.

After his forays into World Music and the eclectic Strange Sensation collaboration it seems that Robert Plant has found yet another musical genre that he is happy to add to his CV.

Brimingham, UK - 5/5/08

By RICHARD MCCOMB
Birmingham Post

It was dubbed the most unlikely pairing in music: Robert Plant, the mighty King of Rock, and Alison Krauss, the demure Queen of Bluegrass.

How could the sledgehammer-in-chief of 70s stadium excess possibly gel with this delicate flower of tender, sweet country?

The answer, of course, is that it’s impossible to say. Sometime it’s better not to dwell on the mystery; don’t try to read the runes. It’s far better to sit back and bathe in the magic, which is exactly what several thousand adoring fans did last night at the NIA in Birmingham.

Part homecoming, part musical rebirth, Plant brought Krauss to his native Birmingham stomping ground to deliver a stunning set to launch the European leg of their world tour. London can wait; home is where the heart is.

After dates in Germany, Belgium, France, and the lands of ice and snow, it’s back Stateside, finishing up (where else?) in Nashville, where this precious recording partnership was born.

Plant and Krauss first got together at a tribute concert to bluesman Leadbelly. T Bone Burnett, who Krauss knew from working on the Grammy award-winning soundtrack for O Brother, Where Art Thou?, brought her and Plant together, handpicked the music and the musicians. No pressure there, then.

Inspired by the critical acclaim heaped on the resulting album, Raising Sand, the pair decided to hit the road and last night’s show was a bewildering kaleidoscopic journey through musical genres. It was wonderfully impossible to pigeon hole – blues, alt-country, spiritual, soul and traditional standards all blurring, underpinned by masterful musicianship and glorious vocals.

Time can play cruel tricks on legends. Plant, though, who will celebrate his 60th birthday this year, remains a peerless performer, leaping from the trance-like to the maniacal to the cheeky schoolboy. Grooving on stage with Krauss, whose voice, fiddle playing and demeanour constitute a rare thing of beauty, the Led Zeppelin frontman grinned like the cat who’d got the cream. It is possible for a rock god to learn new tricks.

“The first time I played that in Birmingham was 1963,” said Plant after a blistering version of Brit-rock standard Fortune Teller, which was laced with breathy Krauss harmonies and a gut-churning guitar solo by Burnett, a colossus both in musical ability and physical stature. “Only two people knew it ... How sad is that?” said Plant, mocking his recall of trivia. “Free prescriptions and a long memory ... Don’t print that!” he added, laughing.

The stand-outs from this 23-song two-hour set? Impossible to say, there really were so many. The evening started with Rich Woman, track one from Raising Sand. Plant prowled on stage from the right, dressed in a black jacket, red silk shirt, agonisingly tight burgundy trousers (yes, ladies, he still looks buff) and some mighty fine toe-curling cowboy boots.

Krauss, stepping in from the left, glowered into Plant’s darting eyes, looking a picture in a pretty off-white dress with brown swirled patterning, her long blonde hair billowing in the stage breeze.

She looked like she’d just come from Bible class, apart from the smouldering looks and the footwear, that is. In homage to Mr Plant’s strutting youth, Krauss wore thigh-high grey boots. She’s no wall flower, and boy can she sing.

The set was a superbly pitched mix of songs from Raising Sand, a couple of Plant solo/collaborations (including Please Read The Letter, from the Page-Plant Walking Into Clarksdale) and some gems from the Led Zep locker.

Of the former, Krauss’s singing was simply perfect on numbers such as Sister Rosetta Goes Before, Through The Morning, Through The Night and the eerily beautiful Tom Waits penned Trampled Rose.

Plant’s vocal power and restraint was mesmerising on Nothin’, skipping to playful pop on the gorgeous duo, Stick With Me Baby. The vocal balance and rich textures on Killing The Blues were terrific – best listened to in a log cabin by a crackling fire, although you could still feel a collective warm glow inside the cavernous NIA.

It seems odd that so much has been made of the apparently diverse musical backgrounds of the grizzled rocker and his little ole country girl.

The truth is that Plant’s career with Led Zeppelin was burnished with the influences of roots music, pastoral folk and gnarled blues.

Led Zeppelin III may be best known for the thunderclap howl of Immigrant Song but the album also melds acoustic folk and blues traditional.

It was though the supergroup’s next album, the stratospheric fourth, which was cherry-picked at the NIA. Black Dog, The Battle of Evermore and When The Levee Breaks, particularly the latter two, were entrancing.

Krauss was inspired in the Sandy Denny harmonies on Evermore – remarkable when you consider she was born the year the album was released. Plant was just stunning.

In fact, if you’ve ever wondered what Led Zep’s best known album would have sounded like had the band’s private tour jet, The Starship, ditched in the Georgia wilderness, here was your answer: heavy rock and pastoral meets the Duelling Banjos from Deliverance. It was spookily breath-taking, the banshee wail of the lad from West Bromwich set against the crystal vocals of the girl from Champaign, Illinois. You didn’t know whether to hide behind your hands in terror or weep with joy at the deconstruction and revitalisation of these classic numbers.

Black Country Woman, from Physical Graffiti, was given the same spellbinding treatment.

The evening finished with the final track from Raising Sand, the heart-breaking traditional Long Journey Home. “Oh, the days will be empty/The nights so long without you my love …” They sure will be without Plant and Krauss.

Burnett has likened listening to the pair sing together as “almost hypnotic – some kind of psychotropic drug.” And he’s right. It’s a natural high.

As he walked off, a fan threw a flower on to the stage for Plant. It used to be knickers, but Robert’s grown up and smelled the roses. Flower power rocks.

Birmingham, UK - 5/5/08

By DAVID CHEAL
Daily Telegraph

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss: two's company please the crowd:

Last December's Led Zeppelin reunion gig was undoubtedly one of the musical highlights of the year, if not the decade.

But the group's singer, Robert Plant, was involved in another project last year which received enormous acclaim; his album with American Bluegrass singer, Alison Krauss.

Raising Sand was released last October and was an instant success; the voices of these two singers seem to blend into one on their interpretations of songs by classic songwriters such as Sam Phillips, Tom Waits and Townes Van Zandt, while T Bone Burnett's production gave the whole thing a spooky, swampy, twangy flavour.

Those who thought it an unlikely union neglected the fact that there was always a countryish, celtic flavour to Zeppelin's music, and here that aspect of Plant's musical personality flourished in a series of striking duets with the pure-voiced Krauss.

Now Plant and Krauss are in the UK for a series of concerts. Last night's was the first. And what unfolded there was a show that was by turns hypnotic, weird, warm, chilling, and always quite compelling.

Opening with the first track from the Raising Sand album, Rich Woman, Krauss and Plant slunk on stage from opposite wings, both with big hair, she in floaty dress and thigh-length boots, he in skinny trousers and shirt. They approached their microphones together and were in instant rapport.

Would they play any Zeppelin songs? The question was answered by the third song of the evening when a banjo plucked out the Byzantine riff to Black Dog. What a remarkable re-invention this was! Haunting and heavy and dark, but a million miles from Zeppelin's version. Later on, Black Country Woman, When the Levee Breaks and Battle of Evermore got the same treatment.

As well as duetting, Plant and Krauss took it in turns to take solo spots. Fortune Teller featuring Plant on vocals was broody and steamy, and at the end of the song Plant cast his mind back to 1963 when he first performed the song in Birmingham. "Free prescriptions and a long memory," he quipped. Krauss, meanwhile, was pure, sad and ghostly on Trampled Rose. Big cheers.

"Country and Western?" said Plant quizzically at one point in the show. "Hardly." Precisely. This was country music, but with sadness, darkness and real bitter experience at its heart. And hearing it performed by these musicians, people who had music coming out of their very pores, people who played with complete empathy, was, from start to finish, bewitching and brilliant.

Manchester, UK - 5/7/08

By PAUL TAYLOR
Manchester Evening News

You wonder just how different the history of rock may have been had Led Zeppelin’s Black Dog and Black Country Woman started life with the banjo riff they have lately acquired.

Perhaps music shops would now be filled every Saturday with lank-haired banjo-pluckers head-banging their way through the theme to Deliverance.

But the reinterpretation of these hard-rocking anthems, using the sonic armoury of bluegrass, folk and rockabilly, makes perfect sense.

Like so much of Led Zep’s early music, these songs drew deeply from the well of American folk and blues. Pushing them now into this new yet old-fashioned setting is merely acquainting the songs with their spiritual source.

The seemingly chalk and cheese partnership of Plant, the leonine elder statesman of British rock, aged 59, and Alison Krauss, the crystal-voiced 36-year old queen of bluegrass, turns out to work just as well on stage as it did on the lauded Raising Sand album.

The producer of that album, T Bone Burnett, was on hand to see that the tastefully dishevelled soundscapes of the record also made it onto stage.

That meant growly tremolo-tinged guitars, double bass, baritone guitars, mandolin, fiddles, banjo and thunderous drums.

