Alison Krauss and Robert Plant are at it again. The former singers of Union Station and Led Zeppelin, respectively, are planning to record a second album to follow up their multiple Grammy winning album Raising Sand.
This new project, currently in pre-production, is still unnamed. The duo will most likely record in Nashville, where they recorded Raising Sand.
Right now no tracks have been recorded, and the project is just being fleshed out. As Robert Plant said in an interview with radio DJ Ben Jones, “We've got a whole bunch of songs, and we're just going, 'Does that work, and does that work?"
The participation in a new project between Plant and Alison Krauss undoubted squashes all hope that Robert Plant will be joining his former bandmates in Led Zep on tour.
Robert Plant and Alison Krauss to Build on Success of Raising Sand
Raising Sand has been wildly successful for the two musicians, both critically and in sales. Plant and Krauss won 5 Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year, for Raising Sand. They also won Record of the Year for their song “Please Read the Letter.”
Sales had been impressive for Raising Sand from the start. Raising Sand debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200 chart. This was the highest debut ever for Alison Krauss, although Robert Plant had debuted at #1 several times with Led Zeppelin.
Alison Krauss and Producer T Bone Burnett Fulfill Plant’s Desire for Musical Creativity
Robert Plant is known for his eclectic tastes in music, beginning with his time with Led Zeppelin. Although people unfamiliar with Led Zep often mistake the band as a one dimensional, blues heavy, rock band, this could not be further from the truth. Led Zep’s range covers genres as diverse as psychedelic rock, skiffle, traditional folk, jazz, funk, traditional Indian, and traditional Arabian music.
It is this variety that has inspired Plant since the retiring of Led Zeppelin. Since then he has collaborated with many and explored many different genres. In 1995 he reunited with Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page--one of the most inventive and versatile musicians in Rock. Their partnership and album No Quarter explored the indigenous music of North Africa as well as traditional folk.
Now by working with fiddle prodigy turned singer, Alison Krauss, Robert Plant has explored an entirely new concept: vocal harmonies. The two of them first performed at a tribute concert for Leadbelly, and bonded from there.
Used to being the only singer, this project allowed the voices of Krauss and Plant to intertwine on bluesy numbers, rolling folk rock rhythms, and their own take on several covers. With noted producer T Bone Burnett guiding the chaos, Raising Sand was born.
Robert Plant Will Not be Joining Led Zeppelin on Reunion Tour
Although Robert Plant has denied rumors that he will be joining his former bandmates (except for drummer John Bonham, whose death in 1980 caused the band to retire), these rumors still plague him.
As Plant said to Ben Jones regarding Led Zep, “it stopped was because we were incomplete, and we've been incomplete now for 28 years.” Is this a case of not being able to go home again?
In addition, Plant’s need to push the edges of musical creativity would be stifled by the reunion tour. When he did No Quarter with Jimmy Page, they intentionally moved in a new direction. On a Led Zep reunion tour, they would simply be doing the same songs they did thirty years ago, leaving little room to branch out.
Or perhaps more simply put, when one interviewer tried to ask about a reunion, Plant quipped “Look, I don't know how old you are, pal. You look a bit older than me. Try and do 'Communication Breakdown' with some tight jeans on."
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