Raising Sand

Price starting from $4.50

Product Description
Product Details
Product images
Customer Reviews
Related products
Listmania
YouTube Videos
More details

Product Description

No Description Available.
Genre: Folk Music
Media Format: Compact Disk
Rating:
Release Date: 23-OCT-2007

Amazon.com

Perhaps only the fantasy duo of King Kong and Bambi could be a more bizarre pairing than Robert Plant and Alison Krauss. Yet on Raising Sand, their haunting and brilliant collaboration, the Led Zeppelin screamer and Nashville's most hypnotic song whisperer seem made for each other. This, however, is not the howling Plant of "Whole Lotta Love," but a far more precise and softer singer than even the one who emerged with Dreamland (2002). No matter that Plant seems so subdued as to be on downers, for that's one of the keys to this most improbable meeting of musical galaxies--almost all of it seems slowed down, out of time, otherworldly, and at times downright David Lynch-ian, the product of an altered consciousness. Yet probably the main reason it all works so well is the choice of producer T Bone Burnette, the third star of the album, who culled mostly lesser-known material from some of the great writers of blues, country, folk, gospel, and R&B, including Tom Waits, Townes Van Zandt, Milt Campbell, the Everly Brothers, Sam Phillips, and A.D. and Rosa Lee Watson. At times, Burnette's spare and deliberate soundscape--incisively crafted by guitarists Marc Ribot and Norman Blake, bassist Dennis Crouch, drummer Jay Bellerose, and multi-instrumentalist Mike Seeger, among others--is nearly as dreamy and subterranean as Daniel Lanois's work with Emmylou Harris (Wrecking Ball). Occasionally, Burnette opts for a fairly straightforward production while still reworking the original song (Plant's own "Please Read the Letter," Mel Tillis's "Stick with Me, Baby"). But much of the new flesh on these old bones is oddly unsettling, if not nightmarish. On the opening track of "Rich Woman," the soft-as-clouds vocals strike an optimistic mood, while the instrumental backing--loose snare, ominous bass line, and insinuating electric guitar lines--create a spooky, sinister undertow. Plant and Krauss trade out the solo and harmony vocals, and while they both venture into new waters here (Krauss as a mainstream blues mama, Plant as a gospel singer and honkytonker), she steals the show in Sam Phillips' new "Sister Rosetta Goes Before Us," where a dramatic violin and tremulous banjo strike a foreboding gypsy tone. When Krauss begins this strange, seductive song in a voice so ethereal that angels will take note, you may stop breathing. That, among other reasons, makes Raising Sand an album to die for. --Alanna Nash

Binding: Audio CD
Brand: PLANT,ROBERT
Creator
- Robert Plant and Alison Krauss
- Robert Plant
- Alison Krauss
EAN: 0011661907522
Label: Rounder
Manufacturer: Rounder
Number Of Discs: 1
Original Release Date: 2007-01-01
Product Group: Music
Product Type Name: ABIS_MUSIC
Publisher: Rounder
Release Date: 2007-10-23
Studio: Rounder
UPC: 011661907522

Duet made in Heaven, 2010-08-28; By: S. Honsaker(Grove City, PA)
Like the previous reviewers have commented: Unlikely duet but it works. This CD starts good and ends well. I am always replaying this. Not country per say, the selections were well put together for a nice discovery of what is possible with these two talents.

Raising Sand, 2010-08-20; By: Lisa Babos
This is the third copy I've bought. We enjoyed the different sound so much we purchased copies for my brother-on-law and nephew.