Sorrowful

This brew was at its most intense for the sorrowful Townes Van Zandt song Nothin’, the brooding mood pierced by agonised guitars and violins. It wasn’t country music and it certainly wasn’t heavy metal. You’d need a new expression…. perhaps heavy wood?

Other Led Zep greats to be dusted off included When The Levee Breaks, with twin violins replacing the guitar riff, and The Battle Of Evermore, propelled by mandolin.

But Krauss and Plant already had the highlights of the set in Raising Sand: a version of Allen Toussaint’s Fortune Teller, but with added New Orleans-style hoodoo, the exquisite Sister Rosetta Goes Before Us with its banjo and limping rhythm, the ghostly Trampled Rose and the mournful Killing The Blues - perhaps the best example of those two voices working together.

Another moment to treasure – Krauss singing Down To The River To Pray, from the O Brother Where Art Thou? soundtrack, while rock god Plant dutifully joined the boys in the band on harmony vocals.

Doing this instead of a very lucrative Led Zep reunion tour, you get the impression that Plant is on a pilgrimage for the source of his musical loves.

You don’t get the depth of song coming from Worcestershire that you get from Texas and Tennessee, he told us, introducing Nothin’.

But then as Nashville resident Krauss launched into a bluegrass violin melody, she said: “We’ll play you one from home that probably came from here.”

Much of the folk music of America has its own roots in Europe. Perhaps Plant’s musical voyage takes him, ultimately, right back to where he began.

Manchester, UK - 5/7/08

By PETE PAPHIDES
The Times

In the aftermath of Led Zeppelin’s reunion show in December, there seemed to be only one logical course of action for the band’s surviving personnel. Now that they had played so well together, what could possibly stop them from touring? Almost six months later, at this more low-key affair, the answer – in the form of the fiddle-playing country-bluegrass star Alison Krauss – could be found staring Plant in the face, as the two reprised their million-selling Raising Sand collaboration.

Over two hours, it all amounted to the fact that Plant is a man in love – not with Krauss (though, at times, you had to wonder) but with the many dark shades of American roots music. In the hands of a lesser singer with a bigger ego, this show might have ended up as an exercise in musical tourism. But his desire to serve the songs’ beauty was visibly apparent.

For Killing the Blues, their voices merged like two exit wounds from a single broken heart. On Through the Morning, Through the Night, he stepped back and saw what the rest of us saw – Krauss’s voice gently drawing all the sweetness and bitterness from Gene Clark’s original and exhibiting it before us. And then the violin solo. If Plant had the smitten air of a privileged fan, who could blame him?

The mood of egalitarian bonhomie was fine, but – even if Plant seemed eager to play down his part – all eyes returned to his leonine mane and impressive hip action. Indeed, it was his presence on Emmylou Harris’s Green Pastures and Bon Temps Rouler – a vocal cameo from the guitarist and Raising Sand producer T-Bone Burnett – that stopped the evening from straying too eagerly on to grandma’s back porch.

Snaking upwards from a single, elemental beat, When the Levee Breaks sounded as close as notes and chords ever got to a severe weather warning. Dedicated to the late Sandy Denny, a second Zeppelin song, Battle of Evermore, saw Krauss and Plant trading lines before the band’s clattering upswell released something deep within the 59-year-old singer.

Eyes scrunched shut, he picked up his mike stand, jabbed the lyric into submission and, finally, located some common ground between his old life and his current one. You can take the man out of Led Zeppelin, but there’s a part of Robert Plant that will forever be Led Zeppelin – and this evening was none the worse for it.

Manchester, UK - 5/7/08

By DAVE SIMPSON
The Guardian

Any project that can place a Led Zeppelin reunion on hold would have to be extraordinary, and Robert Plant’s unlikely hook-up with American bluegrass singer Alison Krauss is proving to be just that. Their live show is even better than the Raising Sand album of lost treasures of American song.

“I had a revelation,” chuckles Plant, “which was brought together with the help of Grey Goose vodka and lots of books about Greek tragedies.” Everybody laughs, but seconds later are stunned into silence by Krauss’s crystal delivery, all devastation and longing. It is that kind of night.

This certainly isn’t the Robert Plant show. One of rock’s greatest showmen – and scourge of Holiday Inns – is often content to sip tea and just listen to his talented new partner. When the pair’s voices come together, their chemistry is obvious in shared glances. When the stick-legged, long-haired Zep frontman wails into Fortune Teller, we are left in no doubt that he still possesses the tonsils – and presumably the loins – of a genuine rock god.

However, songs ranging from playful rock’n‘roll to Townes van Zandt’s haunting Nothin’ (which Plant says “exemplifies the pain at the heart of the American singer-songwriter”) are a world away from Zeppelin, though Krauss’s violin assumes the same importance here as Jimmy Page’s guitar does in the group.

Long-coated Raising Sand producer T-Bone Burnett is also a major player, unleashing torrents of guitar and looking like he stepped from an 18th-century gunfight. When the band crash into incredible banjo-twanging remodels of When the Levee Breaks and The Battle of Evermore, there is a reminder that Plant’s Zeppelin story may have another chapter. But on this form, the world will have to wait.

Manchester, UK - 5/7/08

By KITTY EMPIRE
The Observer

The pairing of Plant and Krauss as explorers of America’s musical roots reveals why another Led Zeppelin reunion can wait

Most people expected Robert Plant to saunter on to a British stage this summer, shake his helterskelter hair and belt out Led Zeppelin songs. With one deliriously successful gig under their belts, the feeling was that Zeppelin would reprise their reunion. The money was on the table. Arenas were poised. Private jets were ready to scramble.

Few people could have foreseen that the explosive introduction to Zeppelin’s ‘Black Dog’ would, in fact, be coaxed out of a banjo rather than ripped from Jimmy Page’s guitar. Or that, as the sun finally shone, a heavy rendition of ‘When the Levee Breaks’ would be ushered in by the blare of two fiddles.

In pop, there is often talk of pressure when a band need to follow a successful album. But the plight of Coldplay is as nothing compared to the hundredweight of hassle from several continents bearing down on Plant, the man keeping Led Zeppelin on ice. The rock Titan has chosen to ignore the clamour of millions of fans so he can tour Europe and the US with a God-fearing, bluegrass princess and some mandolins and autoharps.

On this second night of this unLedded tour, Plant is bearing up well, considering. Rangy and buoyant, he exudes pure pleasure as he purrs through ‘Rich Woman’, the opening track of Raising Sand, the album he released last year with dulcet-voiced fiddler Alison Krauss. ‘She got the money/ And I got the honey,’ he smirks, as the audience savours this sweet substitute for the lemon juice that once, infamously, ran down Plant’s leg.

Krauss, meanwhile, is a vision in ruched pink, purring gamely along with Plant. She probably doesn’t realise that she is performing a kind of Yoko Ono role in the minds of less evolved fans, keeping the greatest rock band the world has ever seen off the road. In rock money, Krauss may be the junior partner, a lamb with which Plant’s lion can lie down, but Krauss owns more Grammys than any woman alive.

Their relationship on stage is easy and fond, as they pal around in between the dusty, lovelorn cover versions. Plant’s old foil Page was handy with the guitar; Krauss has her fiddle, the instrument with which she first found bluegrass fame.

Unlike most virtuoso players, however, Krauss shows a terrific restraint tonight, blending in with the sublime backing band (maverick junk-shop drummer Jay Bellerose, double bassist Dennis Crouch, multi-instrumentalist Stuart Duncan, country guitarist Buddy Miller, and band leader T Bone Burnett) for the greater good of the songs. She comes closest to home on ‘Green Pastures’, a standard once covered by Emmylou Harris.

But the emphasis is firmly on the strange, haunted new place Krauss and Plant have created together, one where Plant’s screams are replaced by whispers and the Midwestern goody-goody Krauss can pretend to be a gypsy (as she does on the haunting ‘Sister Rosetta Goes Before Us’).

The highlights of the album unfurl elegantly across one-and-three-quarter hours: the wonderfully downbeat ‘Killing the Blues’, the ringing version of Page and Plant’s ‘Please Read the Letter’ that surpasses the original; a spellbinding ‘Fortune Teller’.

One of Raising Sand’s latent pleasures is Townes Van Zandt’s ‘Nothing’, a song about musicianship so desolate that ‘it’s hard to get through, or over,’ Plant says. It’s the one moment of the night when you want the ringing guitars turned down, so that you can hear Plant aching through lines like ‘Being born is going blind/ And bowin’ down a thousand times/ To echoes strung on pure temptation…’

Well outside her own comfort zone, the demure Krauss sings from a male perspective twice, lending ‘Through the Morning, Through the Night’ (a Gene Clark song) and ‘Let Your Loss Be Your Lesson’ a faint Sapphic slant. Their hushed and pregnant reworking of ‘Black Dog’, meanwhile, is especially radical, with Plant and Krauss mouthing the orgasmic ‘ah-ah’s with impish restraint. Krauss takes on the role of Sandy Denny on an intense version of ‘Battle of Evermore’ on which Krauss hollers out ‘Bring it back!’ as loudly as Plant.

