Raising Sand

All I can say is I want more- this CD is getting a daily workout while I ride my horses, it is the best purchase that I have made in years.

As lifelong fan of Plant in all his incarnations, it was quite natural for me to buy this album without a second thought. SO at first, I was surprised; not by the gentle adaptations Plant made to his naturally powerful, indeed overwhelming vocal style and presence, but rather by the fact that to make this album, he seems to have abandoned his former self entirely and switched into an alien musical persona.

It's hard to explain this, but all of his previous music has been resonant with deep seated passions that seem to emanate from another, more mythical world, whereas in this album he's simply Robert - poet and singer.

I loved it on first hearing and it keeps growing on me. And what of Alison Krauss? Well, she has a haunting voice, but again, one that expresses this side of mortality rather than the other-worldliness of Sandy Dennie, who teamed up with Zeppelin on 'Battle of Evermore'. She's a fabulous singer, albeit from a genre that has, until now, given me little pleasure. Together, Plant and Krauss have created something special. I salute them both.

Wow.

The names catch your attention--but then you LISTEN, and every track in this unique collaboration has its own voice. If this is what happens when you become a rock god, do a lot of drugs, make a lot of magic and music and grow old... hand me the acid and pass the bowl, man.

Robert Plant's interest in folk traditions and roots music is clear in the first four Led Zeppelin releases--for those who think this is an insane pairing, well, go back and listen again to tracks like "Going to California" and "Stairway." The influence of blues on Zeppelin is there, too... and on this album, Plant and Krauss braid together strands of British-rooted bluegrass and appalachian music, American folk, early rockabilly (Gone, Gone, Gone sounds like Jerry Lewis with the addition of electric guitar)... and the result is a varied and moving collection that defies the boundaries of genre.

I absolutley Love this album, I have listened to it over and over, both at home, and on the commute to work. Plant and Krauss harmonize beautiful together, and each song is so uniquely different and so surprising!
Its wonderful to see the two different types of singers come together and create such a wonderful album! I highly recommend this album to everyone who loves Country with a surprise twist!

I haven't read enough about this album to know why these two ended up together (surely it's written up somewhere), but it is surprisingly an amazing collaboration. Someone gave the CD to me as a gift. I put it on and started cleaning the house, listening with half an ear. And somewhere on the album, I don't remember exactly where, I simply sat down and listened. And I didn't get up again for a while. It's like that. It stills you. It quiets you. It forces you to be aware.

Gone, Gone, Gone is my favorite song on the album, by the way. It's the song you'll play over and over in the car until you've reached your destination. And then, when you get to where you were going, you'll click it back again so that when you get in the car next time, the song will just be starting and you'll be able to enjoy it from start to finish.