Memorable? I've forgotten it already, 2010-08-17; By: Bertrand Stclair(new york, new york United States)
Like many commentators here, I am an admirer of both Robert Plant and Alison Krauss. Unlike most of them, however, I fail to see the charm of this album. It is certainly not the fault of the two stars: they are in fine voice, and while the overall countrified (rather than country) style of music is nothing new for Krauss, it is a thrill to hear Plant be so subtly expressive, while an occasional yelp on an uptempo number reminds us that here is, after all, a singer with extraordinary vocal cords, which don't seem to've faded in the least, unlike those of many singers of his age.
Nor is it the fault of the musicians, who do their thing as well as could be wished for, although that "thing" seldom demands anything special of them. Marc Ribot, for example, hardly shows his expertise as a guitarist -- a much lesser musician could do what he is asked to do.
It's simply the songs that are to blame. This is boring stuff. The whole enterprise has been given a highly polished atmospheric sheen by producer T. Bone Burnett, to whom I cannot but take my hat off, but it's not enough. He has chosen to exploit the dull sameness and ordinariness of most of the songs by giving everything a dark aura, presumably hoping to convey that if the whole CD is slow and grave, it is meant to be so. Close but no cigar. Slow as molasses, yes; grave, not at all. The songs are for the most part unengaging pop-country fluff that seems to've lost all energy, and the faster ones merely sound out of place. "Gone gone gone" is a standard rocker that sits there and does nothing: it's as ordinary as white bread and the lyrics are insipid. Similarly, one has to wonder what possessed Plant to want to include a sixties' chestnut "Fortune Teller" here - in this particular incarnation, it is not rock, country, pop, or anything specific, it just goes by without any oomph, and, in spite of Plant's voice, this song has been done with far greater excitement and juvenile dedication by the old bands in their infancy, such as the Rolling Stones.
Not that the songs are all bad; some are even quite lovely, although they are like brief rays of sunshine quickly drowned in the amorphous mass of the others. Plant's "Please Read the Letter" sounds like a beginner's stab at composition.
Indeed, although much has been made of the collaboration, a lot besides the songs doesn't jell here. Why even bother presenting it as a duo album? Each singer sings a number of songs alone, more than seems acceptable for a "duet." On those solo efforts, the other can be heard very distantly in the background, if at all. They complement each other reasonably well, but since neither expresses a different emotion than the other, there is no dynamic tension whatsoever. Krauss doesn't even bother to sing "I got a man" to Plant's "I got a woman." Why was this collaboration made? To rattle off thirteen plain little ditties? Neither star needs to coast on the other's fame for success. So, all I can think of is that they were hanging out and having a laugh, and they decided to have a little fun singing. All well and good, but when the pals are Plant and Krauss, a little fun immediately goes to the studio and becomes as refined (and probably as costly) as we can imagine. Here, the result, as almost always with musical self-indulgences, does not justify the praise that has been lavished on it.

Planted in bluegrass, the Krauss collaboration produces a timeless gem, 2010-07-03; By: Archer Books(Hemel Hempstead, UK)

There seems little point in repeating the praise heaped on these landmark recordings already in so many excellent reviews. When I first heard "Raising Sand" in 2007 it was obviously destined not for musical obscurity but for some kind of greatness, and since then I've listened to these songs hundreds of times in the morning, the evening, on lazy summer afternoons and driving through the mountains of Andalusia in an open-topped sports car. It's one of those rare occasions when dedicated professionalism, inspired musicians with a love for the material and first-rate production know-how come together to create something remarkable and hard to categorise.

Robert Plant has always had a deep interest in, and understanding of, the many strands of traditional American folk music. Anyone familiar with his back catalogue over the past 40 years will see evidence of this interest and of his ability to interpret traditional styles like slow blues, R&B and folk-country in new ways. Just listen to "Babe I'm gonna leave you" from Led Zeppelin's first album in 1969 - it goes back that far.

Alison Krauss has spent a career playing bluegrass - she's a great fiddle player too - and in Plant has found what seems to be her perfect musical match. This superficially improbable collaboration has given birth to something truly wonderful. Plant's voice turns out to be perfect for bluegrass and brings a depth of feeling - yet with a light touch - to complement Krauss's serene and beautiful singing in harmonies of such richness and serenity they raise the bar in the same way Simon & Garfunkel did way back in the 1970s (though the analogy is confined to the quality of the harmonies and goes no further). The care and respect they have for the material is obvious in the quality of the resultant product. The album cover carries a MOJO quote: "The musical relationship between Krauss and Plant is so gentle, attentive and respectfully intimate it feels more like a courtship dance" - perfect summary.

It's a great, great album, and something of a benchmark. If you've never heard it, you should. You'll likely listen to it for years and years, and love it more every time - like the rest of us.

Exquisite, 2010-05-09; By: Paul J. Escamilla(NYC)
Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks? With T-Bone Burnett at the controls and Alison Krauss by his side, Robert Plant added an absolute gem to his crown. This is one of the most successful pairings in history, with a brilliant selection of songs, and it is like honey to my ears. I am stunned once again listening to this album.