She is very much Plant’s equal on stage. In 2004, Krauss agreed to duet with Plant on a Leadbelly song when the bluesman was inducted into the Rock’n’ Roll Hall of Fame. But when talk turned to an album, it was Krauss who brought in T Bone Burnett as producer.

The two had collaborated on the soundtrack to O Brother, Where Art Thou, the film which put a little bluegrass into every American home. (We get a little bit of it tonight, when Krauss sings ‘Down by the River to Pray’ a capella, joined by Duncan, Miller and Plant on harmonies.) Live, as on record, this unlikely coupling is really a lopsided threesome.

T Bone Burnett provided many of the songs that ended up on the record and carefully constructed the atmosphere of echoing stillness that made Raising Sand great. In the words of a recent Plant album, he is a mighty rearranger.

Tonight, he leads the band and plays guitar, looking like a country vicar about to be defrocked. When Burnett sings the Cajun standard ‘Bon Temps Rouler’ (the semi-official motto of New Orleans), it provides a little key to the cogs of this project. ‘She don’t do nothing but raise sand all night,’ runs a line.

‘Raising sand’ means to kick up a fuss, which hardly describes the dynamic between Plant and Krauss.

You can only conclude Plant’s the one raising sand, digging his heels in, stamping around gleefully in the American roots music that is his current inspiration.

Would everyone here rather be at a Led Zeppelin gig? Some would. But Raising Sand has sold upwards of two million copies, becoming the most successful non-Zeppelin album Plant has ever made, as well as Krauss’s bestseller.

There are Krauss fans here, too, and connoisseurs of Americana. Haunted and spare, an antidote to the entire bloated notion of superstar collaboration, Raising Sand was crying out to be toured. You can see – and hear and feel – why, in Plant’s mind, Valhalla had to wait.

Cardiff, UK - 5/8/08

By MARTIN WELLS
South Wales Echo

One of the 50 million who missed out on the Led Zeppelin reunion last year? Me too.

Still, if catching Zep frontman Robert Plant’s tour with US country/bluegrass singer Alison Krauss seemed at first like a consolation prize, it must now seem like the jackpot.

Sure, their date at the CIA last night might not have nudged the cultural seismograph off the Richter Scale but, you know what, for lovers of great music this was one of the highlights not just of this year, but any year.

Their album, Raising Sand, shows they can cut it in the studio but on stage, backed by the legendary T-Bone Burnett and an ace Nashville combo, they were simply sensational.

Not that the rock god stole the show. The ticket had Plant’s name in big letters but it’s Krauss who should really be up there in lights.

From the moment she took her first solo, the sell-out audience, many of whom had just come to relive a few Zep moments, were utterly converted and at the end of her first trio of showcases – shortly after a terrific bluegrass version of the Zep stomper Black Dog – we knew we were in the presence of greatness. If she’d done a fourth on the trot old Percy might not have bothered coming back on.

The biggest cheer of the night came not when the Zeppelin numbers were reworked but when Krauss took the single spotlight for a literally breathtaking version of Down to the River to Pray from the Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack.

Plant stood in the background singing harmony and he was generous with his support all night, like an ageing teacher finally put in the shade by his prodigy.

He had his moments, too, particularly on Townes Van Zandt’s corruscating Nothin’ but the duo’s Battle for Evermore – another Zeppelin classic – suffered from the grunge workout at the end.

Ultimately, this was Krauss’ night but she owes a huge debt to Plant for introducing her to an audience who would never have known her without his patronage.

rating: 4/5

London, UK - 5/22/08

By PETE CLARK
Evening Standard

Robert Plant took the stage with his latest collaborator Alison Krauss. The contrast between them was so extreme as to be almost shocking.

Plant has still not troubled the barber shop after all these years, although the still plentiful locks surround a face that is a palimpsest of a life lived in the fast lane.

He sports a loosefitting black shirt and red, rock 'n' roll pants (as they are known in the business). She radiates a sweetly innocent air and wears an almost demure light blue dress. One wonders where on earth the two of them could ever have bumped into each other.

After a matters of moments, one is glad that they did. What the pair of them have cooked up is a glorious mish-mash of American and British roots music of every persuasion.

There is country & western and gospel, folk songs and old-fashioned rock 'n' roll. And they are not too precious to play swooning pop songs.

The backing band, under T-Bone Burnett, is one of the finest I have ever heard, sounding like they have been together for many years.

Particularly noteworthy are guitar player Buddy Miller, drummer Jay Bellerose and Dennis Crouch on double bass, bald head and jacket and tie.

The highlights are many and various. Fortune Teller and Please Read The Letter are sublime adult pop, while Burnett's tour de force on Bon Temps Roulez captures the unquenchable spirit of Old New Orleans.

Krauss takes a lovely solo turn on Down In The River To Pray, eventually joined by three grizzled males on backing harmonies.

A song called Nothing by Townes Van Zandt gets the full Plant treatment, including a muezzin-like howl that comes from nowhere and raises hairs from fine to coarse.

Plant makes the occasional introduction, playing compliments hither and thither, particularly to the late Sandy Denny who is duly remembered with a burst of Matty Groves.

A strong male voice makes itself heard from the audience: "Hey Robert, I love you." The response is immediate: "You waited a long time to tell me!"

When The Levee Breaks duly arrives as an encore, as does a bouquet of flowers. Plant graciously accepts the applause. And the flowers.

London, UK - 5/22/08

By ALAN JONES
Uncut

"Good evening" says Robert Plant, flinging back a mane of tangled hair from his face, early on in tonight's extraordinary show. "And welcome to. . ." he goes on, and pauses. "Well, I don't know what it is," he says then with a smile that before it's finished turns into a grin, and a big one at that, visible evidence of a man clearly enjoying what he's doing, even if he can't put a name to it. "But you're welcome to it," he adds, "whatever it is."

I'm sure, thinking about it, there are people who remain more than somewhat baffled by what Plant is currently up to - Jimmy Page, you imagine, principal among them - and can't for the life of them understand why the singer would turn his back on what may have been a last opportunity for a reformed Led Zeppelin to sweep all before them, the world once more in thrall to their rampaging glory, making millions in the process.

For these people, Plant's decision to defer a full-scale Zeppelin reunion tour in favour of taking on the road Raising Sand, the album of "dark, sexy Americana" he recorded in Nashville with bluegrass singer and fiddle player Alison Krauss, may seem wilfully perverse, the album and accompanying dates an indulgence of sorts, a superstar somehow slumming it, the whole thing, in their opinion, a self-flattering vanity project, Plant doing it for reasons they find unfathomable and therefore questionable, as if Raising Sand was no more than a preening vanity project, recorded on a superstar's indulgent whim.

This is a point of view, of course, that dramatically underestimates the depth of Plant's feelings towards the beautiful and eerie music he has created with Krauss and producer T Bone Burnett on Raising Sand, the way it has revitalised him, filled him with new energies and ambitions that have allowed him at last, after years of sometimes inconclusive solo meanderings, to step out of the shadows of Zeppelin's ominously looming legacy, the past that is forever calling out to him and by which I'd hazard he feels nothing but confined, reined-in.

Watching him at Wembley, you could clearly see a man who has discovered, however belatedly, a musical universe in which he feels uniquely, if unexpectedly, at home - and you sense that what he's doing now, which for him involves the charting of entirely new musical territories, is wholly more gratifying than, at 60, parading the stages of the world's biggest venues as the rock god of yore, which you suspect is a role he no longer feels comfortable playing, in a circus in which he wants no more to perform, private planes, vast entourages and knee-bowing attendants not a part at all of his current reality.

With Plant and Krauss waiting in opposite wings, T Bone Burnett, dressed in a preacher's long black coat, as if he's on his way to a pulpit to deliver a sermon of apocalyptic content, leads out the superlative band he's pit together. He's joined by drummer Jay Bellerose, double bassist Denis Crouch, multi-instrumentalist Stuart Duncan, with Nashville guitar legend Buddy Miller, who I saw last as a member of Emmylou Harris' touring band, replacing Marc Ribot, who played on Raising Sand.

The band in place, and locking quickly into the shimmering reverb groove of "Rich Woman", Plant and Krauss make their entrance to huge cheers, standing shoulder to shoulder at separate microphones, the astonishing vocal chemistry they have discovered between them at once in evidence. There is an ease and grace to their work, an unforced natural playfulness that gives way when appropriate to a sombre gravity. The band, meanwhile, are simply sublime - their nearest sonic equivalent Dylan's current touring band of virtuoso road warriors, whose collective excellence they serially rival.

I suspect for some, the music that follows over the next couple of hours, will have seemed rather too sedate. But the choreographed formality of the show's presentation is cleverly judged, and its unhurried elegant stateliness, what they play often assumes a wonderful grandeur, at times seems positively regal.

Highlights from the Raising Sand album are many - including Krauss's sublime reading of Gene Clark's "Through The Morning, Through The Night", Plant's powerfully mesmerising "Please Read The Letter", a riveting "Fortune Teller" and a tender, heartbreaking "Killing The Blues".

There are versions, as you will have heard, of three Zeppelin songs - a banjo-led "Black Dog", which is brilliantly transformed, the original's rampant carnality replaced by something more subtly insidious and sexy, a dramatically executed "Battle Of Evermore", with Krauss invoking the ghost of Sandy Denny, and, even better, a stunning reworking of "When The Levee Breaks", which now echoes the similar dramatic eschatology of Dylan's "High Water".

Best of all, though, is the version of the uncompromisingly bleak "Nothing" - introduced by Plant as a "profound piece of pain by Townes Van Zandt". When I interviewed him last year, just before raising Sand came out, Plant explained that originally he didn't get this song, couldn't make sense of it, its meaning elusive to him. A series of explanatory e-mails from T Bone helped him 'get inside' the song, as he put it, and now he inhabits it totally, gives authentic voice to its poetic desolation, Krauss's fiddle and the torrential guitars of Burnett and Miller providing devastating back-up.

When it's over, and a chilling hush settles, Plant stands centre stage, head for a moment bowed. He lifts it then, and stares out at the cheering crowd, allows himself just the flicker of a vindicated smile, a man in a place he wants to be rather than the place others wish he was, which is somewhere you suspect he will want to linger a while longer, this musical journey just beginning.

London, UK - 5/22/08

By ANDY GILL
The Independent

The staging is distinctly understated: save for a gold curtain that unfurls before the closing number, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss’s show is almost completely devoid of visual distraction. Just a few rugs, a discreet curtain backdrop, and a couple of modest screens either side of the stage.

Even the band have the low-key demeanour of upscale bouncers. But although they don’t make any flashy moves it’s sometimes hard to tell whether it’s Buddy Miller or Stuart Duncan that’s picking out a specific guitar solo they have the lived-in look of great character actors. Bassist Dennis Crouch bears a resemblance to the late, great Peter Boyle; and bandleader T Bone Burnett could be a riverboat gambler from some Anthony Mann Western.

The important thing is that they’re all masters of their instruments, none more evidently than drummer Jay Bellerose, a constant blur of movement as he employs a wealth of techniques to draw every last breath of drama out of each song. This isn’t drumming, it’s inhabiting the songs so intimately that they burst vividly into life, whether he’s dashing off a frisky second-line shuffle behind Burnett on “Bon Ton Roulay”, driving the bold, dynamic shifts of a bluegrass “Black Country Woman”, or draping cloths over drumskins to dampen the beats on a slow, sultry “Black Dog”.

Then, of course, there are Plant and Krauss themselves, a pairing whose unlikeliness is still evident in the occasional slight twinge in their harmonies. But all the best musical couplings have this kind of unexpected eccentricity about them, and this one works magically, from the sly warmth of “Rich Woman” to the rockabilly “Gone Gone Gone”, reaching its apogee on a tremendous “Please Read the Letter”.

For much of the show, Krauss leaves the violin duties to Duncan to concentrate on singing. And what a voice she has! Her keening wail on “Trampled Rose” is spine-tingling, quite supernatural in its haunting purity, while her delivery on “Sister Rosetta Goes before Us” and “Through the Morning, Through the Night” stands as testament to the one-inch-punch emotional power packed by the gentlest of voices. “Down to the River to Pray” gets a particularly warm reception, too.

Plant, meanwhile, proves there’s more to his game than the shriek of yore, with the warm vocal caresses of his harmonies interspersed with more rousing bonhomie on “Fortune Teller”, before he dives bravely into the maelstrom of despair that is Townes van Zandt’s “Nothin’”. A pertinent reminder that sometimes, some music demands to be taken seriously.

(Rated 5/5)

London, UK - 5/22/08

By LUDOVIC HUNTER-TILNEY
Financial Times

“You’re at the wrong gig,” Robert Plant volleyed back as someone cried out for a Led Zeppelin song. In spite of last year’s electrifying reunion show the Led Zep vocalist has chosen to ditch Jimmy Page for a new musical partner, the country and bluegrass star Alison Krauss.

He and Krauss are an odd couple. They share handsome manes of hair but otherwise they’re a study in contrasts. The 36-year-old American country singer sings with a pure, aching soprano; the 59-year-old Wolverhampton rock god still has a virile wail to shake the foundations of the most characterless arena.

Together they made one of last year’s best albums, Raising Sand, which has sold over a million copies. Its low-key charms were not ideally suited to the cavernous venue yet the pair pulled off a spellbinding show.

Backed by a crack band led by their guitar-playing producer T Bone Burnett, whose black frock coat cheekily mirrored Page’s outfit at the Zeppelin reunion, Plant and Krauss were perfectly attuned as vocalists, playing a set that deftly mixed sweet love songs, mournful break-up songs and pleading blues songs.

Plant took a supporting role in the first half of the show, with Krauss’s clear tones ringing out on a stunning a cappella gospel number and a haunting version of Tom Waits’ “Trampled Rose”. The Led Zep man came to the fore in the latter stages, lending his bluesy moan to the barroom boogie woogie of “One Woman Man” and honky-tonk of “You Don’t Knock”, as Krauss played fiddle and sang backing vocals.

The astonishingly versatile backing musicians played country stalwarts such as banjo and steel guitar, with the odd snarl from an electric guitar. Plant grew up modelling himself on black bluesmen, but with Krauss he has immersed himself in “the white man’s blues”, as country music has been called. A hillbilly twist was given to a pair of Zeppelin tracks, “When the Levee Breaks” and “The Battle of Evermore”, the latter’s Celtic mysticism transformed into raging Appalachian roots-rock with both singers attacking the vocals. It was enough to win over even the most diehard Led Zep fan.

(Rated 4/5)

Vote For Alison and Robert on CMT Power Picks! | News

lberube — Fri, 16 May 2008 05:53:00 GMT

CMT Power Picks lets you decide which video gets played, and which goes away. During the show, you can vote on CMT.com and enjoy the winner. CMT Power Picks airs weekdays at 11am (EST).

Be sure and visit CMT.com to vote, or CLICK HERE.

Tuesday, May 20th
Robert Plant and Alison Krauss Vs. Rascal Flatts

Wednesday, May 21th
Robert Plant and Alison Krauss Vs. Phil Stacey

Memphis, TN Show On Sale Friday! | News

lberube — Wed, 14 May 2008 05:54:00 GMT

Alison and Robert will be playing Mud Island Amphitheatre in Memphis, TN on July 8th. Tickets go on sale to the public on Friday, May 16th at 10am.

Check out the "TOUR" section for all the details

Alison and Robert on BBC News Breakfast Show | News

lberube — Wed, 07 May 2008 05:54:00 GMT

Watch an interview of Alison and Robert from the BBC News Breakfast Show.

Just CLICK HERE to watch!

"Raising Sand" Nominated In 'Best Album' Category For MOJO 2008 Honours | News

lberube — Thu, 01 May 2008 05:56:00 GMT

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss' album "Raising Sand" has been nominated in the 'BEST ALBUM' category at the 2008 MOJO Honours List. Make sure you vote by CLICKING HERE!

Read Reviews From The April Plant/Krauss Shows (UPDATED) | News

nshields — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 05:57:00 GMT

Louisville, KY - 4/19/08

By JEFFREY LEE PUCKETT
Louisville Courier-Journal

As their impeccable band swung into "Rich Woman" with an easy flourish, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss took the stage Saturday night at the Louisville Palace to the first of several standing ovations.

Plant, still the god king of rock 'n' roll, strolled out with a quietly confident swagger, his hair in that tangle of curls so familiar to Led Zeppelin fans. Krauss looked like she was headed to a prom in her pink dress, maybe one with "Stairway to Heaven" as its theme.

And when they began singing, it was clear they still felt the chemistry so evident on their "Raising Sand" album, his well-traveled yowl blending perfectly with her pristine voice. There were a few goose bumps, and not the last.

This was the first night of the "Raising Sand" tour but both the singers and the band sounded fully warmed up. Krauss didn't hit a bad note all night, almost flaunting her perfect pitch, and the band, led by T Bone Burnett, was nearly flawless. Plant was Plant, and that was plenty.

Krauss and Plant performed nearly all of "Raising Sand," a handful of Led Zeppelin classics and a couple of songs associated with Krauss' solo career. They also threw in a George Jones cover just because they could.

As expected, the Zeppelin songs drew a huge response -- one guy screamed "Led Zeppelin rules!" barely five minutes into the show -- but they weren't the highlights (although "Black Dog," with the world's spookiest banjo, was pretty amazing).

"Fortune Teller" was better, with drummer Jay Bellerose exploding the song from the inside out, and Krauss broke every heart in the place with "Through the Morning, Through the Night." "Killing the Blues" and "Trampled Rose" were also contenders.

But the most unexpected song might have also been the night's finest. Krauss, backed by Plant, Buddy Miller and Stuart Duncan, soared through an a capella version of "Down to the River to Pray," from "O Brother, Where Art Thou?," that was so beautiful it sucked the air out of the room.

Everyone who went back for Sunday's second sold-out show should be so lucky.

Louisville, KY - 4/20/08

By PETER COOPER
Staff Writer - The Tennessean

REVIEW: Krauss, Plant show is pure genius

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The between-song shouts of adoration, glee and inebriation halted for a moment as Robert Plant spoke Sunday night.

“This is the second night of a new career,” he said, with a grin that may have left a few in the Palace Theatre audience of 2,700 wondering if he was serious.There he stood, onstage at one of America’s loveliest halls. He once fronted Led Zeppelin, the loudest and wildest band in the world, yet Sunday he performed with duet partner Alison Krauss and a group of music-makers that included producer and roots music visionary T-Bone Burnett and Nashville-based master players Buddy Miller, Dennis Crouch and Stuart Duncan.

The Plant/Krauss tour, which kicked off Saturday night and which is slated to end at the Sommet Center on July 19, is an unlikely and in fact unprecedented melding of musicians, sounds and styles. No act has ever had the commercial heft, musical depth and expansive vision that would enable a tour through major venues that includes authentic and powerful versions of songs from Zeppelin’s “Black Dog” to Doc Watson’s plaintive “Your Long Journey.” Several years ago, Burnett was musical director for the Down From The Mountain tour that featured Krauss, Emmylou Harris, Ralph Stanley, blues man Chris Thomas King and many more. That was variety. This is… insane. Or it was, until the just-passed weekend. At this point, it seems closer to genius. Through these hands, minds and voices, rock, bluegrass, blues, country and soul (really, all of it is soul music) are all of a piece. It sounds ancient, and it’s something new under the sun.

“Who knows about the ‘Singing Fisherman?’ Plant asked, introducing an encore version of “One Woman Man,” a song first popularized by the singing fisherman in question, the late, great country star Johnny Horton. It has come to this: Robert Plant heads to the American South and spreads the word about Johnny Horton. Strange world, this one.

Even apart from the people on stage, Horton is far from the only Nashville connection in this show.

The tour is in support of Raising Sand, the album Plant and Krauss made in Nashville, with Burnette producing. Sunday night’s songs included: A ferocious and harrowing version of Nashvillian Townes Van Zandt’s “Nothin’,” with instrumental sections that sounded close enough to Zeppelin to make Jimmy Page nervous, wherever he was; some Everly Brothers excursions, including the Grammy-winning collaboration “Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On)” and the Mel Tillis-penned “Stick With Me Baby”; a heart-stopping take on Rowland Salley’s “Killing The Blues,” a song first popularized by Nashville’s John Prine; Krauss and Stuart Duncan performing “Green Pastures,” a song Emmylou Harris featured on her groundbreaking Roses in the Snow album.

The Louisville crowd was full of dignitaries (David Fricke from Rolling Stone among them) and full of Zeppelin fans. One ticket-holder said he had ticket stubs to prove he’d been to four Zeppelin shows, though he could only remember three of them. It’s hard for a 21-time Grammy winner to sneak up on anyone, but Krauss’ pitch-perfect singing induced some audible gasps.

In fact, Krauss has never sung like this before. It takes a particular sort of bravery to do what she’s doing here: Having reached great heights by developing a distinctive and much-loved way of singing, she has found a new way to sing. On the Zeppelin standard “Black Country Woman,” her full-throated, bluesy harmonies were something entirely new. And the romp through “One Woman Man” was something the meticulous Krauss has never approached before onstage: Good, sloppy fun.

Bass man Crouch, a member of the every-Monday Station Inn band The Time Jumpers, found a way to make the upright bass sound like a heavy rock instrument on some songs, while playing rhythmic, “slap bass” on up-tempo numbers and providing lovely, melodic note choices on ballads.

Miller played guitar and pedal steel, and there were several points in the show when Plant just stood and stared at what Miller was doing during solos.

Duncan, whose studio work includes some of the sweetest bluegrass fiddling to be heard, often took the Jimmy Page part in the rock songs, playing high, loud and sometimes distorted. Then he played ghostly banjo on “Black Dog,” mandolin on others, and guitar on still others.

Great instrumentalists are by nature adaptable, but lead singers are often less so. As it turns out, Robert Plant is a harmony singer of significant range and nuance. He did the high, not-long-for-lonesome Zeppelin stuff on occasion, but his note choices on duets with Krauss were the kinds of things that cannot be sung without considerable study and a willingness to subvert ego and star-turns in service of the greater good. It seems that under Burnett’s stewardship, Krauss has learned to howl and Plant has taken the less-is-more thing to heart. The rock legend seemed equally at home taking the strutting lead on “Black Country Woman” and working as part of a gospel quartet on “Down To The River To Pray.”

At night’s end, after the sad and pure ballad “Your Long Journey,” Plant seemed to feel that his business was unfinished.

“Come along for Lexington,” he said, referring to the other Kentucky show on this tour. “I’ll tell you more about the ‘Singing Fisherman.’”

Set list for the Sunday-night show in Louisville, Ky.:
“Rich Woman”
“Leave My Woman Alone”
“Black Dog”
“Sister Rosetta Goes Before Us”
"Through the Morning, Through the Night”
"Fortune Teller”
"Black Country Woman”
"Hey Hey What Can I Do”
" T Bone Burnett sings – “The Rat Age”
"T Bone Burnett sings “Bon Temps Rouler”
“Trampled Rose”
“Green Pastures”
“Down To The River To Pray”
“Nothin’”
“Killing the Blues”
“Let Your Loss Be Your Lesson”
“When the Levee Breaks”
“The Battle of Evermore”
“Please Read The Letter”
“Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On)”

ENCORE
Instrumental, featuring Krauss and Stuart Duncan
“Stick With Me Baby”
“One Woman Man”
“Your Long Journey”

Knoxville, TN - 4/22/08

By WAYNE BLEDSOE
Knoxnews.com

Being at some concerts just feels like a good time. Some feel like musical events. And a very few feel like being a part of musical history.

Tuesday's concert at the Civic Coliseum felt like one of those historical moments.

The concert was the third show by the unlikely combination of legendary Led Zeppelin vocalist Robert Plant and acoustic music diva Alison Krauss. Yet, the show was not only a blending of two of the most distinctive vocalists in music, but a full band of music greats coming together to put on a terrific show.

The key to making the concert work, as it was on the 2007 Plant and Krauss album "Raising Sand," is to throw all expectations out the window. The show featured the moody blend of old-school R&B, rockabilly and country music of the disc and adapted the sound to some surprising numbers.

There was a definite air of graciousness throughout the evening. Neither singer tried to outshine the other. On many songs the two blended their voices into one lead vocal. On others, one singer would gamely add background vocal textures.

Guitarists, and seasoned frontmen in their own right, T-Bone Burnett and Buddy Miller took some turns at vocals, and multi-instrumentalist ace-in-the hole Stuart Duncan had plenty of time to shine as well. The rhythm section, upright bassist Dennis Crouch and drummer Jay Bellerose, provided a solid and tasteful foundation.

While the group performed all the tracks from "Raising Sand," when Duncan kicked off the opening riff to "Black Dog," one of Led Zeppelin's signature songs, on banjo three songs into the set, the audience knew that this was not going to simply be a rehashing of the duo's album. After Duncan's lead- in, "Black Dog" was adapted into a swampy stroll with Plant and Krauss trading vocal lines. Further along, the group performed the Zeppelin songs "Black Country Woman," "Hey, Hey What Can I Do," "The Battle of Evermore" and a terrific version of "When the Levee Breaks," which featured Krauss and Duncan playing twin fiddles.

There was a low-key delicacy about the entire show that was slightly marred by the logistics of putting it on at the coliseum. The hall's boomy sound was in contrast to the intimacy of many of the songs, and Krauss' voice was sometimes met with jarring feedback. Oddly, it was Burnett's two fine numbers, "Bon Temps Rouler" and "Shut It Tight," that worked best in the environment.

While the "event" moments were the Zeppelin numbers, Krauss' rendition of "Green Pastures," followed by a pristine a cappella version of "Valley to Pray" with Plant, Duncan and Miller as a backing trio, was easily one of the show's finest moments. And it was Plant's emotional take on Townes Van Zant's sad "Nothing," that provided the show's most dramatic performance.

There's no telling if Plant and Krauss will collaborate after the current tour. Some magic can happen only once. But being able to witness it as it happens is a wonderful thing.

Chattanooga, TN - 4/23/08

By BARRY COURTER
Chattanooga Times Free Press

It may be difficult to know exactly what fans expected, or hoped for, at tonight’s Robert Plant and Alison Krauss concert at Memorial Auditorium.

It is a safe bet, however, that many among the sold-out crowd were hoping to see and hear some magic from one of rock’s royalty figures and one of Americana’s most-decorated artists, and if that is the case they were not disappointed.

Seeing a star of Mr. Plant’s stature on a Chattanooga stage is a rare treat, and while Ms. Krauss is a regular visitor here, she also is one of the few artists who consistently sells out her local shows.

Throw in T Bone Burnett, who produced the Grammy-winning Plant and Krauss collaboration “Raising Sand,” Buddy Miller, Union Station alumnus Stuart Duncan, Dennis Crouch and Jay Bellerose, and the odds of a memorable show swing heavily in the fans’ favor.

It was, in fact, one of those rare performances in which the band was every bit the equal of the star attractions, who were stellar.

Mr. Plant, the former lead singer for one of rock’s iconic power groups, Led Zeppelin, perhaps was the biggest curiosity for fans, but it became apparent quickly that the evening would be about traditional, or Americana, or whatever you want to call it, music.

Even the Led Zeppelin numbers such as “Black Dog” were deconstructed and then reconstructed, T Bone style. Rebuilt around a heavy drum and fiddle foundation, it was a show highlight.

The evening’s best moment came from Ms. Krauss.

Blessed with one of the purest and sweetest voices in music, she brought chills to the skin and tears to the eyes during “Down To the River To Pray,” a song she performed with Emmylou Harris and Gillian Welch on the “O Brother, Where Art Thou” soundtrack. Last night, she was joined by Mr. Miller, Mr. Duncan and Mr. Plant.

No matter the expectations, tonight’s show was special.

Chattanooga, TN - 4/23/08

By DUSTY PLUNKETT
Dekalb Times-Journal

On Wednesday I had planned an exciting evening of mowing my yard, doing laundry and starting phase three of my continued efforts to paint my dining room.

However things changed when I got a phone call from a friend requesting my presence at the Robert Plant and Alison Krauss concert in Chattanooga, Tenn.

I’ve never been one to let a friend down so I decided to move a few things around on my schedule and sacrifice my night to attend.

I wanted to set the mood for the evening but the ceremonial playing of “Stairway to Heaven” on my iPod was abruptly interrupted as rush hour traffic on the Chattanooga Superspeedway went from 70 to zero in 2.3 seconds.

That crisis was averted and we eventually made our way to the Chattanooga Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Auditorium.

As we waited for the concert to begin we decided it would be too difficult to start chanting, “We want Robert Plant and Alison Krauss! However a Led Zeppelin reunion tour would be even better! And we appreciate T-Bone Burnett’s musical talents so if you want to feature him at some point in the evening that’s ok with us! But we want Robert Plant and Alison Krauss!”

Like Brangelina and Bennifer, the key to any power couple is to come up with a more streamline combination of both names for people to remember.

From this day forward Robert Plant and Alison Krauss will be known as Robison Krant. Or maybe Albert Plauss would be better.

I expect at least one of those names to go global as the pair continues their world tour by traveling from Birmingham, Ala., to Birmingham, England in the coming days.

As far as the musical portion of the night, it was great.

However, I have to say I never thought I would go from hearing a funky banjo intro to “Black Dog” followed shortly by the Led Zeppelin front man singing backup on “Down to the River to Pray.”

Going back and forth from the folksy gospel songs to bluegrass versions of rock anthems from years past left me a little confused at times.

I’m still not sure if it would have been more appropriate to praise the Lord or rush home to watch “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy with “The Battle of Evermore” playing in the background.

New Orleans, LA - 4/25/08

By EDNA GUNDERSEN
USA TODAY

The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival started Friday with a jam-packed day of wildly eclectic sounds, ranging from the country-Cajun strains of female sextet The Figs to the percolating island rhythms of Rudy's Caribbean Funk.

But at 3:15 p.m., it seemed that everyone had congregated at one stage on the sprawling Fair Grounds Race Course for an hour-long set by Robert Plant and Alison Krauss.

The oddly harmonious couple, a bluegrass fiddler and heavy metal pioneer, set the early high bar for the rest of Jazz Fest's eclectic bill. Against a suitable backdrop of cool breezes and darkening skies, the duo dipped into their acclaimed Raising Sand album, playing Appalachian-kissed versions of Rich Woman and Killing the Blues. They also sampled their respective catalogs, with a captivating dip into the Led Zeppelin realm that turned Black Dog into a steamy, haunted ballad. The duo's band included Sand producer T-Bone Burnett on guitar.

On stage, Plant dubbed the pairing "new, fantastic and stimulating" and talked about an early frustration with British pop that led to his fascination with America's urban music, especially the sensual, earthy sounds that flowed from New Orleans. He beamed as he mentioned meeting singer Aaron Neville backstage and "the magnificent" Allen Toussaint, whose Fortune Teller ("a song I played when I was 14") was a raucous highlight.

Dapper in a tie and sport coat, Toussaint was grinning at the side of the stage during the performance.

"It was wonderful," the storied New Orleans musician/songwriter said afterward. "It was so tasteful the way they took it in a different direction. I love their rendition on the album. And it's in good company there."

Toussaint, not scheduled to perform until Sunday, wasn't the only famous bystander soaking up sounds Friday. Billy Joel, a Saturday headliner, arrived a day early by motorcycle to survey the musical fare. Actor John C. Reilly strolled the grounds in search of tunes and cuisine. Yet not all the offstage attractions were celebrities: A couple staged a casual wedding early in the day. In lieu of a veil, the bride wore a straw hat.

New Orleans, LA - 4/25/08

By BRETT MILANO
Boston Herald

NEW ORLEANS - Strange but true: Some people come all the way to New Orleans to see Billy Joel.

The piano man was one of a handful of superstar acts who hit the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival over the weekend, with Stevie Wonder, Santana and Jimmy Buffett still to come. And Joel drew one of the first weekend’s largest crowds, despite the torrential rains that didn’t let up through his set. He threw a short version of “Singin’ in the Rain” into a jukebox-style set that featured a few album tracks (“Zanzibar” and a lot of hits). And in a nod to New Orleans’ recent history, he told the crowd, “It may be pouring out there, but I know you’ve been through a lot worse.”

In its third post-Katrina year, the festival is back to more-or-less normal, which means an odd but workable mix of local legends and mainstream stars. The marquee names have only gotten bigger in the past few years, with arena-sized crowds around the main stage. Yet the festival’s producers still manage to satisfy music nuts with more exotic tastes.

Directly opposite Joel, for instance, were zydeco charmer Rosie Ledet; and a vintage r & b revue featuring unsung legends Roy Head and Archie Bell (whose respective hits were “Treat Her Right” and “Tighten Up”). Both performers also will appear at the Ponderosa Stomp, a two-night midweek show that’s become the event of the year for rock scholars and collectors. Also set to hit the Ponderosa Tuesday are psychedelic mastermind Roky Erickson and local r & b legend Dave Bartholomew, who’ll give his farewell performance.

But once in a while, a Jazz Fest set will satisfy the musicologists and stargazers alike. Such a set happened on Friday, when Robert Plant and Alison Krauss broke in their duo tour. The set embraced a wide range of American music, from somber gospel to whooping rockabilly to rearranged Led Zeppelin numbers (an appropriate “When the Levee Breaks”).

The unlikely pair’s harmonies and chemistry were something to behold; and hearing it in New Orleans made it that much sweeter.

New Orleans, LA - 4/25/08

By KEITH SPERA
The Times-Picayune

The early contender for show to beat at the 2008 Jazzfest? The bewitching Friday afternoon set by Alison Krauss, Robert Plant and their all-star Americana band.

I wasn't sure how the intimate arrangements from their "Raising Sand" album would translate in the wide-open space at the Acura Stage. They translated just fine, especially with a brooding gray sky framing the whole affair.

The bluegrass sprite and the grizzled rocker are, at first glance, an unlikely duo. But their voices and sensibilities are simpatico. Led Zeppelin shares a common Celtic root with Appalachian music. That common source was especially apparent as they veered off on "The Battle of Evermore." Plant's wail stood tall as Krauss swooped in like a banshee over a bed of ringing mandolins. Powerful stuff.

A dedicated student of roots music in general and New Orleans music in particular, Plant gave a shout-out to Aaron Neville, Lafayette guitarist C.C. Adcock - "he's a piece of work, but I like him" --and a beaming Allen Toussaint, who watched from the Acura Stage guest area. Plant and Krauss then delivered a fetching "Fortune Teller," a classic Toussaint composition that appears on "Raising Sand."

They had eased into the set with "Rich Woman," another cut from "Raising Sand." The early going went well enough to elicit a "hot diggety!" from Plant. They harmonized beautifully on "Killing the Blues." Elsewhere, Plant seemed to chafe a bit at the confines of the chosen genre. Jagged guitar solos by Buddy Miller and T-Bone Burnett added bite.

Plant did not ignore his substantial history. The Zeppelin romp "Black Dog" was spun into a study in banjo, with whispered harmonies and a violin beaming in from some spooky pocket of Appalachia. The acoustic "Black Country Woman" came out much closer to the original; a banjo dominated until the violin kicked in. Plant grasped his microphone stand and leaned into it. "Oh, do you get it?' he said, pleased with a big response from the crowd.

With flecks of rain falling from the sky and the Mississippi River at flood stage -- not to mention New Orleans' recent history -- the setting for "When the Levee Breaks" could not have been more dramatic. Plant and Krauss absolutely tore into it against surging mandolins. She pushed her voice to the limit to keep pace with his wail. "Soul sister Alison Krauss!" Plant exclaimed.

That haunting, sumptuous voice took full flight in "Down to the River To Pray," from her Union Station songbook. Backing her, Plant and two bandmates harmonized on a shared microphone. The a cappella arrangement induced goosebumps even where I stood, far back on the field.

Plant and Krauss are in the early days of a tour slated to stretch through the summer. He described their adventure as "new, fantastic and stimulating." No argument there.

Birmingham, AL - 4/26/08

By MARY COLURSO
Birmingham News

Review Rating: Five out of five stars

It's an odd collaboration that, on the face of it, really shouldn't work.

Few would think of teaming Alison Krauss, an angelic, exacting singer and bluegrass-folk fiddler, with hard-rock pioneer and passionate yelper Robert Plant.

They have vastly different energies and attitudes, not to mention a 23-year age difference.

But producer T Bone Burnett has a peculiar genius: He sees, hears and conceives things that others could hardly imagine. He's out of the box. He's ahead of the curve. Heck, he's the creator of his own musical geometry.

Krauss and Plant? Perfect, in Burnett's hands -- and perfectly wonderful on Saturday during a 9 p.m. concert in Birmingham.

The two stars, just a few shows into their tour, played for two hours at the BJCC Arena. Burnett -- long, lanky and looking like a character from "Deadwood" in his black duster -- was part of their five-member band.

In case you hadn't heard, Burnett helmed a Krauss-Plant CD collaboration, "Raising Sand," that was one of the top sellers of 2007. It continues to stir up interest in 2008 and is the impetus for an international trek.

On disc and on stage, Krauss, 36 and Plant, 59, lent their talents to a wildly diverse selection of cover material, from a gypsy-tinged Tom Waits ballad ("Trampled Rose") to a bouncy Everly Brothers song ("Gone, Gone, Gone (Done Moved On)").

Much of "Raising Sand" has a low-key, hipster vibe -- all smoky voices and shimmying shoulders -- and Burnett reinvents each song with cool, clever arrangements or bold changes in instrumentation.

In general, the principals don't operate as traditional, melody-swapping partners; they alternate as the frontman or frontwoman.

At the BJCC, Krauss and Plant started their set with the opening track of the disc, "Rich Woman," and sent the audience home with its final song, "Your Long Journey." They played nearly everything else from "Raising Sand," as well, shuffling the order of about 10 tunes and blending in signature songs from their separate careers.

Krauss provided a pitch-perfect rendition of "Down to the River to Pray," from the soundtrack of "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" This a cappella version, sweet and haunting, swelled to fill the arena with spiritual conviction.

Plant took the lead on radical reworkings of Led Zeppelin's "Black Dog" and "The Battle of Evermore," massaging a gentler, earthier tone into those formerly piercing, fast-moving hits. He also took "When the Levee Breaks" back to its soulful blues roots.

Some technical wizard must have worked a bit of magic at the arena, because the BJCC's sound was clear, clean and resonant -- exactly as a listener would wish it.

This made it possible to distinguish contributions made by the excellent musicians backing Plant and Krauss: guitarist and band leader Burnett, guitarist and pedal steel player Buddy Miller, bassist Dennis Crouch, drummer Jay Bellerose and multi-instrumentalist Stuart Duncan.

7 New Dates Added To July! | News

nshields — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 05:55:00 GMT

Seven new shows were announced today as part of the Robert Plant and Alison Krauss 2008 World Tour. The tour will stop in Dallas, Raleigh, Philadelphia, Toronto, Cleveland, Lexington, and finishing up in Nashville. Check out the "Tour" section for all the details.

Atlanta, GA Date Added On July 10th | News

nshields — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 05:54:00 GMT

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss will bring their Raising Sand 2008 World Tour to Chastain Park Amphitheatre in Atlanta, GA on July 10th. The artist pre-sale starts Friday, March 21 at 10:00am (EST), and tickets go on sale to the general public on Saturday, March 29th.

Raising Sand Tour - VIP Packages | News

nshields — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 05:53:00 GMT

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss are taking their musical partnership on the road this summer in support of their critically acclaimed album, Raising Sand. Expierence the Grammy award-winning duo, also featuring T Bone Burnett, from some of the best seats in the house with a Hot Seat, Getaway, or Deluxe Travel Package! These packages are designed with you in mind.

HOT SEAT PACKAGE:
Experience the show like a VIP with a HOT SEAT PACKAGE that includes a premium top priced ticket, exclusive merchandise item and commemorative laminate.

GETAWAY TRAVEL PACKAGE:
Fly away to a city of your choice, land within the first 10 rows and stay the night at a premium hotel with a GETAWAY TRAVEL PACKAGE!

DELUXE TRAVEL PACKAGE:
If you're looking for the ultimate musical experience, the DELUXE TRAVEL PACKAGE is for you. The top of the line package includes a ticket within the first 6 rows, deluxe hotel accommodations for two nights, round trip ground transportation to and from the concert, welcome reception, world-class service and more.

Choices abound to make for an unforgettable night with Robert Plant and Alison Krauss! Book your VIP Package before they sell out!

HOT SEAT packages are available in the following markets; GETAWAY and DELUXE are available where noted.
06/02/08 Roanoke, VA
06/04/08 Uncasville, CT
06/05/08 Boston, MA (GETAWAY available)
06/07/08 Canandaigua, NY
06/08/08 Atlantic City, NJ
06/10/08 New York, NY (GETAWAY available)
06/11/08 New York, NY (GETAWAY available)
06/13/08 Columbia, MD (GETAWAY available)
06/14/08 Asheville, NC
06/17/08 Detroit, MI
06/19/08 St. Louis, MO
06/21/08 Denver, CO (DELUXE available)
06/23/08 Los Angeles, CA (available starting 03/22/08)
06/24/08 Los Angeles, CA (available starting 03/22/08)
06/25/08 Santa Barbara, CA (available starting 03/22/08)
06/27/08 Berkeley, CA (DELUXE available)
06/28/08 Lake Tahoe, NV (DELUXE available)
06/30/08 San Diego, CA (GETAWAY available)
07/01/08 Phoenix, AZ

Visit http://www.slolimited.com/RPAK/ or CLICK HERE for more info.

CMT Music Award Nomination | News

nshields — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 05:52:00 GMT

Robert and Alison's video for "Gone, Gone, Gone (Done Moved On)" has been nominated in the 'Wide Open Country Video Of The Year' category at the CMT Music Awards.

The awards show will air on CMT April 14th at 8:00pm (EST). CLICK HERE to vote for "Gone, Gone, Gone"!

Second New York City Show Added! | News

nshields — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 05:51:00 GMT

The first show sold out in just a few minutes, so a second show has been added in New York on Wednesday, June 11th. Pre-sale tickets will be available starting Tuesday, March 4th at 10:00am (EST). Pre-sale tickets will only be available for 24 hours, so make sure you get your tickets tomorrow.

CMT Crossroads: Robert Plant and Alison Krauss to premier Monday, Feb. 11th | News

nshields — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 05:50:00 GMT

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss share the stage performing their own classics as well as songs from their new album, Raising Sand in the next all-new episode of CMT Crossroads: Robert Plant and Alison Krauss premiering Monday, February 11 at 8:00pm (EST)/7:00pm (CST).

Robert and Alison To Play Bonnaroo 2008 | News

nshields — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 05:49:00 GMT

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss have been confirmed for the 2008 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival.

They will join Pearl Jam, Metallica, Jack Johnson, Kanye West, Phil Lesh & Friends, My Morning Jacket, The Allman Brothers Band, Willie Nelson, B.B. King, Sigur Ros, Levon Helm, The Bluegrass Allstarts Featuring: Luke Bulls, Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, Bela Fleck, Edgar Meyer and Bryan Sutton, Younder Mountain String Band, Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings, Pat Green, Solomon Burke, and many, many more.

Check out the TOUR section of the website to learn more, including ticketing info.

First US Tour Dates Announced | News

nshields — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 06:05:00 GMT

FIRST LEG OF WORLDWIDE TOUR FOR ROBERT PLANT AND ALISON KRAUSS KICKS OFF APRIL 20

TOUR TO FEATURE T BONE BURNETT IN SPECIAL ROLE

CMT CROSSROADS 'RAISING SAND' SPECIAL SET TO DEBUT FEBRUARY 11

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, whose 'Raising Sand' album has emerged as one of the past year’s major critical and word-of-mouth sales success stories, will begin an extensive US and European tour April 20 with a brief run of dates in the mid-South. The two lauded musicians will then embark on an 11 date tour of Europe in May before commencing more North American dates for June and July (to be announced). With a band led by 'Raising Sand' producer T Bone Burnett, they will be performing songs together onstage from Raising Sand, as well as other songs from their careers.

Previewing the tour, on February 11, CMT will air "CMT Crossroads: Robert Plant and Alison Krauss," featuring performances of songs from Raising Sand as well as material from both artists' extensive catalogs.

Raising Sand debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200 chart following its October 23 release on Rounder Records and was certified RIAA Gold soon after. "Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On)," the first single from 'Raising Sand,' was nominated for a Grammy in the category of "Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals." The song is the only track from the album eligible for this year’s Grammy Awards. The album and subsequent tracks from 'Raising Sand' will be eligible for nominations next year, at the 51st annual awards.

Confirmed Raising Sand North American tour dates are (More dates TBA):
**Tickets for these shows will go on sale Friday, January 25.

4/20/08 – Louisville, KY – Palace Theatre
4/22/08 – Knoxville, TN – Knoxville Civic Coliseum
4/23/08 - Chattanooga, TN – Memorial Auditorium
4/26/08 – Birmingham, AL – BJCC Arena

Robert Plant & Alison Krauss featuring T Bone Burnett World Tour 2008 | News

nshields — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 05:47:00 GMT

Recently named album of the year by the Sunday Times, ‘Raising Sand’ has topped critics 2007 best-of lists while ‘Gone Gone Gone’ has been nominated for a prestigious Grammy Award. The Raising Sand tour will feature legendary producer T Bone Burnett and many of the top musicians who played on the album. These UK dates are part of a European tour which will be followed by an American tour. For more information click here.

European Dates:
May 2008
10th DUSSELDORF, Philipshalle
11th BRUSSELS, Forest National Club
13th PARIS, Le Grand Rex Theatre
14th AMSTERDAM, Heineken Music Hall
16th STOCKHOLM, Hovet (Ice Hall)
18th OSLO, Spektrum
19th BERGEN, Bergenshalle

Vote for Robert & Alison for MSN's December Artist of the Month | News

nshields — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 05:44:00 GMT

MSN has nominated Robert Plant and Alison Krauss for December's Artist of the Month! They will be featured on the site for the month of December, where fans can go and vote for them. Vote as many times as you like for the entire month of December. Votes are counted at the end of the month -- if Robert and Alison Win they will be featured again for the month of January! MSN's website also includes an interview with Robert and Alison about Raising Sand. Follow the links below to vote and read more...

Click the link below to vote for Robert & Alison for MSN's December Artist of the Month -- vote now!
http://music.msn.com/music/artistofthemonth

Read the exclusive MSN interview here:
http://music.msn.com/music/artistofthemonth/kraussplant

'Raising Sand' RIAA Certified Gold | News

nshields — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 05:36:00 GMT

Raising Sand – the widely praised and bestselling album by Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, produced by T Bone Burnett – has been certified gold by the RIAA. A surprise hit of the season, Raising Sand has shown little sign of slowing down since a remarkable #2 debut on the Billboard 200 four weeks ago, and remains within the top 25 on the chart. Raising Sand is the highest charting and fastest selling album in the history of Rounder Records.

Plant, Krauss, and T Bone Burnett recently completed work on a music video for first single “Gone, Gone, Gone (Done Moved On).” The surreal clip conceived and directed by Rocky Schenck will have a world premier on CMT November 29, and is confirmed for a premiere on VH1 December 3rd. Shot in Nashville, the video adds a raucous element to the Everly Brothers song, with scenes bouncing between shimmering mylar glitz and a performance stage reminiscent of a vintage Technicolor movie. The video will enter regular rotation on both networks.

Called “the stuff of which music lovers’ dreams are made…unique and mesmerizing” in the Boston Globe, and hailed as a “masterpiece” in Vanity Fair, the album has been praised across the board. Its “88 / Universal Acclaim” score among the highest ever on metacritic.com. Recent highlights include major features in USA Today, the New York Times, and the Los Angeles Times and appearances on the Today show and Charlie Rose. Krauss, Plant, and Burnett, along with the musicians featured on Raising Sand, will tour extensively throughout Europe and USA, kicking off in April.

Alison Krauss and Robert Plant on NPR's World Café Live, November 22nd | News

nshields — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 05:35:00 GMT

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss will be featured guests on NPR's World Café Live on November 22nd, between 2:00 PM and 3:00 PM ET.

National Public Radio’s World Cafe with host David Dye can be heard on nearly 200 stations nationwide. Fans can find their local station by going to the website: http://worldcafe.org, or they can listen online to the WXPN/Philadelphia stream Monday to Friday 2pm to 4pm Eastern Standard Time by going to: http://xpn.org/listen_live/listen.php.

Late in the day of broadcast, the audio will be available on the National Public Radio website:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4724307

Robert Plant | Alison Krauss Album Raising Sand Released October 23 | News

nshields — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 05:32:00 GMT

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, two of the most distinctive vocalists in modern music, recently put the finishing touches on Raising Sand – their astonishing new collaborative album. Released October 23 on Rounder Records, the album was produced by T Bone Burnett and recorded in Nashville and Los Angeles with a stellar cast of supporting musicians, including guitarists Marc Ribot and Norman Blake, multi-instrumentalist Mike Seeger, drummer Jay Bellerose, and bassist Dennis Crouch. Plant is quick to define Raising Sand as more a band record than a duet record, as it puts the two great singers in a variety of vocal and instrumental combinations – from songs featuring two-part brother-style harmony throughout to solo features for each. Though they come from entirely different traditions, Alison Krauss and Robert Plant create an amazing, unexpected, and entirely new sound when they sing together.

The material, ingeniously chosen by Burnett with input from Plant and Krauss, is the crucial thread that guides Raising Sand and gives the two unique singers a forum to interact and equally express themselves. The songs range from modern to classic, consisting mostly of lesser-known material from a wide spectrum of great blues, R&B, country, and folk songwriters – Tom Waits, Gene Clark, Little Milton Campbell, Mel Tillis, Townes Van Zandt, Doc Watson, Phil and Don Everly among them. They also recorded the Robert Plant/Jimmy Page song “Please Read the Letter,” from the 1998 album Walking Into Clarksdale. “You’ve got two singers that can handle a wide range of material – storytellers,” explains Burnett. “So you look for the stories….”

Krauss explained that the genesis of Raising Sand came about seven years ago, when Plant called to say hello and that he’d love to work with her someday. A few years later, Plant made good on his word and called Krauss about participating in a Leadbelly tribute at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, where they sang together for the first time. The collaboration revealed instant potential to the pair, and several years later they enlisted Burnett to help them realize a more full-scale collaboration.

Raising Sand | Store

Tue, 23 Oct 2007 05:00:00 GMT

The musical collaboration of the decade, Raising Sand is the sound of two iconic figures stepping out of their respective comfort zones and letting their instincts lead them across a brave new sonic landscape. Despite hailing from distinctly different backgrounds, Alison Krauss and Robert Plant share a maverick spirit and willingness to extend the boundaries of their respective genres. This spirit, expertly honed by producer T Bone Burnett, has resulted in an album pitched three steps beyond some cosmic collision of early urban blues, spacious West Texas country, and the untapped potential of the folk-rock revolution. Supported by the unparalleled musicianship of Marc Ribot, Dennis Crouch, Mike Seeger, Jay Bellerose, Norman Blake, Greg Leisz, Patrick Warren, and Riley Baugus, Plant and Krauss - as both solo and harmony vocalists - tackle an intriguing selection of songs from such tunesmiths as Tom Waits, Gene Clark, Sam Phillips, Townes Van Zandt, The Everly Brothers, and Mel Tillis. Raising Sand finds Robert Plant and Alison Krauss exploring popular music's elemental roots while still sounding effortlessly, breath-takingly contemporary.

Official Website

Tracks
1. Rich Woman
2. Killing the Blues
3. Sister Rosetta Goes Before Us
4. Polly Come Home
5. Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On)
6. Through the Morning, Through the Night
7. Please Read the Letter
8. Trampled Rose
9. Fortune Teller
10. Stick with Me Baby
11. Nothin'
12. Let Your Loss Be Your Lesson
13. Your Long Journey

Robert Plant | Alison Krauss Album 'Raising Sand' Debuts at #2 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart | News

nshields — Sun, 11 Feb 2007 05:33:00 GMT

Raising Sand, the new album by Robert Plant and Alison Krauss and produced by T Bone Burnett (Rounder Records) will make its entrance on Billboard’s Top 200 albums chart at the number two spot this week. The sales and chart position mark the highest ever for either artist.

Released in the US on October 23, Raising Sand has earned raves across the board – “skilled and inspired” says David Fricke in Rolling Stone. Broadcast highlights include a performance on the Today show and an interview on NPR’s Weekend Edition. An interview with Charlie Rose and a special episode of CMT’s Crossroads are still to come. In addition the album track “Rich Woman” has been tapped for an upcoming episode of HBO’s The Wire and will be featured in the upcoming film Mad Money (January 2008).

Raising Sand was released yesterday worldwide (excluding USA) and first day sales indicate a UK chart entry at #2. In London, Plant and Krauss are making several media appearances this week including interviews on the BBC Culture Show, BBC Breakfast TV and Later With Jools. A tour to support the album is being planned now for 2008.

Billboard Chart Positions for Raising Sand:
No. 2 Top 200 Albums
No. 2 Country Albums
No. 1 Rock Albums
No. 2 Internet Sales
No. 2 Digital Sales